Frugal (Home) Fashion Friday - Buffet Makeover

When I moved into the house we own now, I did lots of redecorating and slowly acquired new furniture. It was a move from the town house I'd owned as a young 20 something to a more grown-up single family home. I wanted it to look stylish and sophisticated. My budget was tight so I purchased some second hand pieces from thrift stores and individuals. This buffet was one of those pieces. I bought it for about $30 from a colleague. It's a solid, well built piece (solid wood, dove tail drawers, good quality). The finish was worn in places and the drawer pulls had been replaced with some polished silver pulls that didn't work so well with the style of the piece. It's been on my project list for years. I finally decided to check it off the list.

My first try at painting was a disaster. Even though I cleaned the dresser with denatured alcohol, the paint bubbled and looked awful. I wiped it off and sanded it down. One day I was reading my favorite design and DIY blog, Little Green Notebook. Jenny wrote about the primer she uses when painting furniture (Zinsser primer). I used the water based primer since I was planning to use spray paint for the buffet. I primed the entire buffet (with the exception of the inside and the inside of the drawers. I used a roller on the flat surfaces and a brush on the spindles.

Once the primer was completely dry, I began painting. I should have taken Jenny's advice and gotten the primer tinted. That would have helped to cut down on the number of coats I needed.

I searched for hardware that I thought would look good but in the end I just decided to paint the hardware I already had. Once again I turned to Jenny for advice. She paints hardware often and I used her tips. Instead of the gold spray paint she uses, I used, Rust-Oleum Britght Coat Metallic Finish in Gold. It gives a great color, not too yellow and a bright metallic finish. I primed with Rust-Oleum Clean Metal Primer first. Once it was dry, I followed with several coats of the Rust-Oleum gold, until I got the finish I wanted. Then I finished with a two clear coats for protection.

I love spray paint because as long as you shake well and use even strokes, it is pretty much fool proof. It's forgiving. If there is a drip, you can wipe it away quickly and then even it out with the next coat. I decided on a deep red and chose Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover 2x in Colonial Red. I wanted a glossy finish and it delivered.

I decided to add a clear gloss coat to the top of the buffet and the lower shelf. Those areas will get the most wear and I thought they needed extra protection. It gets tons of use when I throw parties. I use it for serving drinks and appetizers. Once the hardware was dry I reattached it and I'm thrilled with the results.

A little paint and a boring buffet has new life. My total cost was about $65 with plenty of paint leftover for other projects.

Happy Friday Real Girls!

 

 

Note: I did not receive any compensation from Rust-Oleum. I just like their products and wanted to pass on these tips to you.

 



Frugal Fashion Friday - Bedroom Makover Under $150

I've been feeling the need for change lately. We haven't done any redecorating in our house in years and that along with the need to refresh and declutter, has pushed me to do a bedroom makeover. There are statistics that say we spend about one third of our life sleeping. That time in addition to relaxation time before we sleep means that we spend tons of time in our bedrooms. Having an inviting and relaxing space is important. I didn't want to change our wall color. It's a soothing blue (with a lavender undertone) called Paris Evening. Our budget was no more than $200.

photo credit: Little Green Notebook

The ideas started last March with this post on my favorite decorating and DIY blog, Little Green Notebook. I saw the DIY tutorial for the silver leaf bedside tables (above) and I knew I had to do the same thing in our bedroom. As luck would have it, I found two bedside tables at Goodwill for $50 (more than a year ago). I bought them on the spot and they've been sitting in the garage ever since. I promised {msL} I would wait until after the wedding to work on them. Then I was swamped with work. The warm weather lately is a good sign. It's time to open the garage door and get going. The rug we had in the bedroom was the final catalyst I needed. It was worn and looked terrible. I purchased it about six years ago at Wal-Mart for about $30. It wasn't a good quality rug and it needed to be replaced. I read about esalerugs.com on Little Green Notebook. When I got a notice about a 50% off sale, I took a look and found a fantastic rug (below) for $75. We have a faux leather storage bench at the foot of bed that is looking worn on top. The bones are still good and recovering the top is also on my project list. I'm not big on matchy matchy.  I'd looked at possibly buying a gold rug (bright yellow, not metallic) but found the purple one instead. I found some great gold velvet on fabric.com (and it's on sale!). I'll be ordering that to reupholster the bench. The whole redo process will take a few weeks but I will post pictures when we're finished.

 

The good news is that the final total will come to less than $150. Since I've already purchased the bedside tables and the silver leaf supplies (more than a year ago), they aren't part of my current budget total.

