Kitchen Updates Galore!!!!!!

I got a little out of hand this week...

First of all, I know that the three people who read this have been anxiously awaiting a new entry, as it has been a full year since I have posted! Apparently life happened.

Ok, so I have been hoarding materials to re-do my kitchen. My parents house/garage became home to my new butcher block countertop, sink, and faucet. I had been waiting for a prime time to take on this project because a.) I need time to do it and b.) I need Dad to have time to help me :-)

Since it is February break, let the projects commence!

A quick "before" shot before all the fun things went down:

PROJECT #1: Countertop

First on the to-do list, get rid of the old countertop/sink/faucet.  THIS WAS FUN. Have you ever ripped out a countertop before? Because you feel like this:

Next up, put in new countertop! This wasn't too challenging, but definitely a two person project. Thankfully I had Daddio!

So I bought a saw (a jigsaw) for this endeavor.  Dad had done the corner cut for me at his work, but we had to jigsaw the hole for the sink.  As much as I wanted to try this, I decided it was best to try sawing for the first time NOT on a $350 dollar piece of wood...

Go Dad!

Next up: sink and faucet.  Again, a two person job.  Lots of glue and bolts in this endeavor. After a little while, we got her up and running!

Woohoo! After some sanding and oiling, boy did that countertop look goooooooood. DROOL DROOL DROOL.

All in an evenings work!

What I learned:

-Dad is helpful.

-It takes a long time to jigsaw through butcher block.

-I am an animal when it comes to ripping out things.

-I am not good at plumbing.

PROJECT #2: Backsplash

I've always dreamed of having a backsplash! Alas, they cost mucho dinero. BUT THEN I saw what this family did and I realized my dreams of having a backsplash could soon become a reality!

Off to Home Depot I go! I bought a bunch of wall paneling with wider planks, but instead of using them vertically, I put them up horizontally (planking made easy!). 

Putting it up was relatively easy (with all my new saw skillzzzzz) despite NOTHING BEING LEVEL OR SQUARE in my house. Anyways... I did all the big, easy pieces and then had to get cray cray with the saw to fill in the gaps:

Since the paneling was on the heavier side, using liquid nails alone was not enough.  I used paneling nails but I have to admit, getting those suckers in was a biddy and a half! For the life of me I could not get them flush with the wall.. oh well. Our imperfections are what make us special, right???

Finally, the trim. Oh the trim. I thought the trim would be fast and easy, but I forgot that at corners one should do a 45 degree cut so it looks nice.  It took a while, but it was worth it!

After some spackling, caulking, and painting, she is good to go!

What I learned:

-Liquid Nails is AWESOME.
-Maybe I should get a nail gun.
-Trim work takes more time than one would think. 
-My house is now permanently dusty because of sawdust.



PROJECT #3: Breakfast Bar

Ok, so once I start projects, then I can't stop. Case and point: the breakfast bar.  I've been using this IKEA table for years, and though it works, its all wobbly and whatnot, so I rarely use it.

AND THEN I SAW THIS.

Like OMG I CAN CUT MY TABLE IN HALF... I AM A SAW OWNER NOW!  Boom. It happened. Back to Home Depot I go.

All I really did was saw the table the long way and replace the original legs with longer ones.  They aren't even true table legs... I just got some wood planks at Home Depot and cut them to pub size (42" in case you were wondering). 

There were a few mishaps along the way:

1. I am not great at cutting straight for long distances... oops. I ended up adding a "lip" to cover my crappy cut job.

2. I should have purchased more appropriate screws for such an endeavor. 

3. I also nearly destroyed one leg... horray for wood glue!

After some finagling of legs and cuts, I mounted a 2x4 on the wall and used some L joints to attach the table.  Finally, some paint to spice it up!

All done!

(I do realize I need to purchase some stools...)

What I learned:

-Jigsaws are awesome, but a circular saw might have been better for this.

-I am bad at sanding.

-Pine is not that strong.

-Wood glue rocks.
-I have so much room for activities now.



THE END RESULT:

Before we see the "after" photos, let's be reminded of what my kitchen looked like when I first moved in:

And then this happened... (the two-toned days..)

Then I realized that looked like crap and repainted the boxes and added hardware:

AND NOW....... (!!!!!!!)

On a final note, my hands have no skin left.

-Chrissy

Antique Phone Table

After a long day of crafting on Saturday, you'd think I would have had enough? Nah.

So while I was creepin' through Craigslist on Saturday, I had come across this gem:

Wait. I NEED this table.  I simultaneously emailed and called this "Dan".  I salivated at the thought of this untapped potential.  I dreamed of this table while doing my Boston table.  

