Adventures in decorating... Part 2

What a busy couple of weeks!  I didn't think it would take this long to get Part 2 of these "catch-up" posts done.

Over the last week or so, I finally got that lampshade hung on the wall that I mentioned a couple of posts ago.  It worked!  Yes, that basket on the wall is a Pottery Barn lampshade, the "Holbrook Seagrass Tapered Drum Lamp Shade" to be exact.  I really like the idea of baskets on the wall with towels, but baskets are so stinking expensive.  I found this one on the local yardsale site for $20!  The seller said she bought it at the PB outlet for $60, so I feel I got a good deal.  And with the metal framing of the shade, it was very easy and sturdy to hang on the wall.  I used those gorilla hooks; they worked perfectly.  The paint on the wall is the $2.98 "sample" gallon from Lowes. (I'm just going to keep painting stuff with it.  It was almost free!)  I had been eyeing that shower curtain with the teal birds for about 4 months.  Every time I would go to Walmart, I would double check they still had it. The picture below the basket was a Christmas gift from my uncle.  He had no idea about the shower curtain or the $3 gallon of olive green paint.  His gift pushed me over the edge.  So, the guest bath was freshen up a bit for a total cost of $40! 

OK, on to the real purpose of this post... furniture and cabinet refinishing projects.  I mentioned some of them already in previous posts.  The first few projects were painted the old fashioned way -- primer and semi-gloss paint.

This table was refinished to resemble an "EDLAND" IKEA table:

I am pretty sure that I didn't even prime this table.  I painted it one afternoon while watching a very interesting movie with Denzel Washington.  (Why I remember that, I have no idea!)  I did rough it up a bit though, and, while it has held up nicely overall, there is one little bubble on the top where a sweating cup sat.  I would not recommend skipping the primer step on a piece that gets normal, everyday use.  (This is a "pretty" table only that is in my bedroom.) If you are using a regular latex paint, you will need to prime or sand (completely) first if you expect the paint job to last.

Next attempt at painting wood was a huge project -- my kitchen cabinets:

These I did prime with Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 primer.  Love this primer!  It leaves such a smooth surface to paint over.  I only have two places where the paint is rubbing off, and this is on the plate cabinet and the cup cabinet.  Which with two teenage (almost) boys, those cabinets are opened several times daily.  I'd say, so far, I am happy with how they are holding up.

I want to mention one quick thing on the paint color.  First, the wall and cabinets are not the same color.  (I know it is hard to see in the picture.)  Second, the cabinet color is a custom color.  I mention this because you need to know you are not locked into the paint colors on the sample card.  While the majority of walls are Valspar "Asiago" 6005-1A and the mural wall is Valspar "Smoked Oyster" 6005-1C, I did not like the middle color, Valspar "Oatlands Subtle Taupe" 6005-1B, on the sample card.  It almost had a yellow tinge to it compared to the other colors.  So, instead of taking the Valspar paint expert's opinion (I mean, what do they know anyway!), I had Lowes mix the Smoked Oyster at 75%.  It is the perfect shade.  And, if I wasn't, I could have returned the gallon and tried again because they have a "Love your color guarantee" policy!  Moral of the story: don't be afraid to get what you want, not what the sample card says you should have.

Next, I tried something new -- glaze:

This table was the one I bartered for.  It was in very rough shape.  No sanding or stripping needed.  I used the left over wall paint and then glaze it.  I opted for the Martha Stewart Metallic glaze in "Muscovado."  It is a brown glaze with a gold shimmer.  I brushed it on and immediately wiped it off.  Men's old cotton undershirts work great.  (You can rinse them out and throw them in the washer to use next time.)  I would recommend wiping off more than you think you should at first.  You can always add more.  I was careful to get into all the nooks and crannies and leave the glaze in there when wiping it off.  Keep a wet cloth handy, as you can easily wipe it completely off and try again if you need to.  However, you really can't mess this up.  There is no right way.  Simple. Simple.  Just do it!

