4 Days, 3 Makeovers

I don't know if I ever mentioned it on here, but one of my sisters just moved in with us temporarily.  My almost 20 yr. old sister Angelyn is now living with us and I'm so excited!  She is going to be so great to have around.  Josh will be super busy starting his 3rd year of med school {TOMORROW, ack!} and I'm glad to have the extra company.  PLUS, she absolutely adores Grayson and will be our own personal, live-in baby-sitter.  Woot woot!

So in preparation for her coming, I wanted to paint some things for her room.  I got this headboard at a yard sale for $10 and the end table was given to us by my wonderful in-laws 3 yrs. ago when Josh and I got married. {so free, yay!}  Also, I wanted to paint a coffee table turned bench seat that has been at the end of our bed for the last year.  I got it at a thrift store for $25 I think?  The bench seat also lifts up for some awesome storage space, you know I love that!

Here are the before shots.

bench

 In great shape, solid wood, but too dark and gloomy for me!  Our bedroom is pretty dark as it is, so I wanted it a light color to help brighten up the space.

end table

 same story, too dark and boring.  But in great shape and look at the beautiful, curvy legs!

headboard

I didn't like the shade of green and wanted it be a more neutral color and match the end table

I knew I didn't have a week or two {or, let's be honest, 3 or 4 at my pace} to slowly work on these and let all the primer and paint cure properly.  We had just got back from California and my sister, and Mom and other sister who drove up with her, were coming soon.  So I finally gave in a ordered some chalk paint.  It was every bit as wonderful as I'd heard!  The paint dries SO fast and you really don't need to sand or prime, amazing!!!  I got 2 colors, old white and paris gray.  I figured some basic neutrals would be a good first choice.  That way I could use them on future pieces too. 

As the title implies, I was able to do these 3 pieces in 4 days total!  That includes the protective coat of wax I did after painting and distressing.

Now for the afters!

 I did the top white and the rest gray.  Sorry for the poor lighting.  This thing is awkward to move around, so I didn't want to move it just for a picture.

And here is the bench

{already stuffed with goodies- seasonal decor and scrap wood}

And my favorite transformation to date, my "new" cute little french end table!

 oh man oh man, I'm in love

so pretty

I wish it got to be in my room instead of my sister's room, kidding kidding! 

mostly

I LURVE it!

Now for  the dramatic, side-by-side, before and afters!

Pretty good for 4 days, huh?

Linking here
and here-

California

I've been busy this past week enjoying my family visiting from Florida.  Hence the lack of posting lately.  But I wanted to finish posting about our California trip and my SIL's wedding. 

First up, 4th of July.  Gray was pretty tired by the time we went outside for sparklers.  So he didn't last too long.  But it was fun. :)

Boy, we sure do miss the other Reynolds family. :(  They used to live right next door to us.  Come back you guys!!!

We went to a small local zoo another day, the Orange County Zoo I believe.  Josh's sister Lindsey and our nephew Drew came with us and it was really fun.

Drew loved to point at all the animals. Gray just sat there the whole time.  I like to think he was just relaxing and enjoying everything.  :)

a coyote

Lindsey and Grayson, she was so helpful!

There was a petting zoo part where you could go inside and pet the goats.

The bears were the coolest animals.  They were awake and walking around.  It was fun to watch them.  Doesn't it look like the one bear is playing a drum?!

 This is my favorite picture!  On the drive back, Grayson and Drew kept reaching out their hands toward each other.  So sweet.  I know Grayson misses his cousins!

And the last day we were in California was Courtney (another of Josh's sisters) and Bobby's wedding.  It was such a great day and a gorgeous wedding!

4 generations- Josh's grandparents, his dad, Josh, and Grayson

 Our little family with the beautiful bride.

 Dancing

The newlyweds with all the nephews!

4 generations again- Josh's {other} grandparents, his mom, Josh, and Grayson

What a great trip!

From Drab to Fab {End Tables}

I have finally finally finished these end tables that I started who knows how long ago.   

Actually it was exactly 4 months, I started sanding on March 19 and finished July 19.  

Here are the ever important before pictures.

 Not too bad when you step back, but on closer inspection...

 There was a lot of damage like this.  Nothing a good sanding and painting wouldn't fix though.

I loved the look of them, the detail on the doors, and all the storage these babies would provide.   Hidden storage, perfect to store Grayson's toys, my paint supplies, whatever.  I love it, extra storage space always makes me giddy!

Now I wasn't working on them the whole time, obviously.  First I sanded them one of them down and then they sat there for. ev. er.

Finally, we {well, mostly Josh} got sick of them sitting around in the way, so I really started to get down to business.  Now these end tables aren't wood sadly, they're laminate.  But I got them for only $30 at a thrift store so the price was right!  And like I said before, I LOVED the look and storage space they had.  I sanded the other down, primed, and painted.  I followed the steps from this blog about painting laminate furniture and it worked great.

 Priming

 Painting

I was really worried with the first and second layers, it looked so neon!  But it got better after the 3rd coat. :)

Then I spray painted all the hardware with my favorite Krylon ORB {oil rubbed bronze}. I finished by sanding lots more to distress them, used some Minwax Finishing Paste for a protective coat, and here they are now.

I just love how they turned out.

I was nervous about sanding them, but I love how it makes all the details pop.

 

Side note, I decorated these with thrift stores/garage sale finds.  I love my vintage globe.  I know it's old because look.

It has the USSR instead of Russia, haha.

And my most favoritest picture-

They are brightening up my living room and I've already utilized some of that storage, woo-hoo!

Linking here and also these places-
The Shabby Chic Cottage