The Hubby's Pub Desk Stool

As I mentioned yesterday, slowly I'm getting our new office/playroom together. The main project left is planning my wall space. I'm just waiting for the weather to cooperate so that I can get my spray paint party started! While I'm waiting for things to warm up, I'm attacking some of the smaller jobs that need to be finished. First up was the hubby's stool seat for his pub desk (will discuss his need for a pub desk at a later time). 

First I shall digress...

When I first starting blogging a few years ago I tried to come up with cute and catchy titles that would spark people's interest and entice them into reading more. As I started reading more blogs myself, I realized how that while it's clever, it can sometimes be frusterating. I can't tell you how many times I've searched and searched through someone else's blog looking for a particular post (usually a tutorial) and I can't find it because I can't remember what catchy title it's hiding under! I vowed to try my best to make most of my titles straightforward so that you can hopefully find what you're looking for. Then we get to today's project, MY HUSBAND'S STOOL. Um...the nurse in me just giggles. My hubby's STOOL tee-hee-hee. I thought maybe I could do My Hubby's BLUE stool, but that made me laugh too. I could say "chair" but in reality it's not a chair, it's a stool. Do you see my dilemma? So that is why today's title is long winded, so you don't think you're going to get a whole post about the hubby's GI system!

Back to the hubby's stool...

Here's what it looked like before I got my hands on it...

As much as I wanted to stencil something on the seat (it's flat top was BEGGING for some sort of stencil), I had to restrain myself. For the past 7 years the hubby has been surrounded by pink and princesses. He gets made-up routinely and rarely has anyone to share "manly" things with. I thought that I'd just give him a boring, manish seat. He only has one tiny corner of the whole office, it's the least I could do!

It was a super quick fix. Primer, paint, distressing (my favorite part!!!), black wax and a coat of polycrylic and I was done! It came out perfectly and goes nice with his manly corner of the office/playroom.

Thanks for checking in!

Dressin' Up The Dresser

Not too long ago my friend Kristen sent me this picture and asked if I'd be interested in refurbishing it for her. It's been in her family for a long time and they wanted to put it in the nursery for the baby they are expecting in April. I was up for the challenge!

It kinda reminded me of the World's Ugliest Dresser that I updated for Lo's room awhile back, but instead of poop-brown paint it was covered in stickers. NoJo sat and watched me take off all the stickers, which was not an easy task. Her response was, "Now I know why you tell me no stickers on the furniture!" A little Goo-be-Gone and a coat of Zinsser and she was ready for her new coat of paint.

The dresser itself was pretty beat up, there were lots of dings and dents and the edges were pretty uneven. All that made me so excited. I knew it was going to look totally amazing once it was all finished. We went with a dark blue the matched a table in the room. The color is Prussian Cadet by Valspar. I made my own chalk paint (for directions you can go {HERE}) so I used a flat finish. I think the chalk paint is the best for distressing and wearing down the edges. I gave it two coats of paint and once it was dry and cured (The waiting is the hardest part!), I got down to the real fun, the distressing. I used a fine grit sanding block to give it the aged look. All the dings and dents worked to my favor and gave the dresser lots of character. Once the dresser was "aged" to my liking I used my dark Mylands Wax to give it even more dimension and an extra layer of distressing. Once I had everything how I wanted it, I gave the whole dresser two coats of Minwax WATER BASED Polycrylic in Satin finish. I know in the past I've sealed my pieces with Annie Sloan Wax (which I still LOVE), but I wanted the dresser to be able to be wiped down and survive any type of beating it may take. I really like the Minwax. I used it on Lo's desk & Noa's desk and it's been great. I can just wipe off all the crayon, marker and glue without having to worry about taking off all the wax too. It goes on super easy, dries quickly and is virtually odorless. It comes in a few different finishes, but I like the satin because it's not super shiny.

I was beyond excited with the results! She's so purdy!!!

Kristen found these adorable drawer pulls on-line. They are so cute and go perfectly with the surf themed nursery. 

It was so much fun and I've definitely been re-infected by the Refurbishing Bug! I've been walking around the house choosing my next victim! 

Home State Home

If you've been following me for awhile you know that the hubby and I have moved a few times in the past twelve years. It's always a tricky question when someone asks us where we are from. Where are we from??? We used to call Cali home, but we haven't lived in that "home" for over 12 years. While we LOVED Boston, we never really considered it "home." Indy was supposed to be a two year pit-stop, but 6 years later we're not sure we're ever going to leave. For us, home is truly where our hearts are. When I found {THIS} from The Vintage Lemon I knew I'd found the perfect way to express how each "home" has found a special place in our hearts. 

To start I needed to print out each state. The website states that they are formatted for 11 x 14 prints but I could not get them to work, the photo printing site kept telling me they were not formatted for that size and the quality would be low. In the end I did 8 x10 prints which fit my space much better. For me, Costco was the most cost effective place to have my photos done (BTW, they have fab-u-lous prices on large poster prints and canvas. Just something to keep in mind for your future projects.). I also had the sheet of hearts printed as well.

I already had two of the black frames (from Target), lucky for me they are a stock item and I was able to pick up another one! I love when the crafty planets are aligned! I used the hearts to mark the city that we lived in in each particular state.

Now all I needed was to find the perfect spot in our house. 

The corner of our entryway has looked like this for quite awhile...

And now it looks like this...

I LOVE it! 

(Of course now I think the table needs to be painted! Ha! That's how it goes around here!)

Not only do these make great decorations but they would also be a unique gift for a wedding or anniversary, marking where the couple met, fell in love or got married. Lots of opportunity to be creative!  

Quick Tip For Those Who Paint

As you probably already know, I paint A LOT. Since I've banned sanding projects from my house, I'm also painting a lot of primer too.

This is a great tip for those who paint, whether it be a little or a lot. Cover your paint tray in foil. Then when you're finished you just crumple up the foil and throw it away. No more buying a ton of painting trays, you just need one!

Happy painting!