Rug                        $75
Bed Linens             $32
Curtains                  $19
Wall Lamps            $16
Fabric                       $7
TOTAL               $149

Even if I include the beside table DIY, the total cost is still less than $250. A great frugal redo! I can't wait to show you all the finished product.

Happy Friday Real Girls!

Don't forget to enter to win your very own Stella and Dot Rory necklace!  Click here to enter!

Personal Style with Kleenex® Style Studio (and a chance to win $5,000 and a trip to NYC)

When I was a kid, a few of my friends' moms had crochet tissue box covers in their bathrooms. They were kind of a thing in the 70's. Silly me, I had no idea people were even making these anymore but after a quick search, I discovered that you can even buy patterns for them! I've never been a fan. I just suffered with ugly boxes and rolls of toilet paper. I'm sure the idea was created in the days when tissue boxes were plain or just plain ugly. Well never fear, Kleenex has solved that problem. No more ugly boxes or crochet covers. I know, I know, this is a fashion and beauty blog but you know I'm all about fashion for my home too.

To celebrate Kleenex’s 90th anniversary, they developed The Kleenex® Style Studio. It’s a fun and stylish way to discover more of the Kleenex® Brand designs and products you already know and love. You'll love adding these designs to your home and you won't need a cover to hide them. I don't know about you but I have tissues in almost every room in my house. They are essential in the bathroom for my makeup routine and I always have a box on my bedside table. This blue design is perfect for our bedroom. The wall color is called Paris Evening.

I'm redecorating my home office/studio in a black and white color scheme. This oval box will be perfect!

 

 

Have a little fun yourself. Check out the Kleenex® Style Studio and find your Kleenex style. No more ugly boxes, toilet paper rolls, stray napkins or crochet covers for you! You can also play the catwalk or Kleenex game like these folks did.

After you play the game,

register to win a trip to New York city and a $5,000 shopping spree!

And take a quick second to answer a one question survey from Kleenex. Thanks!

I had to share this photo with you. I promise this wasn't a set up. My sweet pup, Anita (she's a very active German Shorthaired Pointer mix that we rescued) loves to chew. We came home one evening about six months ago and found her on our bed with a shredded box of Kleenex. I would have been mad if I wasn't laughing so hard. She wouldn't even look at me because she knew she was busted.

NOTE: The opinions expressed in this post are my own. This post is sponsored by Kleenex.

Inspiration - Silver Accents

My love for all things silver is pretty obvious.  I've done many posts with silver jewelry.  I always gravitate toward silver over gold. I just love the way it sparkles.  Here are just a few of my silver loves and inspirations.

Thrifted Watch Band Turned Bracelet

DIY Upcycled Tray, Spray Painted Silver

My Stella & Dot Alexandria Necklace

DIY Silver Skull

ASOS Paris Metallic Pointed Heels only $20.44!

Coolest DIY Silver Leaf lampshade from Design Sponge

DIY Silver Leaf Chest from Little Green Notebook

ASOS Spike Stretch Bracelet

My thrifted tray and after Halloween sale, skull became great home accents.  A thrifted watch band has become one of my favorite bracelets. I'm in love with my Stella & Dot Alexandria necklace (c/o). It's in regular rotation and I get compliments every time I wear it. A pair of silver pumps are on my list and these are on sale for only $20.44 at ASOS!  I love simple DIY projects and this black and silver shade just that. Some silver leaf will transform a blah black shade. There is a brown buffet sitting in our dining that I bought via work list serve many years ago.  I've been debating about what to do with it and couldn't decide. Then I spied this silver leaf DIY on Pinterest and I knew I'd found the solution. DIY here I come! I can't resist a spiked bracelet. The gunmetal version is one of my favorites and I definitely need to snatch up the silver one too.

What's your favorite accent color?

DIY - Metallic Skull

Oh Pinterest, what did I ever do before you came along?  About two weeks ago I pinned a brass skull to my DIY Pinterest board.  I love skulls to wear, for decoration, in photos, and on and on.  I just love them.  When I spied the brass skull I just knew it would be my next DIY.  As luck would have it, I bought a bunch of plastic skulls from Target after Halloween last year. I wanted the skull to be silver instead of brass.  So I grabbed one plastic skull and the can of Krylon Chrome spray paint and went to work. 

Inspiration - HomeMint Brass Skull $349.99

At $349.99 I would not be buying this skull.  It looks amazing, but not for that price.  I knew I could get a similar look with my plastic skull and a little spray paint. Check out all the details after the jump.