Now, to my new love - chalk paint:

A friend called and asked if I would be interested in refinishing a table for her because she just didn't have the time.  I gladly took it on with one condition; I wanted to use chalk paint.  At first glance it seems a bit pricey - $29.99 for a quart.  But, if you consider that a quart of primer is roughly $13 or so, and a quart of semi-gloss paint is $14, the price is really comparable.  I had heard/read so much about chalk paint and milk paint, I was itching to try it.  She agreed, and we split the cost.  I LOVE this paint.  The finish it unbelievably smooth - like a baby's bottom!  You don't have to sand, prime, strip, anything... just paint.  I have only used Amy Howard chalk paint.  I know there are others, but Amy Howard is the only chalk paint that claims you don't have to seal it with glaze, or wax, or poly.  That is my kind of paint.  This is "Bauhaus Buff," kind of a gray white.   I did apply the same glaze as the previous table in order to age it a bit. 

 I also used the chalk paint and glaze on the "music table" and attempted another first -- distressing:

While I did paint entire table the with the chalk paint, the stripe is Valspar "Olive White."  (That is why I was buying a $3 sample in the first place.  I just wanted to paint that stripe.  I ended up with a gallon, so I now have a bathroom painted "Olive White" as well.)  Distressing is just as simple as glazing.  You really can't do it wrong.  Where ever you would touch or bump a piece of furniture is where you want to distress it - corners, handles, edges, etc.  I use 220 grit sandpaper in sheets.  (You don't really want to buy the blocks as you can't control the pressure points with a block.) The chalk paint, unlike latex, turns to dust when you sand or scrap off a drip.  No peeling, like with a latex paint. I was very pleased with the outcome.

By this point, I have painted with the chalk paint, used a glaze, and distressed something.  So, I did what any sane newcomer to refinishing would do, I took on a kitchen and bathroom cabinet refinish for a paying client!  Confidence, people, confidence!

As you can see in the pics above, she had builder grade pine cabinets.  You can't really see from these pictures, but her kitchen is shaped like a "U" with the backside of the sink cabinets and the backside of the opposite lower cabinets are exposed as well as the side of the fridge and the sides of the upper cabinets.  While the cabinets were wood, the exposed backs and sides seemed to be a pressboard type material.  I painted them with Amy Howard "Black" chalk paint and glazed them using the Martha Stewart Metallic glaze in "Black Coffee," then distressed them a little:

They were gorgeous!  Or, so I thought.  She didn't care too much for the shimmer.  All the Martha Stewart Metallic glazes have a gold shimmer regardless of the base color. (I should have figured that out, since her entire house, including her molding, is a flat paint.)  No problem.  I repainted the doors and made a glaze using a colorless glaze that you mix yourself.  I mixed in the chalk paint, and it worked perfectly.  I then distressed the doors as before:

She was happy, and I was happy she was happy!  I talked to her the other day and the finish is holding up fabulously!

Most recently, I refinished a dresser and chest that was the client's as a child and will now be her daughter's.  They are having another girl in a just a few weeks, and they bribed her to give up her baby furniture to her new sister with a big-girl room makeover.  A girl after my own heart!

Once again, I used the Amy Howard "Bauhaus Buff" and then mixed my own chalk paint by mixing a sample of pink latex the client provided with water and plaster of paris.  Per the directions on pinterest, you mix 1 tbsp warm water and 1 tbsp plaster of paris and then add it into a cup of paint.  I don't think I thoroughly mixed the water and p of p because my "chalk" paint was very gritty.  The grit easily sanded off though with my usual 220 grit sand paper and distressed nicely as well.  So, maybe I did do it right.  My suggestion, test the solution by rubbing some between your fingers to make sure the p of p has dissolved before putting it into the paint.  Distressing the corners and edges with the 220 sand paper took very little effort.  However, to make the rubbed spots on the bottom front took some extra elbow grease.  You might want to try 180 grit, but Home Depot did not have the sheets of 180, only the blocks.  So, I just had to work a little harder with my 220.

