I'm Amazed at Myself

No, this isn't about my selfishness or anything like that. Last night my hubby and I moved in our new media console. That I built. OK, so I built it with my Dad, but we built it! We studied the plans and chose the lumber and measured and cut and assembled and sanded and painted ourselves.  And I ♥ it!





Wow.  It looks great in our living room … completely changes the feel since moving out the armoire that seemed to swallow up the space!

Let me just say that Ana over at Knock Off Wood is FaBuLoUs!  I am thrilled that I came across her blog because not only did she inspire me to do this, but her plans are great and I now have my own compound miter saw and finish nailer.  I already have drills and such, but I'm thinking I need a table saw … what do you think?

Live and Learn ...

Every time I say "Live and learn" I have to finish it with "and then get Luvs." Ugh. The power of advertising! Anyway, I have lived and learned. And one thing that I always say is that a mistake isn't a bad thing if you learn from it.

So. I've made several mistakes lately when it comes to refinishing furniture. First, I followed what I thought was good advice because it was on the Young House Love website. It's a good site with good information, so I though that their info about painting wood furniture was correct. Let me just say that … it wasn't.



I sanded and painted two tables and the finish is, well, just OK. It's pretty thick and still, to this day, a little gummy and I followed their advice exactly. Fast forward to the day I painted a fabulous window seat/bookcase that my Dad built for me. I followed the same advice again and it turned out HORRIBLY. I cried it was so bad.

I found out later, after reading The Frugal Girl, that your best friend is Rustoleum Painter's Touch Primer. And it is. I love this stuff immensely!



Look at that fabulous woodgrain showing through! It adheres so incredibly well! I used it (and The Furgal Girl's instructions) when I refinished this:



And all is well … that play kitchen has Rustoleum Painter's Touch Primer and Rustoleum Painter's Touch semi-gloss paint. And it's fabulous! Oh, if only I had known. Oh, and I didn't put polyurethane on it!

Fast forward again to today. I just completed building this media base cabinet with my Dad.



It is incredible! That picture above is in the process before the final trim was applied. I ♥ it so much! We spent a lot of time on it and it means a lot to me, having built it with my Dad. So when it came time to paint it I wanted to make sure I did it right. Do you think I followed advice #1 or advice #2? That's right … I went with #2. I learned from my mistakes and there was no way I was gonna mess this up. Or so I thought!

I primed it (it was going so well) and painted it (again, going so well) and then yesterday I began to put water-bassed polyurethane (as recommended) on it. I figured since it would be in the living room it should have that extra protection. Plus I do like how it changes the look of this particular paint just a bit. So I waited the 3-4 hours between coats and then proceeded to do the next step that the can says - sand lightly with 220 grit sandpaper between coats. HA!!!!

Let's just say at least I was smart enough to test it out on an inconspicuous place first. OH THE HORROR! That step is so that the second coat of poly will adhere to the first coat. Apparently, that step is for when you are staining and not when you are painting. You see, it made the poly very grey and very dull. Eek!

I fixed it as best as I could. I then decided that was it. No more poly. Time for the poly to cure for 72 hours so I can finally finish this project. Later while reading some articles I came to find out that the true purpose of polyurethane is get into the grain of the wood and seal it. But applying it over paint is really kind of pointless as it doesn't really seal the paint. If you have prepared (sanded well) and primed (using Painter's Touch!) correctly, then your paint should adhere just fine and you shouldn't have any problems.

Mistake made … lesson learned. In the future it's all Rustoleum Painter's Touch for me! I wish they made it in 5-gallon buckets!

p.s. here's a sneak peak at the cabinet:



The paint is actually much darker, I was just playing around with photoshop :) Well, I'm off for another day of projects. Enjoy yours!

Media Console … it's Fabulous!

