Flashback: File Cabinet Flip

I have to begin by asking a big favor of you: I have entered a local online contest for furniture makeovers on Facebook. PLEASE take moment to click on one (or both!) of the links below and vote for my Grand Rapids Desk or Chevron Dresser! All you have to do is click the link below and then "like" the picture. Super easy!

Grand Rapids Desk link:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151476542676087&set=a.10151440717511087.1073741827.48762916086&type=3&theater

Chevron Dresser link:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151478126571087&set=a.10151440717511087.1073741827.48762916086&type=1&theater

A HUGE THANK YOU to Stephanie over at Furniture Flippin' for doing me a big favor and featuring my work on her blog and asking people to vote! Her blog is super fun and features a new furniture flip each day. Check her out on Facebook too!

Easy Chevron

Ever since the Pinterest craze hit, I've been looking at pictures and blogs for creative inspiration. One blog I stumbled upon early in my furniture-painting hobby was Simple Redesign. While browsing Craigslist, I always came across these gorgeous painted pieces that were beautifully staged. I followed the blog link and found out that the writer's name is Julie, and she refinishes furniture for a living here in Grand Rapids. I started reading and didn't stop until I had read every single post. Not only is her work amazing, but the blog is full of fun tips, tricks and great inspiration.

When I first got this piece from a very nice lady off Craigslist, I envisioned adding paintable wallpaper to the bottom square part.

Grand Rapids Pride

I love Grand Rapids. I was born and raised here, and I don't think I could imagine living anywhere else. I even live in the same neighborhood I grew up in (West side!) I love that it is big enough to have lots to do but small enough that there is green space and you can get anywhere in about 15 minutes. There are beautiful beaches just a half hour away, and I don't think other states have an "up north" quite like Michigan. Even though driving in the snow is never fun, I wouldn't give up four seasons for anything. Spring wouldn't be spring unless it followed a cold and snowy winter! Not to mention all of the accolades GR has been getting lately, including Beer City, Best Place to Raise a Family, etc.

I could probably go on and on about much I love Grand Rapids. But that's not really the point of this post. I am very excited to show you this project I have finally finished- a desk made right here in Grand Rapids!

This desk was posted on Craigslist as "make an offer." It looked like it needed a lot of work, but I fell in love with the curves and emailed the owner. "Make an offer" quickly became "first person to pick it up," which fortunately my dad was around and went with me to get it right then. Here it was:

Quality: Looking for the best!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day weekend! I have had an awesome few days off of work. I took off Wednesday through Monday to celebrate my birthday (the big 3-0!) and just have some time to relax. Ryan surprised me on Wednesday with a mani/pedi, I got a massage on Thursday, and a haircut on Friday, so I am definitely pampered and rested!

Yesterday and today I was happy to get going on some of the projects in my garage. The past couple weeks have been hard for me to get anything done since I had a horrible cold that knocked me down for about ten days- it was not fun and I couldn't do any painting during that time. It was great to get back at it, and I can't wait to share the projects I'm working on now.

I also had some great inspiration from a very thoughtful birthday gift from one of my best friends, Allison. She got me this amazing book that has all the info I need for different painting techniques, tricks and tips, along with a fabulous before-and-after gallery. My family got me a gift card to Home Depot for painting supplies. I can't wait to try some of these things and it definitely inspired me to get back into it!

Color, Knobs and Name

After completing the Retro End Table and Mid-Century Dresser in Hummingbird Blue, I decided that I wanted to find a color that was still fun but a little more muted. Multiple paint swatches later, I settled on Martha Stewart Arrowroot. My true inspiration for picking this color was the picture of this beautiful French Provincial dresser redo:

(Courtesy of Chrissie's Collections)

I loved it so much I bought a gallon right off the bat- so basically everything since then has ended up being Arrowroot.  (I also am thinking of painting just about every room in my house this color- it's so pretty!)

The first piece I tried it out on was a Mid-Century End Table I picked up at my favorite thrift shop. This is another one that I forgot to photograph before I started sanding, so here it is after some work:

New Pages

I want to mention two new pages I created:

For those of you who like before/after pictures, I created a Before and After page that just has pictures without any commentary. You can also see a sneak peek of projects that I haven't posted about yet. I'll get to the story behind them eventually, but for now, check out the transformations!

