Kitchen Table and Chairs Makeover

Hi everyone.  I have a furniture makeover for you today that I love. It's a kitchen table and chairs that went from "Oh, my!" to "Oh, how pretty!"

When we moved into this home we needed to purchase another table and chairs set.  We have always lived in homes that have galley kitchens - no space to eat in.  Therefore, we always ate in our dining rooms.  But, this house has an eat-in area in the kitchen that required a table and chairs we did not have.  So began our search for the perfect set.  And, of course, we found the perfect one in a thrift store.

Doesn't look like much, does it?  We fell in love with it.  It's probably an old patio set that had a glass top at one time.  It's made of steel and the seats are some kind of "faux" leather that was peeling.  The backs of the chairs had a gold design that looked a bit dated.

You can see they were in a bit of a mess and needed a lot of TLC.

This is a close-up of the chair seats and the gold design on the backs.  I thought they were going to be perfect for my vintage industrial look I was going for in the kitchen.  So I set about getting them into shape.

Todd made a wood top for the table first.  However, he did not attach it at this time.  It actually had to wait while I worked on the table and chairs.  First I painted all the metal with my trusty black chalkboard paint.  This is my go-to paint for everything.  I love the finish I get from it a true mat black with a lot of depth.  The only prep I did was to wash them good with soap and water.  It took 3 coats of paint to cover them well.  

This is one of the chairs after being painted and the seat covered.  I found the fabric at Hobby Lobby and used my 40% off coupon on it.  It only took 1 yard to do all four chairs.  I love how the plaid just makes this chair pop.

Now the wood top became a real problem for me.  I stained it with some dark stain we had on hand and absolutely hated the outcome.  I was really afraid I was going to have to paint it because it looked so bad.  So I went over it with a gray stain to try to get to what I wanted - which I can't even explain.  Well, that wasn't really what I wanted either.  So, Todd got busy and mixed some stains and played around with it and finally came up with what we have.  I really like the top now.  It's fairly dark which I felt this set needed to go with the black base.  After we finally got the color we wanted I gave it 4 coats of Minwax Polycrylic Protective Sealer.  I used 4 coats just to be sure it was protected as we were going to be using this table a lot.

I love this table and chairs now and it really makes this corner so cozy.  We use it all the time - so much easier than taking everything into the dining room for our meals.

This has become my favorite corner of our home now.  I love sitting here and having my morning coffee and working on my computer.  And, I love having an eat-in kitchen for the first time in our lives.  Such a convenient place for our small family meals. 

What do you think?  Is there a makeover in your future?  Tell me about it in the comments below.

I will be linking this post to the parties listed on the Where I Party page.  Please be sure to go by and check out all the great projects and inspiration found at each one.


If you like this post you may also like these:

                                                          DIY Kitchen Shelf Makeover

                                                          Upholstering a Wood Chair

                                                 Updating a China Cabinet with Paint

Updating a China Cabinet with Paint

Good morning everyone - I am so glad you could join me today.  I have a great project I want to share with you.  I was going through some pictures the other day and realized I had never shared my china cabinet makeover with you.  I can't believe I forgot because it is really one of my favorite projects. Here's a picture of how it looks right now.

I love the black with the pop of blue on the inside - it makes it such a trendy farmhouse piece now.  And, although it took me a while to finish  - it really was a simple process.
So, let me share with you how I achieved the finished look.

DIY Kitchen Shelf Unit

This post contains affiliate links

 When we moved into this house the previous owners left us with a beat up old unfinished shelf unit in the garage that had seen better days.  However, it was still quite sturdy and I felt very functional even though Mr. VPM and T felt like it had seen its best days and needed to be sent to the dump.  So, I set out to prove them wrong and turn it into a pretty little Kitchen Shelf Unit.  I love when I can recycle something that is headed for the dump and make it into something useful and beautiful.

Upholstering a Wood Chair Seat

This post contains affiliate links.

