From lighting don't to lighting Do!!!

One of the easiest and fastest fixes that we did was refinishing the chandelier in the dinning room. The before picture is a bit hard to make out, but you've seen this exact chandelier before.

In your grandmothers house possibly? Or maybe in your own when you first moved in? Lighting makes a huge change and a dramatic impact in a space, but replacing a chandelier can be pricey.

After considering looking on CraigsList for a new fixture I started to really look at the one I had. The bones of this piece were fine, and with fine tuning I love the way it came out!

The first step (after taking the fixture down of course ;^) was to spray it
We used a spray by Rustoleum, it runs between $5-$7 dollars per can. I went with a rod iron look but with a bit of brown undertones to warm it up. I would recommend going with the Hammered Finish. It made a huge difference, and gave the piece texture. It actually only took me two coats to cover the fixture well.

Now this next step is where you would have to be shopping savvy. I removed the globes and instead opted for shades, which are more modern and gave the fixture a warm look. These shades come in an amazing array of styles, but can sometimes run you $14.00 a piece! And when you need five of them it adds up fast. Luckily I found them for $5.00 a piece at big lots! A recommendation for you if you can't find them is to check out your local craft store, even if you go with a plain looking shade you can buy a couple feet of beaded trim to jazz them up, and still wind up with a great value, and it will be more custom!

So this is the finished product, and for $30 dollars or so you have an amazing new lighting fixture!

Re-Finishing a Deal of a Dresser

Well, after months of storing our clothing in the closet and those plastic storage tubs, we decided it was time to tackle our next project, a dresser! Being budget minded we could not just go out and buy one that was already pretty, oh no, we had to go hunting!!!

My husband and I spent the day traveling to different Salvation Army and other thrift stores. At our last stop, a Salvation Army in Wayne, we found this gem. Well okay, my husband did, I however at the time did not feel the same, which is odd because normally I am the one with an open mind. But can you blame me? It had been a long day and my 1 1/2 yr old little girl had enough, and as a result so had mommy. But regardless I just couldn't pass up the $25.00 price tag.

After we paid we went to lift the dresser into the car, and it fell apart >:0. At this point I was almost in tears and totally done with the whole dresser experience. I spent the ride home silently cursing my husbands name for his input in bedroom furniture.

But, after a day of realizing I over-reacted we got to work. First we sanded the finish a bit so that the paint would stick, we then screwed the top back on, with extra support from some wood glue, because this dresser couldn't just look pretty, it had to actually function!

We added primer followed with two coats of black paint (we had a quart lying around from a previous project). Amazingly the hardware on the dresser was already a great choice, so that cut out a nice expense for us. But looking at the completely black hunk of furniture I decided it needed something. So I got some basic silver paint and a cleaning cloth. I spread a bit of the paint on a Styrofoam plate and dabbed the rag on top, then I rubbed it into the groves and went back over to wipe off. I also took a sponge brush and lightly stroked the drawer faces.

The result was awesome if I do say so myself! It matched our bedroom perfectly!!!! And here are the results!