encore

A place for me to share my DIY projects, especially makeovers. I love breathing new life into old stuff - giving them an encore performance.

02/12/2017

I made a serving tray to sit on top of the coffee bar that I'm working on. The bottom of it is coffee beans embedded in resin. Click here for more photos and to read about the process: http://kimthibodeaux.blogspot.com/2017/02/coffee-bean-resin-wood-serving-tray.html

02/05/2017

I'm turning an old dresser that I got for FREE into a buffet/coffee bar.

I'll add 6" in height by adding feet using fence post finials. I painted the body with Mudpaint's "China White". The top will be stained with General Finishes "Java" Gel stain. The insides of the drawers are spray painted Rustoleum Eden Green. The sides of the drawers will be covered with this Coffee Break wallpaper from Spoonflower. This is the biggest project I've ever attempted.

Here are some WIP photos and some of my inspiration photos. I'll continue to add progress photos and eventually the final product.

2/4/17: I hadn't planned on distressing, but the less than perfect paint job changed my mind. I distressed with 100 grit paper then smoothed with 220 grit. I was conservative with the amount of distressing I applied.

Then I did two coats of Varathane Crystal Clear water-based polyurethane, allowing about three hours drying time between coats.

Then, I flipped the dresser over so that it was upright and I applied the first coat of General Finishes "Java" Gel stain. It needs to dry 12 hours, so I'll apply the second coat tomorrow.

02/05/2017

Can't work on the dresser anymore today, so I decided to give some attention to this old mirror I found at a garage sale a few years ago. Its construction tells me it used to be attached to a piece of furniture. The glass is very heavy. Since the paint is so thick, I'm using an electric sander and 80 grit paper. After a couple of minutes, this design began to peak through. It looks like maybe someone tried stenciling at one point. I want to see what the original wood looks like. I might have to resort to chemical stripping.
Update: I'm pretty sure it's oak, possibly quarter sawn. It's beautiful! Photo in comments.

01/28/2017

It was a great day to do some painting. I'm upcycling an old, wood dresser into a buffet/coffee bar. This is my first time using Mudpaint and I love it! No sanding. No priming. Smooth and creamy, not gritty like chalk paint.

01/28/2017

After a long week in an office atmosphere, putting my creative skills to work is my therapy. We all need time alone with our thoughts to decompress.

01/23/2017

I'm kicking off 2017 with my biggest transformation project ever. I'm making over our dining room with used furniture pieces. The biggest change will be downsizing from a large, rectangular table that seats eight, to a 44" round, pedestal table. The overall theme will be modern farmhouse. This is a very low budget project, but if all goes well, it will be spectacular. Here's a sneak peak of some of the elements.