We took our annual trip to South Carolina last week to visit our sweet friends during winter break. This year it was a work trip combined with visiting our friends Marcie and Bobby. When you walk in the front door of their house, there is a large room on the left. That’s a common set up for many center hall colonials and other newer homes. The rooms tend to be too small for a dining room or living room, so they end up being an office, kids play room, or exercise room. Most often, those rooms aren’t the rooms you want to be on display as the first thing people see as they walk into your house. That was the case for Marcie and Bobby’s house.
They were trying to decide if they should build a wall and have a standard door installed. They asked about creative ways to close up that space. Since we would have to do most of the work at our shop before we drove down south because we couldn’t fit all our tools and wouldn’t have time to build out a whole wall, we recommended a double barn door as the solutions. We build one door to act as a stationary wall and the second door to slide open and closed. This saved a lot of work and money. We didn’t have to match the wainscoting or sheetrock or make a mess. Win win!
Here’s the area before:
We’ve done this in the past with a basement closet. You can check that out here. It worked really well for this space and a large barn door is a really beautiful statement piece when someone walks into your house.
How are you?? If you’re in upstate NY and have kiddos, your kids probably have winter break this week. We have a fun makeover to show you that even the kids might think is cool! 😉 Sandy reached out to us to see if we could help her find a hutch and then turn it into a dog feeding station for her two adorable golden retrievers. So fun!
Here’s the hutch we found and purchased for her:
We took the bottom doors off and John built the inside sections where we removed the doors up to 10″ high. The dog bowls were already at that height so Sandy wanted it to be the same height. Then we used a jig saw to create the opening for the dog bowls; we cut them 9″ wide.
We painted the whole hutch with Benjamin Moore’s Gentleman’s Gray, glazed it, and sprayed it with a protective clear coat. We also added new hardware. If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post.
Ready for the after pictures?
This hutch was done as a custom order so it’s not for sale, but we can custom make one for your home, too. You can check out available furniture on our For Sale page:
Tall Mid Century Dresser
Long Mid Century Dresser
End Stand
Gray French Provincial Hutch
Sage Buffet
Hutch
Please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.
Happy FunCycling Friends, Sarah ;)
If you like what you see, please like FunCycled’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. We also offer interior design, kitchen cabinet painting, and custom built tables, barn doors, and furniture. We can deliver for customers in upstate NY and also help you ship throughout the US. Send us a note with what you would like using our contact page. Or buy something that we’ve already designed from our online shop.
The Downtown Troy BID asked me to write an article about core values for their business development program this year so I thought I’d share it here as well.
FunCycled Store and Design Team Pam, Store Manager | Debbie, Store Clerk and Upholsterer | Sarah, Owner of FunCycled | Kelly, Design Assistant
Team Work
Let me first say that this team right here is my absolute favorite on the planet. Each person does their very best every time I ask for help. Pam runs the store like it’s her own – I can’t even imagine running the store without her. She makes signs, keeps up on inventory, has the friendliest personality, and always has my back. Debbie (my mom) has worked with me from day one. Doing anything from upholstery to cleaning toilets. No job is below her and that’s a true servants heart worth emulating. If you’ve met her in the store, you know she can also talk to anyone about anything and will probably make you laugh before you leave. Kelly always understands exactly what I’m looking for in a design. She has the instinct to pull together a room design without any hesitation. Not to mention, when we work together, it feels like we’re not even working. It’s always so fun! She’s sweet, smart, and the perfect design assistant. They are all gems in my book! I’m so thankful for each and every person God has brought under this umbrella of work called FunCycled.
Core Values
As I was working through the core values for FunCycled, I needed to be reminded that core values are the shared principles that guide your team and define your culture. Too often businesses (just like my business did at first), jump to create a logo, website or marketing strategy without having clarified their brand core. Whether you just started a company or are 10 years in, if you haven’t created your core values, now’s the time! When you successfully identify and communicate your company’s core values, it will help guide your motivation for change within the company and with your employees.
Core values also provide important boundaries within which the business will operate and pursue its mission. For small businesses, your values need to come from you. What do you believe to be true? What are the most important characteristics of your company’s work? What is your desired culture? Which values are you most passionate about? Which values are non-negotiable? Which values are you willing to lose money for?
For example, at FunCycled, we reassessed our plan for core values with Dylan Hall – who was amazing! – at Guide and Porter (a brand strategy and design consultancy) and developed these:
Work Hard. Play Hard.
To create a culture where home and work have a healthy balance.
Kill Them With Kindness
Kindness is spread generously in the workplace and with our clients to build relationships that last.
Selfless Drive
By seeking the highest good in craft and customer service.
Developing 3-5 clear values is a critical step to guide all aspects of your business. From customer service, sales, marketing, messaging, positioning, hiring and firing, strategic plans and building your company culture; developing clear values serves as the foundation for developing your brand identity, consumer relationships, and marketing.
While your mission statement answers the question “why do we exist?”, your core values answer the question, “how do we behave?”.