So … remember that I wanted to learn woodworking? And how my Dad is teaching me ♥ ? And that we decided to make the Knock Off of the Logan Media Console from Pottery Barn? Well …



This is it after it was assembled, but didn't have any trim or any holes filled with wood putty:


Today … preparing to wash it down so that the primer will go on nicely:


Ooo … I ♥ these things! ...


Ready to prime:


My lovely hinges that arrived today!  I had to order them, but they were worth the wait:


The media console primed:


The doors primed:


Look at the woodgrain showing through …. that is fabulous primer!  Painter's Touch by Rustoleum - I swear by it!


I put the first coat of Sweet Molasses on this evening and I cannot tell you how good it looks! You'll just have to wait and see for yourself!

Pottery Barn inspired Media Console ...

It's coming along quite nicely!




… and it's huge!  I'm sooooo glad that I am building this with my Dad. First, it's special bonding time for us. Second, he's really good at it and I have learned a lot! There's no telling what this might look like if I had tried to do it on my own! All that's left is to make the doors, add the bottom molding and it's done!

I've been playing house ...

I have been dreaming of a farmhouse kitchen, of renovating my kitchen to make it fit my style. Well, I have been playing house. Instead of renovating my real kitchen, I am in the process of renovating our new play kitchen. I was at a consignment sale the other day and I found a 4-piece wooden play kitchen set for … $50!! Yes. I said that right. All it needs is some TLC from me :)

oh, and I just wanted to add that my current favorite tool is the sander. I love this thing immensely. So much so that I want to run to the thrift store and see what I can find that needs to be refinished! I'm serious!

Anyway, here is the play kitchen that I bought for $50!!! I still can't believe I got it for such a steal! I was thrilled and snapped this with my camera phone to show my facebook peeps right after I bought it. How cool. Four wood kitchen pieces for $50!

I went right out and purchased primer and paint, new hardware, paper to decoupage on some of the shelves and fabric for a curtain under the sink. All I have left to buy is something for the knobs on the stove, the kitchen faucet (going to put a real one in there) and somthing for the sink itself. I'm still only out $!00 for this fabulous wooden kitchen!

I am giddy and my husband asked if this was for our chilren or for me. I said a little bit of both :)

So I spent Tuesday sanding (at the times I wasn't working with my Dad on the media console) and was done that evening. Here is the result:



Can you say super thrilled? They are ready for some paint, and I am ready to paint them. It's a rainy day here today. Can't think of a better way to spend it that renovating this little farmhouse kitchen!

Adding Character ...

My dad has been trimming out our windows. They look fabulous! The above pictures I snapped of the trim because I love it so much and it's not even finished. He still needs to caulk them and I need to paint them. But I love them.

It's amazing what a little bit of wood and nails can do to add some character to a home! ♥ I can't wait until I finish this project, and more, and can show you how we're making this house our home!

45/365 … Be Still My Heart!

My dad and I working together again today. I used the compound miter saw for the first time today. It's a little intimidating, like the first time I shot a gun, quite honestly. But I quickly got the hang of it. Oh be still my heart, do I want one of these!!

Lesson #2

Today my Dad came over. He's finishing out our first floor windows by trimming them out and placing stools on them. They look lovely already and he's not even halfway done! Anyway, I planned on just watching him today and learning some more about woodworking. My first lesson was how to choose lumber, and we had it the other day at Home Depot:

We spent 3 hours in there just looking at lumber and I loved every minute of it!

So today while he was here he asked me if I wanted to cut the stools, to which I replied, "YES!!" So here I am working the jigsaw for the first time. It was a blast. I feel so powerful now!

My mom snapped this with my iPhone :)

I can't wait to share more photos with you of me learning and our progress with the TV console. I'm super-excited about learning something new like this! I told my dad today that now I understand when he gets a power tool for a present and he's thrilled :)

42/365 … Tape Measure

My new tape measure … can't wait to use it to build some stuff! My dad and I went to Home Depot today and bought the lumber we need to build this:

Using these plans :) … can't wait to get started!!!!

(Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn)