Armoire Upcycled into Modern Campaign Lingerie Chest

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campaign_drawers_sombWell, it has been a long couple weeks for me! My boys have been on Spring break, so I did a lot more playing than working, hehe, but I did manage to get this upcycle finished! It all started when a friend gave me a HUGE armoire by Lane Furniture… it reminded me of a feminine version of campaign pieces + I loved it’s hardware and all it’s storage, but I thought it could be amazing split into a couple pieces of furniture. I then went on to dismantle the armoire while building a lingerie chest out of 3/4″ plywood. It was an extremely simple build that was made daunting by only using scraps I had in my wood shop. Normally the sides would just be two pieces, but since this is all scraps, it ended up being made out of many. The upside is that it was free, the downside being that it took way longer than it should of! Check out my work—>

campaign_work_somb.jpg.jpgI simply built the drawer boxes out of 3/4″ plywood interlocking the boxes with fluted dowel pins and screws, making sure to install the tracks before enclosing each box and adding 1/4″ backing. I then sanded, slapped on two coats of Behr ‘Winter Fresh’, waxed twice, and bada bing, bada boom, there she is! Ok, maybe it wasn’t quite that simple. I also had to hunt down some campaign T hardware, grind 4 of them into L shapes (for the corners), and paint said hardware with brass gilding! I also had to plane and refinish the drawer fronts since they had a black speckle finish on them. They got a sanding of 80 grit, 120 grit, then 220 grit, some espresso stain, and finally, rub-on poly to make them beautiful again! I think she turned out great and I can’t wait to make a matching dresser out of the two remaining larger drawers!

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Do you have an upcycle on your to-do list?

 
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Forsythia Wreath for my Barn Door

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Ahh, Spring is here! The smell of flowers and fresh-cut grass is in the air, so I decided to get myself a fake forsythia wreath to dress up my barn door, hehe! It might not give me a green thumb, but it does get me in the spirit to garden!! That’s half the battle in turning your black thumb green, right? Happy Spring to y’all!

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Have you done any Spring decorating in your home? :D

Campaign Lingerie Chest Concept Sketch

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I have to laugh about my incessant need to always take the hard way while tackling perfectionism along the way, lol! I was recently given a ginormous armoire with brass hardware that reminds me of campaign pieces, but instead of taking the easy way and slappin’ a coat of paint on it, I’m thinkin’ an upcycle into a more modern & functional piece is in order. The veneer on this piece is pretty beat up, the door handles are broken, and it has a speckle finish that needs to be stripped off. I’m also toying with the idea of planing the drawer fronts on the left to square them up since they are a bit wonky & then build a tall Lingerie Dresser to house them. Sounds easy enough, right?! I’m not changing the original armoire frame, so I could always put the drawers back if I end up disliking the upcycle. Here’s my mint green and brass concept sketch for this piece to give me motivation to build…

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Have you upcycled any pieces recently?

Dresser Turned Vanity Concept Sketch

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Hey there! So, I’m contemplating painting an evil octopus onto this antique dresser that will soon become a bathroom vanity! Gotta do somethin’ while I wait for the sink to come in, right?! ;D

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Hello, Ginger… French Provincial Dresser Refinish

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I was havin’ the buyer’s remorse over this little French Provincial dresser. I only bought it cuz hubby needed a dresser (I mighta sold his old one to buy this one, lol) and the style goes with a hutch and small table that currently reside in our master bedroom. I love the curves of French Provincial, the stunning drawer fronts, and incredible hardware are beyond lovely! That said, this piece had no character to me. The wood lacked luster and the whole piece kinda faded into itself. I had imagined that a little paint and distressing would give it a voice again, but I was beginning to doubt that I could bring it back to life. I had to give this refinish a shot though, considering I already shelled out the dough for it! Planing the drawers was on the top of my to-do list since three of the four were jammed shut even after being in the AC for three days! Not cool.

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Paintbrush in hand I went to work, whipping up a batch of homemade chalk paint using non-sanded grout, water, and latex paint until the mixture was similar to pancake batter. I slapped on 1 coat on the drawer fronts and two coats everywhere else. Slowly, but surely, I could see my vision for this piece come into view! Once dry, I distressed and waxed, careful to distress only the drawer fronts, as I really wanted them to stand out. After buffing out the wax, I stood back & smiled! My perseverance payed off! This piece had character again… and also a name, Ginger, because it DOES have a soul!! ;D

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Me and Pauline… A Hutch Refinished in Milk Paint

