FREE TABLE TRANSFORMED TO GAME TABLE~ IC#12

Welcome back to Pondered Primed Perfected for another dose of Inspiration Cafe!  It's been a crazy, busy time around here but I can't wait to show you my little DIY project.

Scott brought this free table home when he went to pick up something off Craigslist and they said "You want any of this other stuff?"

You can guess what he said.  :)

It was pretty messed up so I sanded it down and then stained the square leg portions with clear poly to bring out the detailing in the boxtail joints.  :)  I thought they were dovetailed at first but looked it up to make sure...they're called boxtailed if they are squared like this.  Good to know, right? 

I stained the tabletop portion with a dark brown stain and left it otherwise unfinished.  I knew I wanted to do something fun with it, but at that time I had no idea what....

We've been working on what we call the NOOK upstairs.  It's a little gaming and movie viewing area we added to our upstairs space.  We needed some type of lightweight table for setting a cribbage board or a game of checkers on...maybe some game controllers and a juice box from time to time.  So...

Just the perfect size for board games, right?
So using our cardboard checkerboard as a sizing guide, I marked out a grid with pencil and straight edge.  I measured the tabletop and marked the center point and measured out from there so it would all be centered nicely. 

 
Once the lines were all marked I went over them again with a white paint pen.  I wasn't going for perfect so I didn't get too concerned if the lines were a bit wobbly or the amount of paint coming out wasn't exactly consistent. 
Once I had the grid done I started filling in every other square...you know...like a checkerboard!  ;)

I didn't try to fill them in completely but kind of scribbled them in from one corner to the other. Then I went around the outer edge again to make it stand out as the border.

That's it!  Simple really.

Then I got all artsy-smart and wanted to take some cool photos in the yard since the NOOK area is too dark for good photography.
A couple of stumps as chairs.  Cool, huh!?  I thought so!

Add the checkers and you're ready for some friendly competition.
BUT I decided I just had to climb on one of those cute little stumps to get a better angle.  I got a better angle alright...when it dumped me on my Patootie in the grass!!!!!

Here's the angle from down there!!!

(You'll notice the slightly broken "boxtailed" table joint...yeah...I did that when I used the table to break my fall.  :)  It hurt.  A LOT.  That'll teach me to get artsy-fartsy with my photos!  I couldn't figure out if I should laugh or cry, so I did both.  I think the table's okay.  The camera survived too.  My leg may be scarred a bit...that little stump took out a nice section of my shin.  I uttered a few choice cuss words.  I can't quite remember.  I quickly snapped this last photo to check that the camera was okay, then crawled to the bench for first aid.  Thank you Scotty!)

Little bit of wood glue and this table will be ready for some gaming action!  I hope it hosts many fun games and happy moments.  That might make up for the pain!!

I love how it looks with our glass chess set!

Time to brush up on my chess playing skills!!!

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ROADKILL RESCUE BENCH FEATURE

I can barely believe it!  Beckie Farrant of Roadkill Rescue is featuring the Outdoor Bench we made over from some old pizza parlor seating.

Please go and check it out and tell Beckie "HI".  I love what she is doing ~ sharing the creativity that so many people have when recreating something old, discarded or free.  Just be glad you can't hear me singing her praises for real...my singing voice sucks.  Really!  Now don't you feel lucky?

GO.  GO NOW.  GO CHECK OUT MY BENCH.  GO SHOW SOME LOVE TO BECKIE AND ALL THE OTHER "RESCUERS".  HURRY!!!  BEFORE I FIGURE OUT HOW TO POST AUDIO ON THIS BLOG!!!

http://roadkillrescue.net/2012/02/upholstered-outdoor-bench/

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Bench Makeover ~ I think I have Spring Fever

Lately I've been drawn to pictures of outdoor spaces. 
Light, bright and cheerful spaces such as these:
{Click on photos to follow links to available sources}

Aren't they wonderful???
It's no wonder I'm pining for some sunny outdoor time.

After such an extended period of short, gray, rainy days that are the norm around the Pacific Northwest ~ It takes it's toll on my level of cheerfulness.  I'm not joking when I say I prefer summer months.  I am lucky that in my job I'm able to spend a decent amount of time outside even in winter, so I can get as much Vitamin D as possible.  I also lean towards Cottage and Scandinavian design due to their use of light, white and bright colors.  It may be dark outside more often, but I have some control over the evironment inside my home!

A lack of daylight hours combined with cold and rain for extended periods of time can take it's toll on all of us.  Mother Nature seems to understand this and starts throwing in beautiful, crisp, sunny days here and there this time of year.  Just enough to keep me satisfied!  It's sunny days like these that cause me to start dreaming of those long, warm, lazy summer days.  I thought I would work on a project that would help get me into a breezy, summertime mood.

One of Scott's Craigslist runs a few months ago scored us a couple of free benches.  There were two benches, one about 4 feet long and the other about 6 feet.  They had a pizza parlor label underneath.  I don't know why, but that seems kind of funny to me...how we ended up with these pizza parlor cast offs.  They weren't very pretty...painted a dark brown and covered in brown vinyl.  The vinyl upholstery had numerous cracks and repairs in it also. 

We were in need of some more furniture suitable for our back deck area for the warmer spring and summer months.  I thought it would be fun to make these benches over with some paint and outdoor fabric.  I was able to work on the smaller 4 foot bench this weekend.  Here is what I was able to accomplish:

The metal piece was painted silver to freshen it up, then the wood was painted a pale green with a touch of grey in it and distressed.

The seat was reupholstered in an indoor/outdoor fabric in a beachy, tropical pattern

Fun metal hardware was just an easy spray paint fix.

Bright Shiny Silver on this fabulous feature of the bench.

