Some funnies I made!

It's been a very rainy summer so far here in north eastern NH alternating with incredible heat so I haven't been able to work on any projects lately. We've also been planning for and then going on a last minute vacation so I haven't had much time for any DIY projects. I find that humor relieves my stress so I did make a few internet memes that I can share. That counts, right?













Hope you had a good laugh!

Oh crap, it's laminate. Oh well!

So I found this little white cabinet on one of my much traveled Facebook yard sale sites for $20. I couldn't tell what it was made of from the picture online and was hinging my purchase on whether it was wood or laminate. The previous owner stated it was wood so I packed the kids into the minivan and drove all the way to Kittery ME to pick it up. I get it in the van and guess what? Its laminate!

Here it is in all it's plasticky glory

 I don't think the woman I bought it from was trying to be deceptive but rather had no idea what the difference was. I desperately needed a storage solution for my entryway and this little cabinet was exactly the right size and compared to the much smaller $80-ish unit I wanted at Ikea I figured 'oh well, I drove all this way right?' so home it came.

It had been in use about a month or so before I got the chance to do anything with it but I used that time to do a little research on how to paint laminate. We've all seen the Pins, they're all over Pinterest! One thing they ALL had in common was priming is a NECESSITY. I lightly sanded it a little bit just to kind of rough up the smooth surface so that the primer would have something to stick to and then primed it. I chose a simple sand color that will coordinate well with my living room colors and wont darken up my small entryway.

Ready to prime and paint!

So far this is a very boring story. I know it. You know it. But here's where it gets more interesting (I hope anyway!). I bought some contact paper for like $5 at Target that has a really graphic and bold black and white damask pattern on it and it's going on the back wall of the piece for a pop of fun! 

I had to cover this up. I mean seriously, look at it. Blech.

While I waited for the second and final coat of paint to dry, I took the cardboard back that I had removed earlier and carefully put the contact paper on the front side (which was taped together with some really old masking tape). From there I basically wrapped it like a present. A beautiful present to me :)

I made a cut in the contact paper to avoid bulging corners

Once the contact paper was folded down on both the long and shorts sides I was left with a tab that stuck out.

I just cut that sucker off :)

 Once everything was dry I put it all back together and wow! It was dingy, scratched and marked up when I started but now its sleek, clean and very modern looking.

It really looks incredible

Here it is in my little entryway. You cant see the damask backing very well with the baskets in there but up close it's still a very nice touch.

Its hard to see the color difference but the damask backing is whats so exciting about this makeover!

Lesson Learned 1). Laminate can be painted so don't let it be a deal breaker if you find something free or cheap that fills a need. Priming worked great but I wish I had used a better quality brush or rolled it on the flat surfaces. The oil based primer I've been using is a major B to clean up so I used an older, low quality brush hoping that sanding and using a good quality brush and roller for the 2 coats of paint would make up for it. While it's not super noticeable you can see the brush strokes in some places.

Lesson Learned 2). Do not be afraid to gussy up the boring cardboard or particle board backings on things. Many pins I have on my boards suggest using wallpaper scraps or fabric for this use but contact paper was inexpensive and super easy to use. I don't know what the durability of it will be long term but I'm sure it will be on par with painted laminate :)

Lesson Learned 3). While a high quality brush does seem to leave less visible brush strokes than the el cheapo brushes, your last layer is only as good as your first. Especially when you are too impatient, er... you don't have a lot of time to spend on sanding between coats.

Anyway, the only reason I blogged this makeover is because something as simple and easy (and CHEAP!) as contact paper really elevated this piece from something to hide in the back room to something to be proud of! Now stop reading and go get some contact paper!

A dresser for me

Through a somewhat unusual turn of events I found, passed over and then had my attention re-diverted to this dresser. Before I knew it, this solid wood dresser was being delivered to me in a hatch back Volkswagen for a steal of $30! My husband came home from work and I had to explain that oh yeah, some people were coming in about half an hour to bring us a dresser you didn't know we were buying. I seem to acquire things this way; dressers, cats, etc. Good thing he loves me :)

Its got nice looking bones but clearly the paint has got to go!

