Tag Archives: DIY furniture

Still at it in the Boudoir

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It has been a super busy two weeks, but it has been fun. We’ve spent time with family we rarely get to see and met a few new family members as well. Needless to say my master bedroom redo has been put on hold, however I managed to finish with one project just before all our festivities started.

I have two antique Chinese tables I thought about selling but then decided to give them a makeover instead. I know to some of my friends who love this Asian furniture, painting over such a lovely design would seem almost sacrilegious, but It’s only paint right? I love the tables, but in this  ”original” state they weren’t working at all with my color scheme.

The tables had a coat of lacquer on them so they needed a good roughing up in order for the paint to stick. Luckily I have a small electric sander which made this an easy process. (After my dresser redo I decided an electric sander would be a good investment.) I had to hand sand the drawers and the  molding around the doors though. Once the sanding was done the painting was a cinch. First, I spray painted the bronze hardware with a”hammered silver’ effect spray paint then I used a roller to cover the large surfaces. After the paint dried I taped off around the molding to apply the accent color with a small brush. If you have a steady hand – lucky you; when I paint straight lines I HAVE to mask off the surrounding areas which is the most tedious part of painting for me.

I used a set of rubber stamps to stamp the dandelion design on the doors and drawers. This set is called Seeds of Kindness and is from Stampin Up. Rubber stamps make this kind of project super quick and easy.

This is the new look:

I’m nowhere near finished with the room, but I am definitely moving along. It took me about two weeks to finish painting the walls. The walls are heavily textured which required some extra effort to work the roller into all the crevasses and I think it took about a week and a half working on and off to finish these tables. I’m sure this could be accomplished in a day though. It really wasn’t difficult at all. I used the same color paint on the tables I used on the walls.

Now, I know you are thinking they looked much better before, but I have no regrets about repainting them.

Well, until next time…

Thanks, Cable Guy!

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cable spool

can't you see the potential here?

A few months ago we had cable installed in our house. Either by accident, forgetfulness or laziness, the cable guy left behind the empty spool used to keep the cable wrapped up.

You would think I’d have thrown this piece of junk out a long time ago, but … “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure” and I was sure I would be able to make a treasure out of this little gem some day. Turns out someday came a few days ago when I thought about how I’d like to have a small pouffe (ottoman)/table that would be a good height to use when I sat on the floor.

While researching ottomans and pouffes on the internet I had that all familiar thought  leap into my head; “I could make that”. I remembered the spool left behind by the cable guy and I realized; “I could so totally make that.”

Of course, mine was not likely to be as beautifully crafted as those advertised on-line or for sale in department stores. For one thing, I don’t own a sewing machine and the thought of hand sewing a hundred scraps of fabric together was enough to squelch my enthusiasm. The other option was patchwork printed fabric. Too many of these looked ‘shabby chic’ or ‘country cottage, which wasn’t what I wanted. So patchwork was not really an option for me. No, my pouffe was to look nothing like those sweet little beauties I find so charming, but they did inspire me to get creative with what I had on hand and see what I could come up with.

The cable spool was the perfect support. First, I used old pillows to fill in the center space of the spool. Also, because bolts protruding from the top (and bottom) of the spool would have made for an uneven table top, I cut a piece of scrap wood to place over the top to create a smooth table top surface.

Here is the skeleton of the pouffe. I used tape to hold the pillows in place while I stapled them to the to the spool. I also used the tape to hold the cut top in place.

So then the transformation began. I covered the top with an old white sheet, then covered that with the sheer white fabric I’d used for subtle accent in other parts of the room. I also covered the bottom with a scrap of aqua blue fabric I cut from an old bed skirt. I had left over fabric from the window treatment I made for the sliding door and used it to cover the pouffe. I did this with a staple gun. I also used a glue gun at the seams as I didn’t have the patience to sew the seams together.

I liked the look it was taking on, but I definitely needed to do something about the top edge. I had this old clothes line rope and started to braid it, thinking I could add a thick braid around the top edge to dress it off. I didn’t like that, it was too nautical looking. I played around with different twists until I came up with this up and down pattern.  I really like it and think it is a good complement to the pattern of the fabric. I attached the rope with a glue gun.

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Let me tell you, glue guns produce extremely hot glue. I recommend not using this tool within ear shot of young children –  or even,  quite possibly, drunk sailors. With each inadvertent application of one million degree glue to my tender finger tips, pain manifested itself into an acute form of Tourette’s.  I’m sure I invented a few colorful phrases that might even make a sailor blush. OUCH!