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hutch_hugPauline was a dream to work on! When I first laid eyes on this hutch, it reminded me of the one that my NaNa had… I lovingly gazed upon it as a little girl & perhaps it was the very piece that started my obsession with furniture and design. Needless to say, it was love at first sight with me and Pauline! I agonized for weeks as to what color she would become… I usually try to save wood, but most of this piece was molded plastic made to look like wood, I’m guessing from the 1960′s, so painting her was an easy decision. I hadn’t used milk paint in a long time & was longing to do some refinishing indoors… milk paint fit the bill since it’s nontoxic, safe to use around my little guys, no respirator required! I came across Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint in ‘Artissimo’ and swooned! The rich navy is just what Pauline needed! I applied a coat of ‘Artissimo’ along with hemp oil, then I wanted to add some depth & chippiness, so along came ‘Trophy’ milk paint. WARNING! Applying a generous amount of hemp oil will induce extreme chippiness & this is exactly what I wanted! I couldn’t decide the amount of chip I wanted on Pauline, so I made the conscious decision to graduate the chippiness… solid ‘Artissimo’ on top, then a touch of ‘Trophy’ in the middle, fading down to extreme ‘Trophy’ chippiness on the bottom. I get to have my cake and eat it too, hehe!! :P
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Pauline was still missing something… since her back was particle board, I wanted to paint that as well… it was a showdown between gray, mustard, and mint. This is where my adorable 5 year-old little guy comes in. I asked him to pick a color to which he replied, “Well, gray is borin’ and mustard is like baby poop, so I say mint!” Who could argue with that?! I think the pale mint really sets this piece off, allowing the contents to pop! I still need to rewire the hutch’s lighting and I’d love to find some mirrored picture frames, but for now, I’m content with this piece. Is a bedroom hutch for everyone? Absolutely not! But, for this furniture-lovin’ Momma who never gets to wear her fancy-pants shoes, it is sublime!!

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Does your home don a hutch?

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Picked A Pigment For Pauline

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So excited about the color choice that I FINALLY decided on for this gorgeous French Provincial hutch! Pauline will be bathed in ‘Artissimo’ by Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint! Now I just need to decide how chippy I want the finish… decisions, decisions, hehe! I can’t wait to start paintin’! ;)

Peggy_before_croppedDo you have any painting plans in the near future?

Stella… A French Provincial Table Refinish

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Meet Stella. A French Provincial antique table in need of a fresh start. When I spotted her I noticed her gorgeous bones, which happens to be my only prerequisite for refinishing a piece. I happily lugged her home and got to work. Her top was water damaged and dull, so the first thing I did was strip and sand it down to bare veneer. She was looking better already!
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Next up was to apply some fresh lacquer in order to protect it from future damages. Three coats of lacquer and a single cot of wax make for an incredible feel and richness to the wood. After finishing her top it was time to give her base a new paint job. A warm antique white matched her stunning wood grain perfectly. For this piece I whipped up some homemade chalk paint and applied two thick coats, achieving an authentic aged look. When using chalk paint, a layer of furniture wax must be applied in order to seal the dried paint. For this piece I distressed while applying the wax, using 0000 steel wool and an old t-shirt to work the wax into the paint. Twenty minutes after applying the wax I buffed it out, creating an incredibly soft sheen that is comparable to no other furniture finish.

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The bottom shelf remains half-finished for now… I have something otherworldly in store for this French Provincial beauty! Stay tuned! ;Dstella_final

 

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‘Twas A Candy Cane Christmas…

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santa_cookiesHello there! Hope you had a wonderful holiday!!! Mine was perfect, well, besides being sick the whole time my little guys were out of school! *achoo* Other than that, my Christmas was beautiful because of my boys! We decked the halls, made cookies, wrapped gifts, opened presents, and went Christmas light viewing! These are times that I want my sons to always remember… for this reason I decorate our home in a candy-cane theme, using the festive candy pattern with red, green, and white for our decor. I do this not only because it fills our family with cheer & holiday spirit, I do it in hopes that when my little guys are all grown up & they happen to see a candy cane, they will think of their loving childhood and maybe even give their dear old Mom a call!

candycane_christmasHow do you deck the halls?!

 

HO HO HOliday DIY – Christmas Wishing Ball

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Ahhhh, Christmas!! *insert pine scent here* That time of year when everyone is just a tad more cheery. My family is especially so. We love to get into the holiday spirit by deckin’ the halls, viewing Christmas lights, and feeding our pet reindeer super-sugary oat cookies… ok, maybe we don’t do that last one, but we do enjoy being festive together! That’s why I wanted to create some holiday traditions for my family, memories that will last my little guys a lifetime! DIYmaterials_Pfister3In comes my latest do-it-yourself project, our Christmas Wishing Ball! The concept was this… each of us thought of a dream for our family, no materialistic wishes in the Christmas Wishing Ball, we saved the toys & candy for Santa’s List! For example, my five year-old wishes for me to ride a unicorn! Hey, it could happen! We then put the wishes to paper, folded them into origami snowflake parts, and placed ‘em inside a fillable glass ornament. We also added crystal strands and a candy cane ornament since the red & white canes are a recurring theme in our holiday decor. You could of course add ingredients to match your own festive interior! Oh, the best part is, next year we can break open the ornament & read the wishes to find out if they came true… I’ll obviously be riding a horned pony at this point, hehe! Then we can take the origami snowflake sections and form them together to make a Christmas tree ornament! More than a tad on the cheesy side, I know, but just think of the happy thoughts that this crafty project will bring to your little ones!

final_materials_framedNow you have the inspiration, so here’s the how-to! Simply buy some bamboo needlepoint loops, stain ‘em, poly ‘em, or paint ‘em, and drill a single hole in each one. Then, take your trusty fishin’ line (seen as wire in photo so that it’s visible) and loop it through the ornament, make a knot, and thread it through the smallest loop’s drilled hole so that the loop sits on the knot just above the ornament… continue knotting and threading through the other two loops. Easy peasy! We finished our Christmas Wishing Ball off by hittin’ it with some Elmer’s glue and sprinkling some fake snow & diamond dust onto it. There ya have it! Every time I look at ours it puts a smile on my face & I’m sure yours will do the same!
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Do you & your family have any time-honored holiday traditions? Please share!

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