DIY REHAB!! Give a Little Love.....

This is the story of a very OLD media center that was once home to a huge black projection tv...yeah you remember those right?  We bought ours back in 2001 (yes 13 years ago) and bought the entertainment center to go around it...that was the dealio with the hubs. He got the big black box tv and I got the media center to ummmm hide it LOL!  That TV moved to 3 different homes in 13 years and I prayed that one day it would die...yes I really did..shhh don't tell the hubs.  

Mismatched woods, black glass, cats got behind the tv...it was a disaster...ick!

Then 2 years ago that big, ugly tv broke...I got my wish..but wait...it broke the night BEFORE the Summer OLYMPICS OMG!!  You know we are Olympic obsessive right?  So we went to Best Buy to pick out a new tv...it took the hubs 2.5 hours while Alexa and I lounged on the couches...but we got a new SmartTV and I love it.

But I was stuck with that entertainment center that fit the big black box...ummm what to do, what to do.

So we bought a cheap fake wood & glass center table to set the new TV on knowing it would be an interim fix...ahem...a 2 year fix.  Because as much as I wanted a new entertainment center I could not see paying over $10,000 for the one I had drooled over when I knew we would be downsizing in a few years.  So I dreamed of what I could make of the media center that we have. 

Read On.....

I did the whole media center in a day...total hours for the entire project was about 3.5 hours.

Total cost was $180...quite a savings compared to $10,000 for a new media center me thinks.

I still need to get 4 more knobs in the dark bronze so they all match but those are about $6 a piece.

That's $10 for staining pads & a new sanding block, and Ikea piece for $169.  I had the Annie Sloan chalk paint (in Old White) and the dark and clear waxes already.

I cannot even tell you how many times I come in my family room and do a double take LOL.  I absolutely am in love with how it turned out, how it lightened up my family room and how easy it was to transform.  A total win-win!

The insides around the TV are still unfinished...I'm trying to see if I want them painted or leave them unpainted like inside the glass doors.  Not sure yet....

I tried to explain how I did this to my mom and it really is an easy process but it sounds weird when I explain it.  Once you've used the paints and waxes you get a feel for how they work and can be applied.  So my BIGGEST TIP is for you to paint something first with the paint, an old board or a shelf...to really see how it all works.  I had already done candlesticks, a shelf and of course the top of my coffee table so I knew exactly how to do it.

DIRECTIONS:

I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White...I LOVE this paint!

1)  Paint your piece with 2 coats of chalk paint...UNLESS its really dark then I would suggest painting with a primer for one coat.  The primer you can get anywhere and its inexpensive and will make your more expensive chalk paint go on easier without wasting it.

NOTE: You do not have to sand or degloss most furniture to use chalk paint unless you want to or it is really flaking and you need to remove the paint.  Chalk paint will even work on laminated finishes.

2) Sand any smudges, drips, lines out of your paint.  Sand harder in spots you want distressed...that is total personal preference but I always do along the sides and corners, and a few along big expanses of wood.

3) Wipe entire piece down with a tack cloth after sanding.

4)  Use a staining pad (which I love) or a clean cloth and dip into the clear wax and then the dark wax.  Swipe the wax on IN THE DIRECTION OF THE WOOD GRAIN...you don't want crazy lines.

Keep mixing the 2 waxes to achieve the darkness/distress look that you want.  If you don't want to change the color at all then use just the clear wax.

5)  I sand over the dark wax areas a bit to lighten them a bit and give more striations in the paint.  Then wipe again with tack cloth once wax is dried.  If you've gone too dark with the darker wax you can sand it down...its easy to fix.

6) After 24 hours I go over the entire piece with another thin coat of clear wax just to protect the finish.

At first I was going to build a center piece (hahaha) but the more I thought about it, I decided to try to find something that was fairly cheap and already built that I could paint.  I looked in the Habitat ReStore for something but nothing was the right length, width or depth. So one night I was searching on Ikea's website and found this media piece called "Hemnes" and got it in white for $169.  The hubs put it together one night for me and I painted it the next day.  Perfect fit...and I mean the TV fits amazingly in the space..no extra room. And we got some more storage with those drawers...BONUS!

