I did it! I finally purchased a sofa and not just any sofa, I bought one online from Article. If you know me, you will know this is totally out of character! I have huge… Read More »High Style, Low Price: Article Ceni Sofa in Pyrite Gray
After spending the past couple of years fixing up old furniture I’ve come across a lot of rusted metal, it’s fairly straight forward to fix larger areas of metal with spray paint or just replace it with new hardware, but sometimes there’s smaller areas like the feet on furniture legs or accent inlays of metal that are rusted and you can’t replace them because you can’t source the parts.
I’m about to show you the easiest trick to make rusted metal look new again, anyone can do it!
Get yourself a metallic Sharpie pen, in this case I used gold.
It only took just over a year, but we’ve finally started the process to get our vintage mid century chairs upholstered. I had written about it many months ago and now it’s finally becoming a reality!
So far Andrew has refinished the wood and cleaned up the brass on the arms and legs. Here’s a before and after of that process. The arms and legs were sanded down to reveal the wood grain and a clear finished was applied.
Here’s some before photos of the 2 chairs, one chair is obviously in better condition than the other, but both have holes in the fabric.Read More »We’re Getting Our Vintage Chairs Upholstered
This past Summer Andrew and I found this awesome solid plywood vintage sideboard, credenza, mid century modern cabinet (whatever you want to call it). I finally took some photos of it to share here and can’t wait to finally sell it….or keep it…
It weights a ton and if you could have seen how we got it home you would of had a good laugh, lets just say thank goodness we didn’t live too far from where we found it!
Here’s the before photos of this vintage sideboard:
Here’s some close ups of all the ugly laminate that was broken and peeling off. Those legs though…
You have no idea how good it felt to remove all the loose bits of laminate!
I’ve been selling stuff on Craigslist forever. I’ve sold tear outs from home renovations, appliances, old toilets, cabinets, housewares and furniture. I feel like over the years I’ve really developed a knack for knowing how to write a post. As much as I’ve sold stuff on craigslist, I’ve also purchased a lot over the years too.
My purchases are mostly vintage furniture for our apartment and for our furniture upcycling projects. Going to strangers homes to buy something from a photo you saw online can be very scary, there’s a lot to consider and so I thought I’d share some tips and general etiquette on how to show up at someone’s home when you purchase and also how to write a typical post.
Buying
You go on Craigslist and find that perfect item. You want to start off by reading the post thoroughly and finding out if it has all the information you need. Does the seller mention their preferred method of contact? Normally it’s email through anonymous craigslist forwarding. You’ll want to email the seller and set up a time to pick up the piece. Here’s a few key tips on how to avoid being a pain when buying.
Read More »Craigslist Etiquette: Tips for buying and selling
If you’re following me on instagram you’ll know that I’m currently working on a new furniture makeover. It’s a vintage sideboard/cabinet with sliding glass doors and 3 drawers. Check out the before photo below.
The dilemma with this piece was that I really wanted to change out the old brass hardware with something more clean-lined and modern. The round brass knobs set into the glass doors had to stay, so the new pulls on the drawers had to be brass.
I can’t stand the look of shiny vintage brass, so I hunted online for satin brass hardware that’s been spotted on pieces at West Elm and other large retailers furniture. The dream hardware I had been lusting over for a while was just so far out of my budget, but they’re really stunning. They’re the Bar Collection from Lew’s Hardware, check them out in the top section of the photo below.
Read More »Modern Brass Hardware
Check out this latest furniture makeover. The dresser was purchased for a steal at $20 and the drawers actually slide nicely and have rails, so they stay in place. So much potential!
The laminate faux wood finish was in really rough shape, with chips and dents everywhere, but with the right paint and finishing process, it can be saved.
Read More »Before and After: Vintage Laminate Dresser
It’s finally done! It took a lot longer than expected because life and work got in the way, but I’m excited to share this before and after. The cabinet was in really rough shape. It… Read More »Before and After: Vintage Cabinet
So it seems that the best time of year to find furniture is in the Spring and Summer, because people tend to just put stuff out in the back alley or take things to the… Read More »New Project: Vintage Mid Century Cabinet
Not too long ago we upgraded from my old queen size bed to a king size. It was a big change, but necessary because my mattress was old and there was a big sale so we got a really good deal. We opted to get the box spring that comes with the mattress because my old IKEA frame would be too small and it was falling apart. We then decided to just get one of those cheap metal frames that come with the mattresses because we didn’t know what else to do at the time and we had zero budget. I immediately missed the under bed storage we had from our previous bed frame, so we made some wood boxes and attached low profile caster wheels to roll under our bed. It’s not aesthetically beautiful, but it’s super functional.
I’m actually kind of embarrassed to show this photo with the ugly box spring showing, but it’s reality. Maybe just focus on the pretty night stand and lamp instead, haha.
We still don’t have the budget to change things, so we’ll likely just put a cover on the box spring and have it that way for a few more years, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream, right?
I’m a big fan of a Japanese style bed that has interlocking joints so there’s very little need for screw or nails. These beds are commonly known as tatami mat beds, because there’s usually an option to sleep right on a tatami mat rather than a mattress. The first example below shows what I’m talking about, note the wood joins at each leg post.
This one is different than my usual projects. I got this dresser for free and it’s not the mid century modern style I prefer, but I went for it. I knew a little paint would make… Read More »Before and After: Painted Dresser
After a few weeks of procrastination during the holidays, we finally finished this vintage dresser project. It’s come a long way since we first got it. It was cleaned, patched and brought back to life.
Here’s what it looked like before we started working on it, yes at first glance it doesn’t look too bad, but it was scary. It had 1000 spiders in it from being left outside, so that took a while to get it clean and remove the musty smells.
The wood veneer was very dry and chipped in several places, the only area that was in decent shape was the top surface, the legs and the decorative pieces on the drawer fronts.
Luckily we were table to remove the decorative pieces on the drawers, making the painting process much easier and cleaner. The bow tie handles were also removed and cleaned up.
The first test was to find out if the vintage hardware was pure brass or just plated. You can do this with a magnet. If it’s solid brass, the magnet will not stick, unfortunately ours was plated.
Read More »Before and After: Vintage Dresser
