DIY Rustic Sofa Table

Do you have projects that you procrastinate completing and then wish you had made it sooner?

This sofa table was like that for me. I had the plan, the wood sitting in the garage and even the lamp ready but without any motivation to complete it when in reality it was quite simple to make.

I love the look of a table behind the couch and had made one in our last house too. It’s a nice spot to put a lamp for reading light and also to make displays with seasonal branches.

Materials

• 2″x 12″ Pine Board – Cut to Size
• Kreg Jig for Pocket Holes
• Screws
• Wood Glue
• Chisel to Roughen Edges of Wood
• Wood Stain

I was able to use one 2″ x 12″ x 12′ pine board that was wide enough to hold the lamp and would be the perfect fit with our house. As with all my other projects I had the wood cut at Home Depot.

To assemble it I used my Kreg Jig to drill pocket holes. I only have a few basic tools and the Kreg Jig has been the best investment that I have used countless times.

These are the stains I used, a mix of what I already had from previous projects.

Here is what the room looked like before I painted the walls and fireplace.

Quilt Made by my Mum

The last part of the project was fixing up the lamp. The glaze was uneven and a bit chipped so I coated it with a layer or homemade chalk paint (which works for everything!) In an off-white.

Wood & Lamp Before

Wood & Lamp After

Sometimes making a table the right size is easier and less expensive than buying one and the materials may be better quality too.

Related Posts:

Sofa table stained with steel wool and vinegar.

Fireplace Makeover: A Simple Update with Paint

Homemade Chalk Paint

Old Lamp / New Look

A couple of weeks ago on Instagram I shared a clip of a recent lamp makeover. It is one of three styles I’ve done in the past few months.

Here are three secondhand lamps, all changed slightly. Sometimes it can be switching a lamp harp (about $5 at a hardware store) a lamp shade or for others paint was used as well.

Homemade Chalk Paint + Baking Soda

This lamp was the perfect size and shape but I didn’t like the flower on it. I added a couple of coats of homemade chalk paint, mixed with a bit baking soda to add texture. I don’t love the baking soda ( I know this has been popular online for awhile) but I found it rubs off easily. Maybe I used too much and should have put a top coat on.

This is the room where the lamp is going. Below is how the table originally looked, first brown and in an earlier coat of blue paint.

Wicker Lamps

These lamps were in excellent shape and all I did was switched to matching drum shades and did a white wash

Oversized Ceramic Lamps

This oversized ceramic lamp is my favourite. I loved the size, texture and colour of the base but not the way the shades sat up so high and the set wasn’t matching in height.

I wanted to keep the cost low and easily find the shades so I used ones from Home Depot and then changed the harp so the shade would sit lower.

These are in our bedroom on oversized nightstands.

My favourite projects are the ones that use creativity to reimagine something that already exists.

Studio

In an effort to reuse as much as possible I am now offering pillow covers made of boiled wool and soon linen.

The way that a coat of paint can change a room, so can switching pillow covers. These are made to work with existing cushion covers already in the home.

I have standard sizes available and can do custom as well. These materials pictures are all 100% linen and are available. More to come soon.

Homemade Chalk Paint

Painting to refresh used furniture is nothing new.

Over the years I’ve done lots of pieces using brand name chalk paint and now I find that making my own works just as well and it’s so easy to do.

Basically by adding Plaster of Paris to house paint it adds the grit needed to help it stick to the wood surface.

Homemade Chalk Paint Recipe:

• 1.5 cups Interior House Paint
• 1/3 cup Plaster of Paris
• 1/3 cup Water

*These are estimates. Once the supplies are mixed the paint will start to thicken slightly.

Directions:

Mix the supplies together. First apply primer on the piece of furniture, then coat with the chalk paint. Seal with a clear coat intended for chalk paint. I tried a water based product that was applied with a brush, it didn’t have the toxic smell like other wax sealants do.

Some Examples

Primer and First Coat of Homemade Chalk Paint

There are so many used pieces of furniture around and changing the colour can easily update them.

After Applying a Clear Topcoat

I keep a box of Plaster of Paris and there is plenty to mix up gallons of chalk paint with leftover house paint. It works well on cabinets, mirrors and end tables.

Once you have the basic supplies it’s so easy to whip up a batch for the latest thrift store/marketplace find.