Thus far, I am really enjoying mixing in a bit a furniture refinishing between upholstery projects.  Next on the calendar is a PIANO!  That's right, I will be painting a piano!  As a pianist, I am super excited about this project.  I will definitely post "after" pictures.

If you have a refinish job you need a little nudge to complete, contact She siad; He said.  I am happy to give advice or complete your project for you.

Adventures in decorating... Part 1

As I mentioned, I started a small business in 2013, without really meaning to.  It has been a wonderful experience that I am enjoying very much.  My original plan for my life was architecture.  I wanted to design homes, to design practical homes, that had windows in the right places and didn't waste space and made sense to every mother on the planet.  Then my life's goal shifted to trying to figure out how be a godly mother before my children graduated from college.  However, my desire to design and create did not diminish as I grew older.  I never would have thought I would be given the opportunity to circle back to my first love... all things home design.

My first adventure began with upholstery.  I have several upholstery adventures on my resume now,  and with each adventure, came knowledge.

I started with my antique store find pictured in the previous blog.

Lesson 1: Old chairs are made of really hard wood!  I tried to use my little manual staple gun that I had used several times in the past for headboards, dining chairs, upholstered benches - you know wrap and staple stuff.  That was a joke; those staples came to an abrupt halt as soon as they struck wood.  So, I decided to invest in a pneumatic staple gun. (That's fancy for "uses a compressor.")  Life saver.  I bought a Bostitch, refurbished, off Ebay for about half the price of a new one.  Of course, you do need a compressor, which thankfully my husband had received as a Christmas gift a few years ago.  You don't need a huge compressor.  I have a 3.5-Gal. 135 PSI Pancake Compressor which runs around $100.

Lesson 2: The angle of your gun matters.  Now, this revelation may sound a bit obvious, but when you are shooting from the front to back while in the front, it looks great until you turn it around.  It didn't occur to me that the back of my chair is open and the ends of my staples might come through.  The edge I had to staple through was less than 1/4" wide, and I had to be very careful to angle the gun so the ends of the staples stayed in the wood of the chair.


I then moved on to a client's glider.  Yes, a client.  My first non-friend, paying client.  And thus began my business.

Lesson 3: Take time to study the print of the fabric.  Even the busiest pattern runs a certain way.  If you look closely at this print, the distance between the smaller circles and the large circle is not equal for all circles.  I initially ran this fabric the wrong way.  As a stood back and studied the print (which I should have done first) something was just not right.  So, I bought another yard and fixed my mistake.  The result was a happy client and a wiser upholsterer.  I am now fb friends with this client and get to see pictures of the new baby for which this glider was made.  I loved that I was a small part of bringing home a precious baby girl.

Next were some wrought iron chairs, again for a client (and friend).  Now this was a wrap and staple job, but with piping.

Lesson 4: Your sewing machine probably has a piping foot.  Use it.  It will make your life easier.  (That paperwork that came with your sewing machine is actually quite useful.  If you have thrown it out, you can get another one off the internet.)

Then, because a friend tagged me on a request for re-upholsterer, another client found me.  This time for a slipper chair.

Lesson 5:  Chairs have a center, and so do most prints.  Fold your your pattern piece (the old piece you removed) in half vertically and then horizontally.  That will give you your center of the old piece, or pattern piece.  You should mark it somehow.  (I used a straight pin, so I could feel when my centers were matched up.)  Decide what will be the center of your fabric and mark it.  Now it may be very obvious what it the center is, but like on the print above there were two possible centers because there were two different fleur patterns.

Lesson 6: Upholstery thread is worth the few extra cents, and it is necessary.  With a chair like this, the fit is a snug one.  During the process of "getting it right," you will take it off and on several times.  A strong upholstery thread is almost impossible to break and will save you the headache of re-stitching something.