Recently I shared the makeover of my dining room with you.  The biggest part of that makeover was the upcycling of our table and chairs instead of getting new ones.  This saved us a lot of money being able to update this set and still use it, as it is in great shape and has good bones.  So I was glad I could make it work in this room.  Today I am going to show you how I upholstered the chair seats to bring this set together and make it look as though it had been sold this way. 

Vintage Dining Room Makeover Done on a Budget

This post contains affiliate links.

Last year I took a long hiatus due to some health issues that I needed to tend to.  While I was recuperating I was able to work on a few projects around our house that I hadn't had the energy to tackle before.  I was able to take my time and some of the projects actually took several months to complete.  Today I want to share our dining room makeover with you - taking it from beachy to vintage on a budget. This actually took me about 5 months to complete. But I think it was so worth it.  I am totally in love with the new room. Let's see what you think.

Recycling a Thrifted Desk

Good morning friends.  
I have a real treat that I am sharing with you today.  I have been quite under the weather for about 6 weeks now and have not been doing any projects but that doesn't mean the projects have ceased around here. My son "T" took a Spring vacation and has taken over the job of getting some projects done.  He loves to do DIY when he has the time. So today I am going to share one of his with you.  
Now you have to understand - he does not blog, I was unable to get any pics, and the ones we have were taken on an I-phone by him. Let's just say we need to work on our presentation.
"T" is much like me in the fact that he loves to go thrift shopping and drag home great "treasures" to upcycle and make a great piece for our home.  So when he dragged this rather large executive desk home I wasn't really surprised - just wondering what in the world he had in mind. Usually we're pretty good at seeing each other's visions for projects but this one had me stumped. 

He started by tearing the above large desk into pieces to get the parts he wanted to use.  First he built the left section of the desk that would house the drawers using new lumber.

Then he built the top and right side of the desk also using new lumber.

Looking pretty good so far but where is the old desk coming into play?

This is a view of the side of the desk where he built an "x".  He first used this design in our  Anna White Shelf Unit he built a couple years ago.  

We both fell in love with the rusticness of the "x" on the ends and wanted to use it in more pieces.

Next he started incorporating the parts from the old desk which were one of the tops and the drawer units.  He then sanded everything so it was smooth and ready to accept paint.

He decided to paint the desk with some white paint we had on hand and then put burnished bronze drawer pulls on it.  

Here it is in it's new home.  He also hung a couple of shelves above it and solved the lighting issue by installing puck lighting on the bottom shelf.  This makes for a very nice office area for him and/or a homework station for Miss A.  
I love how this turned out and how he incorporated the old into the new.  A great recycle/upcycle project and he still has a lot of desk for any future projects he decides to take on.

What have you been up to this week?  I love to hear from you so tell me about it in the comments below.
Until next time enjoy creating something you love.

I will be linking to the parties listed on the Where I Party page. Be sure to go by and visit them as you will find so much creativeness and inspiration at each one.






If you like this post you may also like these:

                                                                Funky Little Desk

                                                              Glamorized Vanity

                                                            Surf Board Inspired Table

Organizing with a French Hamper

Hi everyone.  

Are you all still trying to get your first of the year organization done like I am?  I have to say I am still on my quest to get a few things organized around here.  I have to admit I have not made a huge difference as I have been a bit under the weather.  I have a small project I put together to organize my out of control yarn supply  - a cute little French Hamper that I think you will enjoy.  I am also joining with the ladies of A Dose of DIY today.  This month's theme is, of course, organization. Just in time for me to get this little hamper off my to do list and into a functional state.

I found this rather drab old hamper at Good Will and picked it up thinking I could use it in some way.

Not too pretty - woven raffia or reeds of some sort and dull.  It was quite dirty and needed a good cleaning also. So I set to work on cleaning it before I did any kind of rehab to it.

