Staining Ikea Veneer Furniture

We all love Ikea.  Why? Because it’s cheap.  But the downfall of Ikea? It’s cheap!! You won’t find high quality, solid-wood furniture in rich, dark tones that will last until your grandkids move out of their parents house and you can pass down the heirloom furniture. But for a young person furnishing their first apartment…….Ikea is perfect!

When I got my first apartment out of college, I needed some furniture. Cheap.  I bought this Ikea birch veneer tv stand.  It served me well and was even used in my first house in the bonus family room.

Two months before I bought my house last year, my fella also bought a house for him and his daughter but he was short on furniture.  I was moving into a house that was half the size of my old house and I had furniture I didn’t need.  I volunteered to let him have my tv stand.   He wasn’t a fan of the color (neither was I really but when you’re a poor college graduate anything will work!) So I said my favorite words “I can paint/stain that!!!”  He decided he wanted it stained a darker wood tone so I got to work.

I did some research and read lots of different techniques for painting/staining Ikea veneer furniture.  Most reviews I read said it wouldn’t work, but I decided to give it a whirl anyway and see what happens.

1.  I sanded the entire piece with an electric sander and 100 grit sandpaper.  Because it is cheap veneer, you will never really get the “wood” roughed up enough to absorb the stain.  I sanded to get as much shine off of the wood as possible.

2.  I used a foam brush for even coverage and brushed the stain on relatively thick, but also as smooth as possible.

3.  I let the stain sit for 30 seconds just to give it some time to HOPEFULLY soak into the veneer a little.  I wiped off the excess with a paper towel.  The key is to wipe lightly, removing excess stain but leaving as much color on as possible.

I used Minwax Red Mahogany stain.

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4.   I gave each coat at least a day to dry in between.  If it is still tacky when the next coat is applied, the color will just get pushed around.  Because it is veneer, the stain is not absorbed into the wood.  It is actually just being painted on.  Adequate dry time is key to getting an even, long-lasting finish.

5.  After the last coat was fully dry, I applied a LIGHT coat of Minwax Clear Semi-Gloss Polycrylic.  This coat needs to be applied as lightly and evenly as possible to not cause the paint to smear.

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The stand was left in the garage for 4-5 days for the poly to dry and cure.  Since it was having a tv and other electronics put on it, I wanted it as hard and cured as possible.

Once we brought it in, I thought it looked amazing. And my fella loved it!! $10 for stain and poly and my fella had a “new” tv stand!!

I think it looks amazing!!!  So much better than its former life as a birch colored, new college graduate tv stand!  And its super easy to do!

And since his house needs a bit of a woman’s touch, I cut these hydrangeas from his garden to spice up his tv stand and make it a little more homey!

Aren’t they gorgeous?!?!

High Five for Friday!!

Happy Friday!! Here’s my 5 highlights of the week! (No wasting time this week!!!)

1.  When I was in Vegas a few weeks ago, my fella paid for me to get a manicure at the Bellagio (isn’t he sweet?!?)  I opted for a French manicure and the woman used Essie polish (I was shocked!!) When I came home I vowed to re-create it with my own Essie polish.  For my first try, not too shabby!! Now I can get at least 50 manicures for $14 total!! Instead of 1 manicure for close to $50!! WOOT!

2.  Last weekend I went shopping at Ikea (see here) with my mom.  She got me this gorgeous orchid for my house and so far, 5 days later, it seems to still be vibrant and alive!! I haven’t killed it yet!!

3.  Say what you might, I was pretty darn excited for Kate to have the royal baby this week.  True story, when I was in middle school, my life’s mission was to marry Prince William and be queen someday. I had books about him……total stalker style.  Well, that plan obviously didn’t work because Kate is totally living in my spot!! But just like I watched their wedding, I was totally excited for her to birth the tiny prince or princess. I was pulling for her to have a girl because can you IMAGINE the adorable way she would dress her?!?!