When someone visits your business they are experiencing your values in action! Remember that as you go over it with your team. You could even create a sign for your workplace as a consistent reminder. It’s easy to forget what you’re striving for when you get busy or discouraged; a daily reminder is always healthy for your mind and heart.
Core values are the ideals that you esteem highly as a company. They are more than a nice set of words that hang on your wall because they define what you hold dear. They guide decision making and keep you on track. They are what you believe—no matter what. However, if they are to be more than mere platitudes, your values must be actionable. Name the behaviors and then make them actionable. It helps you know what to expect from yourself and your team! It will help differentiate your business from others and lead your team well into a more successful tomorrow. It’s already been a game changer for us!
Cute Makeover
I promised a cute makeover… so here’s that for you, too!
Secretary Desk Makeover with Benjamin Moore’s San Antonio Rose
This desk was done as a custom order so it’s not for sale. You can check out available furniture on our For Sale page:
Long Mid Century Dresser
Tall Mid Century Dresser
Gray French Provincial Hutch
Sage Buffet
Black Carpenters Tool Chest
Hutch
Please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.
Happy FunCycling Friends, Sarah ;)
If you like what you see, please like FunCycled’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. We also offer interior design, kitchen cabinet painting, and custom built tables, barn doors, and furniture. We can deliver for customers in upstate NY and also help you ship throughout the US. Send us a note with what you would like using our contact page. Or buy something that we’ve already designed from our online shop.
How’s your week going? Last week, I had the chance to go photograph some of the kitchens we have been working on over the last three months. I love getting to see the completed projects and hearing happy clients tell me about their experience with our staff. Similar words like… kindness seemed to resonate throughout the conversations. I’m so very blessed and thankful to have a team who spreads kindness generously to the clients we work with. It’s such a joy and comfort when people take time to share positive feedback.
I thought I’d share one of the kitchen makeovers with you today.
Here are the before pictures:
We painted the cabinets with Benjamin Moore’s Advanced paint; color Chelsea Gray, sealed it with a water based protective clear coat, and added new hardware. We also removed one of the cabinets and installed floating shelves in its place which made a huge impact in this space. Natasha started working with us in 2017 when we redid her dining room set. She most recently asked me to do the interior design for the kitchen, and our most recent project was painting the cabinets! I’ve so enjoyed working with her through the years. Thank you for working with us, Natasha!
How’s your week going? People seem to be wanting to plan out the designs and projects in the new year to prioritize and set aside tax money. That’s a really smart plan! When clients come to me first, we can talk about the overall design of their house and project list. Deciding on an overall plan and style will make everything come together so much more smoothly! A solid plan often saves you money, too. You’re not buying something that you think might work, but doesn’t end up working. Your whole space will feel cohesive, not just one room. If you are interested in more information about our Design Services, head here.
For this week’s furniture makeover, I want to show you the before and afters of a mid century modern bedroom set that we just finished and brought down to our storefront. Here’s a picture of the set before:
We painted the outside of the box Decorators White by Benjamin Moore, painted the legs black, and stained the drawer fronts to make them a little darker. If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post. Ready for the transformation???
How’s your week going? I hope all is well and you’re staying warm in the northeast with this chilly weather. Our brand new furnace broke down this weekend and no furnace company was available that we called for help. So, John called the manufacturer, went to the wholesaler to buy a part, watched YouTube to learn how to fix it, and in the end saved us a couple hundred dollars I’m sure! The best part? We were warm that same day! He’s one handy guy to have around.
We also started the kids bathroom remodel. We’re only in the gutting stage right now, but I thought I’d share it anyway.
Before:
Now:
There was no way to make a tub fit into the space without it sitting in the window so we expanded the bathroom out a couple of feet. We also found beautiful hard wood floors beneath the plywood and linoleum. Yay!
For this week transformation, I wanted to show you how a customer changed the whole look of her dining room by repurposing the furniture she already had and buying new dinging room chairs.
Here’s the set before:
Katherine knew that she wanted it painted a glossy black for a much more modern look! She wanted a lacquer finish, but I don’t like working with lacquer because of how toxic it is. We went with a black enamel and a gloss clear coat to get a very similar finish without as many chemicals.
Here are the pieces painted before they were delivered:
Black Enamel Hutch Makeover Black Enamel with Gloss Clear Coat over Oak Table Black Enamel Table MakeoverClose up of oak table with black enamel and gloss clear coat.
Finishing the pieces made me really excited to see how they’d look in the space. Notice that Kathleen didn’t change much out other than the chairs and the centerpiece and it completely transformed the room!
This set was a custom order, but you can check out even more new pieces on our For Sale page.
Gray French Provincial Hutch
Sage Buffet
Navy Trunk
Black Carpenters Tool Chest
Hutch
Light Gray Dresser
Please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.
