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Before I jump in on Week 4 progress, I want to thank everyone for your sweet comments on the HGTV Magazine feature. It wasn't totally real until I could share it with y'all and I'm still on cloud nine. Actually I'm kind of hoping that euphoria will carry me through the next few weeks because I feel like this project is growing. The list should be getting smaller at this point right? My design ADD is killing me. (catch up on previous weeks here.)

Now that the painting is done and I'm ready to get going on the meat and potatoes of the room I wanted to take this week to share some details on what will be sitting on those newly painted floors.

If you are new to LBD then I should let you know; I like a good bargain. And I love things that have a story to tell. (my furniture likes to talk almost as much as me) So when I can marry those two things and satisfy my 'thrill of the hunt' fix, then I am a happy girl.

For those that follow me on Instagram, these might look familiar but let's take a tour, shall we?


The couch. I found this beauty at Goodwill and loved it right away. Then the 'do I or don't I' debate started and I decided I would walk away and check back tomorrow. If it was still there it was meant to be. I thought about it all night and couldn't wait for the store to open the next morning. I rushed in and paid the $30. That's right. $30. I picked it up the next day in a surprise (and severe) snow storm with it hanging out of the back of my car for the 2 miles home. Zero visibility on the roads but 100% happy with my find.


The chairs. My friend and I go to an annual high school garage sale every spring and we usually come away with something great. The lines are long, we have to go super early and it is pure madness when we get in. We love it. This past spring we went and came up with a big fat nothing until we headed toward the exits. I saw these chairs and said to her that I had no more room for armchairs in my house (I have 4 extras in my basement), but don't they have great lines? And then she said the best thing a friend could say - "They are $8. Get them!" (thanks Becca). And so I did. They won't look like this the next time you see them, but they are again in excellent condition and I love their shape. And that's $8 for the PAIR by the way.


The lamps. Both were from Goodwill. Separate trips but equally ugly. :) Big plans for these. They were $8 for both.


The table. I knew I wanted something for the girls to draw and create on, but I didn't want to spend a lot since...they wold be drawing and creating on it. I saw this one at, wait for it, Goodwill, and emailed my lovely Linda to see what she thought. She assured me I could find some way to paint over that veneer and I pulled the trigger. $20. The dust was free.


The chairs. The green one was my dad's 'homework chair' growing up and the other chair has sat in my parents basement for 30 years. I come by my furniture hoarding honestly. Best part - FREE.


The coffee table. Snatched it up while at a retirement home sale with a client (they had great stuff). My monkeys girls' broke the glass top during an illegal dance party so it needs to be fixed and spruced up. She is the perfect length though and I love her height. $15.

So now the plan is take this motley crew and make them look cohesive and fresh. Less junky, more funky. Some of them have already been made over, some are still in process and some I still need to start (ugh!). Will I make it?!

- Rip up gross carpet (floor and stairs) and replace flooring
- Paint and plank walls and bookshelves
- Recover estate sale chairs - at the upholsterers 
- Create some sort of art station for the girls
- Paint chairs and table
- Repair and paint coffee table
- Create toy storage that doesn't involve the words 'pink' or 'plastic'
- Get some art on those walls
- Find rugs
- New Lighting

Saturday was a peaceful day. The hubs and I had both had long, stressful weeks and we had zero plans for the weekend. A rare treat. The girls slept in and the sun was shining. Life was good. If I was in a Disney movie, I would have been singing in a field with a blue bird on my shoulder.

We went out to breakfast and were heading to the park for some quality playground time when we drove by my favorite Saturday sight - an estate sale sign. My sweet and loving hubs, who knows me so well, immediately said "drop us off at the park and you can run by and check out the sale." (he gets an extra Christmas present this year) I threw helped everyone out of the car and drove over to check it out.


It was crowded but I wasn't finding anything that spoke to me. Until, on my way out, I saw him. I smiled and he said "pick me."

His trunk was "injured" as the lady told me, but all of his parts were right there next to him just waiting to be put back together. And at $2.50 I couldn't go wrong. If this dude was in tip top shape he would be a few hundred. Until...crap. I was so busy enjoying my lazy Saturday that I had been too lazy to remember my wallet.

I ran out to the car and checked for loose change. I found a dollar in quarters and took a chance. I explained that I wanted the broken elephant and was it negotiable. "All I have is a dollar," I said in my best 'take pity on my' voice.

