Hannah's "new" dresser

I recently posted about my daughter Hannah's bedroom redo and how I was selling her lovely "shabby sweet" furniture. Read the original post HERE.  I have since sold the furniture off to new homes and her room has been redone. She originally wanted IKEA furniture to replace the pieces I sold. We were planning on buying her something from there but as luck would have it hubby stumbled upon an old dresser in someone's trash and put it in the back of his truck.  Old habits die hard around here. Once a trash picker, always a trash picker. I wish I would have gotten a "before" picture of it. (I am terrible at remembering to do that). The dresser was pretty darn ugly. Visualize a little boy's room circa 1960. There was even a Conestoga Wagon made of wood glued to the front of one of the drawers! Ugly aside -the dresser is SOLID WOOD - which you can't say about IKEA stuff - so we decided to take a chance and paint it. This picture shows how it looked right before painting (without the drawers). I took a pic of the Conestoga Wagon (shown below) just to prove that it actually exsisted!

Hubby uses a paint sprayer now to paint all of our projects. The end result looks very professional - and it is much quicker and easier to do. I would recommend painting this way to anyone who paints furniture. Here are some pictures in process. Paint - Clark & Kensington from Ace Hardware

Finished Dresser - We added an old mirror that was also found in the trash previously. I love the bright aqua she chose. I think it looks great against the green bedroom walls. This is a small-sized dresser, which is perfect for an 8 year old. The best part is the final price tag - $15 for paint and $30 for knobs. Much cheaper than buying brand new furniture. Plus, if she beats it up, spills on it or writes on it (which she has been known to do) I won't be as upset as I would normally be if I had spent $250 +.

 

(dresser knobs from Target)

Here are some pictures of the rest of the bedroom.

Chalkboard Wall. I painted one wall in each of my daughter's bedrooms in chalkboard paint. It took 2 coats to cover the wall. The girls enjoy writing notes to each other on their walls and Hannah enjoys playing school. The only down side is it does create a lot of chalk dust on the floor. We have hardwood floors in the bedrooms so I'm not too worried about it because it is an easy clean up. Not sure how I would feel with carpeting.

 

I snuck a little vintage in by using an old bedspread as a dust ruffle.

The final result is a very bright & cheery room. I love how it turned out. All furniture is second-hand, thrifted or found.

KayteeJane

What I Found This Weekend

Here is what I found this weekend at yard sales. I didn't figure I would find much and I was pleasantly surprised. Here is the recap...

Some linens: A pillowcase ($1) 2 linen dishtowels ($1 each), cherry fabric remnant ($1), Christmas dish towel ($1)

This cool desk - found at an estate sale. It hangs on the wall. The 90 year old man who owned the house made it himself. It was $10.

The door opens to reveal the desk. I am going to paint it white and hang it in my younger daughter's room.

A retro clock in my favorite shape of butter yellow. I paid a bit more for this clock than I usually do for something at an estate sale ($8). There was just something about it that I really liked so I splurged! Now that it is home I'm not even sure I have a place for it. Oh well.

Some jewelry, a metal table & a milk glass dish (jewelry 50 cents each, metal table $8)

The fabric on the back of the rocker shown here is actually 2 curtains. I love the material - with pretty green and blue flowers. I saw them hanging up inside the house at an estate sale. I asked the lady if they were for sale. She said yes - for $1. I took them down, brought them home and washed them. The water was dark brown during the wash - they were that dirty. I am happy to report that after 2 washes they came out fresh and super soft - ready to be made into some new curtains & pillows for my living room. The moral of this story - if it isn't nailed down it may be for sale. Just ask.

A milk glass bowl (25 cents) and an avocado-green vintage pyrex bowl ($1).

A brown & white transferware dish. Not sure what I will use this for but I like the muted worn colors.

KayteeJane

Transformations

It was a busy weekend. I found this piece of furniture out in my neighbor's trash last Sunday. You know I love to pick the trash so I didn't want to leave it behind to get thrown away, so I took it home.

Here are the drawers.

After sanding it, we (meaning Mark) sprayed it with an oil based paint in flat black.

Here is how it turned out.

I decided to cover the raised pieces on the doors with decorative paper. The old hardware was upgraded to glass knobs.