The next chair was another first - my first repeat client.  They were going to drop off some fabric to finish up some pillows, and I returned home to find that fabric and this chair.  Surprise!  This chair was full of new adventures.

Lesson 7: You must invest in a tack puller.  When I found out that they only cost $3.99 at Joann's I could not believe I had not bought one sooner.  This tool will save you from this:

War wounds.  This is the first chair for which, one, I had the most trouble removing the old staples, and two, encountered metal tack strips.  (I literally described these things to my mom as the spike strips cops use to flatten the tires of fleeing criminals.)  The tack puller I bought looks like a flat head screw driver shaped like a V.  Because the head is V'd, it allows access to even the most narrow, sunken staples.  I am so happy I learned Lesson 7; too bad it wasn't Lesson 1!

The most recent re-upholstery job was for a friend.  It was a total transformation.  She had been given this chair by her father.  It was a warm floral, but she is like me - loves design and doesn't mind change.  So, she wanted to keep the chair, but update the fabric to match her new decor.  This fabric was beautiful and felt amazing, and it was bought locally at Hobby Lobby, which was a plus when we needed an extra yard.  I am thankful she trusted me with this project.

Lesson 8: The eye will connect the dots.  The corners of the diamond shape will line up in the mind.  Therefore, you must center the pattern left to right.

Lesson 9: Not all of the hardware will be able to be reused.  You can find many upholstery supplies on Ebay, but, of course, there will be a wait to receive them.  When in the middle of a project, the last thing I want to have to do is put it aside and wait for a shipment.  Another option, if you live in the Atlanta area, is a company in Norcross called Upholstery Supply of America.  I have yet to visit, but I am planning a trip to stock up on the supplies I have encountered so far that I know are hard to reuse, like cardboard tack strip and pli-grip/flex-grip strips. 

Lesson 10: The finished product is worth every frustration.  Be patient.  Don't give up.  Don't rip anything apart!  Being able to take that "after" picture and know that you have been able to take something that otherwise would be trashed and turn it back into a piece of furniture that is loved again yields an unbelievable feeling of accomplishment.

Each an every upholstery project has been a challenge and an opportunity to learn and grow.  I am in my happy place.

This piece is sitting in my garage waiting on the word "boy" or "girl."  I found this at Goodwill and knew right away I wanted to tackle it.  A couple of texts later and a trip back to the Goodwill, and a friend's baby has the grooviest rocker in town.  I am anxiously awaiting the green light on this one.  Check back for the "after."

There are several other projects waiting in the wings that I am excited to complete... a wingback with multiple fabrics and a tufted scalloped wingback.  It just gets "gooder" and "gooder."

I would love to help with your next upholstery project, from answering questions, to just doing the job for you, or anything in between.  Lets turn your chair into the "after" you envision.

How time flies...

So, I did a google search on "She said; He said Design" this week, and the first result was this blog!  I followed the link and sat reading through my posts.  It has been nearly two years since my first post and nine months since my last!  Nine months!  How can it already be nine months?!?  I'm already thinking about changing what I posted about nine months ago! 

Well, the lack of posts certainly does not mean I have been idle.  I don't think I've been idle in 21 years.  Wait, I think I took a nap once.  But, except for that, I always seem to be busy.  Not that this is an excuse, but after that guest room makeover, I did set up a "She said; He said Design" facebook page.  It is so easy to just take a picture and upload it on the spot, right from my phone.  (There's not as much grammar and spelling to check doing it that way, either.)

Much has happened since April.  X's room got an upgrade... from a room shared by two little boys, to a teenage boy room all his own.

That cool piece of art is a one of a kind.  I bought a box of 45s from my favorite online store - the facebook online yardsale page - for $20.  I drilled holes in the top and bottom of each, chose a few to spray paint, and assembled them with left over links from a chandelier chain.  The top row of links are hung from eye hooks on the bottom of a 1x4 attached to the wall with small L-brackets.  The pop of color ties in the red stripe in the comforter and the teal I painted his old dresser.  The stripes of the neutral wall colors make it a bit less boring.  X seemed to like it, then again, I could probably paint it bright pink and he wouldn't have much to say.