I restyled the top for a new, cleaner look because not only was the top of it super dusty (ugh) but it had gotten cluttered with too many pieces.  So I redid all the shelves behind the glass as well and the top of the center to my liking.  My treasured signed Redskin football by all the players is now protected behind glass along with our Nationals signed gear :)

Above the TV I have 3 framed botanicals that I will be hanging...I need to paint the frames to match the media center because I want them to kind of fade in while filling the space.

I had workmen here the day I was doing all of this and they were laughing because I was UP the ladder and DOWN the ladder like 30 times trying out combinations for a new vignette.  Good leg workout I say ;)  Those 3 lanterns are from Decor Steals and I adore them.  The rest are pieces I've had for years and some are antiques.

Yes, that is "Fixer Upper" on HGTV on my tv...I'm obsessed..its my fave show. Love JoJo & Chip!

The slipcover on the chair in the corner is from SureFit...the chair had seen its last days upholstery wise but I am not in the market for a new chair. I love the slipcover...its washable twill and worked well.

I lightened up all my dark couches with new pillows that bring in the terracotta from the walls and accents. The pillows are from Target's Threshold Line along with the throw.

And just a fun note:  I did this project while working on 100 projects preparing for Alexa's graduation party AND redoing the basement bedroom from drywall to carpet to furniture building for Riley. All in the same week...so why do I tell you this...well one because I'm a total nutjob for taking it on that week. BUT also to show you how easy it was to do and get done...if I can do it...you can do it :)

And because we all love a good BEFORE and AFTER:

BEFORE HIDEOUSNESS

AFTER = FABULOUSNESS!!

TOTAL COST - $180
Have you rehabbed or redone any furniture lately?
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Chalk It Up!

FED UP......

I have been wanting to paint our coffee table for a year now...had the paint since summer...but never had a good time.  Well you know when you get in that mood and you are just sooooo sick of it?  

Yeah I had that in the midst of vacuuming the family room on Sunday.  

I whipped out the paint and got to it.  

Hubby came in from mowing the lawn and was like "ummm what are you doing right now?" LOL!

I LOVE that response because it means I'm keeping things crazy...off kilter...much more fun that way ;)

I only got the top done hahahaha but I wanted to share with you how much I love it! I have to do the bottom this week but I ran out of steam and time....the rest of the wood will be left alone for a 2-tone look.  Although the top took only 1 hour with 2 coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White.  One coat of dark wax then sanded it a bit and then 1 coat of clear wax.  I love the weathered white look...definitely an improvement and lightens things up.  See the bottom of the table?  Yeah that's what the top looked like!  My one dog Casey likes to sleep under the table especially during thunder storms..oy!  And the top got banged up well in the past 10 years by kids and feet and electronics. So it needed a repair job badly!

Now that I've gotten started and saw how easy it was to do I'm eyeing my media center.  I'd really love a new one but with us moving in another year or so I don't want to commit to anything yet.  So I think I'm going to paint it to match and build a center bridge for the new TV to sit on (I hate the temp black/glass thing we have ughhhh) and get new knobs.  I think I can do it easily in a weekend...right? hahahahaha!  PS: the green blankie stays on the chair during day for kitty naps...easy to clean up kitty fur KWIM?

I really am in love with how it turned out and how freaking easy it was...seeing that I just went at it with no planning really!

Big improvement yes????

Best thing about chalk paint is you don't have to prime or sand beforehand UNLESS you are covering up a super dark color and want to minimize coats of paint. This took 2 coats of paint and it dried super quick.

