Nightstand Makeover

I mentioned in my Dresser post about the nightstand makeover I did. And here it is! I got the pair of nightstands on the left from Goodwill for $30 total. I unscrewed the bottom two doors and I took off all the old hardware. I then sanded the nightstands down. I painted it with 2 coats of primer and put 2 glossy top coats on as well. I added a new knob, painted the inside bottom a pastel blue for contrast, added a basket to hold magazines and phone charges and set one on each side of our bed! I love the final outcome of this project!

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Refurbishing a Chair





 I have been searching for a really long time for a comfy chair for my daughter. She loves to climb on the couch and sit with us, but after 'The Great Couch Fall of 2013' I decided to try and find a chair just for her in her own (safe) size. I began searching all over the Internet and couldn't believe how expensive the chairs were, upwards of $200! I love splurging on my daughter every once in a while but $200 was just way too much. I kept searching with no luck. One day while visiting my mom I came across this chair in her basement...I knew this was the chair I had been searching for.

As you can see though it was very old and outdated with tears and rips, not including the broken springs in the seat. But that was not going to stop me from seeing if I could refurbish it. I am by no means a professional or trained crafter, I am a more of a 'let me just wing it' kind of crafter. So this starts my journey of refurbishing a chair for the very first time.

I started out using a very thin screwdriver and prying out all the old nails. This part took the longest and was the most annoying. I started on the front of the arm rests (if you look closely they had covers on the very front of the arm rests that were only attached with 2 nails each.) After I got those off I started taking the back off and pryed out all the nails on the back side. I took extra caution to try and not rip the fabric because I was going to use the old fabric as my template of tracing and cutting out the new fabric. I took it apart piece by piece and labeled everything as I went.

 

After the back piece, I took off both sides. Again, make sure you label left and right and what pieces they are so you don't get confused later. I also labeled with numbers to indicate which pieces I took off and in what order. (The first piece you take off will become the last piece you put on. The last piece you end up taking off will be the first piece you reattach) 

 

(please excuse my lack of pictures from here on out. I got too excited to finish this project and I forgot to take good pictures)

 

After I got the back and both sides taken off I took off the bottom seat cushion, then both arm rests, and then the back rest cushion. I was a little surprised when I opened it up and saw that the"cushions" were actually pieces of cardboard stuffed with straw! Not comfortable!

 

 

This is what the chair looked like when I took it all apart! There were two rows of springs on the bottom seat that I took off because they were broken. I ended up sending my husband out into the garage to cut me two pieces of wood that would become the new seat and the new back rest.

 

 

I had extra foam and wood laying around from a past project I did so I didn't have to buy anything for this chair except the fabric which just so happened to be on sale!! I love sales! After I had everything taken apart and the new seats and cushions applied it was time to start tracing out the batting and the fabric for the chair.

 

 

(Lilliana wanted to help mommy with this part)

 

Then it just becomes a matter of putting the new fabric and batting on in the reverse order you took it off. I had 9 pieces of fabric I took off and in this order: (so when attaching the new fabric and batting you will put in on from #9 up to #1) My husband bought me my own staple gun a year ago so I used the staple gun to attach the fabric, much easier than hammering and nailing it all in.

1. Left arm rest front
2. Right arm rest front
3. Back of the back chair
4. Left side piece
5. Right side piece
6. Left arm rest
7. Right arm rest
8. Seat
9. Back rest

 

TA DA!! All done! My daughter absolutely loves that she gets her own chair in our house :)

 

 

 

 

 

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Lilliana's Room Makeover: DIY Wall Art

 

I had a moment the other day where I was watching my daughter run around her bedroom grabbing all of her stuffed animals and asking me to read her some books when I realized that she was not the tiny (well, not actually tiny) 8 pound 9 oz, 21.5in baby I brought home just a few 15 months ago! She is becoming a big girl! Where does the time go? It certainly doesn't seem like 15 months have passed us by. I then looked around her bedroom. I had done very little decorating to her bedroom. It was...honestly....really boring! An energetic, playful little girl like my Lilliana needs a very special room to match her crazy personality. I knew I needed to get to work and soon! She has started this climbing stage which makes me nervous, it is just a matter of time before she realizes the crib cant keep her in anymore. My husband and I have started looking into big girl beds for her and I cant very well put a beautiful new bed in such a boring looking room! So, I took a big breath and took everything out of the room and off the walls and made a game plan. First thing I needed to do was spruce up the walls. I had a perfect idea!

I saw this post on hellobee's blog about some diy edible finger paint. I instantly knew I had to try it, and knowing my crazy little girl, it would absolutly be something she would love doing. It was so simple and I had all of the ingredients in my pantry to make the paint! Just cornstarch, water, sugar and salt. I picked out some bright beautiful food coloring colors that would help make the boring tan walls pop. I brought her into the bathroom, (that way I could just throw her in the tub when we were done and not have to worry about her dripping paint on my carpet) layed down some trash bags, stripped her down to her diaper and let her make a masterpiece.  

 

And of course the first thing she had to do was sample some of it :)

She had an absolute blast getting all colorfully messy. Of course I threw on some old clothes and joined her, it was so much fun and so simple!

One down side to this whole project was that the poster board I used started bending when it started getting too wet and when it started drying. It made it a little difficult to hang but it brightens up the room so much that I can overlook a little lumpy parts. :)

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