A few years ago, I was looking for an antique vanity for my daughter’s room. I ended up having to drive out of town to pick-up my Kijiji purchase, but when I got there I found out she had a second vanity, a dresser, a little cabinet and bench. She was really wanting to get rid of the stuff and if I remember correctly, I got everything for around $60. I don’t remember the exact amount, but it was cheap. I took all the pieces and sanded, repaired and painted them over time. Here are the original pieces.
Vanity and Bench
Dresser
BEFORE: Dated Little Cabinet
I actually still have one of the vanities (not in above photos) that I have not yet completed. The little cabinet (on the left in the last photo) was not an antique, but was old and built well. I painted it out and used a dollar store stencil to decorate the top. It now sits in our kitchen below our menu board. I love the finished look and the cabinet virtually cost nothing as it was thrown in with my other purchases.
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I frequent garage sales and places like Value Village or thrift stores in search of “castaways” that I might be able to upcycle. I often have a list in hand and am looking for specific items, but will sometimes come away with unexpected treasures. I am a total sucker for things made of wood and will always search the housewares for items of this nature. Here are some of my past purchases. Wooden items like this often sell for under $5 and can be really beautiful once they are painted.
Spoon Rack
Bowls
Platter
I upcylced a pedestal bowl similar to the one in the photo above and we now use it as a fruit bowl in our kitchen! I simply sanded the surface to scuff it up for proper paint adhesion, and then primed and painted the surface. Spray paint is ideal for getting a smooth and professional finish.
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I purchased this cabinet for $35. It was in really rough shape and extremely ugly, but I thought it would be perfect for my scrapbooking room. The little cubbies were perfect for supplies and the front door opened down as an extra work space. This project was huge work, but it was well worth the effort.
$35 Vintage Cabinet
This is what the interior looked like. Needless to say it required lots of work.
Vintage Cabinet Make-Over
This cabinet needed to be sanded, primed and painted. The worst part was getting inside every little cubby. I chose to go plain white simply because it was so much work and I wanted the colour to be very versatile. I had to buy hinges, but I re-used the handles from our built-ins in the bathroom that had been replaced during a renovation. I always have paint on hand, so this project cost less than $50, but was quite time-consuming.
This make-over was really nothing more than paint and handles, but it made the piece look good and provided a great solution to my organization and storage problem. You will notice that I do not have a snap shot of the interior of the piece. That is only because I am too embarrassed to show the current disarray inside those little cubbies!
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Another awesome Kijiji score! I have been on the hunt for an antique office desk for years. Something inexpensive that I could fix-up. Our set-up had worked okay (at best) and always looked cluttered. When we bought our house, the quaint little 9′ X 11′ room just off our front entrance was introduced to us as “library” and the name has stuck. It’s small and cozy with an antique electric fireplace, original built-in book cases and a wall of windows. It really is lovely, but our computer set-up was barely functional with little desk top space and no storage. The little washstand we were using for our printer looked great in our purple bedroom at a previous home, but horrible here. I was on a mission, but would not settle until I found the perfect fit for our library. (Reminder…click any photo to enlarge it.)
Photos of Our Library ~ Before
Ugly grey office chair, purple cabinet, melamine desk and of course, the clutter.
Ugly! Need I say more?
Antique Oak Teacher’s Desk and Chair
I was so excited when I found this desk on Kijiji for $75 and the best part was that the seller was including the oak office chair with it! The desk was pretty beat up. The top had some minor water damage, gouges and several dark markings. The opening at the front (where the chair sits) was very beat up along the inside edges where the chair had obviously been rubbing for years. To me, this spelled CHARACTER and I was all over this project. We sanded the surface of the desk. All of the rough edges (that were really worn/damaged) were sanded quite deep, so that they were rounded and safe. We didn’t want to catch our clothes on the splinters or worse yet, get a sliver. The only thing we had to do to the chair was dust it ~ and that rocks!
BEFORE: Beat Up Oak Desk
Top is in rough shape.
Lots of wear and tear.