See that glass monstrosity that the TV is sitting on...yeah..I hate it. So its going as soon as I draw out plans for a simple bridge with 2 shelves and build it with the help of Lowes.  They will cut all your wood for you if you have no big saws like meeeee and are afraid of them (don't ask but it has to do with 7th grade shop class). Well we will see how it goes because I will honest about how I do.

Like how I'm showing you how awful it is right now...oy vey!

Have you used Chalk Paint yet?  Do you love it like me???

Our Holiday House Tour--Part 1!

Hello & welcome to our holiday home this year!  Warning: I decorate a lot for Christmas...I mean A LOT!  Which is why I'm doing two separate holiday posts for you so as not to put you to sleep with my photo intensive posts.  But I love Christmas so much and even though its just one month of the year, I always like to make it magical. There is nothing like a house lit up with the glow of many Christmas trees, the smell of greenery & cider and just the excitement of the holiday season.  When I pack the decorations up in January the house always seems so bare so I'm enjoying every minute now.  Plus if I didn't decorate members of my family would pout..majorly ;)  And yes it takes me a full week to get everything done including the outside.  And there are MANY things in my house that I use to decorate that have lots of memories and are special to me...decorating with items like this make it super special.

This is what we woke up to Sunday morning...a nice wintry covering of snow and ice...in fact its icing again today. I hate winter...no surprise to many of you that know me..but I do find this light coat of snow during the holidays very pretty.  Course I didn't have to go out in it nor shovel it ;)  Our front porch gets a tree too decked out in red lights, red burlap ribbon and pinecones.
*Before you ask why the cars are out welllll....my car is inside the garage and the truck is always outside BUT hubby's car got stuck outside because the other side of the garage is filled with items/furniture for GoodWill that he hasn't taken yet..oh well lol.*

Let's start in my dining room...my favorite room at the moment due to its major makeover (see more about that here).  The tree in the dining room used to be red & gold but I changed it over to a more rustic, vintage feel this year.

This tree got some burlap weaved through its branches, rolled up vintage Christmas music sheets and gold/cream ornaments mixed in with some sprays of fruit and pinecones.  Everything on this tree I owned already in my holiday stash so I didn't have to purchase anything for this re-do.

My new pictures in rustic frames surround my buffet now...more on that in another post.

On the table is one of my many Santa's along with his gold reindeer that I've owned for years.  Some burlap, greenery, my lanterns and a sled filled with pinecones & sheet music.  Again nothing new on this table this year, just going into my stash to pull out things I hadn't used in awhile.

Greenery is one of the most inexpensive ways to bring holiday magic into your home...its beautiful and it smells good.  I have many trees around my house that get a good haircut trim this time of year! :)  Another one of my vintage Santas in woodland gear, some gold trees and votives added to the mix.

This is the view from my front hall to the dining room...entry door is on the right.

This is my 9 ft foyer tree dressed all in reds, burgundys and golds--this is one of my trees that ONLY has amber/gold lights on it...I love the warm glow they provide.  This tree holds many of our White House ornaments (the old car is one) from over the past 20 years.  Also a Maryland Blue Crab ornament because I was born & raised a Maryland girl...and lord knows I love my blue crabs!

In front of the foyer tree is my large Santa holding his naughty good list :)  And a trunk full of toys I've collected...including vintage holiday books, an antique car and some of our 40+ Nutcrackers.  Alexa did ballet for 13 years and the Nutcracker every year...so we have MANY of them scattered around the house during the holidays.  I like to mix in fun animal prints when I can...just because I can...so that's why my zebra trunk makes the cut LOL!

This is the topper of my tree...lots of hydrangeas (my fave flower) and some swirly-twirly gold sticks from the floral dept of Michaels years ago.  My garland this year is of simple Magnolia leaves...I used to have a heavier lighted garland but I didn't use it this year...I wanted something simpler instead.

This is looking from the dining room across the foyer into the living room.

