Hutch Makeover

It's been a long time since I've posted a furniture makeover -- but I finally have one to share! It's a very simple project, but it took me almost a decade to complete it. :)

We inherited this hutch (it has a top too) from my mother-in-law when my husband's dear grandmother passed away. While we lived in Kansas City, we didn't have the room to use it in our home, so we kept it in our basement in storage. Once we moved into a larger space, I always had visions of transforming the bottom half into a TV stand/storage cabinet. After a few stops and starts over the last few years, I finally got it finished.

Isn't it lovely? And it was so easy to do. I took the doors off the front and filled in the holes with wood putty -- then sanded those down smooth. I took the hardware off the drawers and cleaned them and spray-painted them in my favorite color -- Oil-Rubbed Bronze!

Then it was time to paint. Again, it couldn't be easier. I was so afraid of this project initially because I thought I would have to strip and sand the finish off the hutch. Instead -- chalk paint to the rescue! It is the best, best paint to use for furniture makeovers. I just cleaned the hutch with a damp cloth, let it dry and started painting. No priming or anything -- just painting with the chalk paint. It covers everything.

I used Annie Sloan's chalk paint in Graphite. I LOVE this color. It's a dark, cool grey with a touch of blue. That first coat is a tough one -- it kind of looks terrible at first, to be honest. Very streaky and kind of makes you panic.

 

(I had painted that first drawer white a long time ago to see how it would look -- after three coats of chalk paint, you can't tell the difference between any of the drawers. It covers awesome!)

After three coats of chalk paint, I rubbed the entire piece and the drawer fronts with furniture wax to seal it. The wax gives the chalk paint a beautiful soft finish that I just love. 24 hours later, and I had a beautiful TV cabinet, ready to go in our family room.

 Before waxing, I used a bit of sandpaper to distress the edges a bit. I love how it turned out.

I also love that I was able to reuse the original hardware. A few coats of the oil-rubbed bronze spray paint and they looked brand new and lovely.

We love how it turned out! I can't wait to get started on my next furniture makeover...

Until next time,
Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Easy Canvas Drop-Cloth Curtains

Today, I'm sharing a very quick and easy window treatment project, something you can create and finish within an hour -- I promise. I finished this project up long ago, but have just now got around to getting this on the blog. Procrastination!

When we moved into our house in Colorado, the curtains in the living room looked like this...

This photo was from the real estate listing -- not my furniture!

Um, yeah. Not so much my style. Blue, first of all. Really stuffy, second of all.

We've obviously got our own furniture in place in this room now, but it took awhile for me to change out the curtains. Remember this project, where I replaced the vertical blinds in our old house with drop-cloth curtains? I loved those so much (and hated to leave them) -- so I decided to make some for this house too.

Much better...and the easiest curtains you will ever make. I didn't even get fancy with them like I did on the originals in our last house.

To make these, you just need canvas drop-cloths from any home improvement store and those curtain clips you can get at Target or anywhere they sell curtains. Just fold over the drop-cloth until you get the length you want (you can cut off the bottom a bit if it's crazy long), clip on the curtain hangers and slide in on the rod. Done. Boom.

They let a surprising amount of light in, yet are opaque for privacy. And they're neutral enough for any decor. I love them.

I'll probably make more for a few other rooms in the house at some point. They just go with everything and are super cheap and easy to make.

Have you made your own curtains? I would love to see -- please share it here...

Stay crafty,
Lissa

November Feature for Kiwi Lane

I'm so excited to be back on the Kiwi Lane blog today with my November feature project. I created four framed wall art pieces inspired by a Pinterest project. I got to use the incredible papers and embellishments from Teresa Collins' Memorabilia collection. So beautiful and sophisticated! The colors in this collection are just lovely. Plus I got to work with my favorite Kiwi Lane designer templates: Abbie Road and Tiny Shapes.

You will have to head over to the Kiwi Lane blog to see the full project details with lots more photos...

But before you go, how about a chance to win a set of Kiwi Lane Abbie Road border templates? All you have to do is tell me which Kiwi Lane template set is your favorite (or will be!) by:

1. Leaving a comment on this post.
2. Liking my Facebook page and leaving me a quick post there. 

I'll announce the random winner on Nov. 22. Be sure to enter before midnight MST on Nov. 21. (I can only ship to United States - thank you for your understanding.) Good luck!

UPDATED 11/22/13: Carrie Armstrong - you're the winner! Email me at mightycraftyDOTmeATgmail.com to claim your prize.

Summer Mantel

Summer is here and it's time for a summery mantel share.

I love beach accents on my mantel. We'll be heading to the beaches of California very soon, and I'm so looking forward to it.

Here's my summer mantel from last year:

Since last year, I've added the large mirror and moved things around a lot. This time last year, I was kind of barely unpacked in this new house - now, we are much more settled in to this home that we love.

And I love the mantel so very much...