Next, I went after my stairs.  A did all the prep work (pulled up the carpet and ALL the staples), and I just had to paint.  I bought porch and floor paint for durability and went with Latex because it dried the quickest (2-4 hours to dry).  Unfortunately, it has not held up.  We do have 3 kids and 3 dogs running up an down those stairs, but still.  I expected more.  I am thinking I will repaint come July when everyone is at camp and use an enamel (2-4 days to dry).  I'll let you know if the enamel passes the test.




I then moved on to my kitchen painting the cabinets and a wall mural.  This was prior to my discovery of chalk paint (more on that in the next post).  So, I primed and painted the cabinets the old fashioned way.  It really didn't take too long. (Yeah, right.) I chose to expose the two cabinets on either side of the window.  With my dad's help, we cut the center out of those doors.  The plan is to make glass doors using antique bubble glass.  For now they are sitting in my guest room, turned sometimes work room.  I have to say I love the new cabinet color.  It actually has caused me to more than tolerate that tile back-splash I have always hated.  I also updated the overhead lighting.  And, I LOVE my teal island!  Always a place for a pop of color, even in the kitchen.

The inspiration for the mural came from a canvas print I saw at Hobby Lobby.  My first thought was "I can paint that!" So, I took a pic and spent my money on something else.  Well, instead of just painting it on a canvas I decided to go with the wall.  It just makes me happy!  I couldn't think of any better use of that space than for some birch trees and three little birds.

In addition to the above, I have repainted my entire downstairs and tackled my first pallet wall project.  I also added a few up-cycled pieces of furniture, including my first re-upholstery attempt,  I found at the local antique store, Goe Vintage.   For one of the tables, I was even able to hash out a barter!  Go visit Jonathan.  Great guy and very entertaining.  It's worth the trip just to chit chat.

The pallet wood was free.  I just asked Lowes, and they even let me pick out the ones I wanted!  I took 12, but only used 6.  After getting the right blade for the sawzall (10" metal), separating the pallets was like cutting through butta.  I didn't sand, or clean, or stain; I brushed off the dirt and nailed them to the wall.  Since I knew where the studs were, I saw no need to put up a solid backing board behind.  I just painted the wall black and shot my nail gun!  FUN!  And total project cost $0!

I stopped in and checked on this little find once a week for nearly a month.  Finally, he let me have it for $40.  I have no idea if that was a good deal or not.  I'm just going to tell myself I pulled a fast one on him!  The fabric was extra from the new curtains in the family room.  I only had to by one yard of the green lattace.  I did end up investing in a pneumatic staple gun.  (Funny side story - I went into Lowes to check on one.  $120!  Holy moly!  So after discussing my options with the helpful employee, I stood there looking like I was debating my purchase, all the while searching ebay for the exact model he recommended.  I found it. Refurbished for $59.99 with free shipping.  I bought standing right there in Lowes!  Love my smart phone!)  I have more than covered that cost with other paid upholstery jobs.  So, not including that cost, this beauty only cost about $55 with the piping.  I have been told it could easily sell for $140 in a shop.  Makes me want a shop!

I bartered for this piece. 2 up-cycled chandeliers for this table and a sheet music wreath.  Seeing as how those chandeliers had been hanging in my garage for close to 3 months, I welcomed the exchange.  This was my second piece I painted with the chalk paint and then glazed.  Since the glass top was MIA, I chose to buy a 1/2 yard of fabric and cover a piece of plywood.  It turned out really cute. Total cost: $11 ($3 for the fabric and $8 for the wood.  The paint was left over from a paid refinish job.)

