Before & After

Shortly after hanging up my JunkFest hat, I found I was still pretty jazzed about "transforming" things. Since this is a rare occurrence, I took that energy right back out to my shop to work on one of the pieces I had saved for my very own (the best perk of JF)! My daughter needed a small cabinet for her apartment, so I eagerly gave her a little black stand that my husband "built" (I purchased) from Target. This left a gaping hole in my living room. Great timing, don't you think?





Now this dresser was in pretty good shape....had good bones. I knew it would provide the storage I needed, with a little TLC......"little" being the operative word. Once I start sanding, something comes over me and I feel the need to strip something down to the bare wood. Must stop that.






With Miss Mustard Seed as my inspiration, along with several other talented DIYer's in blogland, I decided to paint (gasp!) the body of the dresser, and stain the top. I know....how can I stand to paint that gorgeous wood, especially after all that stripping?! Well....look here to see why.







I'm thrilled with how she turned out! I do have to say that I loved the dark tone of the very old finish, and I probably could have stained it 8 more times, but I'm impatient.

A little glaze over the flat white paint, some paste wax over the top, cool hardware....and she's ready to show off her curves!

I like how the dark top and hardware pop next to my dark chair. And if you look closely, you can see the aged plaster on the wall. I was worried about the white dresser blending in too much with the wall. I'm good with how it turned out.

I'm linking this before/after to Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday, Funky Junk Interior's SNS, Met Monday #93, the DIY Showoff, Piece of Work Wednesday, and the 43rd Power of Paint Party.

Thanks for stopping by!

A little funky before....and funky after!

Earlier this summer, the JunkFest girls and I were on one of our crazy junking adventures when this sad, torn up chair presented itself. While the others were quick to turn up their noses at its potential, I saw a future for this funky has-been....think college dorm room or apartment...





While not a perfect match, this ottoman was among the neglected items waiting for a new home, so I figured what the heck! Gotta have someplace for those feet, right?







Found myself some fresh, fun, floral-hip fabric that would fit the bill for this dazzling duo.







You do see the flower pattern, right?

What do you think? Conducive to a little late-night study session?

Gotta go get the ottoman done...before that first exam....and JunkFest! Hope to see you there!

Linking up to BNOTP's Metamorphisis Monday....over here.

Before & After

Found this great old theater seat at a garage sale this summer. Even though there were boxes and piles of "rummage" on top of it, I could see the potential just waiting to be uncovered. Fortunately, it was a single unit, not connected with a row of chairs, like I've seen in the past! Perfect for a small reading corner, den, or even college student apartment.
























A little sanding and priming.....and cushion reupholstering...





















What movie wouldn't be a great one from this chair? A little popcorn...soda...dim the lights and it's showtime!!







Are you coming to JunkFest '09? Look for goodies like this one or just stop in to say hi to the JF girls! Hope to see you there!
I'm linking up with Donna and a whole lotta talent over at Funky Junk Interiors for SNS #17! Won't you join us?

Repurpose/Reuse/Recyle...Junk Girl style!

While antiquing in Bozeman, Montana last week on vacation, I found this perfectly rusted croquet set on cute little wheels that was sturdy as heck. My first thought was the frame would be adorable at Christmas with a pretty wreath on it as a "welcome" in my back entry. I've got a couple floor-standing wreath holders, but this would be a unique one, don't ya think?

But wait!! Since Christmas is months away, I couldn't bare to leave it sitting idle. So, I filled a clear glass cylinder vase with hydrangeas purchased some time ago, slid it in where the balls would go, (can you believe the vase fit perfectly!), threw on a garden seed embroidered towel for some color and filled a decorative sash with sunflower seeds. I've got quite a collection of old flash cards and picked a couple that go perfectly with this spring/summer theme...

Here it is in my back entry...

Or, is it cuter hanging on the door as a welcome?

Hey, it just hit me!...this would be cuter than crap in my half bath as a magazine holder...gotta go see how that would look...signing off for now! Happy Junking!

From a little bit "junky" to COOL & FUNKY...

It took me a minute to realize what this crazy looking "find" was when seen on a junk adventure well over a year ago. Can you guess what it is...or shall I say, was? If you guessed the frame of a croquet holder (minus the mallet and balls), you guessed right! It caught my eye because, I must admit, I have a "thing" for wheels and rust. It sat in my garage for months with zero ideas coming to my mind on what it could be. I even consulted my three very creative JUNK FEST girlfriends for input, and I don't believe even they thought this little "find" had much hope! Then, as luck would have it, while I was moving it for the 100th time in my garage to make room for some new-found junk, it accidentally fell over on its side...then came one of those fabulous "OMG" moments...
Yes, folks, the vision became obvious to me - this would make an ideal WINE CADDIE! It just happens to hold two bottles of wine and five goblets perfectly! I believe this true "Junky to Funky" find has found its final home on my dining room buffet...

This just goes to show that after a good cleaning, a spray of poly (a junk girl's best friend, by the way), and a little imaginaton, any rusty item can be transformed into a good thing - a really neat junk thing! Love this motto:

Live Well * Love Often * Junk Much