Office Chair Makeover

Due to reasons unknown to me, this post was somehow deleted. Here it is again. I found this chair next to a dumpster. I first removed all the cushions. One had a mushroom thing growing it it. EWWW!! It was missing one of its rotating feet things, so I removed all of them. It had the ugliest paint on it. I used a power sander to remove all of that. I then cleaned it as well as I could. I did not bother to prime it. I just spray painted it with the lovely color you see on the picture. I put about 2 coats on it. I then used some foam, plywood, and some spare fabric to fashion the seat again. I used a piece of plywood and put the foam on it. I then stapled the fabric to the bottom of the plywood. I really did not know what I was doing. It was my first try at upholstery without the foggiest idea of how to do it. I still think it turned out OK.

Royal Blue Organizer

Here is the finished product. This was made with left over craft supplies. I started by cleaning it with soapy water. It was full of dirt and grime. Then I sanded it to bear metal. Then spray painted the whole thing a nice dark metallic blue. I finished it by brushing the gold trim on the front, also painting the wooden handles gold. I finished it off with the gold symbols on top by stamping them. I think it turned out OK, all things considered. I would have liked to spend more time on this one. End result is a very frugal organizer. I'm not sure where I should put this. For now, it goes to my library.

one nasty bread box

Here is a frugal find. I know I can find a use for this old bread box. Anything that can be used to help me organize my home will be helpful. Being able to find things is a great way to save money. It also reduces clutter. I will try to make it into an attractive piece with as little money as possible. I will first clean it, sand it, and then probably use some of the leftover spray paint. I just want to be as frugal as possible with this. That way I can continue to keep this a cheap hobby.

Egyptian Theme Lamp

Not sure what it has to do with Eygpt, but here is the finished product. It turned out OK. I used spray paint again. This time I did not use a base coat. I used black and a textured green/blue for a granite effect. The gold was brushed on. I bought the lamps insides from home depot. I also bought a shade as well. The beads were already attached. I added the gold lace. I am moderately pleased with the outcome. Tell me what you think.

Trashed Lamp Base

I wanted to try something a little new. Here is a trashed lamp base. The color and shape were just awful, but I wanted to see if I could make due with what was there and get something out of it. I am going to turn it into a Egyptian themed lamp for my living room, which would go great with my hieroglyphic pictures I picked up in the middle east. Hope I didn't go wrong investing time in this.

Just dresser completed

I have finished the dresser, but the mirror still needs some work before I bring it inside. I will try and post it with the mirror by tomorrow. It was a lot easier than I first thought. I started cleaning everything with a multi-purpose cleaner and cloth. I then wood puttied the cracks and scratches, and sanded everything after it dried. I used liquid nail on one very nasty crack. I then primed everything with white gesso. I used satin red and semi flat black spray paints. I used the cheaper black spray paint for inside and the sides of the drawers. I finished it off with 6 new knobs. The whole project cost just under 30 dollars. I chose the best knobs which cost a little more than I had originally planned. The cheaper knobs would just not have meshed well with this design. I am very pleased with the end result. I even used touches of faint black on the red to give it an antiqued look. I love this dresser.

Dresser with mirror bound for trash.

My father was throwing out most of the clutter in his house and found this. He was going to throw it away, but luckily he remembered me and called me to pick it up. I am thinking about doing a red and black Japanese theme with it. It would be simple, but would help bring out more life in it because I wont be able to get rid for all the rough edges and cracks. It would be an antiqued painting effect most likely. I just hope it would look better than it does now. The camera is low resolution, so you are not really seeing how pitiful it is right now. It is very beat up and missing a knob. There has also some traces of glitter and pink paint on parts of it. Most have been from when my little sister was a child :-p

The Green Thing

Here is the end result. I was contacted by the relative who gave this to me that there is a bottom piece to this card catalog that has bigger drawers. I will be adding that later. I am very pleased with how it turned out. I cleaned and sanded everything. It was very dirty. I then primed everything using some acrylic gesso. I had to drill holes for the knobs, used a ton of wood putty for the cracks, and improvised on the keyholes using the wooden flowers to cover it up. I used spray paint, and it was not as easy I thought. It might have been easier and cleaner to use regular paint. I kept having the paint run and had to go over bubbles. I finished the top with a nice stencil design. I am trying to learn freehand, but I am very far from perfect and wont be posting any of that any time soon :-p. I now use it for all my everyday items and LOVE IT. Its lovingly called the "green thing" by everyone in the family. Tell me what you think? Does it look much better?

Card Catalog Transformation

Here is what we have to start with. It is a very old card catalog that may be well over 100 years old. My goal is to make it a usable piece for my house. In doing so I will destroy any historic value it may have. This is fine. I believe the maker would be happy that it is still being used everyday, even if slightly altered.. The piece came from a relative cleaning an inherited house. It was going to be sent to the trash. I was in dire need of a place to keep my wallet and keys, and all the other little odds and ends that I can never keep up with but need to find in a hurry. It is very heavy and extremely solid. I think we can breathe another hundred years into this thing. By the way, I am not an expert furniture repair person, and I am not an artist. This is all going to be amature work, so don't say I did not warn you. However it is my hope that the more I do, the better I will become. Lets see what I can get out of this piece.