This little table caught my eye because it has a hinged top.  Until acquiring this piece, we had a red plastic crate sitting next to the piano full of music books.  I eyed this one for a couple of weeks.  Finally, I gave in, and was able to pick it up for a mere $30.  I had pinned a small side table with a wide stripe like this and decided this was the table to try it on.  I opted for a light olive green.  (Another funny story - I went in to Lowes to get the sample size since I only needed to paint that stripe.  They were out of samples.  So, the guy offered to make me a quart for the sample price.  OK.  Not going to argue with that.  I wandered around the store getting a couple of other things.  I walk back up to the counter, and he informs me they are also out the the quart needed to mix that color. So, he had made me a gallon, for the price of a sample, for $2.98!  So, I not only painted that stripe, but my downstairs bathroom as well.  For $2.98!)  I used the same left over paint and glaze from before.  It is now the "music table".  Total cost: $33.

Last little cutie from Goe Vintage, this trunk.  It was my birthday present from my parents.  I bought mounting plates and feet and used the left over paint from the stairs.  Total cost: ~$20.

That just about catches you up to speed on what has been happening inside the Ouellette mansion.  I have redone the downstairs bath (because I got a gallon of paint for $3!), but I have one re-purposed item I am trying to figure out how to hang on the wall (it's supposed to be a lampshade).  Once I figure that out, I will definitely share.

Oh, and did I mention I kind of started my own business!  Since posting pictures of that chair on the She said; He said facebook page, I have pretty much had some type of up-cycle job back to back- upholstery, furniture refinishing, kitchen cabinets, even a painting!  Does that make me a commissioned artist?  And I am loving it!  I'll go into all that in the next post, including my new love of chalk paint.

If you haven't found the facebook page yet, click on over and "like" it.  There are really cool re-dos posted just about weekly.

Be our guest...

First I want to address the murmurings...  I did not make T get married and move out just so I could finally get at this room!  I know it appears that I jumped on it before the empty hangers stopped moving, but you have to understand something.  I had the plans for that room in my head a REALLY long time.  So the minute I was able, I jumped on it.  I even have proof.  The following inspiration picture was downloaded to my computer in April 2012, before that room even became T's room.  So, there!  Ok, on with the room.

 This was my inspiration.  I always like to start with a picture.

Now, believe it or not, I had not looked at that picture since I downloaded it.  I ran across it last night while getting the pictures on the new facebook page.  The only memory of the picture was the wood work and the color on the ceiling.  Obviously, that made it into the room.

Let's start with the before:

As you can see, I started with pretty much a blank slate.  First order of business was painting the upper walls and ceiling.  I based all the colors on a comforter which was an ebay find meant for B's room.  She didn't like the color because it as more chartreuse instead of the shade of yellow she wanted.  And because it was an ebay purchase, I couldn't return it, so I decided it would be the center of this room.  Thus the drastic color difference between the inspiration room and my room.  I knew there was a turquoise shade that would look great with the chartreuse and I found it... Valspar Lyndhurst Duchess Blue.

Next the wood work.  Now, I am sure there is a mathematical way to figure out how many squares, how big the squares, etc.  I eyeballed it.  I put up the two top horizontal boards on the back wall and choose the height I liked - 15".  So my squares became 15 inches.  From there, I found the center of the wall and centered the first square working my way out to the corners.  I did the same for the other two walls.  I used 1"x6" for the baseboard and 1"x4" for all the other boards.  (I do think I will line up the boxes on the side walls should I ever do this again.)  I painted the wood and wall Valspar Pale Blossom.

Finished product:

Now's a good time to talk about that really cute chandelier!  I bought that chandelier off the facebook yardsale site for $10!  Only it looked like this:

I removed the glass shades (which I took to Goodwill) and asked my wonderful hubby to loosen, flip, and bend the arms.  Then, I sprayed it with a few coats of gloss black spray paint.  And now I have a really cute upcycled chandelier.  Yay, me!