At about 8 o'clock, my prayers were answered.  I got an email.  Table was available! I obviously emailed him IMMEDIATELY saying I could come get it, say, NOW.  Where else would a 26 year old gal about town be on a Saturday night? Oh right. At home re-doing furniture. I'm cool.

Dan did not share my sense of urgency. I had to wait until this morning.  

After getting the goods (Dan was a cool guy... lives across the street from my aunt and uncle!) I decided to forego my original plan of using scrap fabric that I already owned and go to Jo-Ann fabrics and see what I could scrounge...

THANK GOD I DID.  I found this glorious fabric:

Win #1: It was on sale for 40% off. Win #2: It was a scrap piece so I got an additional 50% off. Win #3: A woman in the checkout line game me a coupon for 20% off.  After all was said and done, I got a yard of $12 fabric for $2.50. BOOOYAH.

THE PLAN:

-paint table white

-paint shelf green (same green as my living room walls!)

-reupholster the chair

This was super easy! There were a lot of tricky parts but overall it was a very standard re-paint and re-upholster situation.

After letting the paint dry, all I had to do was screw the seat back on! And WAHHLAHH:

I am kind of obsessed with this.  The tentative plan is to sell this one too but I really do love it! 

What it cost:

-table - $30

-fabric - $2.50

-brushes - $2

TOTAL: $34.50

What I learned:

-Dan has a whole barn full of stuff. Note to self: call him when Craigslist inventory is low!

-My white paint needs replacing.  It was pretty thick.

Hope you enjoyed the double posts tonight! I promise to finally post about my ottoman and cabinet hardware soon!

Wacky Boston-Themed Table!

Yo yo yo.

So I've been a bit under the weather the past few days, so I decided to take it easy this weekend... meaning I'd craft.

Saturday morning I woke up on the ever so comfy couch of my friends' house in Worcester... surprisingly not hungover and even more surprisingly with lots of motivation.  After the trek home, I started Craigslist crawling...

BOOM. What did I find? This weird, but kind of cool table:

How could I pass up this $10 STEAL? It's solid wood and has some pretty badass detailing.

THE PLAN:

I was inspired by this post on Pinterest.  (Shout out to Webster's Chalk and Paint Powder for a SICKKKKK table and the inspiration!) I like to think that I was creative enough to come up with this idea on my own, but I'm not.

Anyways, I went to my usual places: Michaels and Lowe's to hunt down some decoupage stuff, a map, paint, and polyurethane sealer.  DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO FIND A GODDAMN MAP IN THIS COUNTRY?!!!!  Impossible.  I was thinking of doing a cool, antique-y looking map but I couldn't find one. All I could find was a map of Boston, which actually ended up being really cool! Yay Boston!

Side note: The paint man at Lowe's knows me personally. I guess I'm a regular, which isn't so bad.  I am a regular at a pizza place and the liquor store, so I suppose this is a step up.

So I'm back home now, and the table has been cleaned and sanded.  First up: paint the details:

Yup, I used spray paint. Indoors. In the winter.  Probably took a few years off my life. No biggie.

After that dried, it was paint time!!!!

(Insert in-progress paint picture here. Oh wait. Didn't take one. I'm an ass.)

Now on to the map... cutting out the map in a circle was probably the hardest task of them all, sadly.  I had to use a razor blade after the initial cut, but it worked out in the end.  

So decoupage-ing is pretty interesting.  I had never done it before until now.  It's stressful because the paper bubbles and you think it is going to dry that way but it flattens out as it dries.  The only thing that didn't turn out lovely is the folds in the map are very obvious. Oops.

After a coating of polyurethane spray (once again, indoors), it is sealed and ready to go!

This table is so weird, but so cool! And so Boston themed!

What it cost:

Table - $10
Paint - $6
Map - $6
Decoupage stuff - $10
Sealing spray - $6
Paint brushes and rollers: $5

TOTAL: $43

Not too bad! I'm planning on selling this bad boy, so hopefully I can make a little bling bling back :-)

What I learned:

-Maps are hard to find.
-Paint samples are only $3!
-Polyurethane spray smells way worse than spray paint.
-Decoupage-ing isn't so hard.


This was only my Saturday project. Stay tuned for what I did on Sunday!!!!

Retro TV stand

So recently I joined this decade and bought a new TV.  My old gem, though functioning, kept making this high-pitched squeak that made me want to kick puppies.

(Adios old TV! It's been real!)

Yay! New TV! The only problem is that my new fancy-shpansy TV looked RIDICULOUS in my giant TV cabinet.  Which means only one thing... CRAIGSLIST TIME!

I ventured out (in the snow... not my best idea) to get this $10 gem:

Awww yeah.  

