Master Bath Sweat Equity

I picked up this mirror for $2 at a yard sale knowing I could transform it for the master bathroom.

I removed the middle pieces of trim.

Then had my dad add some molding we had left over from our addition to beef up the frame.

I painted it all and sanded the edges a bit.  Then I used a rag and wiped dark walnut stain over the entire piece before wiping it off.

Not bad for $2.  It will hang on the wall in our new master bath. (We're still under construction)

Everything we did in our addition was done on a budget but not cheaply.  We bought two unfinished oak cabinetry pieces at home depot for a reasonable price  About two weeks later I was in HD making a return when I noticed all of the unfinished oak cabinets were on clearence.  I had the receipt from our purchase in my purse and asked the lady at customer service if I she could refund me the difference since I had bought them two weeks prior.  She did.  I got $80 back.  Whoo-hoooo.

These were buggers to finish.  Let me tell you it was a loooong process. I sanded the heck out of the unfinished oak and it was as smooth as a babies bottom. Then I primed with Kilz primer. I got a good thick primer. After I primed, little slivers of wood stuck out everywhere. I couldn't believe it. Is that typical of unfinished wood??? So I sanded them all again. Smooth as can be and primed again. Still a little rough but I painted them anyway. Then I randomly sanded along the edges to get a slightly distressed look. I took a rag and rubbed dark walnut stain on the edges and very lightly on the entire piece. The final step was sealing them. If you are sealing a painted piece of white furniture NEVER ever use polyurethane. It will turn your furniture yellow. You must use polycrylic. It's about twice the cost but worth every penny. I love how these look. They turned out exactly like I'd envisioned and was worth all the work.

So here is the BEFORE

And here is the AFTER (before I painted and distressed the frame)

Oh yeah, and the brushed nickel light fixture was from Walmart for $35.

There were similar ones at Home Depot for $70.

I'm linking up at The Inspired Room,  Between Naps on the Porch, Today's Creative Blog, and A Soft Place to Land.

More Yard Sale Finds and Transformations

I picked up at Goodwill for $2.50 a while back.

I got online and printed out a large B (for our last name) and also printed an olive branch.  Then I taped the paper to the window and taped the burlap over top and traced around everything with a black Sharpie.  I used a small black paint brush and filled in the rest with paint.  I painted the frame black and roughed up the edges and I coudn't be happier with the way it turned out!!!!

Next transformation is this recipe holder I turned into a mail holder for my desk.  I sanded it down and painted it black.  Then I cut out some cute scrapbook paper for the front and sides and mod podged it on.  It now sits on the desk and holds mail.

 I picked up these large deer for $3.99 each. They are around 2 feet tall.  I can't wait to put them up at Christmas time.

I also found this Waverly Garden Room valance for $1.99.  I love this print.

This table reversible table runner was also $1.99 and is similar to the waverly print.  I also got two place mats that match for 25 cents each.

Remember this 8 x 10 shabby picture frame I picked up for $1.  It was from Target and brand new.  I whipped up this embroidery a couple nights ago and it fits nicely in my frame.  The little fall flower bouquet I picked up for $1 and the pumpkins were 25 cents each at my local thrift store.

Now for the big project I've been working on.  I'm kind of embarrassed to show the next picture. I think everyone has a place where things accumulate (I'm hoping so anyway). Ours is the desk in the dining room. It doesn't matter how often I clean and sort and purge. It always ends up a mess. It is the dumping grounds for mail, contents of the kids backpacks (papers, papers, and more papers), and all sorts of stuff. We haven't used that desk top computer for ages. It doesn't work for high speed internet and it is 8 years old. It just sits there taking up valuable space. The printer lies buried in a mountain of debre.

 

 

This huge junk pile sat next to my display of milk glass and did it no justice at all.

A couple weeks ago we moved the desk into the new family room and the mess now looks like this. Notice my cute mail holder on the desk doing its job.

So what happened to the void where the desk used to be???  The buffet which was on a different wall in the dining room was moved into the cubby where the desk stood.  So she moved from here to........

...............here.  And my biggest project this month was building these copy cat cafe shelves from the Ballard Designs catalog.  I did have the hubby help me with this one.

Every single thing on these shelves was bought second hand for very little.

After a week I decided to fall-ify the buffet.  I was getting kind of tierd of the toile runner on the buffet so I purchased a piece of burlap from Walmart and made a runner.  I love the rustic-ness of it.  Remember the $3 birdcage I found a few weeks back.  I have always wanted a black crow for Halloween and I finally bought one at Michaels last week for $4 (normally $10).  So here she sits in the bird cage atop a pumpkin.  The little haunted house was 50 cents, the candle holders $1 each, and the berry vine (I got two of these) 75 cents all at Goodwill.  And the best part is the buffet - she really loves her new look.

I'm still working on the wall where the buffet used to sit.

Happy Fall Y'all.