Cheap Laminate into Gorgeous Storage Bench

Mindy blogs at MyLove2Create, but she shared this nifty rescue at My Repurposed Life. This beat-up, cheap laminate cabinet was a free find that Mindy picked up when she was picking up some other Craigslist freebies.

Initially Mindy wasn’t sure what to do with her find, but one day as she was considering how nice a bench would look in one part of her living room, inspiration struck! Since the cabinet wasn’t much to look at as it was, she went to work transforming it. Mindy turned the cabinet on its side and beefed it up with layers of trim and a fresh coat of paint. She stained a board and attached it to the top for a seat, and added wheels to the bottom of the new bench for added functionality. The new bench looks amazing!

Make sure you click over to My Repurposed Life to see a full tutorial for this project.

By Kimm | Filed under Benches, Bookshelves, Cabinets, Furniture, Storage | Tags: bench, furniture with stripes, laminate, laminate furniture, laminate furniture makeover, laminate shelving, painting laminate furniture, refinished, repurposed, shelf to bench transformation, stained, storage, trim, wheels, white

April 29, 2015April 29, 2015

Clipboard from a Cutting Board

Jamie, who blogs at Anderson + Grant, collected quite a few old cutting boards for a recent project. She had a couple left that she didn’t use. What, exactly, does one do with extra wooden cutting boards?

Well, if you are Jamie, you hold onto them and wait for inspiration. Inspiration struck when she discovered that she could purchase clipboard clips in the scrapbooking section of her local craft store. Jamie gave each cutting board a coat of stain to add a little color and depth to the existing wood. She glued on the clips and instantly had two sturdy clipboards!

Get more details on this project (like a link for purchasing your own clips) at Anderson + Grant.

By Kimm | Filed under Decor, Recycled | Tags: clipboard, clipboard clip, cutting board, DIY, DIY office supplies, leftover craft supplies, office supplies, repurposed, reused, stained, upcycled, walnut stain

April 28, 2015April 28, 2015

Handsome New House Numbers

New homeowner Maggie, from Polka Dots in the Country, noticed that she didn’t have any numbers on the outside of the house that would indicate their address. She set out to remedy that problem with some wood and stain leftover from other projects.

To make a plaque for the new numbers, Maggie cut her scrap board down to size and gave it a coat of stain. She added a hook on the back so that it could be hung from the porch wall. Maggie attached some simple numbers from the hardware store to the board after the stain had dried. Ta-da! The new ID looks great!

Visit Polka Dots in the Country to find out what type of stain Maggie used for this project.

By Kimm | Filed under Decor | Tags: house numbers, metal numbers, project leftovers, repurposed, scrap wood, stain, stained, upcycled, wood

April 27, 2015April 28, 2015

Old Tennis Racket Wreath

If you are a crafter or a maker or a collector, chances are you have enough in your stash to make just about anything at any given time! That’s the case for Kathy at Petticoat Junktion, who challenged herself to come up with some spring decor using stuff she already had on hand. Here’s what she came up with: a twig wreath form, a flower, and an old tennis racket.

Kathy says she was able to put together this unique wreath in less than five minutes! She glued the flower to the wreath and then attached the wreath to the racket. “The racket is a natural hanger!” Kathy points out, “Just slip it on a nail.” It’s a really fun, unexpected combination that actually works really well for the warmer months!

Visit Petticoat Junktion to find out more about this project.

By Kimm | Filed under Decor, Wall Decor | Tags: door decor, floral, flower, repurposed, rustic, summer, tennis racket, twig wreath, upcycled, vine wreath, vintage, wall decor, wreath form

April 26, 2015April 26, 2015

Rescued Planters

“I was in need of some planters for my back patio, but didn’t want to spend too much money,” says Amy of Sweet ‘n Sour Gumballs. Imagine her delight when she spotted these large, decorative planters being put down next to the trash bins on garbage collection day in her neighborhood.

The pots were definitely on the shabby side, but Amy was confident that they had no flaws that couldn’t be covered with a bit of paint. So, she took the two planters home and washed them off. After drying them overnight, Amy grabbed a can of black spray paint and gave each planter a quick coat. After the paint dried, all that was left to do was fill them up with some gorgeous ferns!

Want to learn more about this planter makeover? Visit Sweet ‘n Sour Gumballs.

By Kimm | Filed under Decor | Tags: black, container gardening, flower pot, front porch, garden, outdoor decor, painted, planter, refinished, refreshed, repainted, reused, spray paint

April 25, 2015April 28, 2015

It’s an Owl Lamp!

While she could easily imagine the original lamp in house with shag carpeting and 70’s paneling, April knew it would be easy to give the lamp a new look. She tossed the old lampshade before spraying the owls with white paint. She replaced the old shade with one she’d saved from a broken lamp. I love the combination of burlap and bright white!

See more views of this cute lamp at House By Hoff.

By Kimm | Filed under Lamps | Tags: burlap, lamp, lamp shade, makeover, owl, owls, painted, redo, repaint, spray paint, white

April 24, 2015April 24, 2015

An Elephant Foot Stool

“This footstool had been kicking around the classrooms in my school for over fourteen years. No one is quite sure who it belonged to originally,” explains Lori at Rise.Shine.Create. When she found it hidden under a pile of books in another classroom, she asked her colleague if it could go home with her.

This was Lori’s first reupholstery project, but she tackled it with enthusiasm. She pulled off the old upholstery and painted the legs with chalk paint and some touches of metallic paint. Next, she replaced the worn out fabric on the stool with a funky elephant print fabric in black and white. The refurbished stool is adorable!

Get more details on this makeover at Rise.Shine.Create.

By Kimm | Filed under Furniture, Ottomans | Tags: animal print fabric, black, chalk paint, elephants, fabric, foot stool, makeover, redo, reupholstered, upholstery, white

April 23, 2015April 24, 2015

Boxwood Green Vintage Cabinet Makeover

Gilly found this vintage cabinet in the back of a shed. She says of it’s sadly neglected condition, ” Someone at one point in time had used it as target practice….its had patches of dried mud all over it like someone had thrown mud balls at it!” Gilly shares the makeover she gave this diminutive piece at Colour Saturated Life.

The first step in this makeover was a much needed bath! A little hemp oil restored the wood, which was in miraculously good condition. Since she wanted the maximize the primitive style of this cabinet, Gilly gave the outside a coat of milk paint, in a lovely shade of green, and was very pleased with the results. “It chipped and cracked in all the right places and the milk paint did the magical colour variation thing it does and my heart just soared,” she enthuses.

Make sure to visit Colour Saturated Life for more details on this rescued cabinet.

By Kimm | Filed under Cabinets, Furniture | Tags: cabinet, green, hemp oil, makeover, milk paint, Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint Boxwood, MMS Milk Paint, primitive style, redo, refinished