Tag Archives: before and after’s

Gigi’s Transformed Dining Room [your pick]

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Today’s Your Pick transformation comes to us from Gigi.  She got a hold of a 30 year old oak dining set and decided it was in serious need of a serious revival. Gigi used chalk paint (my favorite and strong recommendation!) on both the dining table and chairs.  The table is finished in (Annie Sloan) Old White, and the chairs are finished in Provence.  Gigi snagged all of the beautiful stripped chair cushion fabric for only $20!

Talk about a major change on a budget!  This beautiful transformation was achieved for well below $100!

This table went from boring and outdated to fun and hip in a flash!

 If you like this transformation, check out this revived 80′s dining room buffet, wouldn’t this look great paired up with Gigi’s table?!

Share your thoughts and rate Gigi’s transformation below!

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Reclaimed Victorian Balloon Back’s [before & after]

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I hit up a great estate auction a couple weeks ago…if you ever have a chance to attend one, DO IT.  Even if you don’t buy anything, it can be so much fun just to see all of the different pieces and take in the thrilling bidding process.  Before arriving at the auction, I was able to view some of the pieces that would be up for bid.  There were two amazing pieces I knew I had to have immediately–a pristine pair of solid mahogany Victorian balloon back chairs, circa late 1800′s.  Although beautiful in their original state (despite the run down upholstery), these chairs were just begging to be given a new life.  Needless to say, I practically jumped out of my seat when the auctioneer brought these guys to the bidding platform, and as you can see, I won :)

The first thing I did when I got home was carefully remove the tattered seat upholstery, keeping it in tack so that it could be used as a template for making the new covers.

Next, I painted the chairs duck egg blue.  Then they sat in my living room while I stared and squinted at them for almost two weeks…

 

Something just wasn’t right…the blue didn’t suit them.  I couldn’t find a single fabric I liked for them in that color, it was a sign.  So I changed it.  I took out a can of jet black paint and went right over the blue.  THIS was it.  These chairs were so beautiful and packed with character, they just needed to be revived in a BOLD way.  After the black paint cured, I gave the chairs a light coat of laquer, I wanted them nice and shiny =) 

Last, I covered the chairs in a bold black and white striped fabric…I couldn’t be more pleased with the way these Victorian balloon backs turned out!

 

 These chairs are so chic…so Hollywood Regency!

And for the close up…

If you like the look of these revived Victorian beauties, check out this chic Victorian entry table too!

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Re-purposed TV Console [your pick]

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Today’s wonderful “Your Pick” transformation comes to us from Allyson over at Domestic Superhero.  Allyson was in search of a TV console table for her new 51″ TV, so she set out to find one at her local consignment shop…but what she found was far from that.  Allyson found a beat up old dresser instead, but not just any old dresser…a dresser with a destiny…destined to become her new TV console table that is!  Here’s how the dresser looked when she found it:

Allyson sanded down the piece and removed the top drawers so that it would be open shelving for her TV console…

Then she gave the piece a good coat of primer…

Next, Allyson painted the piece a funky shade of yellow, how fun!

Since Allyson decided she wanted the piece to have a distressed look, she applied a coat of dark glaze on top of the yellow.  After the glaze dried, she painted the piece with one more coat of yellow paint, then it was ready to distress!  Allyson sanded down the paint in different areas (mostly around the edges) to give the console table a weathered look.

The last thing Allyson did was give the original hardware a coat of iron rubbed bronze spray paint.  Here’s how her re-purposed TV console turned out!  Pretty amazing, huh?!

If you enjoyed Allyson’s yellow painted cabinet, then you’ll love these yellow painted side tables too!

Rate Allyson’s transformation and share your thoughts below!

 

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The Modern Twist Chippendale Style Chair {before & after}

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Chippendale style chairs got their start centuries ago when the Chinese and Greek first made them popular.  It wasn’t until the early 18th century that the Chippendale style emerged in Europe.  Of course when this style was adopted, it was during the Queen Ann era, so it inherited that classic ball and claw foot characteristic we know so well.  Shortly after, these chairs made their way into the US, where we love and appreciate them to this day!  Today, these chairs look amazing when they are restored and given a slightly modern twist.  So you can imagine my delight when I stumbled across one at a local flea market recently.  I’d been waiting for the opportunity to grab one of these at a great price so that I could revive it with a twist ;)   (all while maintaining the amazing original character of course!)…Here’s how it turned out!

