Upcycling Old End Tables

I was lucky enough that my mom had some end tabled she was looking to get rid of. When I decided to makeover the sun room, I knew I wanted 2 of these mid century modern end tables to cap off the daybed I was putting out there.

The first step was priming. I sprayed 2 coats of Krylon primer all over these tables. This is a definite must if you are working with wood or faux wood that have a glossy finish. Paint won't stick to glossy finishes, so you need the primer to offer a rough surface for the paint to stick to.

I was especially careful about this, because I knew end tables get tons of wear, so I didn't want the paint to chip or peel.

After the primer dried, I sprayed 3 coats of Rustoleum Ocean Mist spray paint - letting each coat dry fully before re-coating. I started from the bottom up, using the principal I learned when painting the kitchen cabinets. I knew it would be okay if the bottom of the legs were a little messed up due to being on the grass, but I wouldn't want the tops of the tables to get ruined by sitting face down on the grass since they are the part of the tables that are most visible.

I then sprayed the center supports and taped off and sprayed the bottom of the legs in Krylon Gold. I did 2 coats of this, letting each coat fully dry before re-coating. 

I then had to fix the center supports. I did this by taping off the center with 1" painters tape and spraying the Rustoleum Ocean Mist over the tape and touching up where any gold paint had accidentally been over-sprayed onto the base color. Once it was dry, I removed my painter's tape, and was DONE! 

You can see here what I meant about fixing the center supports. I thought a small golden band around those would be really pretty, and it ended up working great!

Now these lovely end tables fit in perfectly with the new sun room (you can see that makeover here)!

Here's a breakdown of what I used:

• Primer ( I used Krylon, but you can use any primer you'd like)
• Primary Color (I used Rustoleum Ocean Mist)
• Accent Color (if you want one - I used Krylon Metallic Gold)
• Painter's Tape 1" (you can use larger if you like - this is just what I had and what I wanted for the center supports - additionally if you aren't doing an accent color you don't need this)
• Patience (letting all of the coats dry turns this into a full day project, but you can relax inside while this is happening)
• Good Weather (if you are going to spray outside)

Secret Vampire (Night World #1) book review

Secret Vampire by L.J. Smith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I have to admit, I do judge books by their cover. I just bought this title, and the lovely hardback caught my attention immediately, then the synopsis within the cover left me knowing I had to read this book. I found the characters and pacing refreshing. As someone who has read (and enjoyed) the Twilight series, I was completely prepared for another long-winded, long-drawn-out story about a girl in love with a vampire. However, plot devices within this book expedite the story and we get to the “good stuff” within a few chapters. I flew through this book, which says something about the readability and the appeal of the story. I work full time, and I usually read right before bed. Instead of falling asleep within a few pages, I spent over an hour and a half reading without even knowing how much time had passed.

Upon doing more research about this book, I didn’t realize it was originally written in the late 90s, which is probably why I feel it isn’t as broody or convoluted. The characters aren’t absorbed in modern situations or technology, they are living simply, and that, for me, helps the book feel refreshing and lighter. There isn’t a lot of filler, and I was ultimately sad that the ending seemed to come so soon. I will definitely be picking up #2 in this series, because the world Smith creates is interesting, out-of-the-ordinary, and fun.

This book is great for paranormal romance lovers from middle school through adulthood. I just wish I had found these when I was younger, I had SO MUCH MORE free time for reading back then!



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Sun Room Makeover

Another room I decided could use a face-lift was our sun-room. It was the same "oriental yellow" as the rest of the house, and it HAD TO GO. 

Right side of the room before

Left side of the room before

I apologize for all of the mess in these photos. I was, and still am, living in box city, and are taking care of unpacking one room at a time. Since I'm trying to be as budget conscious as possible I decided to use the leftover paint from our cabinet makeover, which was Valspar "Fresh Cotton". I figured white would really open up the room, and eventually I would like to get some nice bamboo shades for the window, which will look really nice with white walls.

This is after  one coat of paint. I ended up doing 3 coats for maximum coverage.

I wanted the room to feel light, airy, and magical, so I ended up finding some really nice Harry Potter inspired artwork online, and used my Umbridge kitten plates from a previous Loot Crate.

The left side of the room after

I ended up upcycling the black shelf from the second and third photos (I'll do a separate post on how I did that soon), created custom name plates for my fur babies for their respective dining areas, and repainted their leash/harness hanger to go with the feel of the room.

 

The right side of the room after

There are still a few knick-knacks I need to put out, like my wands, a salt crystal lamp and some other fun, mystical, magical decor, but I really like the new vibe the room has. It is ultimately a room for our girls. During the day, I like to leave the blinds up, and Cassie will sit on the bed and look out at the yard or at the neighbors. It also doubles as a second guest room for visitors!

This was a really fun project, and I had several mini projects within this project that I'll be posting about soon. In total, I'd say the makeover for this room, including the mini projects, cost maybe $75-$100 total including the paint, some storage boxes, a desk fan (not pictured), and the bedding set. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to share below!