"I'll give it to you for $1if you promise not to use Elmer's Glue to put it back together. That just won't hold like you'll want it to," said the old lady in charge.

Umm, OK. That's a deal.


I love his detail.


And I think I will name him Elmer. In honor of the coo coo lady who let me have him for $1.

Do you have any good estate sale stories? Do you have something you couldn't pass up, even if it wasn't in the best shape? Have you ever tried to glue something this heavy back together using Elmer's? I didn't think so.

And remember, there is still time to sign up for your chance to win a $200 gift card to Target! (oh yeah). Giveaway ends Friday!

How is that for a cleaver title post? Yawn.


I thought I would share what I did right, messed up on, and learned from on this old dresser.

For those of you who are new (welcome by the way) and those that might not remember, I got this dresser about a year ago. Long story short - $70 at an estate sale. Raise that roof people.

Here is the way he looked when I met him. The excitement of finding him obviously prevented me from taking a straight picture.


After a year of heavy use as a changing table/dresser it was showing a lot of wear, which I thought was odd. It's not like we beat it or anything. This should have been my first clue as to how refinishing would go.


It is as sturdy as can be and a solid piece of furniture but I was over the white. So let the project begin.

Since it was a balmy 30 degrees outside when I started this (and maybe 38 in the garage) I knew I'd have to take this project inside. So I pulled out the always trusty Citristrip. And good news, they now also have this stuff in a spray can. Wish I had known that before I started.

There is zero smell with this stuff. In fact it smells kind of minty fresh. And it is low VOC, so no worries about harming the littles with my projects.


Put on way more than this picture shows. Like double this amount. I put some on, took this picture and then put on more. More is more with this stuff.

They also recommend you use gloves but I didn't (I live on the edge). I got some on my hands and I've lived to tell the tale.


The directions will tell you to wait 30 minutes, but I could tell by looking at it after a half hour it wasn't ready. I waited two full hours, or basically until it looks like this. The longer you wait, the less muscle you need.


Then you scrape. And if you've been patient, it just lifts right off. Like butta.

As you can tell from this picture my suspicions were right - those little bastards just painted right over the varnished wood. See how dark that wood is? That's layers and layers of stain and varnish. No wonder it chipped so easily.

You can see that all the varish didn't come off after the first, or second coat. So later, rinse, repeat. I'm going to find the people that painted this thing and shake them. Or make them watch episodes of 1600 Penn. Yes, that would be much worse.


The good news about this product is that you can do another coat as soon as the first one dries, which is usually about 15 minutes or so. And it's stink free too.


Finally it is ready.

Now I had originally planned to go with oil based porch and floor paint, like Jenny has used, to get the high gloss finish I was after. But remember that whole weather issue? I can't paint outside in 30 degree weather and oil based paint in the house with no windows open is a no no.

Luckily after telling my sob story to the smarty pants at Benjamin Moore, he suggested this.


Benjamin Moore Advance. It is a water based alkyd paint so it acts like an oil based paint (self-leveling, high gloss finish, hard laquer like shell) but without killing many brain cells.

Sold.

After talking about my search for the perfect shade of navy paint, I decided to follow Natalie's lead and went with Old Navy by Benjamin Moore.


I used a roller that my new bestie at Benjamin Moore recommended and it worked like a charm. I was a bit nervous after putting on the first coat though as it wasn't as dark as I wanted. But as the hours passed it got darker and darker.

And yes, I did say hours. A full 24 to be exact. That's how long you have to wait in between coats. And I did four coats. That is four days people. Of painting. And then another four days of drying.

Eight days and nights. Just sitting there, waiting for it to develop its hard candy shell. It was my biggest lesson in patience since having a 'willful child'.


But now he's done and looking good. He makes me smile every time I see him. That deep navy and the little sparkle of his gold handles. He looks like a royal admiral in the navy or something. I think I will call him captain.



Look at that glossy top. You can see the reflection of the ceiling in that thing. Oh captain, you are such a show off.


Pulls courtesy of Martha Stewart at Home Depot. Knobs are the same ones I used on the vanity from Hobby Lobby.


The high gloss on the captain makes him wonderful in person, but a bit hard to photograph.


I'm so protective of him I can't really bring myself to put anything on him. But he is calling to be styled I think.

So the lessons learned: Benjamin Moore Advance is aces, Citristrip is a cinch and Sander Deglosser is a lifesaver. And most importantly, do. not. ever. paint over varnish. Or I will find you.