Colors that bring long, hot, relaxing summer days to mind. 
(And it doesn't clash with the pool either, that's a bonus!)

New life given to a discarded piece.  The fabric was attached to the underside of the seat with a manual staple gun.

A place to sit and sip lemonade!!!

Just in case you forgot how bad it was ~ ANOTHER BEFORE.

And again the AFTER shot!    ;)

This might be the perfect spot for a tiny nap...

I have a whole bunch of thrift store stuff to show you that I'll be using to finish jazzing up this back deck.  This little project took maybe two hours time and $10 in fabric.  The paint used we had on hand.  I purchased $20 total in outdoor fabric so I would have plenty to do some other back deck projects.  Can't wait to show you!!!

Here's hoping that your week is filled with fun projects, little naps, sun breaks and happiness!
xoxo,
Sherry

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$25 Laundry Room Makeover Reveal

Who knew?

We purged,
We donated,
We evicted,
We cleaned,
We painted,
We flooded,
We sawed, hammered, nailed and screwed,
We stained,
We sewed and stapled,
We arranged.
But most importantly~
We beautified.

And the final result may not be worthy of a magazine...but...

Oh the joy it brings!

So much came out, but we were very careful of what we put back in. 

We wanted this space to be:

Open 
and Cheerful.  (I think we succeeded.)

Fresh
and Clean.   (Just look at all of that fresh, clean, organized goodness!)

Light
and Bright.  (No more stacked washer and dryer blocking the window or ceiling light.)

Citrusy

and Beachy.  (Like sipping lemonade while lazing in the sun on the beach.  Imagine!!)

Practical
and Pretty.  (Those curtains hide tons of storage space.)

Fun
and Flirty.  (Just wait until you see the light fixture we made from an Easter basket!) 

And here comes the overload of photos
(mostly because I just adore this "new" space!)

A glimpse of the new light fixture, made out of an Easter basket with the handle removed and a hole drilled into the bottom!

We wanted a wire basket but didn't have one that was just right...this turned out pretty darn cute anyway!

 I made some curtains out of some remnant fabric.  I love the pattern with the little tiny bit of teal and the pale yellow ribbons.

So simple and easy to make.  I cut and hemmed the fabric about an inch wider than the window.  Then I stapled the fabric to a trim board that was just slightly narrower than the fabric and I pneumatically nailed the trim board to the wall above the window.  This window covering is just for appearances, it doesn't need to be closed.

 We built a "counter top" over the washer and dryer.  Scott planed some old fence boards so it would be smooth and I rubbed it with some fairly dark stain.  We can't have everything in here white.  We just love our old wood.

My little ceramic fish is just perfect for holding my bleach pen.

My new thrifty friend, the pig...for loose change.  ;)
Some dryer sheets and the teal globe that Scott just wouldn't let me get rid of. 
It looks perfect right here! 

The lower shelving is a free cabinet that came from Craigslist. 
I tell you, my hubby is OBSESSED with free things!
Okay, I admit, it's hard to turn down a really good freebie.  :)
We are being thrifty!
Scott removed the doors and the horrid laminate that was on it and then primed and painted. 
I added a silver curtain rod and made some curtain panels to hide our cleaners and other miscellaneous stuff.
I think this fabric is kind of beachy, don't you?

Then came the upper wall shelves for some extra storage and display. 
These were old cabinet doors that Scott cut down to size and I put up with the wooden brackets that used to be in our son's room. 

Don't look too closely...those shelves still need another coat of paint...

The perfect spot for my .59 cent baskets found at a discount retailer. 
The clerk was certain it was a pricing mistake but finally gave in and let me take them home with me. 
I'm pretty convinced she wanted them for herself.  Bummer. 

And now for the accessories!!!

An uplifting quote.

 I put some of the leftover fabric from the curtain onto this cork board and framed it in with some turquoise ribbon.

Some "artwork" created from printouts that I put into frames...I love these.

Another inspiring free printable...you can find this one HERE  at http://houseandhone.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-year-i-will-printable.html.  There were other color options too.

Check out all the other fun stuff Miss Emily Hone has to offer while you're there!  This one is also in a thrift store frame.

 I filled my soup/salad server with faux lemons for a pop of color.  :)

The top shelf holds some of my favorite white ceramics. 
All of the ceramic fish dishes are thrift store finds from over the years. 
I finally found a place to display them!!!

It's hard to get a photo of everything in this little room ~ this is as close as I came. 
We love our NEW AND IMPROVED LAUNDRY!

Supplies/Sources/Cost:
Paint ~ freebie leftover from a previous project
Lower shelving unit ~ Craigslist freebie modified
Upper wall shelves ~ salvage freebie modified
Wall Brackets ~ already owned
Curtains on window and shelf ~ remnant fabric and ribbon from Joann's ~ $16 total
Counter over washer and dryer ~ salvaged wood ~ free
White baskets $1.18 ~ Wheeler Dealer in Woodburn, OR
White frames $2.97 ~ thrifted ~ GW
Silver galvanized bucket ~ Target dollar bins
Fish dishes ~ already owned ~ previous thrift store purchase
Printable ~ free
Laundry basket ~ freebie
PB Clock ~ already owned ~ previous thrift store purchase
Easter Basket ~ $3.99
All other miscellaneous items we already had on hand
Total Current Expense = Less than $25

And, of course, my reminder of just how BAD it was before and how much we had shoved into the space:

The Before:

AND AGAIN THE AFTER:

We don't have to talk about the garage now, do we???

Previous posts on this project can be found here:
http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/imagine-impossibilities-challenge.html
http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/imagine-impossibilities-challenge-take.html
http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/imagine-impossibilities-challenge-take_23.html
http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/gray-cloudy-and-wet-thats-forecast-in.html


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