I thought I’d be done after the trim was applied. I know my blistered fingers should have been enough for me to announce the project complete,  but I wanted to embellish a bit. I thought a few beads and some texture would make the piece a little more interesting. I used yarn to add a textured design to the white space on the fabric. Again I used the glue gun for this and again my expletives sent the dogs running for cover with their tails between their legs. (That glue gets damn hot I tell ya). I added beads to the trim. The possibilities are really endless. You could add tassels, appliques, sequins – anything. I may add more to it another day, but for now I think I am satisfied with the way it is. Maybe when my fingers are done healing.

 

Total cost for this ottoman: $2.65 for the yarn. I had all the other supplies on hand. I know it looks nothing like the patchwork pouffes hand crafted by highly skilled artisans,  but I like it.

And to think, I owe it all to the cable guy.

If you think you might make a pouffe, and I think you really should, I would suggest adding handles. I wish I would have done this as it would have made it easier to scoot it around. I could probably add them now, but I think it would be much easier to add them from the beginning because they have to be sewed on, which would best be done from the back side of the fabric.

I Could Make That…

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How often do you think to yourself “ I could make that”? I find myself thinking that all the time, but rarely do I ever put forth the effort to make what ever object it is that is apparently so simple to make. Well, I do attempt to make lots of things, but when it comes right down to it, isn’t it so much easier just to buy that little objet d’ art than to tackle it on such a personal level? In reality though, there is more personal satisfaction in creating something with your own hands than there is from buying it.

A few weeks ago, I spent an entire day searching high and low for simple, inexpensive white tables. I would’ve even opted for tables I could have painted white, but I had little luck finding basic tables at a price I thought reasonable. Then I thought, how hard could it be to make a table? It’s just a square top and four legs right? I remembered the scrap wood I had in the garage and thought it would be fun to put my (limited) carpentry skills to the test.

I’ve always been intrigued by carpentry but I’ve also always found it slightly intimidating. Not because of a fear of power tools or the thought of losing a couple of digits (or an entire hand) but because the thought of damaging perfect, beautiful wood was so dismaying. Luckily, the scrap wood I would be using was far from perfect or beautiful so I wasn’t too worried about doing it much damage.

The boards I’d be using for the legs of one table were already the perfect height and would require no cutting. I would though, need to cut at lest two inches off the other boards for the second table. Surely I would be able to cut two inches off a piece of wood, right? Well, not exactly – thank goodness for thick carpeting, it is great for keeping slightly uneven legs from wobbling. Regardless of my inability to cut a straight line, the main issue with the boards was the width. A single board would not make for a very supportive leg, so I had to join two boards to make one leg. First, I glued two boards together along the edges, then used wood screws for a secure hold. I filled the holes with putty, let dry and then smoothed over with sand paper before painting.

The wood I used for the table tops was a little troublesome. It’s the pressed board type of wood which tends to crumble when cut, leaving rough exposed edges. Sanding does nothing to smooth it out and only causes more crumbling.To camouflage the rough edges on the first table I glued a strand of faux pearls to the edge.

It was more difficult to camouflage the rough edge of the second table.  I smoothed off the edges with dry wall tape and joint compound. I used the drywall compound to form the tape over the edge of the table to give the edge a smooth finish. I let it dry over night, then painted. I was actually surprised how well this worked.

To better camouflage the rough edges, I used sheer fabric to give the tables a light, breezy feel. For the first table I glued the fabric to the table just under the faux pearls, giving the table a sheer airy skirt. For the second table, I simply draped a piece of the same fabric over the top.

This was a simple project. The most tedious part of this job was – you guessed it – painting them WHITE. (I’m pretty sure, after this room redo I will never paint another thing white ever again). It’s because of this task I would have rather purchased tables but, I really enjoyed building them. I found using the power tools to create something functional from nothing very empowering. Though these tables are not exactly what I had in mind for this space, I am happy with them for now.

This corner now seems complete. I dressed up the plain white lamp with a string of white beads to which I attached a few blue glass beads to give just a little bit of color.  I am still debating whether I should embellish the lamp shade. What do you think?

I needed some art work here so I created this collage as well.

So, in this corner we have a tally of:

After, but still in progress

table lamp –  $7.88 (marked down from $19.99 at Target)
lamp shade – $14.99 at Target
wood screws –  $5.65 for a quarter pound
giving us a grand total of $28.52 

Before

I’m almost done. I have two more projects I’m working on for this room – which I will, of course, share with you in the very near future (I hope). I’m in a real dilemma with my sofa. I’m trying to keep my budget very low, so new sofas are not my part of my plan, but I’m finding accent pillows, weather purchased or made will be quite pricey as would reupholstering.  So, I’m trying to convince myself it’s really not that bad. I’m also trying to convince myself NOT to go out and buy a new set. Hmmmmmm. Any advice?

Well, that’s it for now, I hope to have more soon.