Dresser to TV Stand Tutorial

So...I ran into this beauty at Savers for $15 & decided that even though it was pretty ugly...I could make it pretty...

I sanded her down...

and with a jig saw...cut off the two dividers on the "top shelf" of the dresser. Then I had a piece of wood cut to match the dimension and laid it down to create a smooth open shelf, instead of the 3 top drawers. I also put a piece of beadboard in the back...but this wasn't necessary, as you can't see the back in the finished project. Oops.

I primed the entire dresser and here you can see my wood "shelf" sitting on top...

I applied wood glue and then clamped it for a good 24 hours until I thought it was secure...

I put my freshly painted doors back in & bought some cheap white knobs at Hobby Lobby! Notice that they were the "handle" knobs, but I couldn't find any that I liked, so I just put 2 single knobs in each drawer and I think it turned out great!

Freshly painted light blue "entertainment dresser"...

And my TV is much happier sitting on a pretty piece of furniture! I didn't even notice the curves at the bottom of the dresser until it was painted & I love them. The top shelf provides a perfect spot for our DVD Player and Tivo and a spot for a woven basket in the middle...

Hidden in that basket??

Remotes & tv cords!

and those dresser drawers provide storage for ALL our movies!!!

Remember this???

It's now this...

My Dresser TV Stand

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking for Halloween Costumes with my boys at Savers & I glanced over and saw this dresser & the price tag read $14.99!!!

I mentioned it to my husband later that night and said even though it wasn't exactly what I've been looking for(I've been searching for a dresser to use as an entertainment stand), we could probably paint it and resell it if nothing else. Two minutes later he was walking out the door to go and buy it for me. He's the best!!:)

AND...

I made it work for our TV after all & I love it!!

Here she is...all $14.99 of her, holding our TV...

 Here is our Family Room about a month ago, with our laminate tv stand...

Since then, I've tried to brighten it up a bit & add in some BLUES & GREENS & take away the REDS & here it is today:)

  The best part about my new "entertainment dresser"???

All of the storage! I moved all of our movies from our office closet into the 4 larger drawers!

The smaller drawers hold our wii and more cords...all tucked away so nobody can see:)

 and I found a cute little basket to hide our remotes...

All those hidden movies/games/remotes makes me smile:)

The littlest things make me happy! 

** I will show a little "how to turn a dresser into a TV stand soon & you will see how EASY IT IS! You don't believe me? I did this ALL BY MYSELF, without my hubby's help...from start to finish! 

No help from my handy man=it must have been easy!!!:)

FREE Shelf Redo

My mom got this bookshelf from a neighbor & asked if I wanted it...

I will take almost anything for free, 

so of course I took it.

I've been needing a shelf in our playroom to easily access things while I teach preschool & figured this would do the trick!
I unscrewed the back and took it outside & gave it a coat of red spray paint.

I originally was going to cut a piece of beadboard to fit the back, which would have been SO CUTE, 

but I decided a bunch of preschoolers weren't going to care.

Then I painted the shelf white & screwed back on the red back...

and now I have a perfect little spot for all of the supplies I need within an arm's reach. I just threw some stuff on it that I already had, so things might change, but I already love it...

OH...and I scored that CHAIR for FREE too!!!

It is in really good shape & I think I'm going to try to make a slipcover for it.

Anyone have an EASY pattern or tutorial for me??

It is a perfect chair for me to sit in while I teach cute preschoolers :)

Not a bad little corner, when the total cost was $0

Need some vinyl for your home? Laura at "Say it on the Wall" is giving one of my readers a $25 gift certificate!
Enter HERE

Parents Master Suite

My parents went out of town for 10 days & we decided to do something fun for them while they were gone. 

They have put off finishing their Master Bedroom, always using that room as one where they could store random boxes,etc, because people would never see that room. ( I do the same thing!) They FINALLY bought bedroom furniture several years ago, but it was looking pretty yellow and dinged up & it was the last room in the house that still had popcorn ceilings and the walls had never been painted! 

They deserve a nice space & we decided to create it for them & went to work!

1st task:

remove EVERYTHING from the room. Hours of cleaning & packing & organizing a LOT of stuff...

 2nd task.

More cleaning & more furniture to remove (some of which won't be coming back...that cherry armoire didn't go in the room & was a little too bulky for that wall)...

 3rd task...remove outdated shelves & dust collecting knick knacks.

4th task...get rid of that POPCORN CEILING!

Tip if you plan to scrape your ceilings...

Most people tell you to spray it with water & then it will fall off as you scrape. That does work great, but it also takes away all of the texture, so you will have to patch several spots on the ceiling & often re-texture before you paint. BUT, if you just scrape it dry, then it leaves a texture on the ceiling and is more forgiving with any blemishes in the ceiling(note...it will be MESSIER & DUSTIER this way, but easier in the end)

5th task:

Paint the now pretty ceilings with Flat White Ceiling Paint 

6th task:

  2 coats of a Martha Stewart Green in Eggshell sheen on the walls(I don't know the exact name of it, but I will find it) We knew we were going to replace baseboards, add crown moulding and frame the windows, so we didn't have to cut in, which made painting easier!

7th task:

Take all of bedroom furniture outside & paint beautiful WHITE in semi-gloss sheen...

(thank goodness my brother is a painter & took care of this task quickly with a sprayer!)

8th task:

Add beautiful crown moulding,

thick baseboards,

and

frame windows...

Thank goodness my brother has done this before & it looked beautiful when he was done!

9th Task:

Caulk ALL seams of ALL trim that we added to the room. This might seem unnecessary, but it really finishes it off & makes it look soooo good! Also putty in all nail holes & add a 2nd coat of white semi-gloss to all trim after you put it on the walls. 

10th Task:

move beautiful new looking furniture back into the room...

10th Task: 

Hang Curtains...

11th task: 

Have talented brother custom frame gorgeous picture to replace bulky armoire that was previously on this wall...

12th task...

DECORATE & create cleaner looking spaces & do NOT hang 80's flower swag back above bed;) Sorry mom!

Less is more...

I love the way all of the white trim & white furniture stands out now!

A beautiful space for the 2 people that deserve it more than anyone!

Other than the picture my brother framed, the curtains & 2 new throw pillows on the bed, we used all of my mom's previous decor, pulling a few things from other rooms in the house to complete the look. 

You don't have to spend a fortune to recreate a space that you love!

Now...I need to get to work on my OWN master bedroom...

Slipcover Review

Awhile ago I had the opportunity to do a PRODUCT REVIEW with CSN stores!

I knew right away what I wanted to review & ordered slipcovers for my couches.

My bro Rob & his wife Julie gave us these couches when we moved into our home last October & we were so grateful to them & even more thrilled at the FREE-ness of them:)

I  have LOVED the look of slipcovered couches I have seen around blog world & ideally would get WHITE...but since that wasn't practical with a 3 yr old and a 1 yr old, I ordered them in Linen, which looks like Taupe. I now have green & brown striped pillows on them too, but I didn't want this to be a "decorating post", just a review on the actual slipcovers. Pay no attention to my son's blankie in the picture:)

I got the sure fit cotton duck covers because I liked that they had TIES so that I could make them look more fitted on my couches. 

PROS: 

--The fabric is Machine Washable(perfect with little kids)

--I love the fabric, it is super soft. It says Cotton, but it feels llike microfiber & spots wash out easily.

--I love that when things drop in between the cushions, they are not lost in nowhere land anymore. I just pull the slipcover out & find what I'm looking forever. It has been so nice to find the remote these days;)

--The price. I looked for months at slipcovers & even the one at Walmart were more expensive than these!

--The ties make it look more fitted, which I love.

--Free Shipping

--Love the color options I have in that room now. I felt a little limited befor, but now I feel like I could put any color in that room.

CONS:

--I wish I ordered them in GREEN to go with my kitchen. That was my fault though. I wanted green, but was nervous the greens would clash. The taupe is a good neutral color though. So it isn't an actual "con" :)

--They are messy looking after one person sits on the couch. I feel like I'm always straightening them, but I'm sort of OCD about stuff like that. (I don't think it would be a problem if I didn't have young kids)

I would DEFINITELY recommend them to you if you are on the lookout for great slipcovers! 

Stay tuned for my next review...

just ordered these Wiggle Rides for my boys:)

AND NO...I haven't forgotten about my FOLLOWER GIVEAWAY in honor of my 1 yr blogiversary! You will be entered to win if you are a follower...just to say THANK YOU!!!

I want to end July with a bang! I will be giving away a $50 Gift Certificate to CSN Stores to one of my lucky followers to spend however they would like!! 
I will pick a follower on July 31st to win!

Desk

Finding a cheap corner desk is going on my TO FIND list.
It would be PERFECT for our office!

Corner desks are SOOOO expensive & are usually ugly. 

Check out this corner desk I saw at Chocolate Sundaes!

I'm in love with what she did with her cheap find...

SLIPCOVERS

Just ordered these slipcovers for our couches & I'm so excited!

 I REALLY wanted to get GREEN, since our kitchen walls are green, but since I was ordering online I was too afraid the 2 greens would clash. I drool over all of the white slipcovered couches around blogland, but I have a 3 year old & a 1 year old & WHITE just isn't practical :( So I decided to order Taupe & I'm going to make some really cute GREEN throw pillows! I hope it turns out how it looks in my head.

Now...I just have to find the perfect fabric

I found the slipcovers at CSN Stores...one of my amazing sponsors!

Check them out HERE

Footsies

My mom was throwing away a beat up step stool & I of course snagged it up. You know what they say, 
"One mom's trash is another daughter's treasure..."

Then again...maybe I should have let this go to the trash can???

Too late...instead & grabbed the sander & went to work...

I didn't get it perfect, but I think the rough corners give it character.

I planned to paint it white, but at the last second snagged a can of Sparkling Spring BLUE from the shed. The same color I used to make this clock(that hangs in the same bathroom that this stepstool will be used in)

And then I asked my boys to assist me & I dipped their feet in White Paint. 

They looked at me with a look of...

You are going to get in trouble for painting on our feet!!!

And now we have a little personalized step stool in our bathroom...

which Parker actually LOVES to stand on while brushing his teeth! He makes sure he steps on the "BIG" footprints & NOT the LITTLE ones(even though they are almost the same size) He knows which footsies are HIS! ;)

Linking up at Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday 
& Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprint's on the Fridge