white paint makes everything look good

Just because something is old and ugly,
doesn't mean it can't look good again.
You've seen makeovers on people. 
The same thing can be done for really
old, seemingly used up furniture.

About four years ago, my husband was
helping his mom move out of her
apartment, and in with her daughter.
She needed to get rid of an old dresser
that she'd had for as long as he could
remember. He called me to see if I
wanted him to bring it home.
Duh. . . . . of course!

I wish I had some pictures to show you
just how ugly this monster was when I
first laid eyes on it.

I was dark wood, with no finish left on
it at all. It had old fashioned pulls which
were a cross between brass and brown. 
The top had taken it's fair share of abuse.

We put it in the spare room that I was
fixing to make into a playroom for our
growing number of grandchildren.

My plan was to paint each drawer a
different bright primary color. . . .
but that never happened.
I even brought it outside once, for
about 2 weeks, but hubby never got
around to sanding it down for me.
So I brought it back into the playroom
and forgot about it.

Until. . . . my daughter and I decided
to convert one of my spare rooms into
our studio for our on-line businesses.

We designed our studio using,
among other things, pieces we found
at IKEA. 

I finally got hubby to sand down the
monster, then paint it white with two
coats of Behr Premium semi-gloss.

We looked all over for pulls that
would fit the holes left by the
old ugly ones.
They were nowhere to be found.
So, instead, I purchased enough to
screw into every hole, so there
are two pulls on some areas that
only had one before.
But this just adds to the makeover!
The dresser now has a modern
flair that it lacked before.

Once it was ready, hubby installed the
cubby on top, and we were in business.
It now resembles a wall unit or hutch,
and it's a beautiful addition to the room.

Now this is my favorite part of our studio!

I finally have a piano!

I have always wanted learn how to play piano, but I have never been able to afford to buy one.
One Sunday about two years ago, my husband and I were attending Sacrament, when they announced that there was an old piano that the church wanted to give away.  I nudged my husband and whispered to him that I had to have it!

After Sacrament I made him go talk to the Bishop and make sure that we were the ones who would be taking that piano home.  I had never even seen it, but I knew we had to get it.

Three days later we went to pick it up, with the help of four strong young men, namely missionaries, who were helping us as a little service project.  That piano was so heavy, they said it was like carrying concrete.
But, they got it into our house and we looked it over.

It was pretty ugly.  It was a solid wood upright, with a blond, almost white washed finish. It was beat up from years of hanging around Primary and Sunday School class rooms. There were about 6 keys that made no sound.  In the next several weeks my husband was able to fix the insides and it turned out that it was in pretty good shape, and it was in tune!  The next step was to make it look like it belonged in my living room.

My husband and his cousin went to work, sanding it down and getting it ready to take a new stain.  I went to Home Depot and bought two cans of red oak stain and four cans of spray lacquer in a satin finish. They worked on it right inside of our living room, considering that the monster was so heavy, plus we didn't want to move it too much, that it got out of tune.  It took them two days and another day to dry really well, but they had it looking nice!

Now for the bench seat, which was just a plain wood bench with no cushion.  I went to JoAnns and purchased a yard of beautiful fabric that would coordinate well with my couches, plus a heavy duty clear vinyl.  My husband upholstered the bench and put the clear vinyl over it, so that it stays looking pretty for years to come, no matter how many sticky grandchildren hands come in contact with it.

I took 6 months of beginning piano lessons at the local adult school, and I have a great time, pretending that I can really play.  Someday I will have time to go back and get some real lessons, plus all the time it takes to practice.

 In the meantime, I have a beautiful addition to my living room.  Not only is it lovely, it turns out that it is super old, practically an antique!  According to the stamp inside, my piano was made in New York in the year 1916.  We took it out of a building that had been built in 1960.  I can only imagine how it traveled from place to place, finding a home in churches across America, until it ended up in my living room, where it is going to live out it's beautiful new life.
I can't find the BEFORE pics, but check out my piano now!

Making an Ugly Duckling into something beautiful

Hi, I'm a mother of three children who have grown up and moved away from our 4 bedroom home.  For the first time ever, my husband and I have the whole house to ourselves, empty nesters I guess they call it.

For the past year my oldest daughter and her family had been living with us, helping us pay the bills, since my husband was an out-of-work carpenter. When they moved in, I had to downsize...alot...and I got rid of truck loads of stuff.

When they moved out a month ago, my home was suddenly clutter free. Great, right?
Yes, and No.  We still had our furniture, and that's about it.  Except for the artwork on the living room walls, my home was devoid of any sense of style.

Some people could live like that. Not me. By nature I am an interior designer.  By trade I am a design consultant.  When I walk into any room, no matter where I am, I start thinking about ways I would make it more beautiful.  I think about furniture placement, color, fabrics, texture, all those things that can make even the smallest room a great place to live in.

Because my husband just went back to work...construction...uhg...
and the fact that we just lost a huge source for paying our bills, I really have no money to go out and start shopping for fabulous items to fill my home.  So, instead, I have to do what I've really always done.
I find things and transform them into pieces that make people say "wow, that's beautiful, where did you get that?"
I keep my eyes open and things appear, on the side of the road, next to dumpsters, and of course at thrift stores.  I spend very little money fixing them up, and then I find the perfect spot to place them, where they can have a new, beautiful life.

This blog is about my design adventure, filling my home with style....taking an "ugly duckling" and, with very little money, making it into a beautiful swan.  I hope I can be an inspiration to others in making their house into a home, on a shoe string budget.