Yard Sale Table: Trash to Treasure

I mentioned last week (here) that I found a table at a yard sale down the street.  I had been looking for a pedestal-style table for the kitchen/mudroom area ever since we renovated the kitchen (more on that here, here and here).  It certainly wasn't for lack of options that we were left table-less.....I just didn't want to pay $500 or more for it.

Here are some of the ones I have been eyeing over the last two years...

Ballard Designs - Augusta Dining Table ($499)

Pottery Barn - Sumner Pedestal Table  ($1499)

West Elm - Arc Base Pedestal Table ($499)

I also saw a few here and there on craigslist, but they were always snatched up before I could get them....or they were more than I wanted to pay, which was $100.

So I put it on the backburner for a while and decided that it would happen when I least expected it.  And it did.  As I was driving to the grocery store the other day, I passed by a yard sale down the street and lo and behold, my table was waiting for me....and for only $75!!! 

I apologize for the slew of before pictures.  The table was disassembled when I bought it so in my laziness eagerness to get started, I didn't put it together for a good before shot.  As you can see though, it was in pretty decent shape, just a few water marks and scratches.  And since I was planning to paint it white to match the cabinets anyway, it wasn't a big deal that I had to sand down the minor defects.  I used 100 grit sandpaper (which I had on hand) and went over the surface a few times to remove the poly coating and smooth it out.  Then I rubbed it down with some tack cloth and started to paint! 

I used Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Plus Primer for the first two coats.  I already had this can (as you can see by the paint drips all over it) from a project in the basement, so I didn't need to run out and buy something special for this project.  I have used it a few times in the past, and it works really well to seal in stains or wood knots.

I gave it another quick sand after the prime to make sure there were no bumps or bubbles and then applied one coat of Sherwin Williams Super Paint in Pure White.  This is the paint that we used to redo the cabinets in the kitchen, so I wanted to be consistent.

And here she is....

The legs are definitely not as shapely or fancy as the PB or Ballard Designs tables, but I think it works for the space....and for a lot less money!  It also came with two leaves, so I refinished those as well in case we have a party and need a buffet-type table.  And since I had the sandpaper and primer and paint on hand already, the whole table transformation only cost $75.

Here is a look at the before and after:

I shoved a few chairs that I already had at the desk area in the kitchen underneath the table but they are a bit too tall.  I am thinking about trying to cut them down a little so that I don't have to buy new ones, I'm just nervous that they won't be as sturdy if I do that.  Has anyone had experience shaving chair legs?  :)

I am also on the hunt for a pendant light to hang down (p.s., so glad we left the electrical up there when we added recessed lighting) over the table and some placemats or a cute runner).  And even though the bench seat looks relatively put together in these photos, I just wrapped a piece of fabric around foam and stuck it there for the time being.  There is some sewing to be done around here soon!  Maybe that is my project for next week.  I am trying to do one project a week (whether it be changing photos in frames or re-painting something), which feels like a reasonable goal to me.  And usually if I set that goal, I am able to get way more done.  It's when I expect to accomplish five projects in a week that I end up disappointing myself.  Reasonable expectations......

Oh, and you might have noticed in the shots above that I changed the photo in the frame on the shelf.  I took some 9-10 month shots of Pace the other day and this is my favorite.
 

And here are a few more since I can't resist....

Linking up to Lil' Luna and Sew Much Ado

Deck Chair Rehab

Instead of focusing all my attention on tiling the shower in the basement, I decided to use a naptime this week to update our worn out adirondack chair.  I bought this baby last year at a yard sale for $15.  She was in pretty good shape then, but we left her out all winter (oops!), so she got a little beat up.

Here is what she looked like earlier this week....

Not too bad, but she needed a little love.  A little Krylon love to be specific....

I lightly sanded the whole chair with some 100 grit sandpaper that I had on hand to get off any loose paint and rough up the surface a bit before priming.  Then I wiped it all down with a tack cloth to make sure to remove all the debris.  Then I applied 2 light and even coats of primer (I waited about 30 minutes between each coat) and then two light and even coats of Oxford Blue Krylon Paint (an hour between coats for this) and this is what I got....

