Easy DIY Furniture Update with Contact Paper

I have this awesome mid-century chest of drawers that I got back when I lived in San Diego. It was too beat up to leave it as it was so I used my favorite method of furniture updating, spray paint, to paint it black.

It worked fine but I still wish I could have saved some of that cool wood grain that looks so nice on mid-century furniture. Well, not saved, since it was an ugly shiny plastic woodgrain laminate before, but I wish it had it in the first place to save.

So what is my solution? Contact paper to the rescue! I've wanted to use this woodgrain contact paper since I saw it at the hardware store, but it's a little tricky to find just the right place to use it without being horribly tacky looking (although I guess the whole idea of it in the first place is that it's a little kitschy.) Plus, when I get tired of it I can just peel it off instead of repainting the whole thing. Sweet!

I measured out the shapes that I wanted on each drawer and cut them out carefully. Then I peeled off the backing and placed it on the drawers! Super easy! I think it makes the drawers look a little more interesting instead of just being a big black hunk of furniture sitting there. Try it!

DIY Dresser Makeover

I got a bedroom set from a friend when I first moved into our apartment that looked like this:

My friend must have had this set for a long time because I opened up one of the drawers and a baby picture of her fell out! 

Since we have moved I decided I really wanted to get Joe and I a new(ish) set and give this set a makeover for the nursery. There are so many decorating projects and things we have to get done in the new place that I find myself trying to do two things at once, or getting distracted while working on a project and starting on another. I actually painted this dresser green and then put it in Ellie's nursery a couple days ago. I was bringing the drawers for the second dresser out onto the patio and got half of them painted when I decided to bring the first dresser out and do a design on them with painters tape.

Are you getting tired of chevrons too? Yeah! Chevrons are probably taking over the internet! I LOVE my area rug though. It brings the attention away from the boring taupe walls. 

Even though chevrons have gotten a little overused I really think it still looks cute in a babies room. I used painters tape and eyeballed the spacing. I suppose you could measure each stripe if you want it to be exact, but I had no problem making it look even. 

I used an ivory color to go with the green. I felt afterward that the green I picked out was a little too "primary" and I wish I had picked a softer shade. I'm still happy with it though! It will transition well from a nursery to a kids room. I peeled the painters tape off while it was still a little wet and it worked out just fine.

After they were dry I screwed on the new silver handles I picked to replace the gold ones. You have no idea how much I wanted to purchase these adorable handles that were shaped like branches, but $15 a handle is just a little too much for a babies room!

Kitschy Kitties Part Three

I found one more silly cat this weekend. I actually found a ton of cool things at one shop last Saturday. When I walked in I immediately picked up 6 things I HAD to have! I've been scouting out 70's style kitschy things ever since I realized that our color theme was pea green and orange (it just kinda happened that way.) 

I found a handmade flower embroidery which I love...

...and this mushroom wall clock! Holy moley! My husband didn't like it, but I told him I could not just leave it behind. Since I cleaned it up and hung it on the wall he changed his mind about it and thought it was pretty cool.

On top of that, I found some sweet mushroom ceramic tiles.

I seriously need a better camera!

Samurai

I got my tax return back so naturally I went out on a little shopping spree for the apartment. There were a few things the bathroom needed, like a shower curtain and extra storage. The living room needed bar stools for the breakfast nook and I picked up a nice ladder shelf from Target. I even splurged on an espresso machine! But best of all I got to hang my Samurai curtian I found in Wasilla at the thrift shop. It probably came from a sushi restaurant... I love it!!

More Wall Art

Here are some more paintings I've been doing for our new place. I've had these oddly shaped canvases for a really long time but I never knew what to do with them. Having a new apartment has really helped with my insipration! I've been working on painting and decorating all weekend and I finally feel like these canvases are finished! The photos aren't turning out as well as I thought, I think it's because there are no windows in the living room and I often stay up late at night working on them.

The first one is a silhouette of the Empire State Building. Our first place may be in Alaska, but our home is New York (...upstate... but that's not the point!) I painted the canvas black and cut out a paper silhouette. I taped it to the canvas and painted white around it.

The second one took a few tries before I got it right. I did a simple arrow pattern with grey and lime green.

I love the thick gallery style canvases because you can paint things on the edges of the canvas.

Chevron Painting

I've been working on a bunch of decor projects over the weekend, the biggest being this chevron painting. It took longer than I expected, mostly because the paint I was using was cheap.

I cut a stencil out of paper and traced it over the whole canvas. Painting straight lines can be tricky! As long as you do the best you can you really can't tell if the lines aren't perfectly straight.

I had to do a couple layers of paint to make it look smooth and then a coat of satin finish Mod Podge to get rid of the cheap matte look.

I was really unsure about the colors at first, either the brown and green looked too drab or the blue was too bright, but I painted some black stripes in which balanced the whole thing out pretty well. Do you like my pillows? I found them at Target on clearance! The colors and the little owl are perfect for the room and match my owl paintings I already have. I actually might hold off on getting a new sofa. I was convinced this love seat wasn't going to work with the decor I was looking for. It goes to show you that you can do anything with a little color and accessories. 

Moving Day and Thrift Finds

Today was phase one of moving day! I moved everything but my clothes, work stuff, bath and kitchen stuff. This afternoon I was on Craigslist searching for free furniture and I missed out on a great sectional sofa by only a half hour!  I happened to find some really nice things at a thrift store in town though.

My piles of stuff.

I found this really nice vintage brass lamp.

There were TWO globes at the one thrift store I visited... I wanted both so bad! But this one was cheaper AND it was a vintage lamp too! The light bulb must have gone out because it wouldn't light when I plugged it in. I think it's pretty cool that it says USSR.

I saw a few of these copper colored pans that people hang on the wall. I thought I might use a bunt pan one day so I picked up this one. 

I just love this cup and saucer set I found! I think the plates are more salad plates than saucers, but I don't really care. I didn't even notice until I got home that they have a New York State design on them! New York is my home state so that made them extra special. I'll have to use them for tea and petit fours one day.

Textile Love

I've been interested in textile design for quite a while now, from classes in college, internships at textile wholesalers, learning to knit and to crochet. However I have never tried my hand at weaving, that is, until I read this DIY Wood Frame Weaving Tutorial by The Darling Ewe. I had to try it! I set two work removing the fabric off of a canvas to use the wooden frame. I got myself a hammer and some nails and embarked on my weaving adventure. Although I weaved too tightly, I think my first try is coming out pretty nicely.

I stopped in the library and picked up a book on textiles for inspiration. There are so many great pieces of work and styles out there. Many textiles look like they are telling stories. Check out the very bottom photo... I'd love to know what that story was!