So after several snow-induced near-death experiences, I managed to go to Lowe's and Michaels and return with a quart of glossy paint and a variety of decorative paper:

The plan: Sand and re-paint the stand, reface the front of the doors with paper, and spray paint the hardware.  

Everything went well! The only hiccup was getting the paper to stick to the door.  I originally used a tiny bit of wallpaper glue but even that small amount of moisture caused the paper to ripple.  I ended up using plain ol' Scotch tape.  

The final result:

I'm slowly but surely becoming obsessed with this one! I *might* paint it a shade darker at some point, as it doesn't quite match anything in my living room... oops. I also had to completely re-arrange my living room to accommodate the new TV stand (I say this casually but this in itself required a few hours of trying different arrangements, second guessing myself, drinking wine, and calling in my ever-so-patient roommate for second opinions).

What it cost:

-TV stand - $10
-paint - $15
-fresh brushes and rollers - $5
-paper - $3
-spray paint - free! (already had some)

TOTAL: $33

What I learned:

-Maybe I should consider surrounding furniture when deciding on a color...
-I love Craigslist!

I have many more exciting projects to update you all on! Stay tuned for kitchen cabinet hardware, ottoman reupholstering, and a TV cabinet to bookshelf conversion!

Musical chairs

Yo. It's been a while. I know everyone has been DYING for a new post.

Well you're in luck.

So my Dad gave me a pretty sweet chair a little while back which I have been using for a while:

Pretty cool, right? It's quirky. I like it.  However, the seat itself is ratty and missing padding, and also just didn't match with my color scheme.  Time to reupholster!

I figured while I was at it, I would create a stool for my vanity in my bedroom, since I was currently using a kitchen table chair.  I had been scoping out thrift stores for a funky stool or chair that would work, but with little luck.  But this morning I was sitting looking around and saw this small side table (given to me years ago by my darling Peter) that I never use and decided "Ha! I shall make you into a stool!"

Off to Joann Fabrics! While I was there I bought a half-yard of each of the following:

I also grabbed some black paint and padding.  Total cost: $12. BOOYAH.

Now, reupholstering is one of the easiest things to do.  All you need is fabric and a staple gun.  And you're done.  Sadly, I do not own a staple gun.  Off to my parents house!

The stool, however, did require a bit more work.  Since it was brown and all my bedroom furniture is black, I had to give it a quick sand down and then a coat of black paint.  Simple enough.  Then I hot glued some foam padding on top:

Once the paint was dry, all I had to do was staple the fabric on.  I had my darling mother help me since it can be tricky to try and hold the fabric tight and staple at the same time.

The end product:

The stool in its natural environment:

The desk chair is my absolute favorite.  The fabric is EXACTLY what I was looking for! (AND IT WAS ON SALE!) I really like the orange next to the blue desk:

Awww yeah. Now I can sit in style.


What I learned:

-A half-yard was BARELY enough fabric for the desk chair.  Next time, at least 3/4.
-I should probably buy a staple gun.

PIMPIN' DESK!

Ok, so this may be my favorite project by far, for a variety of reasons:

-it was easy
-it was nearly free
-it's awesome

It all started when I went to Worcester this weekend. While I was convincing people to let me paint their faces (long story... but I did win a bet), the next door neighbors were getting rid of some leftover furniture.  Per usual in the dirty Woo, the pickers emerged immediately.  I noticed a cool retro desk, but dismissed it.

The next morning rolled around. It was still there. I still dismissed it. I don't need a desk. Where would I put it, Chrissy???

I went back to Twin City (Amy and Em's apartment). Upon arrival, I realized I wanted the desk.  So I made Trev-daddy claim it for me.  A few hours later, we attempted to put it in my car. After several failed attempts, we got this:

Yeah, that's not safe.

I also should mention that my dear friend Amy offered me a can of blue paint that she had at her house.  Another free find? HELL YEAH. Given my salary, free is usually what I can afford...

Well, I DID have to buy a few things... some gold spray paint, a new roller, and a paint tray. Nothing major. $9 blings.

Step 1: Remove hardware and sand

Here's the before:

It's white, a bit beat up, "shabby chic" (the cool way of referring to kinda crappy, beat up furniture).

Step 2: Paint!

Coat #1:

I got paint everywhere.  Good thing I painted on my tile floor (wipes right up!)

Step 3: Put hardware back on

And waaaalahhhh! I'm done!  It only took a few hours to do everything. This was honestly one of the easiest projects I have ever done and it might be my favorite. I now have a fabulous desk! Now maybe I'll do some work?

And did I mention it was nearly free???

Things I learned:

-blue paint is rad
-you can always get free things in Worcester
-my car is small
-the cheaper the better

HASTA LA PROXIMA VEZ!