ORC – Weeks 2 & 3 – Quick Update for Oak

The One Room Challenge has been slow going lately and I’m totally fine with that. I’m looking for the easiest way to make some updates with secondhand items.

This media console we bought used with our kitchen table and I believe they’re originally from Pottery Barn.

While refinishing a dining table is worthwhile I just don’t have the energy or interest in making a big mess right now. For the media console I did a technique I’ve used on oak mirrors to emphasize the grain.

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Oak whitewashed media console with homemade chalk paint.

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Over the years I’ve used name brand Chalk Paint and it’s been good but I now make my own using Plaster of Paris mixed with common housepaint and water. That’s what I have used for this project. It works the same in this application and is a fraction of the cost.

The key is to use a stiff (aka ruined ) brush and push the paint into the grain. Then you wipe away the paint almost immediately.

These are other mirrors I’ve done in this style.

We had a lot of snow fall on Friday and we’ve been so cozy indoors that I didn’t get too far into the basement makeover. It’s comfortable with a couch now and we have so many library books to read.

I have planned the moulding now which will be something manageable to complete with my handsaw and mitre box.

I also found the perfect coffee table a couple of weeks back. I had been looking into how to make a trunk but came across this one at Restore that was in excellent condition and the perfect size – it also locks so that helps keep little brother out of the Lego while the older one is at school.

Here is the link to the One Room Challenge and everyone else’s progress:

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Fireplace Makeover – An Easy Update with Paint

 

Here’s a look at our living room in our open-concept main floor when we first moved in. I was excited to have a fireplace again but this colour wasn’t right for me.

Originally I thought I’d paint everything white, including a wash on the tiles but then changed my mind and I’m glad I went with black instead. At the time it felt like a huge risk but it’s just paint and I was happy with the dramatic results.

Here’s the progress…

Before:  Beige trim and blue walls.

After: Now the fireplace is a feature and I the room has a more modern feel.

Before: The yellow/beige colour didn’t have the same impact with objects displayed.

After: The tiles now look natural and still go with the house.

Now with the black paint, the spotlight at night and natural light during the day create a great space to make seasonal displays.

The fireplace was the first area I started painting, even before the kitchen cabinet makeover I did in December.

This is a wider view of the room before I painted the kitchen cabinets. Once you start changing one area it can start to make everything else look incohesive.

This was not my first time painting a fireplace. 7 years ago we had just moved into our first home near Montreal and this was my first project. The photo will link to the blog post showing how I used chalk paint on the wooden mantel. This is the same couch that has travelled with us from Montreal – Toronto and now Kelowna.

Instead of dreaming of a renovation someday, is there a simple paint fix that could make a big change today?

ORC – Spring 2019 Week 1

 

 

It’s the One Room Challenge again, a chance for interior designers and bloggers to transform a room in 6 weeks. What I like about this event is how it motivating and inspiring to tackle a project along with everyone else – plus having the deadline helps get it done.

 

The last time I did a project in our house was Fall 2017 when I did a board & batten nursery/boys’ room.

 

This time I am doing a small project and something that is long overdue — our master bathroom. Since it’s been almost 5 years since we’ve lived here and we’re not planning a renovation I want to improve what we have by doing a few small projects so that we can enjoy this space.

      The plan:

• Replace the Mirror
• Replace the Vanity Light
• Paint the Walls
• Clean the bathroom
• Create a focal area with the illusion of floating shelves in the closet
• Add shiplap to the walls
• Replace the closet door with a barn door 

 

This is how our vanity originally looked and it stayed this way for 3 years until I painted and changed the hardware. There is a post about the process here.

For minimal effort and materials, this made a huge improvement and gave me the hope that I could improve this bathroom without a renovation.

 

To see what the other designers and bloggers are planning here is the link to Week 1:

 

How to Paint Thermafoil Cabinets

Do you have old cabinets in your home that are tired but haven’t tried painting because they aren’t wood?

That was the case with our bathroom vanity. I didn’t like our cabinets but didn’t know how to change them – until one day I figured I had nothing to lose and I peeled off the vinyl layer that revealed MDF on the surface below.This was what our bathroom looked like for the first 3 years we lived here. There is no major bathroom renovation happening in the near future so instead, I did a $25 makeover that made a huge improvement and only took a few hours. Since I had nothing to lose I pulled off the vinyl cover from the cabinets. On the inside edge it was easy to peel the white cover off and then take off the whole front layer in almost one piece.First, I did a base coat of chalk paint, next I mixed up a custom colour to coordinate with the wall colour and vanity countertop. What I used was a combination of chalk paint and wall paint.The final step was to drill a couple of new holes to accommodate the new hardware that I bought which was where the $25 cost came from.

It has been a year and a half since I painted this vanity which gets a lot of use and the paint is durable. Until a major bathroom renovation happens, I am much happier with the way the bathroom looks and you can’t beat the low effort and cost of this project.

Here is an article from Better Homes & Gardens about different kinds of cabinets to determine which kind you may have.

To paint wood cabinets here is a tutorial using paint:

Fall ORC – Week 2

It’s Week 2 of the Fall One Room Challenge and just over 1 week away from the new baby’s due date.

Here’s a look at the plan I have for this shared nursery/bedroom – a neutral base with white walls, furniture & bedding; a statement light fixture and colourful accents that can be changed up over time.

Initially, I had planned to colour block the walls with navy on the bottom of the wall to contrast with the white furniture. When my husband saw how dark the navy was, he was completely opposed to this plan so I ended up painting the walls solid white instead. I still think that the navy would have looked good because this is a bright, South facing room but I like the white too.

The furniture and curtains in this room are the original pieces that I used in our very first nursery from our Montreal home. This rocking chair was among the first furniture we bought and I below is the original photo of it from October 2012.

At that time I was expecting our first child and was keen to paint everything with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, that’s where my love of DIY home improvement began. The white paint from 5 years ago has stood up very well as you can see in the photo below. The mirror resting in the photo below is the same one that we have in our powder room.

Goodbye mountain mural nursery wall…

Here’s the plain white room which isn’t too exciting right now. After painting the room I realized that I need to make the doors and trim a brighter white so that there is some slight contrast between them and the walls. By the way, these black door handles are actually shiny brass hiding beneath spray paint. It has been three years since I spray painted these and they’re holding up well here because we don’t use these door handles very often.

 

Week 2 from all of the other participants is linked up through Calling it Home.

Side Tables Refinished

This is the story of two bedside tables turned living room side tables that have been painted and refinished 3 times in the past 3 years but now they are done.
In our last home I painted them to blend in with the wall colours (light grey and dark blue) but this time I did them both the same. I never liked the look of the fake shadows sprayed on the wood veneer top but I had been apprehensive about refinishing it and ruining the top. 
This is how they looked when I first bought them from a secondhand store where they were originally part of a bedroom set. I thought that the shape was interesting and they had an interior shelf and lots of storage space to help keep the living room tidy.

Finally this summer I just went for it and used a stripper to remove the shiny varnish and stain. It took a lot of scraping and some sanding while being careful not to take off too much material.Then I applied my favourite stain that is a light grey so that the tables are lighter like the rest of the wood tones in our house and sealed it with a matte varnish.

Doing this quick refinishing project was actually what gave me the experience and some confidence to tackle the large kitchen table that was on Apartment Therapy. If you’re thinking about stripping and refinishing wood for the first time start with something small to get started, it’s not as hard as it may seem.

At Home: DIY Projects in Our First House

Since having our baby at the end of November I haven’t been doing as much sewing but I have been working away at projects around our new home. This is our first house and we moved in at the beginning of October so I did what I could while pregnant and then once our baby was born I spent a lot of time staring at the walls I desperately wanted to paint.

Browsing Pinterest and blogs inspired me by seeing what other people had done to transform their homes with simple updates that can make a big impact.

Using paint can go a long way. This was what I first started with since it is the focal point of our living room and this combination of oak, dark blue and beige just didn’t work for me.

I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White to do the fireplace. It was so easy to use with no surface preparation needed.

 

 

Here it is after one coat of paint and in total I think it took about three coats to get even coverage.

 

This is a wood scroll that I glued on to add more detail to the woodwork.

Here is a close up of the finished fireplace which was sealed with the Annie Sloan clear wax. Using the wax was the worst part of doing this project because it has a really strong odour.

Once the fireplace was painted the dark blue suddenly looked much richer with the contrast against the bright white. I knew that I would paint the fireplace white but I didn’t expect to keep the dark blue wall but that ended up being my favourite accent colour and I have carried it throughout our home. 

 

There are other things that have changed in the before and after picture besides the fireplace but I’ll share that painting in another post.