The cheap footstool

You probably shouldn't ask about the powder room. It's been rough. I was cheap and bought a cheap stencil. The border is way too thick and I can't get all the way to the bottom, top, or turn a corner. Also, I broke it when I was cleaning it. I either need to fork out the money and buy a more expensive one, or do something else totally different. Until then, I have another project to work on and one less bathroom.

When I saw this in the Ballard Designs Catalog I knew I needed one. However, I didn't have any desire to pay $129-$205 for it. I remembered that when I was little my dad made some for our house. I could totally do that, right? I went to Home Fabrics in Salt Lake. They were having a half off sale on all their fabric. I bought this for $3 a yard. I also got enough to make curtains for my kitchen. The fabric appears a much brighter red than it really is.

I wanted it bigger than the ones at Ballard Design, because I wanted more than one person to be able to use it. I'm about 5'3 (although I think I seriously may have shrunk) and my husband is about 6'3. We needed a wider one so that we could both use it. I bought a foam pad that was 22x22. I'm also lazy so I decided that that would be the size to cut the wood. That way I didn't have to cut the pad. Then I just layered the fabric, the pad and the wood and stapled it all together.

I bought the legs at Home Depot. They were the most expensive part of the project. I painted them Heirloom White by Rustoleum. They may turn black later. Anyway, now we have a super cheap foot stool!

My Favorite Yard Sale Find

I love yard sales. I love to redo furniture and make it my own. I've showed pictures of this hutch before, but I've linked up to the Best Yard Sale Finds Ever at the Nesting Place. I bought this hutch at a yard sale for $40. I didn't really want the top part and it's now being used as a garage for our vast collection of Tonka trucks. I wanted a sofa table. When I put it on the back of our sofa, it was a little too high so I decided I'd put it in this corner of the room that is kind of a waste of space. It may not be a usable space, (there are stairs that come down in the bottom left corner) but it's a decoratable space!

The hutch sat in this boring state for a few months. I couldn't decide what I wanted to do. At the time we were looking for a new sofa and in the stores I had seen some colored furniture that I loved. Did I dare to go that bold though? I thought of doing it antique white and glazing it, plain black, but I then I gave in. I decided if I hated it, it was just paint and I could always repaint it. I decided on this teal color.

I restained the top in a darker mahogany color. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but I was glad I didn't have to do the legs!

Here is that corner of the room now! That black frame is also a yard sale find that was brass. Thanks for coming to my little sewing/ decorating site!

I finally finished that hutch!

Remember this ugly orangish wood hutch? Well, I finally decided what to do with it. What I wanted was a sofa table, not a hutch. I got such a good deal on it that I originally planned on putting table part behind my sofa and figure out what to do with the shelves later. Well.... then it was too tall for behind the sofa. After months of debating back and forth about what to do or just sell it I decided on Saturday to paint it.

Here is the finished product. I restained the top and then painted the bottom an added a glaze. I think I'm going to like it. The top is now housing a fleet of Tonka trucks.

Now, I have some lamps that need refinishing. They are currently an ugly 70s brown. I had wanted to pain them teal, but I'm thinking that will be too much when placed on top of my "new" table. So do I do black or white? The fireplace in this room is white and I have a few picture frames that are black.

Garage Sale End Table

This table was another garage sale find I found last Friday. I think I paid $8 for it. I forgot to take before pictures until I had primed the legs. They were forest green before.

Here is a close up of the top.

I decided to paint it turquoise. Apparently I can't get enough lately.

Then I put a faux glaze on top.

And here it is in my house. Not sure what I'm going to put on top.... or if I'm just going to end up painting it black, but I do need to add more color to my room.

Back to the Shutters

Here are my finished shutters. I'm thinking we are going to hang them up a few inches.

Sorry about the open entertainment center. My three year old would not have appreciated me pausing his Talking Word Factory show so I could close the doors. This picture is to show how much space we have between the top of the shutters and the ceiling.

I have two sets of these shorter shutters, bought at the same time. My husband thinks if I hang these above the others it will look like a portal though.

I also make this seed ball out of dried pinto beans and then spray painted it the same color as the shutters. This is the color I was thinking of painting the hutch, but I'm leaning toward not that color now. Not that I'm leaning toward any color right now.

I have a few more non sewing projects to show later. Hopefully I can get back in my sewing room soon......

Hutch

I found this hutch a few weeks ago and a garage sale for $40. I feel like I got a steel. Since then I've been looking on KSL.com and have seen them for much more. I do have a delima though.....

We just ordered a new sofa and loveseat that are beige, these red ones are falling apart. We also have a beige wall. I'd like to paint the hutch. The wood is kind of an orangish color in real life and I need to add color to my family room. When I bought this I had planned on using the bottom half as a sofa table and painting it blue, like the color of the shutters. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the top half. Use it as shelves somewhere. When I got it home though the table top is higher than the back of the couch. Although I still like the idea of a blue hutch, I think it would take from the main focal point of the room which is our fireplace. I'll post pictures of that soon... when I get around to posting the finished shutters. So my question to you is this: What color should I paint this hutch? Black, white or something I haven't thought of?