My New $9 Lantern Light!

YUP- $9!

I picked up this large (but empty?) lantern at my local thrift store (the DI) for a whopping $2.  Believe me I hesitated and wondered if I was crazy to buy a light without the lights!  I wasn't even sure it was meant to be a light fixture?  But, I couldn't pass it up, I figured for $2 I would try to figure something out.

I figured if I just bought another ugly light fixture that was roughly the same size I could put the lighting guts into my empty lantern.  It took months of going to the thrift store before I found just the right candidate
(and before I got up the courage to try!).  

Here's my $7 fixture that I signed up as the donor!

I simply unscrewed the top to remove the chain, then pulled the fixture out the bottom of the light and I was done - I couldn't believe how easy this was - seriously!

After giving the lighting guts a good coat of Antique Brass spray paint I put them in my empty lantern.
It all fit together like a glove!!!  I could not be more happy.

I hung the beauty in the mudroom (click here for more info on this room).

I would have loved this light for $100, but the fact that it only cost $9 just makes me smile every time I walk past the room!

I have a weakness for a great pair of Legs!

Table Legs that is!  I have been needing and searching for a sofa table to go in our downstairs family room for a REALLY LONG time.  I had a picture in mind of what I was looking for and I couldn't ever find it anywhere.  What's a girl to do....... once again Tablelegs.com provided the perfect solution for my Sofa table dreams!

Remember the first time I had RH Sofa Table dreams and they provided a solution?

 (click here for that post)

Well they came to the rescue once again.  Did you know they sell entire "Base Kits" for dining tables, coffee tables, sofa tables, vanities, etc. etc. etc.?  How awesome is that.  So you can be picky about exactly what kind of legs you are looking for, aaaaannnnnddd you can get it in exactly the size you are looking for.  If you want to do a contrasting table top, in say marble, metal, or whatever, you have that option when you just order a base kit; or you can also order a wood table top from them.  I chose this base kit with the large "William & Mary" legs, and because they can customize I had them make it to the dimensions I wanted  (16" wide, 65" long).  I went ahead and also ordered the table top from them - all of it in unfinished soft maple wood.  It arrived quickly and was packaged so carefully.  All the base kit pieces are mortised and tenoned and had details like beading along the edges, beautiful!  For the table top you can customize things like your edging, corners, and thickness.  

I was like a kid in a candy store!!!

It only took minutes to get it all put together (a mallet came in handy for this part).

Next came the hard part - how should I finish this beauty?!!  Originally I planned to paint the whole thing grey, but once it arrived it seemed wrong to not let the beauty of the wood shine through.  I compromised - I painted the base grey (Benjamin Moore "Storm") and stained the top using this technique.  It is my first time using vinegar to age wood and I was pretty impressed (just don't apply the vinegar to the wood using the steel wool - it caused weird spots so use a rag!  Thankfully I tested my staining technique on the underside of the table first!).  The one step I did add to the top was to apply a small amount of dark stain right after applying the wax and worked it all together into the wood with my rag.  It helped to warm it up a bit.  I did the same thing with the wax on the legs once the paint was dry.

Here it is all done!

~ LOVE IT ~

One of the reasons I could never find "just the right" sofa table was that the size was never long enough; the other reason was that I had pinned numerous pictures like the ones below and was set on getting a table that would allow me to have a couple ottomans or stools underneath for extra seating, and because obviously- it looks cool too!

It seemed like every sofa table I came across had a base that would not allow for ottomans, very frustrating!  I was so happy to have the option to customize this table for my needs - I had them move the long bottom stretcher to the back so that I can happily realize my pinterest dreams one day!  

Ha, Ha!

Normally on this table base, the long bottom stretcher is in the middle.  I could have opted to get rid of the long stretcher, or all the stretchers for that matter, but I really like this look. So now I'm shopping for ottomans!

This is seriously a quality piece of wood furniture, I am so impressed with tablelegs.com!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I think the sofa table really helps to further define the seating area in this large family room.

I'll of course update you when I find the perfect ottomans for under the table!

****UPDATE:  Click Here to see the ottomans I got!

DIY French Stripe Fabric

Since making my own "DIY French Stripe Fabric" for the cushion on my new living room bench, click here to see, I decided to whip out some masking tape and make this plain burlap pillow........

Into a "french stripe" pillow.

Just masking tape, paint, and 5 minutes is all it took!

The Next Best Thing

When I was looking for chairs for our Living Room I considered these ones from Z gallerie

I love bobbin chairs - not the price though (these are $600 a piece, Ouch).
I can't logically pay more for one chair than I just paid for my new couch.

So I lost hope in having a bobbin chair.   Oh well.

Then I found the next best thing.  While I've been redoing the Living room these last few weeks, I noticed the open area by the window behind my couch could use some sort of bench.  So I started the hunt with my local classifieds- KSL-
(I have had such great luck there lately!).

I think I heard angels singing when I saw this:

Looks kinda like a bobbin bench, right!  And for $90!!!

Someone was brilliant enough to make a bench out of an old wood spindle twin bed frame.

Lucky for my - someone was crazy enough to get rid of it!!!

The wood was beautiful "as is" and in the right room I would have kept it, 

but it needed a coat of white paint to work with my living room decor.

The cushion also needed an update.  First off, it needed to be thicker.
I got a large piece of 3" foam from Home Depot for $20 (a great deal) and cut it to size,
then set it on top of the cushions the bench already came with.

I love my french stripe wing chair (by the fireplace below) and decided I would like the same fabric on the bench cushion.  

While looking online at some fabric options I came across a few blogs where people had painted stripes on fabric for the same "French stripe" look.  I figured "why not?"  

I recently had success painting fabric curtains for my sons room so figured I'd give this a shot.  I'm so glad I did!

I already had some neutral fabric on hand that was the right shade and size, so after taping off my lines I lightly painted the fabric and within an hour I had my fabric- no money spent!

The next step was sewing a box cushion - I normally leave this kind of stuff to the professionals, 

but I DID IT!!!!!  This was my first time doing something like this.  It really wasn't too hard and I'm so proud of how good it turned out!  My husband was shocked too!

~Just a couple small details and this room will be done~

By the way - for the paint I mixed white paint I had already on hand with some Plaster of Paris to make homemade "chalk paint".  Why? I'm lazy and love that chalk paint takes out the steps of sanding and priming.  Here's the recipe I followed.  It seemed to work well - I do have to say Annie Sloan's is better though.  Mixing your own chalk paint does allow you to get the exact color you want and is a lot cheaper, so it's a great option too.

The Next Piece of the Living Room Puzzle

The Coffee Table!

I found this large 44" round coffee table listed in my local classifieds for just $50!

It was the perfect shape and size for my living room - just needed a little love! 

 The mirror on top was VERY scratched so I needed a way to fix that too.

I spray painted the table with Rust-oleum's Antique Brass (bought at Home Depot for $5).  

I then covered the top for a "marble look" using this product for an additional $47.

When you first put the marble contact paper down there are lots of air bubbles, no worries, you can work them out with a credit card.  The difficult air bubbles you can poke a small hole in with a pin and work them out.

(can you spot the seam - it's a little annoying but there's no way around it!)

I think the coffee table looks like a million bucks now!

Overall I am happy with the quality and look of this contact paper - However I think the veining is just a little too light and subtle.  I wish I could see the veining from across the room, instead it's really only noticeable when you are standing right by the table.  I was trying to save a little money by going with the product I used rather than buying this one - and I regret it!