It also has some slight damage to the top and sides but it looked like an easy fix to me

All my previous projects have just required some sanding but this bad boy was going to need to be stripped.

Not that kind of stripping!

I bought a citrus based stripping product I had seen used in a blog once and tested it out on one of the drawers. It worked great! That weekend I had my husband help me drag the dresser outside and set about getting that horrible paint off.

A rainbow of horrible colors!

 I don't have many pictures of this part but trust me when I say this was no fun. I ended up needing 2 cans of the stripper and still needed more in areas where I hadn't put it on thick enough. Once the stripper has set for a few hours you can just scrape off the gooey gunk with a plastic scraper. I scraped and scraped for HOURS. Then, I rubbed and rubbed with mineral spirits to clean it up. They're not kidding when they say you need to apply the stripper GENEROUSLY. You really have to goop it on there. I had lots of areas where my application was a little thin and the stripper didn't make it through all the layers of paint. I did the best that I could until both the dresser and I were starting to look a little distressed. I actually had to take a break for a couple of days afterwards because my right arm hurt so bad.

This is what it looked like after an exhausting afternoon of fighting the many, ugly layers of paint that had been put on this poor thing.

One night about a week later after the kids went to bed I reapplied some more stripper (this time I bought a bottle of it instead of a spray can and applied with a cheap foam brush) and got off the rest of the paint. It really does work good when you follow the instructions *sheepish grin*.

Next I hand sanded it lightly with a heavier grit paper (because that's what I had and I was NOT going back to that damned store), used some wood filler to fill in the dents and dings and started priming it. No sooner had I gotten one coat of primer on it than the clouds started to roll in. Luckily I was able to get the second coat on it and back inside before the rain started to fall.

 Not a very exciting picture but its amazing how different it looks without that sickly yellow paint on it.

Woah. Where did you come from?

Eventually, days later, I made it back outside with the dresser to paint it. I was so excited about the color I picked out and also just to finish this project so I could get it out of my dining room that I wrestled it outside by myself. I even put it in the shade to avoid bubbling of the paint as it dried. I started painting while the kids played and noticed more clouds coming my way. Really?! The forecast said the rain wasnt supposed to come until later in the evening so I kept at it hoping my husband would get home in time to help me bring it back in. After all, furniture wrestling and hour-dry paint don't really go together. To my horror, it started to sprinkle on my newly painted dresser *gasp*! Luckily my neighbor helped me bring it in but I could see that the water was messing up my finish.

Apparently I didn't take any pictures of this part but during nap this last week I lightly sanded the somewhat splotchy surface and put a third coat of paint on it. INSIDE. I used small foam rollers designed for painting cabinets and they were well suited to painting the larger, flat surfaces of the dresser. Once dried it looked really good but I opted to top coat just the very top of the dresser with clear coat for extra durability.

I love how it came out!

I added some new hardware as well.

Please excuse my bare walls. Our bedroom has been last in line for decorative attention. Its going to get painted soon, I promise!!

Lessons Learned:

1). When the directions on a product says "apply generously", they mean it!! The stripper worked wonderfully in the spots where the product was really thick and I could have saved myself a lot of work and sore muscles if I had made sure the whole thing was covered that thick.

2). Stripping paint off is hard work but totally worth it. I was able to get down to the bare wood which made priming and painting a breeze. Also, I got a nice smooth finished product for all my hard work!

3). NEVER trust the weather in New England :)

Although this project took forever, I'm really very happy with the end product. Now that the dresser is in my bedroom where it will be used I can shuffle my newest finds around downstairs. Like I said, its a good thing my husband loves me so much :)

The 2 Hour Side Table Makeover

I bought this little side table for my living room a few months ago for a whopping $5 online. Its just a little fella in need of a new coat of paint and I knew it was the exact kind of project I needed; straightforward and easy. I figured, even if it doesn't work in my room I can resell it and make a little something for my time and effort.