There are few other upcycled pieces in the room as well.  The metal art on the wall was the first item to get sprayed with that wonderful pop of fuchsia.  The middle one was purchase from the yard sale site for $12.  The ones on either side are from Hobby Lobby, regular $19.99, currently 40% off.  Add the $3 can of spray paint, and for less than $40 you get a great pop of color.

 

The headboard was a thrift store find for $30.  Originally a light pine and with stickers on the front side, I opted to turn it around and spray it gloss black.  For my first large piece of spray painted furniture, I am very happy with how it turned out.  Hint: have fine grit sand paper on hand to lightly sand any drips or splatters between coats.

Next, the lamp and the shades...  The lamp was a hand-me-over from my mother.  I also sprayed it the gloss black and bought a "fabric" shade from Hobby Lobby for $4 (using my 40% off coupon, of course).  The shade had a guide to use to cut the fabric and it is already sticky.  No adhesive needed.  (You can find them in the fabric section, not with the other lamp shades).  The fabric came from the local fabric shop up the street out of the clearance bin for $9.99 a yard.  Two yards later and I had enough for the lamp shade, the window shade, and a cushion for the hope chest. 

 Ugh, getting ahead of myself.  Picture of the before and after of the lamp:

The shade is a cheap pull-down shade from Walmart. I used loctite spray adhesive to adhere the fabric to the shade. Hint: don't spray the adhesive too thick, it will begin to "eat" the shade. Keep the spray to a medium thickness and you'll be fine. I do suggest stitching up the sides and across the bottom as the lighter coat of adhesive isn't always strong enough, especially at the corners.  It will give you a more custom look anyway.

All the other major pieces of furniture were upcycled as well.  The dresser was purchased for B about 7 years ago.  It is a very nice piece of furniture, but over the years, and another child later, it was showing some wear.  I pinned a dresser makeover on pinterest where they painted each drawer the different colors of a single paint card.  So, I tried it.  LOVE it.  Such a great way to add color and interest in a room.  I asked for some input for the paint on the door and opted to use the two lighter shades.  The crystal pulls were bought off the yard sale site, 6 for $4.  The other 5 came from Hobby Lobby during their week of being half off.  I think I paid $1.50 each for them.  I like the mix of the two.  I used the pale blossom color to touch up the top and the scuffs on the side and it looks like a new custom piece of furniture!

The side table was my grandmother's.  I really thought I had made a mistake in painting it.  Actually, I thought my father was going to have a cow when I mentioned it.  But neither he nor my mother seemed to mind, and really didn't think my grandmother would care.  It probably was not expensive.  It was just important.  As a way to honor her, I decided to paint her monogram on the top.  I originally had decided to make a stencil, but after worrying about pulling off the paint when removing it, I opted to just free-hand it.  My grandfather used to hand letter signs for the businesses around town, and as I painted those letters memories of them filled my mind.  I think they would both be pleased with the outcome.

I received the hope chest as a gift from my parents as a teenager.  It was a light oak color which didn't work in my bedroom or this new room.  So, back to the gloss spray paint I went.  The mirror was, you guessed it, purchased from the yard sale site for $10.  It was a brushed nickel color and was hanging above my grandmother's table in my bedroom.  When the table moved downstairs, the mirror looked a little lonely.  So, it moved to.  Again, covered it in the gloss black spray paint.

You may notice in the picture above, the opening for the closet, or the lack of a closet.  I decided since space was at a premium in this room and it will be a guest room, a full closet was not necessary. The dresser has a bar on the cabinet side and anything longer can be hung a hook on the back of the door.  So,  I pulled all the framing, track, and doors down, repaired the drywall, and pretended it was never there.  I did keep the track, hardware, and doors and placed the boards overlapping from the front so the side pieces could be easily removed, because if we ever sell I will probably turn it back into a closet.  The plan is to put a TV above the dresser in the alcove.

The finished room:

Well, that covers it.  I LOVE how this room turned out.  It is a happy room.  Loosely based on that inspiration room, I think it turned out better.  Got an inspiration room?  Let me help you make it a reality!