Happy FunCycling Friends, Sarah ;)
If you like what you see, please like FunCycled’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. We also offer interior design, kitchen cabinet painting, and custom built tables, barn doors, and furniture. We can deliver for customers in upstate NY and also help you ship throughout the US. Send us a note with what you would like using our contact page. Or buy something that we’ve already designed from our online shop.
How was your week? I’ve been busy over here planning out the year, looking over last years numbers and goals and reassessing everything for this year. We have some exciting changes coming up and I can’t wait to share those with you.
When we picked up the buffet, we knew it needed some repair and a whole lot of love. At the same time, we also knew that we could definitely bring it back to life again! Here’s the picture of it before:
We repaired it and painted it Benjamin Moore’s Saybrook Sage, lightly glazed it, sprayed the hardware satin black, and sprayed it with a protective clear coat.
If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post. Ready for the transformation???
Sage Green Buffet
This piece is available to purchase on our website or in our store now, but you can also check out even more new pieces on our For Sale page:
Gray French Provincial Hutch
Navy Trunk
Black Carpenters Tool Chest
Hutch
Light Gray Dresser
Black Dresser
Please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.
Happy FunCycling Friends, Sarah ;)
If you like what you see, please like FunCycled’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. We also offer interior design, kitchen cabinet painting, and custom built tables, barn doors, and furniture. We can deliver for customers in upstate NY and also help you ship throughout the US. Send us a note with what you would like using our contact page. Or buy something that we’ve already designed from our online shop.
How’s your week going? Now that winter break is over, we are back to normal routine and I was more than excited to jump back in. I loved our time together as a family over the holidays. By week two with kids home and extra events on the calendar, I’m a little backed up at work. Having a week of “normal” to catch up and dive in again feels really good, too. I hope you are all enjoying whatever season you’re in right now!
For this week’s kitchen makeover, I wanted to share a kitchen makeover that’s different than most that we do. We had a request from a client to paint only the top of her kitchen cabinets. She had espresso stained cabinets and she didn’t dislike the overall color of the wood, but felt like it was a little dark for all the cabinets to be that dark. I couldn’t agree more! I love that she wanted to update it with painting the top cabinets. Here are the pictures of the kitchen before:
Connie already has great style so lightening things up really just added to the design of her already beautiful home.
We painted the top kitchen cabinets with Benjamin Moore’s Advanced paint; color Cloud White, sealed it with a water based protective clear coat, and added new hardware.
How was your holidays? We had a wonderful Christmas… probably our favorite in a long time. We loved being in our Repurposed Ideas House with rooms big enough to host the whole family comfortably. I know I showed you some of our Christmas decorations last week, but I also wanted to quickly show you how we decorated the dining room/ family room for Christmas dinner.
Modern Farmhouse Christmas DecorationsRepurposed Idea House Modern Farmhouse Christmas When you can’t fit them at the table, make the coffee table work for more seating.
For this week’s furniture makeover, this is a hutch that we redid as a custom order just in time for Christmas. Vanessa wanted us to give the hutch that was her mother’s a new look and new life. Here it was before:
When I sent her the after pictures… this was her reply, “Oh. My. Goodness. I LOVE it!! Brought tears to my eyes. The piece was my mother’s and you have brought it back to life and she would’ve adored it :)” That made my day!!
We painted it Benjamin Moore’s Mozart Blue, lightly glazed it, sprayed the hardware oil rubbed bronze, and sprayed it with a protective clear coat.
If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post. Ready for the transformation???
Mozart Blue Hutch Makeover
This piece was a custom order, but you can check out even more new pieces on our For Sale page.
Navy Trunk
Hutch
Black Carpenters Tool Chest
Light Gray Dresser
Kitchen Cabinet Painting
Red Hutch
Please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.
Happy FunCycling Friends, Sarah ;)
If you like what you see, please like FunCycled’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. We also offer interior design, kitchen cabinet painting, and custom built tables, barn doors, and furniture. We can deliver for customers in upstate NY and also help you ship throughout the US. Send us a note with what you would like using our contact page. Or buy something that we’ve already designed from our online shop.
Our idea of Christmas, whether vintage traditions or mid-century modern designs, is very simple; loving others because Christ loves us. A tiny, sinless baby born in a humble manger would live a perfect life and die a horrible death in our place. Radical love was his anthem.
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:9
So, as you enter into the holiday season – whether happy, joyful, lonely, or anxious – please remember God loves you; live through Him. Take time to receive the love He’s gifted your heart, share it with those who seem unlovable, and make time for those who are easy to forget because you know they’ll always be there.
We are so very thankful for each and every one of you! For the impact you’ve had on our lives, and the love we’ve shared already. -The Trop’s
Also, as a little bit of a Christmas surprise, I wanted to share some of the Christmas decorations in our house this year!
Mid Century Christmas DecorFireplace Christmas Decorations
Sadie decided the living room is the best spot for a nap, too!
Christmas Pomchi Sadie
I didn’t get a chance to get good pictures of the living room, but I did want to share some pictures of our Holiday open house where we opened up the dining room for vendors and DIY make and takes.
