I Love CraigsList!

Sorry for the delay in anything exciting. But truly, as this post is so named, I LOVE CraigsList. I mean... a couch for $40, bed rails and a boxspring for a total of $60. Where else are you going to find such deals? Nowhere! Two of my finds, that I'm super excited about, were among my makeover projects from the last few weeks.


As soon as we got home.

This nightstand was $20. I ended up driving a little too far to get it, but hey, for $20? Couldn't find a nightstand anywhere around here for nearly that cheap. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do! So this girl sold me this guy for a whopping $20. The wood itself was in really good shape, but upon opening and taking out these drawers, learned that this girl spray painted the nightstand! And not like spray painted it in its entirety, but spray painted only the parts that you can actually SEE - the front of the drawers, the nightsatand on all sides. Sooo... another art project, woo! Thankfully this one was already black, so that made my life a little bit easier. So this was the first project I actually started on (aside from the stool) when it came to sanding, painting, and finishing a project for my house. Not so hard, and definitely helped me feel a little more confident in the future projects I was about to take on... yay!

So much paint underneath! What color was this thing originally?!

After a little bit of sanding, found this really interesting design undearneath. See it?

Before painting fun began, all sanded down.



All done!

So fun fact: this came with the knob on top and a handle on bottom. If you weren't aware, it's rare to find a 3 1/8" these days, and apparently they're a thing of the past. Newbie Megan didn't know this, so she had already gotten rid of the hardware. Brilliant, right? And, well, I didn't see the purpose in buying MORE supplies, so didn't want to buy wood filler, or a drill, to make a new hole and have a handle that fits. So two knobs it is; maybe I'll change it one day. But there you have it! I'm pretty excited about this first piece, minus the handles, but that's okay. It adds character. *smile*

NOW. The real fun came with this piece:

Yep. That's exactly how I got this. But again, that's why it was free! I met this lady halfway between here and Jefferson at an antique shop last Saturday morning where she promptly had a surprised look on her face (I think she was expecting someone older who looked like they would probably know what to do with this thing) and asked, "Now, what on EARTH are you going to do with this? Do you reupholster furniture?!" I laughed and said I had become a hobbyist of sorts and that yes, I was going to attempt to reupholster the chair. So I went back to Hobby Lobby (where I had already been that morning) and bought some amazing fine courduroy in a houndstooth print. And I am not kidding, when I say that I've wanted a houndstooth chair for a LONG time, so this was just meant to be! $30 for fabric for a free chair? Win.

So this was definintely an adventure. I had found a few blogs via Pinterest that gave some basic instructions and tips on how to recover a chair. So using those blogs as a guide, I came up with my own way. Mind you, I still haven't purchased a staple gun, so this is still all hot glue. Yep, I'm talented.

I can totally recreate this... right?

In the beginning...

Naked chair!

This is what building a seat will get you... so glad Lowe's will cut wood for you!

So there you have it. Not an easy task, but I am SO proud of what I did with this! And she looks pretty in my room. (photos to come later) Check out the final product.

TA-DA!

I finally have my houndstooth chair!