I like how it turned out! It has been moved to the antique store and is for sale. If you live close by and are interested in this, drop me an email. I will give you a great deal :))

The weather here in Pittsburgh has been crazy beautiful for this time of year. It feels like mid-May instead of mid-March. I am considering bringing out my porch furniture and decorating the porch again. When I dropped the buffet at the antique store I spotted this. This little chair is so me. I love old metal porch furniture, kid-sized furniture & rusty junk - so of course I had to buy it! 

I think it will be sweet with a pot of flowers on it.

Hope you enjoyed your weekend too.

KayteeJane

One Person's Trash...

You have all heard the saying "one person's trash is another's treasure". I wanted to share with you today some of the great things that I have found in people's trash. No, I am not too proud to pick out of the trash. My husband and I used to make a fun game of it. We would buckle up our young daughter Gaby in the seat between us in our 2 door pick up truck and head out on garbage day looking for "rusty gold". When we would see something good we would hum the song to "Sanford and Son" as our congratulations anthem. There were so many times when we would be low on cash in our bank account and then stumble upon something neat that we could sell online for cash or scrap the metal for cash. God really provided for us during those times in a way that some may find weird but we found fun. I wish I could show you pictures of the cool things that I didn't keep but sold. So many awesome things which included...a vintage Howdy Doody marionette, an antique child's doll-sized steamer trunk, train things, antique furniture, collectible hotel keys, and the list goes on.

What you see here are some of the things that I kept. All of this was found over several years - not all at once. I haven't found anything in the trash this year at all. Some years you find so many things you can't believe what people are throwing away and other years you find nothing. It is all part of the hunt.

I begin with my MOST FAVORITE FIND of all time - probably my most favorite item that I own, this old glider. If you know me then you know that I love this thing. I once worried that someone would steal it off our porch and my husband burst out laughing. He said "No one is going to steal that!". To me it is as precious as fine jewels....what can I say I have a junk collector's heart!

These came with it!!!

A great vintage World War II era print called "Serving the Nation" by Dean Cornwell which shows Uncle Sam alongside a train carrying military amunition and a steel mill in the background.

I saw this piece of furniture in the trash one afternoon while out walking in my neighborhood. I called my hubby on his cell phone and asked him if he would ride over ASAP and load it into his truck. He was able to leave work and come over and get it for me....how is that for devotion??

You've seen these before. They are sitting on my front porch. The croquet set and the primitive bench were both out in the trash.

This last one I hesitated to include because to show it will reveal to the world my mess of a basement. Oh well - this is life. This piece is super-cool. It is a metal frame of shelves that hold vintage metal wire baskets. Maybe it was once used in an old store? Not sure, but I am keeping it because I know I will always find a use for it somewhere. Right now it hold toys that my kids aren't playing with.

Have you ever found anything cool in the trash? I would love to hear about it. Please leave me a comment and let me know about your treasures.

KayteeJane

Lisa's House

Join me as I take a tour of one of my dearest friend's home - a place filled with beautiful furniture and antiques! I love to come here and stroll through the rooms, taking in all the beautiful vignettes and lovely collections. Lisa and I don't get to see one another often but when we do it feels as though we have just picked up where we left off. Do you have any girlfriends like that? When we met for the first time years ago I think we knew instantly that we were destined to be friends. We affectionatly call each other "kindred spirits" and that is what she is to me.

Lisa's Family Room is home to this awesome antique farm table and tall step-back cupboard.

 

 

A lovely powder room for guests with a hand-painted sink bowl from Mexico.

 

Lisa's home has several antique cupboards, each filled with a different collection.

 

 

 

The Dining Room

 

 

The Living Room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kitchen

 

 

Fun touches like beveled mirrors & chandeleirs make this room special.

 

 

 

Lisa has exquisite taste. Around her home she has a collection of beautiful vintage art hanging on every wall. Here are just a few....

 

Three-Sided Holy picture

  

 

 

Lisa stitched these "Told in a Garden" cross-stitch motif's herself.  

The outside of the home is just as pretty as the inside.

Here are some of the beautiful gardens.

 

 

 

 

Truthfully my photos do not do this home justice. It is so much prettier in person.

Thank you dear Lisa for allowing us to visit. Hoping to come back real soon :)

KayteeJane