Painted anything lately? Found a piece of furniture that was keeping secrets from you? Want to come over and help me put the girls room together?

Oh Casey Kasem. You were the Confucius of our time. Now we are stuck with Ryan Seacrest. But this is a (worthy) discussion for another time.


Today I'm talking gold. I'm loving it. I need it. Since finishing my glitter vase for the Pinterest Challenge, I've been looking for something else to dip in gold and it didn't take me long to find my next victim subject. 


You all might remember these little honeys I picked up at an estate sale several months back.
The stars, my favorite detail of the tables, were just screaming for some gold.
I've had the tables in my living room for several weeks now, on approval from the basement, trying out the current finish. And although it wasn't bad, it wasn't working for me.


So the first step was to take the table out and gave it several light and even coats of my trusty black Rust-oleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover spray paint.

The table after her first coat of black

After 4 coats of black and a day of sunbathing to dry, my stars were ready for their closeup.
I got a Krylon Gold Leaf Pen at Michael's and went to town. I love this pen. It is like a marker for grown ups. I put a napkin under the star to protect the rest of the table and then just sat down and colored. (That star spins, I know pretty cool, so I would just paint the part of the star that was on the napkin, spin and repeat.) And it dries super fast so I was able to do several coats rather quickly.

A classic movie line to start the day.

I've had a few people email asking about the stool underneath my bedside table. And I realized in my 'get this damn room done already' hysteria, I forget to mention the little nugget.
There is an annual rummage sale at a local high school that a dear friend and I look forward to every spring. It starts early, the lines are crazy and the people watching is out of this world. It is Filene's Basement level hysteria in there and we love it.

This year though the sale was a bit of a bust. We found a few things that were OK but nothing we thought was worth taking home. But, as we were walking out the door I spotted this sad little stool out of the corner of my eye. You know my affection for sad little things.
A Thonet Bentwood ottoman as they are known. A beat up imitation, but for two bucks I went with it.  I am a seating addict (stools, benches, chairs, sofas) and I had to get a fix.

Unlike a classic Thonet Bentwood ottoman, this stool's cane seat had been replaced with this...carpet. Sorry for the fuzzy shot but trust me, its ugly. Consider this the soft film treatment, like they put on Barbara Walters to make her look better.
I wanted a pop of something other than blue in the bedroom so I sprayed the chair with left over paint I had from the girls room. Still loving that color.
As for the seat, the carpet (and I'm not joking, it is carpet) was glued on there, so there was no taking that stuff off. Instead I used spray adhesive to cover it with a $2 outdoor fabric remnant and some black trim I had gotten awhile back from JoAnn's.
And with that, all done. I so love a fast DIY. It satisfies my impatient nature perfectly.



So there you have it. A $4 dollar project. Money well spent!

Have you used left over things to pull together a project lately? This does nothing but encourage my 'buying random remnants of fabric' hobby. Know of any good places to score remnants? Anyone had luck on Ebay?

I hope everyone enjoyed a nice and relaxing weekend. Even though we had an extra day I feel rather behind this week. Does that ever happen to you? Anyone?

Anyway, on Monday I was able to make it to the annual Gypsy Caravan - one of the largest outdoor flea markets in the Midwest. I got there a little later than in years past but there was still plenty of good things.

This old prayer table would be so fun in an entry or as a bedside table. All you would have to do is unscrew the candle holder top thingy (is that sacrilegious?). It had the best patina.
A great old lamp for only $20. You know I love me some green.
I have no use for it, but really, who doesn't love a disco ball?!
This is the very same awesome teapot I saw back in December at my favorite antique store. Exactly the same as I recognized the guy running the booth. Only problem is - he'd marked it up. Bastard.
Wonderful old shutters.
A great selection of unique chandeliers. Love the one in the very back.
This set was in pristine condition and even had a whole for an umbrella.
By far the funniest thing I saw. This dude had 16 packets of this - you could easily do your whole room. Groovy.
Beautiful vintage milk bottles make for a lovely vase.
This booth had such amazing things.


I did walk away with one treat. This awesome vase (from the booth above) for $8. It is huge and lovely.
I will reward myself by filling this thing with some hydrangeas from the yard...as soon as it stops raining.

This gloomy day does make a perfect day for cleaning and laundry though. Oh joy.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow for the 'wahoo my bedroom is done' party.