Refinishing the “New” Old Oak Desk
As mentioned above, we sanded the entire desk down and removed any splinters and sharp edges. We then gave the entire desk a coat of stain and several coats of urethane. I think I put two on the sides and back, 3 on the drawers and about 5 on the top for extra durability. We had the stain and urthane here, so the only cost was the original $75 and lots of “elbow grease”. You may notice that the handles on the top middle drawer are not original. A previous owners must have replaced them at some point. They are definitely more of a modern style, but they are oak (I think) and blend well with the piece. We left them as most people wouldn’t even notice and it does not really compromise the integrity of the piece. We are completely thrilled. The desk is huge! The top is 3 feet deep and 5 feet long. It provides enough space for the printer to sit on top of the desk as well as ample work space. It also has two slide out work surfaces, so there is plenty of room to work. I love the drawer space for storage and the one on the left is actually a double drawer that holds files (it is just made to look like two single drawers).
Refinished Desk ~ Front
Refinished Desk ~ Top
AFTER: Refinished Desk
Refinished Side-outs
The New Look Of Our Library
There is not much extra room, as we also have a love seat in the library for reading, watching movies or just hanging out. It is cozy, but there is still enough room to move in and out easily and gain access to all of the book shelves. Love it!
Library ~ from entrance
Library ~ love seat in front of windows
Fireplace and Built-Ins
“New” Antique Oak Desk & Chair
Library ~ from entrance
Library – desk & chair
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This past spring, I bought an entertainment unit off of Kijiji for $15. The unit was custom-built by the previous owner and very sturdy. The unit itself rests on a base that has a decorative molding around the outside of it and the top molding piece can also be removed. You would never know it when you see the unit assembled, but it certainly makes the heavy piece easier to move when it can be somewhat dismantled.
Original T.V. Entertainment Unit:
As you know, these types of cabinets are virtually becoming obsolete with the influx of flat screen televisions. You can often find melamine or veneer type units on Kijiji for cheap, but it is rare to find one that is of such good quality for so little.
The is the original entertainment unit.
Project Preparation:
We dismantled the main pieces of the unit and then I:
used TSP to thoroughly clean the surface
rinsed the TSP off with a clean cloth and bucket of water
gave the entire surface a very light sand (220 grit) to scuff-up the surface for proper adhesion of paint
primed the entire surface
we replaced the glass shelf with two wood shelves in the “tower” part of the unit
we also cut a shelf and front molding for installation in the area where the television was kept
Original cabinet stripped down
Drawers and base
Primed unit
Final Touches:
I decided to paint the unit red with the intent on it becoming a major furniture piece in my son’s room. I had 2/3’s of a quart left over from when I originally painted his room. The original red I used was called Lyon’s Red (Benjamin Moore). I got one good coat done and most of a second, but being red, it really needed a third coat to get proper coverage. I was feeling that the original red was slightly pinkish and I wasn’t totally loving it. I needed to buy another quart to finish the unit properly and decided to go with a very slightly different red. You can hardly notice the difference b/w the stripe on his wall and the red unit, but the final project is exactly the hue I was looking for. I love, love, love this red ~ Benjamin Moore Caliente (AF-290). The colour in the photo looks a bit blotchy, but it is not ~ the paint coverage is very even. Originally, I had planned to cover the back, but decided to wait to see what it looked like with his wall behind. I think that once everything is inside it will be fine, but I can always go back and add a back if we find it a problem.
Finished Project
I purchased some canvas totes for the tower and plan to books in the shelves where the television used to sit. The total cost of this project was about $70 ($15 for unit,$30 for wood and $25 for paint). The prep work was a bit time intensive, but the actual modifications/building was minimal. Look for the cabinet in the upcoming post on my son’s completed Hockey Themed Room.
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This pine deck box was a freebie from a friend. It has served as outdoor toy storage on our front porch for 5 years and was very weathered with broken hinges and all. I was tempted to get rid of it as it just didn’t seem to be worth the work, but in the end we decided to salvage and repair it, as we still need a place for outdoor toys.
The Old Box
Unfortunately, the before shot is once again more of a mid way shot because I forgot to take one. The box was very beaten up as you can still see by the lid. The sides had already been sanded at this point.