I also created a Current Projects page to show what pieces I have in my garage waiting to be painted.

Speaking of my garage, it hasn't had room for our cars for a while now. At least we're getting into springtime and it's warm and sunny, but if I am still keeping up this pace next winter, we're going to be in trouble! Here's a shot of my garage today:

I want a (heated) pole barn!

Mid-Century Dresser

During my day of thrift store browsing, I came upon this Mid-Century dresser that I loved, but at the time I purchased this end table and couldn't fit both pieces in my car. I also didn't have anyone with me to help load it. Even though it was really beat up, I saw the potential and was sad to have to pass on it.

Fast forward two weeks: Ryan and I headed out looking for furniture, and it was still there! Even better- it had been marked down over half off the original price! Yes, it was missing some hardware, but it was solid wood and the MCM style I can't get enough of. I was very glad I was able to get it and at an even better deal than if I would have bought it before.

Again, I started sanding away before taking a real "before" picture. It didn't look THIS bad when I first picked it up.

Retro End Table

So, this blog is starting out pretty slow, seeing as how it's been three weeks since my first post! Things have been pretty busy at work- I spent six days in California for two big events, one in Menlo Park and the other in Santa Barbara. Between getting ready for the trip, being gone, and getting back into the swing of things, I haven't had a ton of time for painting or blogging.

Now that things are getting back to normal, I want to share my first piece that I painted and sold. After scoring my TV console dresser on Craigslist, I was curious to see what thrift stores had to offer in terms of old furniture. One Saturday, I made a map and list of nine thrift stores and started on my way. I visited mostly Goodwill stores, stopped at a couple other places on the way - and kept striking out. There was only one piece I was remotely interested in, but it was overpriced for what I wanted to spend. I was so surprised at what some thrift stores charge for things... It's supposed to be a good deal!

I had only planned to go to a couple thrift stores, thinking I would find something and head home. After hitting eight stores, I had one left on my list. I almost decided not to go but was so glad I did- jackpot! There were many things I could have picked out that day, but settled on this cool Mid-Century style end table. (I LOVE Mid-Century furniture- can't you tell?)

In the beginning...

Lately I’ve been thinking I need to start a blog. Since the Pinterest outbreak, I've been more into crafts and DIY projects than ever. I’ve kept a Pinterest board of my own projects, and love being able to share pictures of things I’ve done and keep them all in one place. One of my Scrabble crafts has more than 10,000 repins, which I think is pretty cool!

One thing missing from my Pinterest posts is the link that goes to the blog where it tells you how to do/make things. I’ve thought about starting one before, but wasn't sure I would keep it up or have enough content. That still may happen, but lately I’ve been getting into painting (and selling) old furniture. So far it’s been going really well, and I thought now would be a good time to start a blog- mostly so I have a link back to all my pins!

I have always loved seeing old furniture painted and redone, and had been thinking about tackling something for a while. One thing I have seen on Pinterest and really wanted to do was make a TV stand out of an old dresser. (Plus we had a small, Walmart TV stand and I wanted something nicer.) In the process of looking for that perfect dresser to transform, I fell in love with a Mid-Century set of two dressers and a nightstand that was already painted white, looked awesome, and best yet, was selling for an incredibly reasonable price.  I dragged Ryan and my dad out in a huge blizzard to pick it up.

When we arrived, the people selling it had about six dressers, all painted white with oil-rubbed bronze hardware. They basically buy old furniture, paint it white and sell it. I thought to myself, “I could do that…”

Shortly after that purchase, I continued looking for that perfect piece for my project, but in the back of my mind also thought about fixing up furniture to sell. Most postings on Craigslist were either way overpriced for something I was going to redo, or they were poor quality (I’ve learned to look for solid wood and dovetail drawers- manufacturer stamps are a huge plus!) I finally found a gorgeous Mid-Century dresser for $50. It was the right mix of nice lines and good bones, but just needed some love to look great again. It had posted the night before, so I emailed in hopes it was still available. I got a response pretty quickly that said the first person to schedule a pick-up time could get it. Luckily, I was that person- and that evening Ryan and I picked up this beauty: