The 'No Sew' Way to Make an Ottoman

Following along with my month of thriftiness, I wanted to share a thrift store find that I gave a makeover too. A little backstory, I had every intentions on giving my mother's living room a makeover. I even started browsing thrift stores for her space. I found a table and two square boxes for $8 each....some kinda way two of the items have ended up in my living room. I can't help myself but I'll be finding more stuff for her space soon.

For the pink boxes my initial idea was to cover them with a cushion and fabric...except there's one problem... I can't sew! I totally winged it on this one ya'll and it actually turned out nice, So I want to share my method with you. 

Here are the items that I used:

Box

Fabric

Cushion

Upholstery Nails

Navy Blue Spray Paint

Hammer

Scissors

Plastic Drop Cloth

For my Fall Home update I wanted to add more seating, When I ran across this pink box at the thrift store, it was love at first sight!

The box needed a good cleaning and it had a couple of cobwebs on the bottom, but the bones were good. And don't let the size fool you, it is pretty heavy.

After cleaning I spray painted the bottom of the box navy blue. I gave it three light coats. After it dried I pulled out my fabric and cushion. I purchase a 2'' thick cushion from Hobby Lobby. I also picked up this faux leather from there as well. I love this cognac color, it just seems to match everything.

The cushion was too big so I used scissors to cut it. Because I was winging this, I didn't plan properly, but if you are redoing this, use a bread knife for cutting your cushion. It will give it a cleaner edge. I used hot glue to adhere the cushion to the box.

After getting your cushion adhered place your fabric over your box. I loosely draped it over the box to get a feel for how it would look.

This is where you will need your upholstery nails. I flipped the box on the side and use the nails to secure the fabric to the under side of the box. 

Place the nails a couple inches apart nailing into the fabric until it is secure. I pulled the fabric down and secured the fabric with the upholstery nails on two opposite sides of the box. 

For the other two sides, I folded the fabric like I was wrapping a Christmas gift. Smooth down the middle, turn the two sides of the excess fabric into triangles, fold the left side in and then the right side. 

This is the fold before I secured the fabric. I pulled it extra tight and and secure it with more of the upholstery nails. Lastly I cut the excess fabric off of the bottom. I did leave a bit of the fabric to lay flat against the bottom part of the box. Super simple and after that I done! 

I actually really like this folded look. It gives the box a really unique look. I asked B what her thought, since he is honest Abe, and he told me he really liked it. My daughter has somehow claimed the ottoman as her own.

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Coffee Cart Makeover

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MakeItMerrier #CollectiveBias

Hey Friends, believe it or not we have less than 20 days until Christmas! I can't believe how fast the year has flown. Every year I host a Christmas breakfast for my little family and our parents. Our little breakfast started originally out of necessity because the Mr. worked nights so it was a great way for everyone to spend time together before he headed off to work. Also, with my daughter being the only grandchild on both sides, everyone wants to spend time with her. I figured this was the best way to get everyone together. So every year, we all wake up early, open gifts and enjoy a big breakfast together!

I like to make a big breakfast too, I'm talking pancakes, fried potatoes and onions, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, toast, biscuits, grits and anything else that someone might request. I'm all about making the house comfy and welcoming for everyone so this year I decided to make a tea, coffee, hot chocolate station for my guests. My in-laws are coffee drinkers and me and the Mr. love to have a nice cup too, so I figured it would be a great addition to the breakfast.

About 2 years ago I ran across a bar cart at the thrift store for $20.00. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it, as far as styling and the facelift it needed so it got pushed to the back burner.Thinking about how I wanted to extend more on my family tradition by adding the drink station I thought the bar cart would be perfect!

The cart itself has good structure and bones, however, I was not too thrilled with the color and finish. The plan was to spruce this thing up and then style it to give it a brand new look. The first step was to lightly sand the wood finish.I got a small piece of sand paper and roughed up the wood so that the paint would have something to adhere to. After sanding and cleaning it I taped off all the sections that I did not want painted.

I then began spray painting. I used Rustoleum's Weathered Silver with Hammered Texture. I wanted my cart to have a little texture to it. When spray painting you want to do several thin coats so that you avoid drips. It takes a lot of patience for me because the person I am, I want it to instantly be finished! If you want to learn patience, spray paint a piece of furniture.

You might have some drips from the spray paint. The best way to fix that is to lightly sand where you see the drips and then re-spray that area.

After the many coats dried I added a print to the top shelf. There were some marks on the top that would not come off so I felt the print would be a good distraction from those marks. I wanted the print to be there but not there so I opted to use a white paint and a stencil. 

Once everything dried all that was left to do was to style the cart and add some basic essentials.

I think my new drink station will be a hit at my annual Christmas breakfast! 

For my coffee station I purchase the Starbucks Vanilla Sweetened Iced Coffee, Starbucks Mocha, and Starbucks Vanilla from Kroger. All items were located in the coffee aisle.

Great news for you, you can get a $5 Starbucks Card e-gift when you purchase 3 or more qualifying Starbucks products. Also, you should check out Starbucks holiday offerings and their delicious coffee!

Now tell me, do you love coffee like my family? What holiday tradition do you have? 

Old School Desk Makeover

A couple months ago I did a little room swapping and switch my daughter's room to my office/guest bedroom. She was all excited until she realized she was getting a smaller room! (hehe) Since the space is smaller I've been looking for ways to give her a more purposeful room while still keeping it fun and girly.

While browsing some of my fave thrift stores I ran across a small desk that I thought would fit perfectly in her room. Honestly I wanted it for my own selfish reasons too. This desk was exactly what I remembered from elementary school. You know the desk that has the nook under it that you slide all your books and supplies in. It was a bit of a nostalgic moment for me. (plus it was only $7!) I picked it up and the tried it out in her room and the size was perfect. It just needed a little makeover to be perfect for her room.

Here is what I started with:

There was some damage to the desk such as some nicks in the plastic frame and also a piece of wood missing in the front. Outside of that it was ok. I used a combination of paint and spray paint to make over her desk. I broke the desk up into 3 sections and I used a different color for each section. I used white, pink, and gold. My process was to start at the top and work my way down. I did several light coats until the desk was evenly coated. In between each coat I lightly sanded using a block sander to make the surface more even and smooth. 

After the first section dried I covered it with plastic and began painting the next section. This process worked well because by working my way down I could always paint over the extra drips of color that went into the next section. After the first section dried I went on to the next, again taping over the dried section.

And then I had my completed desk! My daughter loves it!

The desk and the products to make it over cost about $20. It's amazing what a few cans of spray paint can do for some furniture. If you are looking for a quick way to update furniture, I fully suggest you give spray paint a try. If you do, please share you project with me! 

This makeover is apart of the Furniture Refresh Challenge with this month's theme being Inspired By. I was inspired by the ladies of Classy Clutter Blog. Get some inspiration by checking out more Furniture Refresh Challenge furniture makeovers below.

If you loved this project! Take a second and post it to your Pinterest board using this pinnable image below!

An InLinkz Link-up

DIY: $8 Thrifted Piano Bench to Chic End Table

About a two years ago I came across a piano bench for $8 at a thrift store up the street from me. At the time, I figured I'd use it for an entryway bench and it would double as storage since the bench opens. I moved the piano bench from room to room but it never quite fit right until one day I set it as an end table. I was surprised I actually liked it in that spot. Since I liked it I decided to update it to give it a more chic look. I love how it turned out! If you have a similar piece of furniture laying around you can use the same process that I did.

Here's what I started with

What you'll need:

Rustoleum Black Spray Paint
Drop Cloth
Upholstery Nails
Drill
Pencil
Tape Measure

The process was fairly simple. I wanted to it still have a worn/chic (crazy combo I know) look so I didn't sand the table or repair any of the wood damage. I starting by spray painting the table. I did about 3 coats all over, allowing each coat to dry before starting on the next.

After the table was good and dry I used a ruler measuring along the side of the table to determine how far apart I wanted my nailheads. I spaced them about 2cm apart. I made marks every 2cm and then went back with my drill to make the tiny holes. This made it easy to just push the nailheads into the table.

 

From there the table was completed. 

I wish I had more process pictures to share, but I did this during my blogging hiatus and didn't capture the pictures I normally would. However, if you have any questions on how to do this please let me know!

DIY: Beautiful Nightstand Makeover!

This past Christmas my niece Saniya was surprised with Glam Bedroom Makeover from her parents, grandparents, and a tiny bit of help from me.

My contribution was to redo her nightstand by making it cute, glam, and super girly! Her room colors from the room makeover are now black and white with pops of hot pink and turquoise. The room is very glam with an added chandelier night stand lamp and sequined cover lamp shades.

Here's the night stand before...brown, broken and missing door and all! Not exactly something for a 9 year old girls room.

This was my first time painting furniture, and there are alot of things I learned along the way and will use for my next furniture painting project. (I'll share those at the end) The dresser is far from perfect but I think it turned out great for a first-timer!

Getting this nightstand completed was truly the group effort of my family, Ellen, Shelley, Baby girl Rhyan and Friend, Pierre. So THANKS to everyone who helped!!

If you want to recreate this nightstand here's what you'll need: