Showing posts with label redo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label redo. Show all posts

Sunday, November 24, 2013

{f}ixing an office space









Turning spaces like these into organized, functional, and easy to access spaces can be quite daunting for some people. We are here to tell you that you shouldn't be so intimidated by such a project! With a few spare hours you can organize this space with a few baskets & bins.





The wicker baskets were found at Target for a great price and they are the perfect depth for the bookshelf. This space was intended as a storage space for art supplies and craft projects. Each of the wicker baskets has different craft supplies that can easily be removed from the shelf and returned when the project is finished. The large white bins on the top shelf are from T. J. Maxx and are the "finished" and "almost finished" bins to keep projects off of the table and stored safely. 














We then added some picture frames and mason jars to add a more personal touch to this functional space.




Other places we visited to complete this project were HomeGoods, Target, Staples, and the Container Store. The entire project {from beginning to end with shopping time} probably took 4 to 5 hours and in that time the room was quite a mess! If you commit yourself to a project like this for an afternoon {or a day!} you are guaranteed to find great results! 

As always, please send us any pictures of projects you do like this!

xo



Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Re-Purposing an Old Dresser

Hello everyone! So sorry for the lack in posts the past few weeks, its been a hectic time for us Smith girls! Paige has been busy working as a daycare teacher and doing her online summer classes. Taylor just got her first job working at American Eagle and doing the massive amount of summer homework she has. We promise to keep posting something every week from now on! So to get on with this post....

Do you have old furniture laying around the house that just doesn't "work" anymore? Maybe an old chair or dresser that just doesn't fit in anymore? Instead of ditching the piece and buying something new, try re-purposing it!

Here is a quick and easy way to re-purpose an old piece of furniture...

What You'll Need

  • Old Furniture
  • Painters Tape
  • Newspaper
  • Sandpaper/Sanding Blocks 
  • Primer
  • Paint
  • New exciting drawer pulls 



Steps to Success

Our old furniture piece was a brown wooden dresser that had been around our house since we were little. Since Paige is moving into her first apartment in August {yeee! lots of excitement} we needed to find inexpensive furniture. And re-purposing an old piece was the perfect thing to do!

Prepare

1. Take all the drawers out of the dresser. Ours was kind of old and there were some rough edges and nails sticking out, so make sure to clean up any edges and remove excess nails

2. Take your sanding blocks and begin to sand the front of the drawers. It doesn't have to be a super hard task, its just to smooth and break the surface so the primer stays. Once sanded the front of the drawers should be a lighter color than the rest of the drawer.
 
 

3. Do the same for the rest of the drawers and the dresser. Since our Dad has lots of power tools we were able to use a sanding machine for the rest of the dresser so it was pretty quick. *Helpful tip: If your drawers or dresser have edges to them make sure you remember to sand that part as well! The small edges are just as important as the entire piece.

  

4. Don't forget the feet! Flip your dresser over and lightly sand the feet

Once your dresser is completely sanded... 

1. Cover  with newspaper and tape the edges of your dresser so that paint wont get all over your dresser drawers and dresser. {our dad is SUPER SUPER OCD so our drawers had to be just right before he would let us paint, you don't have to cover to the extent that we did}


2. Cover all the drawers and the inside of the dresser...
Once covered....

1. Use the primer and paint the drawers and the dresser. Make sure you are in a highly ventilated area if you are using spray paint primer. If not, make sure to use a ventilated mask like our dad did... {what a cutie}

2. Make sure the primer layer isn't too thick because if it runs you will need to lightly sand the drawers and dresser again
Once primed...

1. Paint your dresser the desired color. Again, make sure you are in a ventilated area and that the paint doesn't run.

2. Let the paint dry and add additional coats if needed.
And there it is, you just re-purposed an old dresser. It was quick and easy to do! Now that old brown wooded dresser that took up space is a fresh looking, apartment ready dresser!

To add some additional spunk to the dresser, Paige added contact paper to the inside of the drawers. This will protect the drawers and your clothes. The contact paper she found had a vanilla scent which will {hopefully} keep things smelling fresh too! Once the contact paper was added, she put some shabby chic glass drawer pulls on the drawers. Voila!