The Lost Symbol book review

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This books was utterly amazing. I love conspiracy theories, I love history, and I'm very familiar with the mystery that is Washington D.C. This book kept me interested from the first page to the last. I was always excited to pick the book back up, and get right back into the action. Dan Brown never fails to impress with the amount of detail and thought put into the setting and history he entwines with fiction. At points I found myself wondering if he has a secret "in" with the Masons and is revealing all of these well-kept secrets in the form of fiction to throw off conspiracy theorists. In all seriousness, if you love history, secret societies, and good ol' adventurous treasure hunts, don't miss out on this book!



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A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning book review

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A fairly quick read for an adult or advanced reader. I really enjoyed this book, and love how Lemony will take the time to deconstruct larger vocabulary words - this would definitely benefit younger readers by buffing up their vocabulary.



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The Devil Wears Prada book review

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this book. Having just got out of a job that made me feel similarly to that of the main character, Andrea, there are certain parts that really hit home. The ending perfectly wrapped things up, and I'm glad I read this book. I watched the movie first, and that was, and always will be canon to me, however, this really was a fun read if y hate your job or have had a job you hate. You feel like you've come home, but the great thing about this book, you can close it and set it aside if situations become stressful!



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Entryway Makeover

I've always wanted an entry way. At the old house, I had to create the illusion of an entry way (see that post here), so another box this house checked on my dream home checklist was having an actual entry way. 

Above is the listing photo of the entry way. The photo doesn't really show the color of the walls, it was a color called "oriental yellow", which I hated. I repainted the living room and the hallway with Sherwin Williams' "Accessible Beige", a color that was from the old house, but I LOVED it. I did end up using Sherwin Williams Ovation, because we painted the hallway in the old house using Ovation, and it is definitely scrub-proof (something that DEFINITELY comes in handy for an entryway that gets lots of traffic).

The first step was taping everything off. This was my husband's job. Being an engineer, he is able to get a level of precision I could never event attempt. We wanted to tape out a checker board and stencil every other square, so this way it wasn't too random,  but it also wasn't too busy if we used every square.

My husband started taping the horizontal lines first, and used a laser level to make sure they were nice and straight. THEN we started the vertical lines. About 5 lines in, my husband realized it was taking a LOT of tape, and asked me if I would be able to make it work with small pieces of tape to denote the squares. That definitely worked for me, it saved him time, and it saved us masking tape. Once it was done, it looked like the above photo.

When I was ready to start stenciling, I taped the stencil up like so. This was my first time stenciling, so I tried two different brushes, a foam brush and a bristle brush. 

I prefer the foam brushes, because even though I thoroughly washed the bristle brush, the way I stenciled caused the bristles to come out. I may have been too vigorous of a stenciler, but they just did NOT work for me. I was able to properly pick up a small amount of paint and dab it with the foam brushes, whereas the bristles seemed to get UNDER the stencil as I had to move in small circles to get the paint onto the wall. 

The first stencil came out really well. I ended up using leftover paint from the kitchen remodel (Behr Doeskin Gray - check out that project here), so this was a subtle pattern, that you don't really notice it until the light hits it in just the right way.

When I finished the first wall, I stepped back to check out my handy work. I left the small, incomplete stencils (like the ones around the front door) for last, because I was going to need the willpower, and a second set of hands to hold the stencil while I vigorously stenciled - I REALLY let out any frustration when stenciling apparently.

At this point, the stencil was getting rather gunky. Some of the paint was going onto the back of the stencil, making the lines not so crisp. I put it in the guest bath tub, covered it with water, let it sit for about 10 minutes, then gently, in one direction, scrubbed the paint off. You don't want to be too rough when scrubbing, because you can bend some of the points of the stencil, and you don't want to break your stencil half-way through.

When you've scrubbed as much of the dried/gunky paint off as you feel comfortable with, be sure to DRY YOUR STENCIL. Lay it down on a towel, and fold the town over it and gently press. Then, take the towel and meticulously get the water off of all of the stencil. The last thing you want if you're using water-based paint, is for the paint to touch the water, dissolve, and run down your wall into spaces that you did NOT intend to stencil. This almost happened to me, but fortunately I caught it in time.

The finished product is just what I wanted. The pattern is so subtle you can only catch it at the right angle in the right lighting. It gives the wall a luxurious, almost silk-like look, and definitely sparks an interest for more stencil projects. 

So, if you want to tackle this project yourself, you'll need the following things:

1. Paint
2. Stencil Brushes - Like I said, I preferred foam, but if it's your first time try both to see what you prefer for your stenciling style. They are really cheap and can be found at most craft stores or in the craft section of big box stores like Walmart and Target.
3. Painters Tape
4. Level
5. Stencil - the most important ingredient!
6. Step Ladder - if you're short like me
7. Drop Cloth - if you're accident prone like me

I've given some thought to putting a mirror or console table in the hallway, but I am not sure what I want to do with the space at the moment. I remember how crowded it was when you came into my old house, so I may just leave the stencils to be the welcoming accent to my new home!