When I picked up the chair, it was scuffed up and dirty with super outdated upholstery.  The beauty of all these things is that they can be easily fixed, since the quality and condition of the chair was great!

I polished and touched up the chair on areas where it had been scratched or scuffed, then I removed the old seat upholstery.  It took me some time to decide on a new fabric for the seat, since I wanted to pick something that would give it a modern twist without compromising the chairs original character and intricate design.  I finally decided on brown and cream colored crossed trellis pattern.  I am really happy with how the finished product turned out.

What do you think of my revived Chippendale chair?

 

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Before & After White Cane Chair {your pick}

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Today’s Your Pick submission brings up a blast from the past.  Remember those big, solid brown cane chairs that were in everyone’s den or “sun room”?  These were huge in the 80′s and early 90′s (similar to my ugly 80′s buffet), for some reason I’m thinking Golden Girls…man, I loved that show!  Anyway, point is, those original cane chairs went out a long time ago, right along with hi-top sneakers and spandex shorts.  However, the modernized cane chair has made a big come back, like these from Shabbfufu:

French Style Louis Cane Side Chair With Fog Linen

This new cane chair trend is what prompted Debbie (of meandmydiy) to transform an old, outdated cane chair for her daughters room.  Debbie decided to paint her chair a weathered shade of blue with white cane to give it a fresh, updated look.  And the best part?  She used painters canvas drop cloth material to recover the chair’s fabric and pillows!  How clever and innovative!

Check out the incredible results…

Debbie shares the story behind her transformation:

“This is a chair that I picked up from Craigslist and refinished for my daughter’s bedroom.  I used paint to transform the frame, and painter’s canvas drop clothes to do the rest.  The matching pillow was also made from the same drop cloth, and painted using latex paint and painter’s tape.  I couldn’t be more pleased with the results!”

Debbie’s cane chair transformation turned out amazing!

Share your thoughts and rate Debbie’s cane chair transformation below.

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The Quick Cabinet Flip {your pick}

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That old country TV cabinet.  We’ve all seen (or owned) one at some point, they were all the rage in the 90′s!  Fast forward to 2012 and that old cabinet just isn’t cutting it anymore.  That’s exactly how Judy (of Rhode Island) felt about the pine country cabinet that sat in her home for 20 years.  Judy used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Versailles Green to transform the cabinet, then painted the inside of the doors in (Annie Sloan) Empires Silk Red to give the piece a surprise pop of color.  This cabinet’s quick transformation gave it a brand new life; another perfect example of why you should always look twice at what you have before buying new!

Judy shares the details of her transformation:

“We have had this pine country cupboard cabinet for our TV set for at least 20 years. It has experienced two boys, one husband and three dogs (one at a time!) trying to grab balls that seem to always find their way under the TV cabinet. It was sorely scratched and nicked by dogs, kids and moving of VCRs, DVD players and remote controls. A visit to Bristol,RI to the Annie Sloan Paint Shop, a free weekend… and voila! The old cabinet now looks almost new and sure adds a bit more color into our 2 year old family room / dining room. Versailles green with a coat of clear wax was the coating of choice. We did not go any further to add back in the dings that we filled up with wood putty. But we took the daring step of incorporating one of Annie Sloans’ styling techniques. We learned that she likes to paint the inside of her pieces in unexpected colors and uses. I used the Emperor’s Silk Red paint and only a sample jar at that. You can still see some of the wood grain through the red. We like it.”

Share your thoughts and rate Judy’s cabinet transformation below!

 

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Trash to Treasure Nightstands {your pick}

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I’m loving bright painted furniture right now!  Mint, coral, buttercup and turqouise are some my absolute favorite bright tones right now (remember my buttercup plant stand and the little lime table ).  Introducing a single piece (or two in today’s case ;) ) of brightly painted furniture into a room can really add character and liven up a space.  Think of it like adding a bright, fun pair of earings to a basic, neutral outfit.  Today’s “your pick” is a perfect example of just that!  Bridgett sent in two outdated, old nightstands that she livened up with a coat of fresh, yellow paint.  Just imagine the impact these babies will make in their new space!

Bridgett shares the story of her trash-to-treasure nightstand transformation:

“I snagged these beauties off Craigslist for $10! I had the perfect home for them in my Master Bedroom! I fell in love with the detail on the legs! With some sanding and a nice coat of sunshine yellow these nightstands gave my bedroom a breath of fresh air! I couldn’t be happier with the end result!”