4.  My fella and I started a subscription to Netflix a few months ago (with every intention of splitting the cost!! Note: I sort of avoided ever paying!! HA!).  We did a one month free subscription so we could watch Breaking Bad.  After that I sort of gave up on it, but this week we started watching The Walking Dead together (too scary for me to watch on my own – this girl is a chicken!) and I started watching Orange is the New Black! Let me tell you, this show is AWESOME!! It’s a Netflix exclusive and if you haven’t checked it out yet, you totally should.  I should be done the first season in 2-3 days. Yes, that’s a lot of watching! But Netflix totally feeds binge TV watching tendencies!

5.    HGTV Design Star wrapped up last Sunday and I was super excited to see who would win. I was totally pulling for Tiffany to win.  Her design style was more my taste and her personality is awesome.  She beat out the other two finalists and will soon have her own shown on HGTV.  Her personality will be perfect for TV and I can’t wait to watch her own show! And with a name like Tiffany she has to be fabulous!!! This is one of her rooms in her design portfolio.  I am not in love with the purple but together it all looks amazing. Swap out the purple for navy blue and she can put this room in my house any day!!

Well now……my high fives were awfully TV centered this week! I swear I do more than watch tv!!!

What plans do you guys have for the weekend? Do share!!

As always, linking up with Lauren!!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Ikea Crazy!

Hope you had a good weekend!! I had hoped to accomplish some blog-worthy projects this weekend, but sadly, a day at the pool Saturday and a lazy Sunday won out over being productive!  I DID however venture to Ikea with my mom to pick up a piece of furniture for an upcoming project. I’m super excited about it, but not motivated enough to built it yet!! Ha!

I did have a good time taking in the Ikea showroom eye-candy with my mom and taking some pictures to share with all of you!! And now, virtual Ikea shopping!! (These are all iPhone pics b/c I draw the line at taking my big camera into the store and looking like a crazy woman! So instead I covertly take phone pics when people finally move out of my way!)

My Ikea was working on building some new displays and the ones they have finished were pretty impressive.

They created a really cozy, romantic, girly bedroom that I just wanted to lay in all day….

That cozy duvet cover with the canopy and soft lighting…I’ll take it!

And not to mention that wall of fake succulents behind the bed…..how awesome is this?!?!

Ikea is putting some more “live-able” colors (not rainbow-hued colors, or things that everyday homes would have trouble incorporating) into its decor pieces. Like this adorable blue clock.

I loved the clock gallery, I just wish the clock had a less “yellow, old-school” face.

They also had this adorable blue serving tray….

That was part of the SUPER cozy living room….

I totally wanted to move in and live on that couch. And sweater blankets? My obsession.  Move me in!

These white kitchens had me swooning. Makes me itch to get on my kitchen reno! If only I had a money tree in the backyard right?!?!

Comfy seating areas were plentiful. This first one makes me want a movie room in my house with these cozy seats!

My mom loved all of the funky light fixtures they had including these….

There were some pretty great lighting options that weren’t so…..creative!!

These small mercury glass lights were adorable. I should have gotten one for $7 but I was being good!

And I totally brought home this little gem……

The perfect addition to my “girly” bedroom…..SIKE!!! Seriously though, if you own this, can you please send me a picture of the room it is in??

Like I said, I walked out with a piece of furniture for a future project, along with this $5 storage cube for my “seasonal” shoes…

Which was supposed to fit under my bed and doesn’t (so it lives in the closet).

And this GORGEOUS orchid for my house.  My house has needed some “life” other than me and this beauty is just the pop of life and color I needed!

Now hopefully I can keep it alive!!!

High Five for Friday!!!

Woot! It’s Friday. Hot, 94 degree but feels like 104 degree Friday!! It has been sweltering here in PA this week. But that doesn’t stop me from having some highlights of the week!! Here goes….

1.  I had a work picnic last Saturday and couldn’t show up empty handed, so I had to make something. Well, I have had a disastrous track record at both cooking & baking lately so my fella made cookies for me/us to take. A, they are delicious. B, they weren’t burned or undercooked because I didn’t make them! He’s awesome! And no I’m not ashamed that my fella can cook & bake better than I can, because I can change electrical outlets and build furniture!!

2.  I finally put up some shelves in my living room and personalized my space a little more since moving in a year ago.  They make me happy and the space so much more “homey.”  See that post here.