The varnish was pretty thin and sparse to start with so I just hand sanded it with a coarse grit paper and cleaned it up really well afterwards. I used an all-natural spray product to clean any left over varnish powder (how's that for technical terminology?) and let it dry completely. I was completely ecstatic to find a full can of grey tinted spray primer in my possession already and was able to apply 2 coats which was dry and ready to paint within about 20 minutes.

Despite my reservations about spray paint following my last project (the changing table with 1 million parts) I went with a spray paint for this one because it was a small table with no disassembling necessary. Also, I couldn't find an interior color that I liked well enough to justify the time it would take to tint a few sample color jars and a quart of paint would have been too much. I ended up getting Rust-oleum Painter's Touch in Dark Walnut and I gotta say, I LOVE this stuff! It went on nice and smooth, covered beautifully and the color is perfect. To my delight, I was able to paint the entire piece (2 coats) with only ONE CAN!

I top coated it with a clear high gloss acrylic and was getting all excited about how gorgeous it was turning out when I noticed some bubbles had developed on the very top surface of the table. Hmm. As the morning progressed the shadows had shifted and the table was in direct sun light as it was drying. A quick Google search confirmed that direct sun can heat up the paint and cause it to dry unevenly, resulting in bubbles.

 
Determined not to be defeated (and to finish this project before my toddler woke up)
, I lightly sanded the top surface and repainted it with 1 coat of paint. So much for only using 1 can! But that was my fault so I'm not going to count it :) I followed that up with 2 light coats of clear top coat and Voila! Gorgeous!

As you can see, the table isn't the best fit for it's current location but for now it'll do. I love how it came out so even when we get something that's a better fit for our living room I think I'd really like to find somewhere else in my home for this little table. Its so SHINY :)

Lesson Learned #1: Spray paint can be your friend. Supporting my previous conclusion I found that spray paint is a good option for small, uncomplicated pieces.

Lesson Learned #2: Direct sunlight and drying paint are a bad combo. It doesn't matter if it's only 65 degrees outside, direct sunlight messes with how the paint dries. And take it from me, bubbles are ugly and require time and effort to fix. You can still find where they were if you look hard enough for them.

Lesson Learned #3: High gloss finishes are gorgeous but somewhat unforgiving. Follow the directions on your product label and resist the urge to touch it before the allotted dry time. Finger prints are very noticeable on a glassy surface.

This end table is proof in my eyes that a beautiful result can be achieved with just a little time and effort, and perhaps more importantly, very inexpensively! I'd love to hear about your successes in turning an old shabby piece into something you love!

Baby Changing Station (or almost biting off more than I can chew)

I picked up this little cutie for $20 online and jumped on the opportunity to give it a make-over. It’s such a cute piece with lots of storage potential so into the back of my minivan it went. Once I got it home and inspected it closer and found that most of the pieces appeared to be wood but there was a good many pieces that are laminate over particle board. Yuck.  

the bottom shelf is included but not attached- light repair work!

that black thing inside the drawer is my cat :)

its cute!

My game plan was to take it apart, sand it and paint it with a spray paint/ primer combo. Off to Lowes I went and picked out a nice flat white spray paint with the cutest green to use as an accent. I also picked up a glossy top coat. 

Later that day I took it apart and started sanding it. That's when the sense of "what have I done?" started to sink in. There were a lot of pieces and a lot more than I had been prepared for were crappy laminate. Thank goodness the people I bought it from were nice enough to include the instruction booklet that came with it. Well, I already started so onward I go!

On the next sunny day I headed outside with a few sanded pieces to test paint. How silly of me to think a painter with primer built in would be good enough! It was clear right away that this was going to need to be separately primed first so I dug out a can of primer I had laying around from an former project from a couple of years ago and started painting. I'll spare you the frazzling details but lets just say this stage of the project involved a crying 22 month old and the goopy old primer running out before the areas needing priming did.