The color is probably truest in the first close-up photo.  It is a little lighter than a navy.  I think I bought the spray paint at Walmart for $3 something a can and I had the spray primer leftover on my shelf from an old project.  I love cheap transformations!  I think this chair is going to last us a long time.  Maybe even longer if we bring it in the garage next winter.

Still working on a few more little projects for the deck, which is why I didn't include a full shot of it.....more to come next week!!

Oh, and I found something else at a yard sale this past weekend......

It came with two leaves as well, but I think I'm just going to use it as a small round table in the kitchen/mudroom area and save the leaves for a party or something down the road.  As you can see, I already have my paint out and ready to go.......hopefully I can finish it up today or tomorrow and show you some pictures.  YAY!!  Can't wait.  I've been looking for a table for that space for about a year now......

More to come soon!

Basement Renovation: Paint

The paint is up (though not without a little drama) and the floors are ready to go down!!  YAY!  I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders now.  B and I share most DIY tasks 50/50 but painting is really my thing.  He will sometimes help roll while I cut, but I am such a crazy perfectionist that I tend to do most of it on my own.   So when I say drama, I just mean that I took the perfectionist thing to a whole new level this time!!  Let's start back at the beginning.......

I spent an obsessively long time picking out the colors, as usual, and I felt so confident in my decision that I picked up 2 gallons of Sherwin Williams Duration Interior Satin Latex in North Star and started slapping it on the wall.  Side note: The room in question is the big family room and hallway which is probably 400-500 sq ft total.  After the first few strokes went up I felt a little unsure.  I was going for a gray-blue (sort of like my kitchen) that was light and bright and would go with the berber carpet I had picked out for the stairs (Equinox brand in Platinum from the Rug Merchant in Rockland, MA.....LOVE THEM!).  What went on my wall was a more green-y light baby blue.  Not a bad color, just not what I was going for.  I mistakenly chalked it up to the fact that it was the first coat and it hadn't dried yet, so I kept going.......ALL THE WAY AROUND THE ROOM!  I love this specific Sherwin Williams paint (we used it on the kitchen walls), but its not cheap.  I think each gallon is about $40.  So more than anything, I kept painting because I didn't want to waste money....and also, obviously, I didn't want to admit that I was wrong.  NEVER!!  I have picked the wrong color before, but not for such a big space.  I left the basement for the night and decided to sleep on it.

Here's some shots of the first color.  You can almost see the apprehension on my face in the photo below.....either that or I'm giving B the "ahem" look for taking a picture of me looking like that!  Haha

The next morning I woke up and still hated it.  As much as I tried to convince myself that it would grow on me, I just couldn't stand it.  I know it sounds crazy (and believe me, if you could have seen the look on B's face), but I knew that I wouldn't be happy unless I changed it.  So I spent another few hours taping previously discarded swatches onto the wall to find the perfect color that I must have missed.  Discouraged and cranky, I walked up the stairs to take a break from the madness and was standing in the kitchen doorway when I realized that I should just use the same color as the kitchen.  Why hadn't I thought of that before?  In fact, B mentioned it at some point during my crazed swatch-taping mania....I just didn't hear him...or want to listen.  I guess my initial reaction was that it would be weird if my whole house was one color.  But at the end of the day, I really love it, so why not?  Right?  I ran back out to Sherwin Williams with my Behr Burnished Metal swatch and had them color match it for me.  It cost me another $80, and took me another 8ish hours to paint a second coat (which it probably needed anyway), but I am so happy with it now.  Maybe I am a little crazy, but I plan to spend a lot of time down there, so it better make me happy.

 

And it does!  You probably can't tell the difference between the first two pictures and these, but in the room it makes a big difference....at least it does to me.  The final product has a little more gray in it that gives it the subtlety I was going for.  Plus, it matches very well with our white/blue stripe sectional couch.  Important now, but I wanted to make sure I would love the color even if we get different furniture down the road.  (Oh, and you can take a little sneak peak at the vanity in the photo above....more about that later, but I am in love!!!)