These nightstands look like something straight out of Anthropologie!  Well done Bridgett!

Share your thoughts and rate Bridgett’s transformation below!

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The Helpless Louis XVI Chair Rehab {before & after}

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I picked up a sad, helpless looking Louis XVI chair at a flea market a couple weeks ago for $20 (gotta love flea market finds ;) )  As I’ve said before, the worse-off a piece starts, the better I feel about giving it a transformation…and it’s safe to say that this chair started out pretty bad.  I’d been eyeing Louis XVI chairs at places like Restoration Hardware and Home Decorators Collection for a while, so I knew exactly what I wanted.  I just love the rustic charm and simplicity of this style chair.  I was looking for a chair to sit along side of my newly revived dining room buffet, so I chose a color palette of gray and white to use on the chair.  Here’s how the chair started out:

Yes, this chair left much to be desired.  So I got work stripping off the fabric and cleaning off years of dirt and debris.  Of course, I always try to keep the original pieces of fabric in good condition so that I can re-use them as templates for cutting my new fabric. Then I gave the chair a fresh coat of Annie Sloan chalk paint in “Old White”.

Ahhhh, don’t you just love the difference a simple, fresh coat of paint can make!  There’s one of the original fabric “templates” sitting under the chair!  After the new paint was set and dry, I begin cutting out the new fabric for the chair.  I chose a fabulous gray chenille fabric that I purchased from a local textile mill =)

Here’s a close up of the front of the chair after I applied the new fabric.  I used nail head trim stripping to secure the fabric to the chair, and then upholstery tacks on any spots that wouldn’t be seen.

I love using chenille fabric because it has somewhat of a warn, vintage feel, which is great for using on revived antique chairs.  Chenille’s like a fine wine in my opinion, it only gets better with age!

Here’s a peak at the back of the chair, stunning, isn’t it?!

And now, without further ado, here’s the final before & after transformation of the Louis XVI Chair!

Here’s the chair in it’s new home next to my chalk painted buffet…

I am in love with the final product!  This chair came out so much better than I could have imagined, and I saved hundreds by creating this myself!

What do you think of the Louis XVI chair transformation?

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The Little Lime Table Transformation {your pick}

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I’ve always loved using bright paint colors on furniture, it gives otherwise plain and simple pieces a reason to take center stage.  When done right, a brightly painted piece of furniture can really turn into the focal point of a room.  We see a lot of this trend in coastal/ island style decor, so it’s no wonder that these bright colors tend to bring us to our happy place {well they bring me there anyway ;) }  Today’s “your pick”, sent to us from Kristie, is a perfect example of just that.  This simple, old hand-me-down cabinet was almost written off before Kristie decided to revive it with a fresh coat of lime green paint and some new hardware.

Well done, Kristie! You transformed this cabinet from a dud into a head turner, don’t you just love when that happens?

If you enjoyed Kristie’s lime green table transformation you’ll probably enjoy this Buttercup Plant Stand too!

Rate Kristie’s transformation and share your comments below!

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The Antique Buttercup Plant Stand {before & after}

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It’s near impossible for me to pass up ANY piece of furniture for $5.99, let alone a solid, antique piece.  This was the case while strolling through the isles of a local thrift shop the other day.  This side table/plant stand jumped out at me with it’s bubbly character and solid build, the possibilities were just swirling in my mind and I knew I HAD to have it.  I love trying out different colors and paint designs (just like on my chevron side table) on small pieces of furniture, and this table would be perfect for a new buttercup yellow paint I mixed up!  Here’s the piece before I got to transform it ;)

To get the perfect buttercup yellow for this plant stand, I used a standard yellow acrylic paint, then mixed it with Annie Sloan chalk paint in Old White (3 parts yellow, 1 part white).  I gave the table two coats of buttercup, let dry, then taped off two “v” shapes that I decided to paint gray-just to add a bit of character to the table…

I used Annie Sloan chalk paint in Paris Gray to brush on the “v” shapes. The chalk paint goes on pretty thick and I wanted the stripes to look a bit weathered, so I let the stripes dry, then used steel wool to sand them down and ruff them up a bit.   Here’s how my $6 plant stand/side table turned out in the end…

This happy little plant stand turned into a piece I would have paid a pretty penny for; and to think, I bought it mainly to try out with my buttercup yellow paint!  It pays to keep an open mind and allow yourself to simply BE INSPIRED.

 

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