Rejuvenated Deck Box
Basically we gave it a rough sand, darker stain and a few coats of urethane that we had on hand. My husband bought some new hinges that will actually hold the lid up when it is lifted. Hopefully this will help prevent the slamming of the lid and the wear and tear on the new hinges. You can see the new look is much more rustic. I really didn’t care about the dings and markings ~ they just add character. Click the images to enlarge the photos.
At our house, the kids unload the dishwasher…or at least they are supposed to. Originally it was set up that one kid would “fill” and the other would “empty” for any given week. However, what seems to have happened is that they both “empty” and whoever gets there first unloads the top rack which is of course, much easier than putting all of the cutlery from the bottom rack away. It seems Tim and I are often on “fill”. Ugh!
Clean or Dirty
The biggest problem with this little system they’ve concocted is that both racks are often not unloaded at the same time. The result is that we are always in limbo not knowing if the dishes in the dishwasher are clean or dirty. Obviously the system itself needs some work, but in the mean time, I made this cute little sign to help solve our dilemma. I saw this idea online and just had to make my own.
Steps to Making the Magnet
Step 1: I found a thin but sturdy piece of card board and cut it to 4 1/2″ X 2″ piece.
Step 2: I cut a piece of scrapbooking paper equal in size to the cardboard.
Step 3: I glued the paper on the cardboard. I also added little stickers spelling “DISHES” vertically down the left side.
Step 4: I trimmed any excess paper and gave it a bit of a sand to rough up the edges. I then added white ink to the edges to hide the cardboard backing.
Step 5: Put one coat of Modge Podge over top and edges. Let dry.
Step 6: I used my paper trimmer as a guide to be sure I set the letter tiles on straight. I hot glued the outside tiles first and they also helped to guide my placement.
Step 7: Hot glue magnets on the back and paint, if desired. (I did paint mine after this shot.)
The Final Project:
The project was easy to do and didn’t take long to complete (with the exception of dry times). As soon as the dishwasher is turned on, the sign should be switched to “CLEAN” and then flipped upside down once the entire dishwasher has been emptied.
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I am all about de-cluttering and am always looking for great ideas to keep the house neat and tidy.
Key Rack Project Supplies
blocks
board or something for backing
dowelling to hang keys on (or you can use hooks)
wood glue and/or screws
hook or something for the back to hang the finished product
paint and sand paper
drill
I had found some old wooden alphabet blocks at a garage sale and bought the whole box for $2. I had all of the other supplies for this project at home.
Key Holder Project Steps:
Pick-out the K, E, Y and S, and proceeded to clean and dry them thoroughly.
Back board: I found an old pallet board (free) and drilled four holes equal in diameter to the dowelling (maybe a smidge bigger) below where each block would sit. I did not drill completely through to the back as I wanted to be able to glue them in place.
Sanded the board down slightly, and then primed and painted it. I very sloppily added a few layers of paint (green, blue and white). Be sure to let the layers dry in between. I then gently sanded the edges of the board to distress it.
I painted the blocks and pegs white. Once the blocks were dry , I gently sanded them to reveal some of the original colour.
Glued the pegs in place.
Glued the blocks in place. Later, once the glue was dry, I screwed them in securely from the back.
I then added a hook for hanging the board on the wall.
My finished key holder.
Here is another variation of the project.
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Okay, on my summer camp “to do” list this project looked like this:
put cedar chairs together
Despite the simplicity of those four words on my list, this ended up being a much bigger project and consumed much of my time and energy this week. The result is great, but the reality is this project meant that I did not get to some of the other items on my list.
The Story of the Cedar Chairs
I bought these chairs for my husband about 10 years ago, I am guessing?? We had them at our cottage and although we liked them, they seemed to be like some kind of a wild amusement park for the spiders at the lake. Every single time you went to sit and relax on the deck at the cottage, you would first half to remove the tangle of webs that were in every nook and cranny of the structure. Of course, having done this, I was never quite as relaxed knowing that the likelihood of a spider looming about was in the 90th percentile. Needless to say, they were not used much, but all the same were badly weathered. When we sold our cottage, the pieces sat in a pile in our basement. I had often requested that my husband put them back together, but the chairs are quite large and he felt we had no place to put them. So, this week, I have been on a mission to purge our home of anything and everything that is not being used and those chairs were #1. There was no way I was asking or telling my husband of my plans, so I waited until he went to work and set-out to put the chairs back together ~ without instructions I might add.