I started with the underside of the piece that the changing pad goes on top of, just in case!

looks like crap so far!

you can really see every brush and roller stroke with the first primer coat

yet again my cat thinks she needs to be involved

 I was not happy with the prime coat I got so off the Lowes I went again. This time I bought a primer recommended by more than one DIY-happy blogger I found on Pintrest and some fancy foam rollers. Plus some more sanding supplies. And 2 more cans of flat white spray paint.

Luckily the new Primer and foam rollers did the trick beautifully. I got a much smoother prime coat without all the nappy texture I got with the other roller I used. Sigh of relief! I primed all 9 gillion pieces and coated all of them with a single coat of the spray paint which took all three cans I had already bought! Oh man, that "what have I gotten myself into?" thoughts are getting louder. I also painted the pieces I *thought* were the correct accent bits with the green paint. A special thanks goes out to the landscapers that came in with the leaf blower and got dirt all over my drying pieces. Good thing spray paint dries fast!

Later that night I poured myself a big glass of wine and reassembled the unit. That's when I discovered my accent pieces error. Oops.

This adorable shade of green is in the very back of the deep cubby on the side where no one will see it

its not done yet but its reassembled and sturdier than before I took it apart

 Next I took a break. You know when you start a relationship and you spend way too much time with them and you just NEED some time off? Yeah, well, that was me.

After a couple days off I went back to Lowes to buy MORE PAINT. Yes, MORE. 2 MORE cans of spray paint! For those of you counting at home that's 5 cans of white paint for this one project. I thought spray paint was supposed to be the cost effective option here people! Luckily my kids were rock stars in the store because I brought both by myself and expected to be able to make decisions on what paint samples to buy for another project Im doing sometime after this bad boy is finished. They were richly rewarded with Happy Meals and frozen yogurt :)

Back outside I went with the assembled table and emptied yet another can of spray paint on it. Once inside again I found a few areas I missed so I pulled a can of white paint I had laying around and my new foam brush and did the touch ups that way. The sheen of the paints are different but luckily the areas I used it on are separated enough from the spray painting pieces to not be noticeable. I also did the accent painting and subsequently necessary touch up on the laundry hamper. I'm really quite happy with how it came out.  

accent painting done but despite taping before painting there was some leakage

nice and tidy!

lookin' good!

It was finally time to wrap this project up. I finished the accent paint on the groove at the bottom of each leg and then did some clean up painting because of course there was leakage around the painters tape. Then I top coated it a couple times over in the areas that would get the most contact. I also painted a metal finish on the handle on the hamper. IT'S DONE!!!

So as usual my eyes for DIY projects were bigger than my stomach so to speak but all in all I'm happy with how it came out, if not with how much time, effort and money required to achieve said outcome.  Here's the break down:

Lesson Learned #1: Use a good quality primer! I started with an old goopy dried out primer I had on hand and it cost me time. Once I primed with Zinsser High Hide Oil Based Cover Base things started moving along.

Lesson Learned #2: Use FOAM rollers and brushes! If its got bristles, forget about it. Bristles= visible paint strokes= UGLY.

Lesson Learned #3: Spray paint is best reserved for smaller, less complicated projects. I would use spray paint again on small end tables or other smaller pieces that don't require dismantling first. I plan on using regular paint and rolling it on next time. I anticipate using a half gallon would easily cover a piece this size with 2 coats instead of going back and forth to the home improvement store repeatedly to buy MORE spray paint.  I'll do an blog entry comparing the pros and cons of each once I've tried it out.

This particular project was a learning experience for sure. I'm already mentally onto my next project (my end table in the living room) but feel like Ive learned what products I should be using and how I should be using them. Hopefully I can find someone to appreciate and get use out of this changing station now that its FINALLY done!