My living room tree is all gold & white...it is home to most of my Precious Moment ornaments that I've collected since I was young.  It also holds most of our ornaments from any trips we've made or I've made...so there are a LOT of ornaments on this tree that mean a lot to me.  This is always the first tree I put up (I put them all up but the family room tree by myself) and it takes me awhile because I like to thing about the memories associated with each of the ornaments when I pull them out.

Sitting next to the tree is my childhood rocking chair that each of my kids used as well.  It holds a Fisher Price "My Best Friends" doll...I've collected them all over the years from Ebay because I love them, always wanted them when I was young but never got one.  Funny how as an adult I collect MORE toys than I once had as a child...hmmmmm LOL!  And an angel that I've had for 18 years tops this tree.

Working our way into my kitchen & eating area...which is part of our great room and where we spend our most time.  Yup there are cats in some of these because it was dinnertime and well...I have 6 cats so they're always into something :)

That's Winston waiting patiently for his dinner hehehe...the door at the right goes into our mudroom/laundry.  I really want to paint my island black this winter with Annie Sloan chalk paint..hubby isn't on board..but that never stops me ;)

 Looking from my kitchen into our family room...you can see both the family room and kitchen trees here.  And yes that's football on the TV..its football weekend...college ball on Saturdays and NFL on Sundays...always!!

Both Riley and I adore penguins..these came from Costco last year and proudly sit on my kitchen island.

At the end of my island are some of my collected antiques that I love..tins, lunchboxes, scales and more.  I tuck in some greenery and lights to add a bit of sparkle.

And one of my fave kitchen vignettes:  Baker Santa with an vintage toy stove (that I adore, from Ebay) that I added some holiday cupcakes & candy (from Etsy) to.  I tuck in greenery in my kitchen too..its easy to move around to clean and when it dries I just add new.

This is our kitchen tree...its all creams, sage green and woodland inspired.  I wrapped it in toile ribbon and grapevine ribbon (like the wreaths & yes incredibly stubborn to handle at times).  If you don't have a tree skirt, buy inexpensive material on sale (2 yds) and bunch around the tree and hide the seams...I do this for most all my trees.  They can easily be washed if something happens too!

My kitchen table with my vintage Coca-Cola crate filled with greens, an old pitcher filled with more greens and a folk-art Humpty Dumpty made by an artist years ago in Vermont.  I can't have real poinsettias in my house because of my flower-eating cats...arghhhh. But they don't bother the greenery..go figure!

Our family room...do not be alarmed the paint color is actually a creamy yellow but in these photos it looks brighter than it actually is LOL!

And here's our beauty...our almost 12 ft live fir that we hunted (in this post) at our tree farm.  Its a beauty and smells so good!  If you don't have a real tree get some of those Scenticles..they smell so yummy.  And my mantel, mirror and banner from other posts on the blog...see sidebar for those.

More pics of some of my fave ornaments on this tree to come in Part 2 including my vintage Coca-Cola ornaments I collect.  My tree skirt was made by mom mom for me and my husband as a wedding gift..it gets used every year !

This is my antique crate filled with greenery & twinkling lights...just adds a bit of "magic" to the other end of the fireplace.  Easiest & most inexpensive decoration to add to your decor...cut some greens, add some lights in a favorite container and tada..beautiful!

Here's a pic of me & Riley decorating the family room tree.  This is the tree the whole family participates in and is filled with ornaments that the kids or I've made.  I also buy them each 2-3 ornaments a year and they have quite a collection going..this way when they have their own homes they will have something to decorate their tree with.  And the ornaments are fun to look at because they chronicle their ages so well...Alexa's Barbie and RugRats mania...Riley's obsession with Star Wars and penguins and animals. I also have their baptismal shoes on the tree and some wedding favors from my wedding.  

As far as I'm concerned you can add anything to a tree but what really makes it special are the memories :)

And now that we've finished half of the tour let's have some White Chocolate Peppermint Tea from Teavana using my new tea kettle that I adore and sit a spell yes?

Any questions or comments on anything...leave a comment & I'll message you back :)

Stay tuned for Part 2....are you tired yet???

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