I got these chairs at the Sandy D.I. for $8.00 a chair.
Of course I could NEVER leave them the way I found them! So I unscrewed the cushion from the frame of the chair and removed it. Unbelievably these chairs had already been recovered once and someone actually chose that fabric! I just removed all the staples from the fabric and removed that fabric so that I could put my own fabric on.
Once the cushion has been removed from the frame of the chair you can sand the chairs down, so that you can't pant them any color you choose.
I chose a really bright turquoise color to paint my chairs.
I got the fabric for my chairs at HOBBY LOBBY! (One of my favorite stores!) The fabric is thicker fabric and better to use for recovering furniture than the thinner fabric typically used for making clothes. Also an accent color in the fabric very closely matches the color I painted my chairs.
$8.00 a chair + fabric + paint = under $50 for 4 dining room chairs.
Here is the finished product! Of course I am HORRIBLE at taking before pictures, so I don't have any of my ktichen table. I knew that I wanted a small, round, pedestal table for my kitchen, so I searched for one on KSL. I found this one for $40 dollars. It was originally just a stained medium wood color. The add mentioned that the table sat 4 people but more comfortably two, which I knew would work perfectly for me and Brennon, plus it wouldn't be too overpowering in my small kitchen space.
The gold frames on the wall came from my mom. She always is giving me cast off items that I love and always work for my projects and my budget :) ! The over-sized clock came from ROSS - another one of my favorite stores! It was $39.99, which is an awesome price for a clock this size. The curtains are just fabric - a damask black and white pattern, also from HOBBY LOBBY! They had their fabric on sale for 30% off, which their fabric is already cheaper than the competitors (and cuter). Hobby Lobby ALWAYS has half of their store on sale, so if something you want isn't on sale, wait until next week and it will be. On the right side of the window are three empty black frames that my mom had sitting in her garage, that I decided to put to good use. Luckily, my mom is amazing and let's me get away with this kind of behavior.
These chairs are one of my FAVORITE projects, because they turned out MUCH better than I ever expected. I bought them at the Sandy D.I. in 2008 for $5.00 a chair. They had hideous mauve cushions on them, that were as dirty as they were ugly. Of course I didn't get a decent before picture! The frames were in good shape and I knew that the cushions would have to be replaced for sanitary reasons.
I had bought the pillows that I wanted to go with the chairs in 2009 from TJMaxx, so I knew that the chairs had to be painted something that would go with them. I figured a yellow paint, with dark stain, to give a mustard color would look really good.
These chairs sat in my parents shed for almost 3 yrs before I could do anything with them. I knew that they needed knew cushions and I honestly had know idea where i was going to find any cushions to fit these chairs. Well, last year I had been looking on ikea.com and saw that they had some wood frame chairs similar to these. They had separate cushions available for purchase. I just went with my gut and bought two cushion packages, one for each chair. They were $40.00 a package and had a bottom and back cushion in an airtight cylinder shaped package. Cushion covers were also available in black and white, but not sure what my situation would be I didn't get any. Well, I spent the $80.00 and still didn't have a place to put my chairs, or even have the chance to find out if the cushions fit, since the chairs were buried under tires...if you know my dad, you know why.
I never even opened the cushions until we were moved into the apartment, it was easier to move the cusions in their original packaging, and the chairs without them. At first the cushions seemed too big, and being bought over a year ago, I was worried. They ended up molding perfectly to the chairs! However, they don't have any cushion covers on them, and Ikea no longer carries the cushions, chairs, or covers!
Chairs $10.00 + Cushions $80.00 + pillows $60.00 = $150.00!
I knew that I wanted an oval coffee table, with scrolled pedestal legs, so I got on KSL and searched for one. I found this one for $15.00! This is Brennon's contribution, and pride and joy! I don't have complete before picture (big surprise), but the table was originally a cherry stained color, with a heavy shiny lacquer. Due to the shiny lacquer, I thought it was better to do a primer on this table after sanding.
This table had to be sanded heavier than other pieces due to the glossy lacquer that was originally applied.