3.  It is the middle of July and I am pale. White. Like Casper.  Normally, by this time, I have at least gone to the beach once or twice and have been outside. This year, summer is escaping me and I have no tan. I planned to hit up the community pool in my fella’s town this Saturday to finally get some outdoor color, but alas, it is supposed to storm. Chance of rain, 70%. At least I won’t be sweating outside right?!?

4.  I got my iPhone 5 in February and since then I have been on the hunt for the perfect case. It’s sort of a sickness.  Since I got it, I have been using a spare case from my fella. Recently, I saw J Crew outlet was having a clearance sale and saw this pretty little case for $5. I snapped that baby up. It came in the mail this week and I like it! Do I love it? No. Will I probably still be looking for THE case? Definitely. But for $5 this one ain’t bad!

5.  There are so many great blog conferences out there that I would love to attend including the Texas Style Council conference in August, the Alt Summit in NYC in June, and Haven Conference also in August.  I missed out on them this year but can hopefully make one next year.  Alt Summit also provides online seminars throughout the year for people who can’t travel to the in-person sessions.  I took an online conference for $15 on Thursday night on using photography on your blog.  It was a good one hour information session, and worth the $15. I could even watch it on my couch on my iPad.  The schedule of upcoming classes can be found here.

Well, that’s my week in a nutshell!! Hope everyone is staying cool and had a fab week and an even better weekend!!! 

Happy Weekend!

 

Making it home….one shelf at a time

Sunday marked the one year anniversary that I have physically lived in this house.  I settled on the house a few weeks before moving so I could get some things done like new carpet and painting before moving furniture into the space.  Paint and new carpet are the “critical”  things for me to start with to help a new house feel like my space instead of like I’m living in someone else’s house.  Up until this point, most of the personal touches, designed specifically around the new spaces, were done in my bedroom.

My living room has just been a space filled with furniture from my last house, put in an arrangement that just “works” and nothing really personal or different from where I lived before.  One day I finally got the itch to makeover this space.  I had a good number of things already on hand, so I got to work.

I don’t have any progress pictures with my furniture in the living room – the wall above the old owner’s couch, with two piddly picture frames has sat empty for the past year in my house.  My couch is in the same place and that empty wall was begging to be filled with something fabulous.

In my former house, I made Pottery Barn inspired Hudson shelves here…..

I originally stained them a dark walnut and they hung in my dining room with white plates.  I had no room in this house for the same setup so they sat in the basement unused.

I have been eyeing gorgeous gallery wall ledges like these for years……

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My house has been lacking serious personalization, with little to no pictures or things on the walls.  I figured this blank wall was the perfect space for my own gallery wall.

I got to work priming and painting my shelves in my dining room paint studio.

(That could quite possibly be the worst blog picture ever. The painting happened during my days of the broken camera lens so this is all I got. At least I have that solved now!!!)

I used Valspar’s Swiss Coffee color matched to Olympic’s Premium paint.  Once they were dry and ready they sat in my dining room for a few weeks. Now, I will DI-myself a LOT, but hanging heavy shelves while drilling into my plaster walls was something I needed man-muscle for. When I could get my fella’s schedule to work to be able to come to my house (I normally go to him), we got hanging.

Note:  Hanging anything on plaster walls is quite tricky (Let the record stand, if I move, I NEVER want plaster walls again!).  We had 1/4 inch screws but started off drilling with 1/16, then 7/64 inch bits.  This gave the hole time to work into becoming bigger rather than just going gangbusters at the plaster to prevent cracking.  While drilling, we only got about a half an inch into the plaster when the drill wouldn’t budge.  The fella realized we must have been hitting cinder block because it wasn’t going anywhere.  A quick trip to Home Depot for a masonry drill bit and we were back in business.  For all 6 holes we followed the same steps of working up to the 1/4 inch hole, finishing them up with the masonry bit.  Hammer in some anchors made for plaster and we were good to go!!!

And now, the finished product!!!!!

I am IN LOVE!!! They make the house feel 1,000% cozier!! I walk in the front door or down the steps, and I just smile. Heck, I round the corner from the dining room and smile!!!