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Drop-Cloth Curtains

I've seen lots of curtain treatments to replace vertical blinds, but my favorite has been the drop-cloth curtains. I especially loved these from A Soft Place to Land. They were my inspiration when I created my own version of drop-cloth curtains.

When we moved in last year, I knew right away that I would want to do something to replace the vertical blinds. They were noisy, they were bland, they were broken in a couple of places. Not good.


  
Now, they've been replaced with a simple curtain that I love. They are easy to open and close, and they let a bit of light shine through without being see-through.

Drop-cloth curtains are possibly the easiest window treatment. You just buy a drop-cloth, cut it to width (if necessary), then use clips to hang it from the rod, adjusting the length as needed. I added a fabric border to the top to give it a bit more length - and a border at the bottom for a bit more color.

To create the curtains, I used:

• 1 drop-cloth ($15 for a 4x15ft cloth), cut in 1 / 2 to create 2 panels
• 2 yards of fabric for the border ($10)
• Curtain rod ($20)
• Curtain clips ($15)

Total cost: $60

Not bad at all for a window treatment that completely transforms our dining room from a dreaded eyesore into a space I love.

If you have vertical blinds that you want to replace, try making your own drop-cloth curtains. They are super easy - and they look amazing.

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Powder Room Makeover for Under $100

I'm very excited to share this project - my first "completed" room in this house. :) And I did the whole thing for under $100. (I'm not just impatient - I'm cheap too.)

The powder room was the first room in the house that I tackled as far as painting goes. It was painted the same beige as the rest of the house - a perfectly nice color but not something I loved in that room. It had a wallpaper border around the middle of the wall, a black/creme travel-theme border peeling off in several places.

So here's the before - pretty blah...


You can see that there was a towel bar above the toilet for some reason. That's about 6 feet away from the sink, so it wasn't the best place to hang a towel. Not sure what the thought was there originally. Plus, the handicap-access bar. I'm sure it had its place but it wasn't something we wanted to keep around. The tile is lovely - the light fixture, sink, and mirror were just fine with me - and the woodwork was in great shape. So the only major work needed was painting.

So, here's the big reveal...

I love how it turned out! This bathroom makeover was super cheap too. Here's how it breaks down:

• The paint is a warm purple-brown. So pretty. It's actually much warmer than it shows here. I got it in the oops paint section at Home Depot for $7/gallon. Crazy price.
• The big framed Monet print was a freebie from my dear friend Suzanne who inherited it from the previous owners of her house when they moved in (thank you Suzanne!). I bought the frame at a garage sale for $5. I then cleaned it up, painted it black, and rubbed it with bronze metallic paint before sealing with matte varnish.
• The metal scrollwork piece is from Hobby Lobby. I bought it for $12 one week when all metal was 1/2 off. The fleur-de-lis towel holder was only $4 during the same sale. (Love those Hobby Lobby sales.) The little 3-drawer chest and shelf/basket are from Hobby Lobby too. We picked them up when Hobby Lobby had a home decor clearance last summer for $15 and $8 each.
• The 2 candle sconces were a garage sale find. They were $1 each. Originally, they were black wrought-iron. I spray-painted them in oil-rubbed bronze. The magazine basket was another garage sale find for $3. I spray-painted that too.
• The switch-plate cover and outlet cover were $1 each and were originally black. I spray-painted them with oil-rubbed bronze for some shine. I had looked at getting new metal ones instead but I can't believe how much they were. This was a much cheaper option and they look great. I kind of wonder how it would have looked if I had just painted the original covers with the oil-rubbed bronze paint instead. I'll have to try that in another room.
• The toilet paper holder and the floor vent were the originals that were there. They were in bad shape to begin with. The toilet paper holder was chrome-ish - it was actually plastic but super chipped and ugly. And the floor vent was brown metal with crazy rust spots. I looked at getting new ones in the same bronze finish but they were too pricey for me (I'm so cheap!). So, again, I spray-painted them in oil-rubbed bronze. (Love that paint, can you tell?) A little spray-paint and they are beautiful again. I can't believe how great they turned out.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I did splurge a bit on the soap dispenser - I think it's the only thing I bought new for full price. :) It's from Target and was $12. Oh - and the hand towels. Again, from Target at full price for $8 each.
• The rest of the accessories came from my stash of home decor stuff I had on hand and a few more garage sales. The tissue holder and the waste basket too - although both were originally brown. Of course, I spray-painted those too.

So that's a grand total of $98, if I add in the cost of 2 cans of spray-paint. That's a pretty good bargain for a room makeover. It's nothing fancy, but it makes me super happy.

The one thing I might still do is to replace the existing faucet with a matching (you guessed it) bronze faucet. But it's not something we're planning to do right now.

So, with that, let's just admire one time, shall we?

Before...	After...
Before...	After...

What a difference. Thanks for looking!

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