Our coffee table was spray painted a bright blue. I really wanted my apartment to have bright fun colors in it. My living room was inspired by Penny's apartment from, "The Big Bang Theory", at my sisters suggestion. Of course I put my own spin on it, and it actually looks nothing like Penny's, but her apartment is very bright, fun and inviting, a look that I wanted to incorporate into my much darker, usually Tuscan style, decor.
Table $15.00 + paint + primer = $22.00
The before picture for this piece is on my sister Shaylyn's camera and I need to get it from her. I asked Shaylyn to come with me to the Sandy D.I. on a Saturday, because A. I didn't want to go alone and B. she has a small pick-up truck (excellent for bringing finds home). I am very glad that I brought her, because she eyed this and one other piece I now have in my home! I knew that we need a pantry in our apartment, because our kitchen is very quaint (tiny), with very little cupboard space, and we would need more food storage.
This was a cabinet that someone had previously been using as a T.V. cabinet, they even cut a hole in the back for the cord. It was also a dark cherry stain, and made of very think wood. The knobs were sterling silver and it was missing the glass piece that originally went in the door. I painted it black, got the opposite white and black damask fabric from the curtains and matching knobs from HOBBY LOBBY.
Cabinet $20.00 + Fabric $8.00 + Knobs $8.00 = $36.00
All the stuff on the walls came from Ross and the tall grass plant on top came from Ross too. The clock, lamp, and stained glass bowl, were all hand me downs from my mom!
So, at this point, our apartment only had two sitting chairs, a coffee table, and T.V. in our living room. We really needed a couch! I knew that I wanted brown leather, so with that in mind I found our couch! I LOVE it! With everything else in our apartment being from KSL, or the D.I., I didn't feel too bad buying a brand new leather couch! Although even that, I felt like was a steal!
Originally I got the Zebra print rug from Walmart (area rugs are REALLY expensive), but it wasn't big enough for the area, and I found one I LOVED for the space even more! So I switched out the rugs and am going to use the zebra print rug in our office.
The brown pillows on this couch came from the Draper TJMaxx, and the blue ones came from the Bountiful TJMaxx. TJMaxx and Ross are awesome places to find beautiful accent pillows for excellent prices!
This shows the bigger rug, that I also found at Walmart, for the same price as the smaller zebra rug.
This mirror has a gilded plastic ornate trim, meant to look like gold. This particular piece has sentimental value to me because it was in my great grandmothers house all my life. I inherited it in January when my Great Grandmother past away at 101. Along with the mirror, I also inherited a nightstand and lamp.
I just saw this mirror as a bright pink, so that is the color I painted it. I also think that it would be really cute in a little girls room. It really reminds me of the mirror in Snow White, and since I am the fairest one of all, it seemed fitting that it now hangs in my living room. Ha ha.
Here is the mirror finished and hanging on my wall. The table beneath it is another find at the Sany D.I. - this is the other piece that Shaylyn spotted for me. I believe she also has the before piece for this one too. It was originally a darker blue with a wooden knob painted to match. I lightened it up, without matching it exactly to the coffee table, and added a faux crystal knob from HOBBY LOBBY. The lamp on the table was another cast off from my mother that I snagged before she got rid of it. The gold elephant is one of my most prized possessions. (I have blogged about him before) - He has been with me for many years and will move with me wherever I go! He was a gift to me from my aunt Gwen, and originally resided in my room when I was going with an "India" theme.
So this nightstand is the one that I inherited from my Great Grandmother. I have painted it Lime Green and it is in the bedroom. When the bedroom is fully completed I will post the end results, including this night stand. The green color that I used was left over paint from the dresser I painted and stained, that my T.V. now sits on. I also painted a metal piece on the wall behind my couch this same color.
In other unfinished projects....
I found this lamp base at the D.I.....
I also found this lamp shade as part of another lamp base. I really loved the scalloped base and vintage look of the shade.
Together I bought both pieces for $12.00 at the Salt Lake City D.I. - I have painted the shade a hot pink, and left the base the original color. As soon as the lamp is displayed I will post the pictures of it.
Once I have fully finished the bedroom, bathroom and office I will post those pics!
