Coral and Gold Desk

If you follow me on Facebook, you know Big K and I started a little impromptu bedroom redecorating project this weekend.  It's still in progress, so I don't have any additions to the house tour.  But, as soon as everything is put back together, you know I'll have a post for you!

One thing that I can share is my new desk.  I've desperately been seeking my own workspace and I've finally done something about it after being inspired by Carmel over at My Fifth House...use a desk as a bedside table.  Genius!!!

Luckily, I had this guy sitting in my garage just waiting for a makeover.  I picked it up for $10 at a yard sale earlier this summer.

Can you spot Emma back there?  She seems to sneak into every picture.  If I was that cute, I might try to be in more pictures too!

I also had some Krylon spray paint in Coral Isle in the garage that I sprayed the desk with after priming it with Kilz.

I hadn't spray painted something in FOREVER.  I had forgotten how easy it is.  No messy brushes to clean.  No waiting days for paint to dry.

Here's the final result.

I think something is wrong with my camera.  All of my pictures have been super-grainy lately.  I have no idea what is going on.  Do you have any ideas????  I don't know what to do, besides buy a new camera.  This camera used to take great, clear pictures.

My favorite part of the desk is this gold detail.

In the background, you can see my new blue-gray paint...also done this weekend.  It's called Oyster Pearl by the Ace brand Clarke & Kensington.

Over in the corner you can see my "new" file cabinet.  This was a old Target dealio...you know the fake wood pieces that you have to assemble???  I just primed and spray painted it glossy white.  This was my first attempt painting this type of "wood."  It looks pretty good and I think the paint will stick.  I made sure to prime well with Kilz.  Otherwise, I was afraid the material might have been too slick and the paint would have peeled right off.

One last look, just because I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my new desk/bedside table!  One of my favorite things - it was almost free!  All of the materials I used were found in the garage.  I didn't have to buy anything except for the $10 desk.

Linked to some of my favorite DIY blogs:  Liz Marie, House of Hepworths, My Simple Home Life, Happy Hour Projects,
Elizabeth & Co, DIY Dreamer, Today's Creative Blog, Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just a Housewife, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Primitive and Proper, Home Stories of A to Z, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tip Junkie, Type A Decorating, , The Thrifty Home, Domestically Speaking, Primp,
A Diamond in the Stuff, Restore Interiors, The Shabby Chic Cottage,  Beyond the Picket Fence, My Simple Home Life,
Addicted 2 Decorating, Just a Girl, Remodelaholic, Miss Mustard Seed, Finding Fabulous, Tatertots and Jello, Under the Table and Dreaming, Thrifty Decor Chick, Coastal Charm, Serenity Now, Get Outta My Head Please, You are Talking Too Much, The Southern Institute  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

A Blue Vanity

My friend Rachelle wanted to surprise her daughter with some updates to her room.  So while her daughter was away at camp, Rachelle asked me to paint this old vanity and chair for her.

Look at cute little Emma in the back right.

I was excited to do this for my friend, but also a little nervous because it was the first time someone had paid me to paint something.  I hoped that they would be happy with the results.

Here's how it turned out:

The chair got some new paint and fun zebra fabric.

The vanity got the same bright blue paint and some shiny new black knobs.

I think this vanity will be perfect for a 12-year old girl.  Her mom and dad were very happy with it, but I haven't heard if she likes it yet.

Speaking of black and blue, look what else I sold this weekend.

Recognize the paint?  It's the same one I used on the vanity.  This old school desk has a chalkboard writing surface.  The little boy who got this desk was so excited to go home and use his chalk on it.  I was so excited because this has been sitting in my garage for a long time!

In unrelated news, I went up to Aspen again.  This time, I had some fun girl time catching up with some of my OLDEST friends, Robyn and Karen.  We've known each other for over twenty years and moved to Aspen together after we graduated from college.  Robyn lives in Minnesota and Karen is in Connecticut.  It was so fun to reconnect with them.  Even though we hadn't seen each other in at least six years, it was like no time had passed at all.

There's Robyn and Karen at the Maroon Bells, the "most photographed peaks in America." 

Linked here:
Beneath My Heart - Best DIY Project of June

Elizabeth & Co, DIY Dreamer, Today's Creative Blog, Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just a Housewife, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Primitive and Proper, Home Stories of A to Z, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tip Junkie, Type A Decorating, http://sistersstuff.blogspot.com/, The Thrifty Home, Domestically Speaking, Primp,
A Diamond in the Stuff, Restore Interiors, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Somewhat Simple, Beyond the Picket Fence, Fireflies and Jellybeans,My Simple Home Life,
Addicted 2 Decorating, Just a Girl, Remodelaholic, Miss Mustard Seed, Finding Fabulous, Tatertots and Jello, Under the Table and Dreaming, Thrifty Decor Chick, Coastal Charm, Serenity Now

May's Project: Paint a Dresser

One of the things on my 2012 Home Goals list was to finish Chloe's room.  A few weekends ago, my  husband picked up this dresser at a yard sale for $30.  It also came with a large mirror.