See, this is rounding from the dining room…..

And some more….just because I can’t get enough!!!

Family vacation shots!

Sidenote: I totally love this picture of me (not the one where I am trying to eat my fellas head) – the little me. I would totally rock that coat today if I had it in grown-up size!!!

So, what do you think?!?! As I stated above “IM IN LOVE!!!!!” They really helped up the “homey” factor of the living room. I can’t stop staring!

Bathroom Progress….Cabinet Update

I have big but feasible plans for my bathroom overhaul (mood board here).  And as much as I would love to just have it all done now, the “Bank of Me” doesn’t allow for it all to be done in one shot.  I am tackling this puppy piece by piece as I can save the pennies I need!

The first major update I did was to tackle those FABULOUS orange-y wood cabinets with gold hardware.  Remember these?

I knew this would be a super easy project and super cheap!  One quart of Zinser Primer (already had), one quart of Olympic Moonlit Snow paint & primer in one (for bathrooms & kitchens) at $15, 5 new bushed nickel cabinet pulls for $10, and new brushed nickel hinges for $10, I was ready to get started.

Over two days I primed the cabinet and doors………….

Then I gave it all two coats of paint and I ended up with this…….

(Ignore me in the pic…..this room is so small I didn’t have much of a choice…..well I guess I could have stood in the shower now that I think of it. Oh well!)

I love it so much and it makes the bathroom already feel bigger and updated.  Once I loaded the cabinets back up with all of my hair and makeup products, I noticed a bit of a problem……

Most of my hair products come in metal cans. They were scratching up the shelves when I took them out and put them back each day. I searched for cute shelf liners but couldn’t find anything I liked enough. I took a trip to HomeGoods for some baskets and ended up with this wonderful piece of organization!!!

I have an addiction to baskets and any way I can use them to organize and make a space feel prettier I’m all over it!!!

The bottom basket came with two smaller baskets that I used on the other side of the cabinet to help corral my stuff!!!

I’m not sure how anyone else could ever live here with me!!! There is no room left for anyone else other than that top right shelf!! And now you don’t have to come over to my house and secretly peek into my medicine cabinet while you are using the bathroom…..I put it out here on the internet for everyone to see!!! And yes, that is a cupcake covered box holding all of my nail polish.  I love when my niece picks out gifts for me!!

Total cost for the cabinet update?  $47.00. I also had to buy a new, white GFI outlet to replace the beige one from before (which I totally installed myself)!

Having this one piece of the bathroom done is totally making me antsy to get the rest of the bigger projects (new floor tile and redoing the wall tile) underway!!!

High Five for Friday!!!

This week flew by for some odd reason(thankfully), but it was filled with very little excitement! Hence, my H5FF isn’t too exciting, but here she is!

 1.  After a week+ away from the gym while in Vegas and with the 4th of July holiday, I dragged myself back to the gym this week. It’s so nice to get a break from that, but not nice when you feel the lbs creeping back in! The first day was absolute torture! Back to the grind!

2.  As much as I would love to spend money on house items that make it pretty, I am not independently wealthy and not able to spend on whatever I want. And sometimes fun/pretty stuff takes a back seat to necessities. I had to spend $$ this week on a dehumidifier for my basement. I have a constant stream of water in a drainage trench around my basement and with some heavier rains recently I seem to have a slight mold issue on the floor.  It’s no fun spending $$ on necessary items!

3.  With boring days at work as a bean-counter, accountant, I like to spice up my day with over-the-top shoes like these!That’s one way to spice up a black dress for work!

4.  Along with going back to the gym and household necessities, I spent a lot of time this week making to-do lists, budgeting and other organizational things. I am SO forgetful and will tell myself to do something  later that day and will totally forget when the time rolls around. The Siri function on my iPhone 5 has become my new favorite thing. She reminds me of practically everything now! No excuses for forgetting…..unless I forget to set a reminder!

5.  I got my first Birchbox two weeks ago (see my review here). Newly subscribing at the end of June means I already got my July box within 2 weeks of my June box! And I have to say, this July box looks awesome so far!! MUCH better than my first go-round with the box.  Hopefully I still feel the same way when I use the stuff inside! Stay tuned for my July review!

