Showing Off

The wonderful thing about having a blog is that you can just say whatever you want without any the social burdens of face to face conversation. For example, you don't have to wonder if you are boring your audience, if you are hogging all the conversation without letting your peers talk, and if you're talking too much about your kid. You know you are. And that's okay.

The audience gets the benefit of only tuning in for the interesting parts or just leaving the conversation all together without being rude. It's a win win. Wouldn't parties be so much better with blog rules? Today's post is about me indulging in things I enjoy because this is my space and I can do whatever I want. So today I want to veer from our usual posts to show off demonstrate my newest pinterest fueled obsession that my husband hates  hobby, refinishing/repurposing furniture!

Here are some of the gems I've finished in the last few months.

Exhibit A: Pie Safe

When my grandmother was growing up this pie safe was in her aunt's house.  It folds up to slide under the bed for storage. It was in wonderful condition so we just painted it to update it and use in The Boy's room. I'm sure antique purists cringe at the thought of painting it, but now we are actually using it, which is infinitely cooler than not using it.  I love the history, the function, and the freeness of this. 

Pie safe, folded up for storage

Pie safe as storage in The Boy's room

Exhibit B: Recycling

We've had a dilemma of what to do with our recycling for a while. Our kitchen is small and has minimal cabinet space. We originally kept the city recycling bins in the enclosed carport, but they had to go when we refinished that room into (insert movie sound effect echo) The Man Room. We had two small trash cans in the kitchen for recycling, but the dog and the baby felt like they had been commissioned to go through each item and ceremoniously toss them around the kitchen like a flower girl at the wedding of Shiner and Bock.   I wanted something that concealed the bins so that a.) our trash wasn't trashy looking and b.) it kept the dependents from smelling like hops. SO, I was glad when I found this antique wooden cabinet at the thrift store for $20. 

I whacked out the shelf so that our trash cans would fit inside, repainted it white, and added new hardware: 

I also created a shelf out of old shutters we took out of our bathroom when we updated it.  I just ripped the rusty hinges off, nailed the two pieces together at a 90 degree angle, and added hooks from Lowe's.  Voila! Trash is hidden, and I love the look of this small space. 

Exhibit C: Sewing table/bed side table

This last one wasn't planned but my mom saw this old sewing table at Goodwill for just $10. I wasn't sure what I was going to use it for but I knew my house needed it. This one took by far the most time and effort. I sanded, stripped, sanded, stripped, primed, painted, and sanded it. Whew!

Before picture. I ripped the bottom out, as seen on the left 

Here is a layer of black tar/sludge that I unearthed early on. I didn't really know what I was getting into but I think the technical term for this is shouldhaveleftitwellenoughalone. 

Eventually it made a nice bed side table for the guest bedroom. I found the lamp at the thrift store for $5 and added a new shade. 

I love, love, love my projects. Now I'm looking for a storage solution for the toys that have staged a coup and overthrown our living room. These toys are pretty strong willed, so I'll have to get something really specific to fit the space/look/feel/functionality requirements. It's been elusive so far, so I may just have to reclaim and repurpose something else....

Thanks for indulging me.