DIY Projects

Over the course of the last several weeks I have acquired a DIY-project bug. I get this itch for a creative outlet once in a while and this time I decided to not only tackle one or TWO or THREE projects, but many more! Below I've posted the latest three that I've finished. I still have three more to go. It makes me happy knowing that these items (minus the ottoman- which we owned) were all free items that people were giving away and I was able to give them new life. 

I love how all of them turned out! Although there were a few problems to solve along the way with each of them -- I usually don't follow "directions" and just have ideas in my head that I try to best translate into real life. Sometimes it's trial and error... Or sometimes I have an idea that after being played out on a real canvas doesn't look as good as I would have liked, resulting in me painting over what I just spent an hour trying to make work. It's all good, it's part of the journey. 

Here is a little craigslist desk I rescued for free. It wasn't too much to look at, but was sturdy solid wood and just the right scale for our bedroom to house my sewing machine and possibly our laptop when needed. 

Before: 

Me painting in our bedroom.... risky! 

(But it was too cold outside in our garage and too much moisture in the air.) 

After: 

Before:

(this is from the Target website, ours was sagging down on the top) 

After: 

Annnnnddd like 200 thumb tacks later my thumb hated me, but I like the detail it adds to it, looks more finished (and it was heck of a lot cheaper than buying nail head trim!) 

This was a little free craigslist dresser that needed some love too. 

It was missing hardware, had warping on top, a chipped bottom drawer front and lots of sticker love from some well meaning (I'm sure) kids. 

Before: 

And After: 

My biggest and most challenging project thus far. I had to add new bead board to the top and bottom for trim, I added new molding around each drawer and I had a HECK of a time trying to acquire vintage hardware to replace the missing pull since it was a 5 1/2" distance for screw holes (which in case you were wondering is NOT a common measurement). Thus I had to just result in improvising and buying new hardware and spraying everything to match. Ultimately it came out very close to what was in my head. This will be for sale next week and go towards a new media stand fund that I'm starting. 

That's all the projects I've completed so far... stay tuned for more. :)