Chloe's favorite color is yellow right now.  So, of course she wants in painted yellow.  I plan on picking up a free quart of paint at Ace tomorrow.   New knobs will also update this piece.

I'm thinking about maybe trying some homemade chalk paint, made by mixing my paint with unsanded grout.  Has anyone used this technique?  What did you think?

Source: bhg.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

I wasn't sure how I felt about yellow, since her room is aqua and bright pink right now.

This is a little sneak peak at what Chloe's room looks like right now.  I kind of forgot that she already has yellow in the chair fabric.


 I also like how Ange used yellow and aqua in her daughter's room.  I think it will good in Chloe's room too.

Of course, I had to check Pinterest for some more yellow, pink, and aqua combos.  There are some pretty pictures of this palette.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Suzanne on Pinterest

Source: blogs.babble.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

I'm linking up to Lisa's Before and After Party.

K's New Desk

As you might remember, I picked up a desk on Craig's List and painted it for C a few months ago.  The post is here if you want to refresh your memory.  I didn't want K to feel left out, so I have been stalking Craig looking for a desk for her too.  I finally found one and went to pick it up.  Guess what?  It was the same creepy guy who sold me C's desk.  I wasn't expecting him because K's desk was at a different location than where I picked up C's.  The good thing about creepy guy is that he told me there is an auction every Saturday in our town where he gets his old furniture to resell.  Hooray!!  Looks like I will be hitting the auction myself and not having to deal with creepy guy's markup anymore.

Here's the before:

A pretty little shape for a little girl's room.

The top was in pretty rough shape, so I started by stripping it:

Don't I look amazing in the 100 degree heat in my workout clothes with a dog poo bag on my hand.  Note to self: try to look cuter in photos that you know will be going on blog.

Next, I stained the top with Minwax's English Chestnut.

I primed the body with Kilz spray primer and then painted her with 2 coats of a Behr oops paint called "Bamboo Shoot," then topped her off with some spray poly.

I cleaned the hardware, but it was still dingy.  Feeling kind of lazy, I was going to put it back on dingy and all, but my sweet husband sprayed it gold for me. A few of the pulls were missing, so I took a trip to Hobby Lobby to buy 3 new pulls for the top drawers, and here's the final product.  I was so excited to post this desk, that I took pictures at night...not the best lighting.

Next up, I'm redoing K's room in a green and blue theme per her request . I've started with the curtains that you see in the background. I'll keep you posted as things progress. Oh yeah, C's room isn't finished yet either. Nothing like having tons of projects going on at the same time...I love living in a house of chaos...ugh!!!

Linked:
Today's Creative Blog, Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just a Housewife, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Bella Before and After, Primitive and Proper, Home Stories of A to Z, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tip Junkie, Type A Decorating, http://sistersstuff.blogspot.com/, The Thrifty Home, Domestically Speaking, Primp,
A Diamond in the Stuff, Restore Interiors, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Somewhat Simple, Beyond the Picket Fence, Fireflies and Jellybeans,My Simple Home Life,
Addicted 2 Decorating, Just a Girl, Remodelaholic, Miss Mustard Seed, Finding Fabulous, Tatertots and Jello, Under the Table and Dreaming, Thrifty Decor Chick, Coastal Charm, Between Naps on the Porch

Gorgeous Shiny Things Feature

I am being featured today on one of my favorite blogs: Gorgeous Shiny Things. Stop by and visit and be sure to check out Danika's blog.

She has some great posts and is also a super-talented interior designer. Check out this pretty bedroom she did:

Thanks for having me Danika!

Desk Before and After

I had been seeing lots of cute desks on the internet lately. I thought something like this:

Source: allthingsthrifty.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

or this would be so cute in C's room:

Source: littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

The only problem, where to find the desk? My neighborhood had a garage sale a few weekends ago and I found two perfect desks...but, they were already sold! I was so disappointed. So, I hopped on Craig's List and found this beauty:



Look at those legs:


I knew I had to make her mine. I never pick up Craig's List items on my own, so I waited till Big K got home and then we loaded the kiddos in the car to pick her up. The place we got her was a little strange. I had to endure the kids making comments like, "EWWWW, what's that smell?" (pot, I think) and "Somebody really lives here?" Who are these children? I swear I didn't raise them to be like this.

Decisions, decisions...what color to paint. I thought a baby pink would look cute in C's room, but she was determined to have turquoise. I wasn't too sure about that until we came across a gallon of oops paint at Home Depot in turquoise. I love a bargain, so of course we bought it.

Painting commenced the following day. First up, primer:


Looking better all ready! I use Kilz no-odor spray primer. It is so easy to use and worth a little extra money. Just be sure to use light coats and shake the can a lot, or else it can get kind-of bumpy or have a sand-paper like texture.

Don't forget to prime the hardware:


So fun to paint with a 2-year old (insert sarcastic tone):


Even Mr. T, the dog, had to get in on the action:



Spray painted the harware with some gold paint I had on hand:



Here's the final product:







You like???

The bad news, C has nothing else in her room to match this desk. Looks like more redecorating might be in our future.

Linked here: