Its kinda funny to hear people say I'm creative or artistic. I never thought I was either! I wasn't born with a crazy skill -everything I do I have to work hard at! I didn't have a natural eye for art -I feel like I had to train my eyes! I see art or creative ideas and jumble all the things I like about them together to make it my own. Its not a special skill -anyone can do it! The secret is actually taking the time and patience to do it. Growing up the middle child out of 5 I had my fair share of hand me downs -they werent always in the best condition so I had to make them work! Whether it was clothes, toys, furniture etc. I have always been one to collect junk in hopes of restoring. I hate throwing things away. Notice I said "hoping" to restore -well my problem is that sometimes I take on too many projects that I forget about them and either never start or finish them. It took me a whole year to paint this little table that was shoved in a corner collecting dust. My husband tried to throw it out twice which ended in me promising that I would paint it this weekend! Well a year later "this weekend" finally came. I tried to explain to him what my plans were for this cute little gem and he couldnt see beyond old junk that was taking up space in the garage. He has no vision -everything to him is black or white! On the other hand I am mostly gray! So we balance each other out, while sometimes driving each other crazy! Well MOSTLY driving each other crazy -in a good way though :) I used to get my feelings hurt when he didnt understand my vision or just not excited about it as much as I was -now I know to just do it and cross my fingers that he loves it! It would drive most people crazy that I hang frames in my house that still have the stock photos of strangers in them to remind myself to print photos -Im lucky that he deals with the madness!. Will they ever get filled... eventually ;) that's another project on my to do list! So onto the few projects that we finally completed. When I say "we" I mean my father n law and myself. We share the same love for restoring old gems and making them modern. I'm not gonna pretend like I'm this pro restoration lady -far from it! I'm just a chick trying to save a buck by turning the old stuff that my father n law finds and make it work in my home. I don't have the money to get all new furniture but I can afford a bucket of paint and inspiration on pinterest! Im chose to decorate my in an electic industrial style -basically anything goes! Unfortunately I took all my photos with my phone so they are pretty crappy AND I didn't take many photos during the transformation process :( but ill try to explain what I did in between. It was nothing too special -just needed a sander, paint, and sealer. Most of the Paint was leftover Satin finish paint from other rooms in the house :) Im pretty sure that's a big no no in the professional DIY community! OOPS! This table was one of my father n laws finds from one of his many Salvation Army trips. It had a laminate top that I spray painted with a Nickel Spray paint from home depot to give it a metal look. Then I painted the legs a yellow/greenish color that I had originally painted in my kitchen but immediately painted over it because it was causing extreme headaches if we looked at it too long. It was one of those things that I just had to try out. Luckily its just paint and I painted right over it the next day! But I think that it looks great on smaller items like this table! Its a great pop of color for the house! After bringing it inside I had no idea where to put it or what the heck to put on it! Since this photo it has been moved twice and now has a lamp on it! I think I found the perfect spot and once my living room is complete I'll be posting more photos :) This dining table was soooo old! It was a hand me down that collected crayon, nail polish, pen markings among other things. It was time to give it a face lift. And it totally blended in with the color of my floor which made the room look so BLAH! I couldn't throw a rug underneath to separate them -not when you have a baby that thinks its funny to toss his food any chance he gets! So I painted the legs an Espresso Brown from Home Depot that we had leftover form painting the cabinets in the bathroom (that'll be another blog post too). I didn't have to sand the table legs because 1) I was too lazy to get around all those curves and 2) they didn't seem to have too high of a gloss seal on them. I was taking a chance but hey it all worked out! My father in law sanded the top grime off the table for me because that sand was going nutty! I swear it felt like I was jack hammering the table! Out of control! So I really didn't want to add a sealer on the table because I loved the raw look it had but realistically with children I needed to protect the wood from all of our future spills :( The end result wasn't a huge difference -it just looked like a cleaner table hah! I would have loved to damage the wood so it looked weathered and more rustic but I have no clue how and when I googled it, it looked like tons of work that I didn't want to do at this time -so maybe this table is to be continued... :) After the makeover I think it definitely looks better in our small dining area and doesn't look so BLAH anymore :) But now Im kinda wishing that I had painted the bottom of the table that yellow/greenish color, I kinda think it would've looked cool! Or maybe Im getting a little too paint happy again! OH! I ordered an awesome chandelier from West Elm that's on back order until April but I sooooo cant wait until it comes! Ill def be posting more photos once its installed! Its gonna look AWESOOOOME!!! :) Moving on the this little chest that I used for a coffee table. It was a hand me down as well and I just wanted to sand it up a bit to give it a rustic look. My husband cant see the difference but I totally do! I love all the grain that came out of it! Do you see it!?! I still need to get some throw pillows on my giant couches! I attempted to make my own but that was an epic FAIL! :( womp! womp! By the way that's my new rug that I got for before Christmas from RugsUSA (amazing deals) that is quickly dying from my children and all the dirty feet that walk on it! :( Sooooo sad! I fell so in love with it -now realizing how ridiculous I was to buy a light colored rug when I have small children in the house. Thank God it was 70% off (black Friday sale). But its still so sad to see it weathering away! Im seriously thinking about getting it professionally washed and rolling it up and storing it until my boys pass their messy stage :( Moving on... here is a little dresser that was brought from the father n law -I believe from Salvation Army too. Its laminate wood and I was able to paint it with leftover Espresso paint from the dining table. I believe its Semi gloss because it was originally bought for the bathroom cabinets. I didn't sand this one I applied 3 coats of paint. it looks great in my sons room. If I could do it again I would've probably used flat or satin finish paint. It seems that the semi gloss peels easily. (don't mind the mess in the garage) And the final project for the night was a frame that I had painted for my sons room. It was a hand me down given to my mom -originally a mirror but broke in her trunk. She was going to throw it away but I had been needing a frame for this awesome drawing that my brother had given my son on his 3rd birthday, so it worked out perfect. I bought a can of red spray paint from Home Depot and painted the frame -unfortunately I'm a big nerd and I forgot to take a before photo of the frame :( It was a tan colored frame with speckles of dark brown. The frame was a lot bigger than the drawing so I contemplated taking it to Michaels to get it professionally matted or to try it the cheap way and cut my own matte. I chose to try it first and if I messed up I could always take it to get professionally done! I was so surprised that I actually pulled it off! I am a matting phenom! I am so excited to add mattes to every frame in the house now! All I did was get a exacto knife from target and some white poster paper. I wanted the matte side face up so I traced the drawing on the glossy side of the paper. With my metal ruler (level) I measured 1/2 an inch inward on each side and then traced an inner window. Then I used my knife to cut the window out and taped my drawing to the poster paper. It was a lot easier than it sounds. And VOILA!!! It looks pretty darn good if I say so myself :) I cant wait to hang it up in Jacks super hero comic book room!
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
I'M JANELLE MARINA
Wife, Mama Shark, + Photographer. Most days, you'll find me in mismatched socks and a top knot, working behind my computer with a smile on my face, listening to Zac Brown Band and R&B --or, dancing in the kitchen with my 3 littles and hunka husband, seeing who could come up with the coolest dance moves. I'm a wedding photographer, West Elm lover, aspiring advocate for our buddies with special needs, and a Certified Dreamer since 1986. We live in a cozy city in Southern California and are always up for a good adventure. I enjoy telling stories with my camera, grubbing on spicy food, and solving the latest Dateline case.
All
December 2019
|