From 'blech' to 'not so bad'....

Here's a quick project I did while Ron was gone and the boys were at daycare/preschool. See that media stand? It was free which is great, but our TV didn't fit in it and all the wires were exposed to view. Seeing wires=irritated Faith. Nothing a saw couldn't fix!
I don't know what the name of the saw I used is, but it is handheld and has a round blade and gives me a small case of the heebie jeebies. My imagination supplies pictures of chopped off fingers all too vividly! But usually I need it for projects so I force myself to use it and act like it's no big deal. I've almost got myself convinced! Anyways- I sawed off the top of the media stand, leaving just the bottom cabinet. Then I sanded the top down.
I spray painted the knobs and hinges a copper color.
And painted the base in some paint I had left over from the trim.
Looks better, doesn't it? It also makes the TV a better height for viewing. I rearranged the furniture and am enjoying the fact that all wires/remotes/DVD player are hidden. No more mess!
See the metal bucket? That is the boys' toy bucket. I have decided if the bucket over flows, we get rid of some toys. We do have a few things that aren't in the bucket- a giant floor puzzle, a wooden train set, and a plastic light up tool stand thing, but so far we're doing pretty good with not having toys all over all the time.
(what you don't see is the 8 inches of Hot Wheels cars in the bottom of the bucket. We will NEVER get rid of these because the boys know exactly how many we have and what color and how fast each one goes. When they go to college I'm going to make a decorative wall hanging from them.)

We all love makeovers, right?

And now, to give you all a break from the gorgeously appointed spaces that you have been looking at in other blogs, here is my bedroom. I realize it gives new meaning to the word hideous, but a total house makeover that relies on spare change for a budget takes time. Although I am going to say that I really love that comforter set. I got it at target and I think it provides a really fun palette inspiration. Anyways, onto the make over. See that early American orangey "oak" dresser? We bought it along with a bunch of other furniture in a "lump sum" purchase a few years ago. It's a great solid hardwood piece, and while not totally my style, its worth working in. I decided to amp up its country feel and add a dash of modernising. Here's how the vision played out:
First I stripped and sanded the top. at first, I only used a thin layer of stripping medium, which dried insanely fast in the arid heat and didn't strip anything off when I used my cheapo plastic stripping tool. i discovered the best way was to put on a really thick goopy layer, wait only about 5 minutes (rather than the 30 that they suggest) and then scrape with the grain to get the finish off. Then I sanded. There were a few parts where the finish didn't come off so I just sanded until I got down to wood. If I had it to do again, I would have just re-stripped those sections because the sanding took FOREVER. Even with an electric sander, I sanded for a lot longer than I wanted too and I still had spots where the stain didn't cover perfectly. So strip people. Strip it good. Moving on.
The stain I used was Minwax, and I custom mixed "antique walnut" with "walnut" because I didn't have enough of either. I was picturing a darker finish than this in my mind, but this ended up working really well with the paint color. I stained and immediately wiped off, realized I needed to leave it on longer, stained again and didn't touch it for 10 mins, then wiped off again. I used those blue automotive paper towels to wipe off, and a nice brush to brush the stain on. I sprayed on three coats of polycrylic. The dark spots you see above are just shadows. Didn't the stain really bring out the beauty of the wood?The dresser is painted in a creamy white, and I'm just going to confess that I didn't clean it, or primer it, or even brush off the cobweb on the side. I just painted. And, next time, I'm going to try rollering it to get a really really smooth finish. I was going to get those cup drawer pulls to really countrify this baby, but when I saw these brushed bronze numbers at Walmart, I thought they would complement the piece and provide some 'lightness'. The cup pulls would have been a heavy solid touch to an already heavy solid piece.
So what do you think? I think the color and contrast of dark and light modernize it, while still amping up its country roots. I LOVE the walnut top! And I think the hardware works too. Next up for this room is getting rid of the NASTY mauve carpet- but check it out, my bedding works with it! We're all about working together here at Casa Mc Nasty.

My latest project.......

There has been a huge trend in the blog world of reusing and repurposing old furniture. I love it! Not necessarily because its green, but because its cheap! My budget is slightly less than on-a-dime, therefore my house is full of ugly free things! However, these gals are showing that with a bit of thought and spray paint, there are things I can make beautiful out of the free cheap and ugly bin. This dresser was given to us by some friends. I don't think its ugly, it just doesn't go with anything in my house. I knew I wanted to use it in the boys room, and I wanted it to be gray since I am introducing that color to their "scheme".


The hardware is interesting, and there are GREAT details that I thought would glaze really well.

First thing is to remove all hardware and spray paint black. I had a can of Rustoleum lying around, so I used that. I think I sprayed them about three times, letting them dry between coats and using the "thin and even" rule.
Then I primered all the drawers and dresser itself. I used a colored primer since I was going for a gray end color. I didn't bother with washing or sanding the piece, and honestly I don't think it made that big a difference. Not exactly professional, but I can live with that! The whole thing took two cans of spray primer.

Then I spray painted everything with gray spray paint. Took two cans. On to the fun part! I don't have a Lowes or Home Depot within three hours, but I do have an ACE Hardware. They actually had the glaze! It took a while to convince them it was possible, but eventually they tinted the glaze to a dark browny black color.
Using an el cheapo brush, I just brushed the stuff on, making sure to get it in all the cracks and crevices. Then, before it was dry, I wiped it off with a damp rag, leaving just a little in the edges. I don't like overly distressed and chipped furniture a la shabby chic, but I think a little glazing can really bring out the wow.
The top drawer is glazed, the bottom one isn't. See how understated it is? A little is best, in my opinion. After that, I glued and stapled a few of the drawer backs that were loose, and then rescrewed the handles back on.

The end result? A really pretty piece of furniture that was cheap and easy to redo! All in all, it cost me about 25 dollars to redo, with the glaze being the most expensive at $14. Of course that glaze will probably last me the rest of my life!

Oh yeah, and the chair......

So here is the finished product. I feel very unhappy about not being able to do a full tutorial as planned, but I guess there are enough on the internet to show how it is done. I would suggest Miss Mustard Seed's blog if you are interested. Overall, this was really a fun project that was easy and fairly fast. The chairs before were a dark fly specked oak with (get this!) Snow leopard print velour seats! Rowr! I like how they turned out, but still like the looks of just the frames best. Go figure. It's the graphic artist in me- I just love good lines in furniture, and I think the stuffed seats and upholstered backs cover them up a bit. The backs were caned, but had big holes in them, so they are redone in canvas with taupe trim. Originally I was thinking I would do pattern on the seat and back, but this look is a bit lighter and less busy, which I really like. I really struggled with the fabric choice. Originally I was thinking of a strong graphic print in really juicy colors, but I had to reign myself in and think about my home. I'm not doing juicy anywhere in my house- its all warm tones and rich hues. The big cabbage rose print is a nod to the west and the lovely creams blend into the house better. I think its a good fit.