As always, linking up with Lauren!

Happy Weekend!!!!

 

A girls gotta have her shoes….and a place to store them!

I love shoes….as most girls do.  I also have way too many…..as most girls do.  When I showed you my bedroom here I confessed my mess of shoes and no place to store them.

I have officially been in my house for one year, and for one year my shoes have lived in the same moving boxes they arrived in.  I would just tear through the boxes each morning to find the shoes I wanted.  This has been getting old for, oh, I don’t know, about the past 9 months!! My shoes were starting to get beat up from being thrown in the boxes and I wasn’t even wearing half of the options I had because I didn’t feel like digging for a certain pair!

From the time I moved in I was researching shoe storage options. I knew I wanted to keep them in this cubby space in my bedroom but wasn’t sure what would work. Here were some of the options I considered.

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I had the wall space for this and plenty of heels, but what about my flats, massive amount of flip flops and boots?? It just wasn’t going to work.

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Shoe storage racks like this are plentiful and I knew I could get a big enough rack, but they just weren’t chic enough!!! (Hey, a girl CAN have it all, especially when it comes to shoe storage!)

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This Hemnes cabinet from IKEA has the look I wanted, but I wasn’t convinced I could fit all of my shoes in those two drawers. And what about my tall boots?

Strolling around Pinterest, there are always amazing closet systems that anyone would dream of having. Believe me, I have considered turning the spare bedroom into a giant walk-in closet. But that would just be silly……or would it?!?!  Images like these really stuck with me…..

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I knew that although I didn’t have a huge walk-in closet, I had to have this system.  I decided to bite the bullet and purchase a standard white book shelf as shoe storage in my bedroom.  I researched and was between an IKEA Billy bookcase and one from Target.  Target was having a sale on this 5 shelf Pasadena white book shelf….

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Normally $73.99, it was on sale for $66.59.  Using my Target REDcard debit card, I got another 5% discount, bringing it down to $60.26.  I googled for another coupon code and got another 3% off bringing my total down to $58.51 before tax.  Using my REDcard, I also got free shipping (saving me another $29.99).

The shelf was delivered to my door.  The directions recommend 2 people……….

But I said “I got this” and got to work.  It was super easy to put together and probably only took me a half hour.

The middle shelf is stationary, but the remaining three are adjustable.  I decided to get to work figuring out shoe placement before putting in the remaining shelves.

My boots have spent the past year getting smashed in the bottom of those boxes. I knew I wanted them to stand up to maintain their shape, so I rolled up magazines I no longer needed to hold them up!

The rest of the shelves got layered in based on the height of the shoes I had and the placement of the preexisting holes in the shelves.

I knew for my flats I only needed a small spaced shelf and I knew my heels needed more room.  This arrangement worked nicely with MOST of my heels and flats fitting in.

I have a TON of flip flops and sandals. I knew I couldn’t line them up on the shelves without running out of room.  I got this basket for $12.99 at HomeGoods where I could store all of my summer flip flops and sandals and still have some additional room for my heel overflow!

Out of those two large boxes I started with, I had 4 pairs of shoes/sandals that I no longer wear so I am going to get rid of them, and probably 6 more pairs of heels that are specifically fall/winter heels.  They will be nicely stored until the seasons change and I swap out all of my summer peep-toe heels for the fall!!!

Much more organized……and pretty too!! (I may be biased!)  It may not be high end or have a built-in look but my shoes are ready to be worn, not strewn about in a giant box, and my mess is corralled!  I also left the white card-board backing off of the shelf to keep the wall color flowing through and make it feel a little more seamless.

It sort of makes me feel like I have my own little dressing area….for shoes!!  However, I am tapped out on space. I can’t buy any more shoes….or I just have to get another shelf to expand the space!!!!

And it definitely didn’t break the bank!

Total for the project?

• Shelf – $62.03 (after discounts and tax)
• Basket – $12.99

Total  $75.02

What do you think?!?! I love!

High Five for Friday!!!

