DIY Before and After: vintage metal lamp

We spotted this little lamp at the Room Service block party (along with the metal flower wall hanging I posted about earlier in the week) and decided to bring it home and give it a little love, aka spray paint.  A sunny yellow glossy spray paint was chosen and it took quite a few coats and all afternoon to finally cover the surface adequately. 

Before

After

In its new home in the bedroom, perfect as a reading light!

DIY Before and After: metal flower wall hanging

Another post on our adventures with spray painting!  We went to a fun block party a few weeks back at North Loop and scored some amazing items at Room Service.  Almost everything I picked up, I'd say to B "...and we can spray paint this!"  Incredibly he agreed and we took home this little metal flower wall hanging--I have a soft spot for cherry blossoms.

A before picture: we placed it on some cardboard in the middle of the yard (last time I spray painted, there was a curious outline of cardboard on the patio--whoops!)

After quite a few coats of paint, the completed work:

A closeup:

We found a home for the hanging in the hallway between the bedrooms upstairs

There are more spray painting adventures and sore index fingers to share so stay tuned!

DIY Before and After: Half Bathroom

A few weeks ago, B and I spent a weekend redoing our guest half bathroom.  It is probably the only room in the house that hadn't been previously remodeled so we were happy to put our stamp on it.

Here it is in all its glory, complete with 70s fixtures.  We couldn't change out the sink because space-wise the door is just able to clear it when open:

We removed all the hardware, including the medicine cabinet, towel rack, toilet paper holder, etc.

Then the taping and painting began.  Note to self: always choose the lightest shade on the paint color chip.  The first blue we chose was blinding so we went back and got a lighter color which turned out a bit more soothing and beach-like.

The finished product which consisted of:

• new paint
• mother of pearl mirror which replaced the medicine cabinet
• new glass shelf above the sink
• new faucet
• spray painted toilet paper holder 
• new toilet seat
• new octopus towel hook
• new light switch
• little decorations sourced from around the house

 The new lightswitch that B put in--yay that he could put that EE degree to use:

And this octopus hook is probably one of my favorite details:

DIY Before and After: Dining room chairs

We completed our first upholstery attempt last week by recovering our dining room chairs.  Here's a before picture with the original cream fabric:

And following these easy steps here, we used some fabric from Ikea to give the chairs a different look:

It was relatively simple, especially with the step by step guide, but we definitely needed 2 sets of hands to be able to pull the material taut and then staple the fabric.  I'm excited because I've signed up for an upholstery class this fall so hopefully there will be many more completed projects in the future!

Vintage Monday: marquee letter and table (Before and After)

Today's Vintage Monday items are also part of my Before and After series on the wonders of Krylon spray paint.

First up we have a marquee letter from the 1940s scavenged from an old theater in Neillsville, WI. I got this great letter from etsy.

Before:

I first tried to sand down the letter as much as I could before applying the spray paint but then realized that since the letter was metal and the paint red, coupled with the fact that the letter is from the 1940s, I figured I had inhaled enough lead for the day and decided to seal it all in with many coats of spray paint instead. (note to self: do not sniff letter too closely)

After:



The next item was salvaged from Goodwill. We had been searching for a little table to put in the entry way and while I keep dreaming of a marble top Saarinen, this one will stand in nicely for now.

Before:


I'm not sure what first attracted me to this table--the fact that it was $3.99 or that it had a sticker on the side that said "Property of Austin State Hospital". It was in pretty bad shape with the metal legs rusting and the top of the particle board that looked like it had been gnawed on. However, I felt like this table was worthy of a Krylon intervention and here are the results!

After:

Not too shabby huh? I chose a pearl grey for the legs and a bright tangerine for the tabletop (same as the marquee letter above). I think the colors really help give this table a new life and it now has a new home in our entryway.

I'm still trying to rework this little entry way nook. There are too many edges to keep straight--and I feel like we need something long on the bottom wall to balance everything out--maybe a little shelf?

In this picture: Our home sweet home letterpress print, a little painting by B's mom, and our newly Krylon-ed marquee letter. My new Liberty of London for Target tray sits on the new to us side table. And lovely pink tulips from Jill as March's flower of the month! (bigger pictures to follow)

Vintage Monday: magazine rack (Before and After)

The other day I spent more than half an hour in wondrous rapture at the Krylon spray paint section at Home Depot. There are so many colors and finishes available and all for just $2.99 a bottle! I tried out the spray paint on a couple of items salvaged from Goodwill and wow I'm hooked! The paint really transformed the pieces and I'm glad to be able to give them a second life in our home.

Magazine rack before:

Magazine rack after:

On display in the living room:

ps: yes I know that there is a great debate about whether it is a magazine rack or a fireplace log holder but for all intents and purposes, it is a magazine rack in my house.