The Assembly
First off, it took a lot of brain power for me to figure out the pile of boards. Luckily I had a bit of a visual memory of how these looked when assembled (from about 6 years ago), but no instructions to follow. My first task was to sort the boards. I knew that somewhere in the pile there were the makings of two chairs, so I set to work to make to identical piles and then proceeded to try to visualize how this all might come together. I even found the little bucket of screws and washers without too much effort. I quickly I discovered I needed one of those tools that slips over the nut or screw head and magically tightens them without too much effort ~ a ratchet. The problem is that I soon figured out that I also needed a second one for the other end of the bolt and could only find one. I found some make shift plumbing angle iron type thing and struggled away to get the sides of one chair assembled. This took lots of time and muscle to manage the less than perfect tool selection and falling pieces. I came out with a few scratches and bruises and not too much accomplished. The worst part was that as I looked at the poor old partially assembled chairs I realized they needed a lot more than re-assembling.
Reality Check
I still didn’t know if we were actually going to have a spot to put the chairs or if they would end up on Kijiji, but the truth was they weren’t in good enough condition for either. So what began as a little project soon became a major one. I took the back supports off and began the process of sanding the sides and support boards. Once sanded, I removed all of the dust and proceeded to stain them a dark brown colour. The difference between the redish warn cedar colour and the deep brown was dramatic, to say the least. In order to make them withstand the outdoor conditions, I then had to apply 2 coats of urethane to protect the newly stained pieces. This was very time-consuming and also meant that my garage was no longer available for other projects that might disturb the dust on my turn of the century wooden garage floors ~ can you believe that??
The Finished Look
I am really pleased with the finished look and I must say my husband was impressed as well. He even helped me in the final stages of the project. We have them out on the front porch and I think they will be keepers after all. I was never really crazy about the bright green with the red cedar, but I have to say that the dark wood looks much better with the green fabric seats. The chairs are super comfortable and provide the extra seating I was hoping for on the front porch. The kids will be excited to have some extra seating around the porch swing on the other side of the porch as well!
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Yesterday was a busy day! Got up early and cleaned out the “Lazy Susan”. Yikes! That was long over due. After that I ate breakie, wrote my post, spray painted a magazine rack to give it new life, spray painted some very dated candle holders that I bought at a garage sale for $3, drilled earring holes and spray painted an old spoon rack ($3) to upcycle into a jewelry holder, started to put together some cedar deck chairs that we have not had put together since we moved here in 2008, emptied the dishwasher, washed the covers for the cedar chairs (X2 loads), made supper, went to Mitchell, Manitoba to pick-up what will be my new dining room china cabinet (thank-you Kijiji), and finished my main project…..the grandfather clock upcycle. However, before heading to bed, I did a few hours research to see if I could identify these oriental tiles that were found in our basement rafters. I learned that they are Chinese Mohang Game pieces, so I took pictures and wrote a comprehensive email to a guy that will give us an evaluation via email. Whew! What a long day!
(PS If you click on any image in my posts, it will automatically take you to a slide show with enlarged images.)
Spray painted candle holders
Old Spoon Rack turned Jewelry Holder
Grandfather Clock Upcycle: Before Shots
I don’t usually spent this much on an upcycle project, but when I saw this clock on Kijiji, I just had to get it. I paid $60 for it and had to purchase rope molding ($11), wire mesh ($2) and floral backing ($1). I had all of the other supplies on hand. For me this is an expensive upcycle. I usually only purchase items under $40 unless it is something that I have an actual need for (like my new/old china cabinet for $170). The joy in doing upcycling projects (aside from the dramatic before and after ~ of course) is usually the satisfaction in knowing that an item was literally one step from the garbage before I salvaged it. I love taking something old, worn and outdated and creating something of value that is visually appealing.