Well, it’s Friday……after a holiday.  Most of you are probably off work.  I, unfortunately, have to go to work today. Being away in Vegas last week, it didn’t even dawn on me to consider taking off today. Oh well! At least it’s only one day then the weekend!!!

So, let’s get to it………High Five for Friday!!!

1.  As you know I was in Vegas last week with my fella.  He was in a wedding and I went as his +1.  It was a great trip, despite the 117 degree temeratures.  It has taken all week to catch up on sleep and I’m not quite there yet. I think I have sleep on my schedule for Saturday!!  Being up 28 hours straight one day will do that to ya! While in Vegas right?!?

2.  While we were there we rented a car and drove to Valley of Fire State Park.  It was UH-MAZING!!! Such gorgeous red rock formations out in the desert.  With the temperatures being 115 that day, they recommended not hiking. We took a short 15 minute hike out of the car to get some awesome pictures like this one.  The petro-glyphs and hollows in the rocks were amazing to see. There is so much amazing stuff to see here in our own country.  15 minutes out of the car was more than enough in those temperatures so we hauled it back to the car and drove the rest of the park.

3.  While in Vegas we decided to stop at the Little White Wedding Chapel…..that’s right the same place Britney Spears got married……..and make it official!!!!   HAHA! Just kidding. We snapped this picture outside and sent it off to our friends and family. Most people didn’t take the bait, but there were a few who thought it was for real. Hilarious.  Who wouldn’t want to get married at a drive through wedding chappel!?!?!?

4.  Since yesterday was the 4th of July, I made dessert with a special little young lady.  My bright idea was to make brownies, cut them out in star shape, icing them and top with festive sprinkles.  As you can see above, my star cutouts didn’t work. And it turns out there is a kid who doesn’t like icing or sprinkles. So half of the pan got iced and the other didn’t! Hey, its the effort that counts!

5.  Last night my fella and I went to fireworks together to celebrate the 4th.  These were the absolute best fireworks I had ever seen. AND they were set to music.  What more could I ask for!! They were done by small town Lititz, PA and I think I would take them over any other firework display.  They were awesome and a great way to cap off a fab week-and-a-half with Vegas and the 4th of July!!

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!!! Happy Weekend!

As always I’m linking up with Lauren

 

White & Bright!

Hey Hey!! I am back from Vegas and with the 3 hour time change, jet lag, and little-to-no sleep the entire trip, my entire week has been pretty much a waste!

I wanted to share one of the early projects I completed when I moved into the house.

You can catch a glimpse of it here…..

My house was blessed with lots of built-in storage options in several of the rooms. One of my favorites is this built-in dresser and storage cubby area in my bedroom next to my bed.  HOWEVER, I was not in-love with it in all of its original glory……

Orange wood and gold knobs….it stuck out like a sore thumb.  I knew immediately I wanted to paint it white to help it blend into the closet more and look like a seamless wall of storage.

I took the drawers down to my dining room (my official indoor painting area) and spread them out on a tarp.  I lightly sanded them to remove the glossy top coat.  Each drawer got two coats of Kilz primer, with a light sanding in-between each coat.

I did the same with the actual built-in dresser, just a little lighter sanding (I was just too lazy to deal with dust in the bedroom!!!)

I sadly didn’t take any during shots……but for the actual paint I used Valspar’s Swiss Coffee color matched to Olympic Premium No VOC paint.  I just hate the smell of Valspar paint. Olympic doesn’t smell and the no VOC thing is a plus.  I tried using a cabinet roller but didn’t like the finish so I used a small handled brush to get a smooth finish.

I knew I wanted fabulous knobs for this space to flow into my feminine bedroom plan.  I know of no better place to get cute, original knobs than Hobby Lobby!  I mean look at that huge aisle of knobs!!!

Look at these awesome options! I wish I had other places in my house for these knobs!

This white rose option fit my “girly” theme perfectly but I wanted something a little more dramatic against the white paint. I settled on these…….

Cute, classic, mercury glass knobs.  I knew they were the right mix of feminine yet chic for the space.  And at $2.99 a piece, I was sold!!!

Once everything was put back together, I was in love!!!!

So much better than before right?? It’s amazing what a few coats of paint can do to change a space!!!