Best of 2015

Hello Friends.  Are you recuperating from your holiday celebrations yet or are you like me and still lounging around, watching movies and drinking coffee?  I love this week between Christmas and New Year's because I can do just that. No deadlines, no stress just lots of time with family. I always like to go through my posts from the past year at this time and see just what everyone liked and maybe didn't like so much.  So here are the Best of 2015 posts that you - the readers - loved. 

Beach Inspired Decor

Hi everyone.  Hope you're able to keep cool during these ever so hot days of July we are having.  We are doing a lot of indoor projects or going to the beach since its just too hot to go out until evening.  So today I thought since it is beach weather around here I would bring you a few of the beach inspired projects I have done to give our home that beach feel I so love.  
  

DIY Multipurpose Cabinet

Good morning everyone.

 Today I want to share with you a project that "T" has been working on for a few weeks.  He was commissioned to make a cabinet for a friend of his and in his "spare" time has been working on it.  I call it a multipurpose cabinet because I can think of so many uses for it however, she is going to be using it in her bathroom.  

I forget to go to the garage when he is working and take pictures of the process but I have a few you can see.

Top left: the finished  cabinet before staining.

Top right: the beginning box structure.

Bottom left: the finished drawer construction.

Bottom right: the two drawers finished.

This is the finished cabinet.  I am not too fond of the color that she chose to stain it - Minwax Sedona Red.  It is way too red for me however it does match the woods in her home and she is quite pleased with it.

She is using it in her bathroom for storage. This is the top cabinet area open that is large enough to store several towels or whatever she chooses.

Second is the smaller drawer that is a good size to store quite a few items.

Then is the part I love - a clothes hamper including a bag.  I love this idea for a bathroom or a bedroom.  But you could use it for all sorts of storage - your imagination could go wild with this piece.  Needless to say I think we will be getting one of these at our house or two or three...

This is a closeup of the hardware - he picked a black with a bronze trim around it to set them off a bit.

I

So much space in one little cabinet - so many uses.  I love it.

 Now that "T" has finished this project he wants to finish a couple of others that were put on hold. With the cooler temps here Papa and I have been painting the living and dining rooms and I will be sharing that with you soon, along with a few other additions to that area of the house. Can't wait to get to that point.

On an added note - this weekend was quite exciting for our family as "T's" daughter - our granddaughter became engaged. He proposed to her right after he graduated from the Marine Basic Camp - right in the parking lot!

Needless to say she was quite surprised as were all of us.  The wedding is not for quite a while as she has to finish college and he has to finish his training.  But we are looking forward to lots of wedding planning in the future.

What have you been up to this summer?  Are you just taking some time off or have you been busy getting some projects out of the way or have you had some exciting news also?  I love to hear from you so tell me about it in the comments below.

Until next time have fun creating something you love.

I will be sharing with the parties listed on the Where I Party page. Please go by and visit them - I am sure you will find some great creativeness and inspiration there.

Saying Good Bye to the Girly Girl Room

Our Miss A turns 10 in August and with this age change she is also changing her taste in style and decor.  It's really hard to see her go from that little girl look with the frills and lace to a more grown up look without so many frills.  She is definitely entering that preteen phase.  So when we moved here she announced that she wanted to very much change her room decor from her previous Girly Girl Room to a more grown up room. I am a little sad to see it go because it was everything girly and so cute.

Glamorized Vanity

Written by Cathy Carroll

Today I am going to show you a vanity I just redid.

This piece was a piece that T brought home knowing I would love to do a makeover on it. He was not wrong. It had perfect bones to work with.  But when my granddaughter Mimi saw it she called dibs on it.  She had to leave her vanity behind when they moved and had been wanting one to replace it. (only so much room in a truck). What you don't see here is the fact it had a large hole right in the middle of the front where you see the lighter wood piece.  So T replaced the holey piece with a new piece of wood.  It is curved and required some soaking in water and curving ever so slowly.  But with time and patience it was achieved.

Throwback Thursday - Vintage Vanity

Good morning everyone.

Today is Throwback Thursday and I am bringing a vintage vanity out of the archives that I did for Miss A's room a couple years ago.