BEFORE: Grandfather Clock
Grandfather Clock Upcycle: Get’r Done!
Remove the clock components, decorative top and doors.
Wash cabinet down with TSP and/or lightly sand to ensure the paint will adhere.
Use clean water to rinse off the TSP and let dry.
Using the existing top panel of the back (behind clock face) as a template, cut a new backing from scrap wood. (The original had a circle cut out of the back.)
Measure out the base of the top portion and cut a piece of scrap wood to fit in the bottom over the hole that held the “chains” for the original clock.
Use old pallet wood to make shelves for the bottom portion of the cabinet.
Use old 3/4″ square molding (or something) to make little wood slats to sit along the inside walls of the bottom portion of the clock, for the shelves to sit on. This was a bit tricky as you need to make sure that the wood pieces are installed completely level. I ended up using a 2 X6 scrap piece of wood that was 10″ long as a template/marker for my shelves. I just stood it on end on the bottom of the cabinet, flat against the side of the cabinet. I laid the wood piece on top of the wood (but not so snuggly that I couldn’t remove the 2 X 6 after) and then used the nail gun to attach the slat to the side. I then repeated the process on the other side. I placed the bottom shelf on the slats (level – nice!) and set the 10″ board on top of that shelf and repeated the steps for the next shelf. It worked well.
I primed and painted the rope molding and shelves.
Primed and painted the entire cabinet…inside, outside and back. I later decided to paint the interior of the top blue. I bought a small container at Home Depot for $1 as it was mistint. (I use lots of mistints).
Placed floral backing on the bottom portion of the cupboard. (Love that – who would know I got it from Dollarama!)
Attached the rope molding with wood glue and held it in place with clamps until it was firmly attached.
Re-attach the decorative top portion of the cabinet as well as the door for the top. I was leaving the bottom door off of the final piece.
I did one final coat on the exterior of the cabinet to make the rope molding look like it was part of the original piece.
During dry times, I had spray painted the hinges and handle for the top door and then replaced the glass with wire mesh. It is pretty easy to cut the mesh using tin snips, but make sure you wear heavy work gloves as the ends are sharp.
AFTER: Curio Cabinet
Grandfather Clock Upcycle Project: Status Complete
Last year when the kids were at summer camp, I made my husband show me how to properly use some of his power tools and how to install wall plugs for hanging items. I am so grateful for that bit of knowledge. I am a bit of a “go getter” and I hated having to wait for my husband’s help. He always use to say “Why do your projects always become my projects?” I get that. I would decide to do a project and would end up needing my husband to part of the job. I knew that it was frustrating for him, but even more so for me. I didn’t want to wait for him to do and I hated that I could not do it myself. I still have lots to learn and by no means is my work without error, but I am getting much better at working through a project on my own. For this project, I had to get my husband to help me staple the screen on the back of the door, I just didn’t have the strength to staple in the little space that was available to me. He also helped with a stripped screw. Other than that, I did it all by myself. Yay!
My plan for this clock was to upcycle it and then resell it. Now I am not sure. I know I should not have found my own personal items to put display inside for the photo of the finished product, but it just seemed to need a little something to stage it. Now that my own things are inside, I am not sure whether I am ready to part with this little gem or not. Maybe I will post it, but be firm on my price…that way I can keep it if I don’t get what I want for it.
Well, back to work. I still have lots on my list for the week and time is ticking.
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My first task was to sort the boards. I knew that somewhere in the pile there were the makings of two chairs, so I set to work to make to identical piles and then proceeded to try to visualize how this all might come together. I even found the little bucket of screws and washers without too much effort. I quickly I discovered I needed one of those tools that slips over the nut or screw head and magically tightens them without too much effort ~ a ratchet. The problem is that I soon figured out that I also needed a second one for the other end of the bolt and could only find one. I found some make shift plumbing angle iron type thing and struggled away to get the sides of one chair assembled. This took lots of time and muscle to manage the less than perfect tool selection and falling pieces. I came out with a few scratches and bruises and not too much accomplished. The worst part was that as I looked at the poor old partially assembled chairs I realized they needed a lot more than re-assembling.