Ok, long story short (ha...they never are), with the big room done and a new sense of confidence behind me, I went to town painting the bathroom and the office next.  Those colors were a lot easier.  I knew that I was going to use the rest of the ceramic tiles from the half bath renovation (more here), so I color-matched the grey from that for the walls of the bathroom.  It is a color called Gray Area by Behr but I had them lighten it by half.  Then I went with a pretty basic beige color for the office.....which is actually my new favorite beige....it's called Perfect Gray from Sherwin Williams, and it is just the perfect shade of grey-beige or greige.  It doesn't have any green or yellow in it.  It is beautiful!  And it transitions really nice from the hallway because it is so subtle.  Hopefully it will look nice when we put up the french (12-light) door on the room.

Another few hours of painting on those rooms and VOILA!!!  I am a very happy camper!

Bathroom

Office

Now we can get started on the floors.  I can't wait to tell you more about that.  I just got an AMAZING deal on laminate at Lowe's.  I actually picked it all up two weeks ago but we haven't been able to install it yet since we wanted to finish the painting (plus you need to leave it in the space to "breathe" for 48-72 hours before you install it).  We are going to install it this weekend, along with the bathroom floor tile.  Can't wait to share those projects with you!

PrimeTime!

The walls are finally (and I can't tell you how much I mean that word) up and plastered so we were able to prime everything this past weekend.  What normally feels like the most rewarding part of a renovation job felt very anti-climactic this time around.  I am used to transforming an already worn-out/ugly/out-dated space, so I've never really worked with a fresh canvas before.  Painting white over white just isn't that exciting.  There was no reward at the end.....it looked the exact same (well, maybe a little cleaner), but it still took forever.  And although I know how important this step is, I couldn't help but wish I could have skipped it!

So here is a look at the progress after the plastering was completed:

In that last photo you can see whats left of the yellow walls from our home's previous life.  Thought I would be a little sad for it to go, but I can't tell you how empowering it felt to paint over it!!  I have said it before, I love the color yellow, but the fact that it was on every wall, trim, tile and molding piece, I'm so very relieved to have it gone for good. 

Check the basement out after a coat of prime (we used Gripper for the walls and BIN for any wood/trim):

Ahhhhh!  So much better, right?

 

As frustrating as priming was, I guess there is a noticeable difference between the before and after photos.  It definitely looks a little cleaner.  So it was worth it in the end, but I have to say that at the time, I felt like giving up and calling it a day more than once.  I had to keep reminding myself that it is totally crucial to have that layer of prime under the paint.  I'm not sure of the exact chemical reaction, but it helps to provide a strong base for the paint to adhere to.  I'm sure that one of those paint/primer in one mixtures would have been ok too, but since we were working with VERY new plaster, I thought it was best to take the extra step (as painstaking as it was...haha).  Ok, enough complaining.  I'm sure you also noticed in these photos that the floors look a little different than before.  Over the last two weeks, we have also had the heating company (Viega) come in and install the radiant heating panels!  YAY! They are not totally functioning just yet, but the guys should be coming back this week to hook them up to our boiler.  Can't wait for warm and toasty toes!!

Next step for the basement is to paint.  We want to get it all done before installing the floors to avoid any messy situations after the fact.  I actually started on the back room yesterday and plan to finish up the second coat tomorrow.  Can't wait to show you!  I love the color.  I have been looking for the perfect beige for a LOOOOOONG time and I think I finally found it.  

Do you guys have a favorite paint color that you have used multiple times in your home?  Or do you have a certain color scheme that flows from room to room?  I am still not sure about the colors for the bathroom and family room so I am open to suggestions (we are leaning towards cool tones though...since that goes with some existing tile that we have for the bathroom and the couch that we already own for the living space).  I would love to hear your thoughts!!