Yardsale Rejects

About a month ago, I had a yard sale. Two of my bureaus did not sell.  Not one bite.  One, was missing the bottom drawer, but I had been using it, right up to the day of the sale, in my own bedroom.  I had long since removed the broken drawer and replaced it with a shelf that held 2 lined baskets for items.  I thought it looked fine and it was certainly still functional.  Well, it turns out, not only did no one want to buy it for a meager $25 in my yard sale, but it was also rejected by all the local non-profits that take in used furniture!  The other bureau was in good shape, but since it that was so rejected at the yard sale, I decided I would keep it and do a little makeover with both this bureau and the Missing Drawer Bureau.  I needed some furniture for my dining room makeover, and I was determined to make these two pieces work!

I painted The Missing Drawer Bureau with black chalkboard paint.  I only polyurethaned the top, since I will use this as a server in my dining room.  The shelf that replaces the drawer was painted with the same orange that I used on the border of the floor in this room.  I will lay wine bottles on this shelf and hope I find a wine rack at some point that fits in this space.  I do already have a chalkboard in my dining room, but I just can't seem to get enough of this chalkboard paint!  I did see this idea somewhere, in some magazine, I believe....  Oh, I am in search of some fun drawer pulls. I want something bright with lime green and/or orange...the 2 colors that I've used in the dining room.  Please send me any leads! I think I will write on the front of the drawers, with white chalk, what I end up putting inside the drawers.  The sides are also chalkboard paint, so I can draw some seasonal pics!  If you look closely, you will see I added a small, horizontal stripe to each front leg, to tie in with the green stripe on the the wall, the lamp and the floor.  Oh, and that lamp, which I love!, was dirt cheap at IKEA.  Looks cool at night, for ambiance! What is that flower???? I bought it 2 weeks ago and it is still going strong!  It seems to be in the cactus family.  It came w/no identification.

Here's another view. Remember, this room is still a work in progress... need to hang artwork, etc.!

This turned out to be my most favorite piece of furniture, to date!  I simply gave it all a coat of Ben Moore's Linen White and then did this All Over Stencil Design in the same green that I have as an accent color in the dining room.   The stencils is an All Over Scroll by Royal Design Studios.  I love this look.  This will now be the bar area in my dining room. With the 2 bureaus, one as a bar and one as a server, I have a ton of storage inside both.  Very handy since my small apartment has little storage!

Here's a closer look. And to think, I almost let this go for $25, in it's unfinished state.  Now I totally love it and it fills a need in my dining room! Who knew???

                                                                                                               

Yesterday I went fabric shopping, because this room also will need some window treatments.  I'm thinking of making some drapes in this black and white fabric, but I will still need to find another fabric with some color in it to bring some interest to this side of the room.  I want to bring in the orange and green too.  I don't have time right now to run around trying to find more fabric, so this project will have to be on hold for a bit.

Here's the double window that needs some help.  These windows are very old and drafty, and since I can't afford to replace them until next year, I want a nice, heavy fabric to keep some of my heat in!  I may add some color to those Roman shades or else replace w/a black bamboo shade.  The view out these windows is my driveway and neighbors house...not pretty.  That is my other chalkboard on the wall in the background.  These Phillip Starck chairs I bought a while ago on Ebay! They will be extra seating, eventually, and live in my office/guest bedroom.  I want green leather chairs, I think, at the table.  I need to hit the Lottery first!  I was all set to buy my chairs, until my hot water heater broke a few weeks ago, and my electric baseboard heat in my kitchen came on and would not shut off.  Both of those repairs wiped out my "dining room chair fund". :-(

A little Fall flower arrangement!

Last, but not least...here's my Happy Pumpkin I made to bring out to my Mom when I visit her next weekend. This idea is in the current issue of Better Homes & Gardens magazine.  My Mom is an avid quilter and sewer, so I thought this would be fun for her. It's hard to see in this pic, but the noise is a silver thimble.  I love Fall!!!

Comments

[Cre8Tiva]

carol...good redo's...love them...cannot imagine why they would not sell...i woudl take them...and the pumpkin is delightful...so fun...come over and see my art sometme soon...blessings, rebecca

[Cathy Napple]

Carol love your house and all the beautiful furniture you have painted. So, tell me, how or why did you start using the chalkboard paint on furniture, just curious.

Love your blog too!!

[carol]

Cathy, I wish I could say this was an original idea...but I have seen it in a few mags lately. I just love chalkboard paint and the idea of being able to write all over my furniture or draw on it. :-)