Blog - Page 32 of 81 - FunCycled - Interior Design, Kitchen Cabinet Painting, Furniture Repurposing in Upstate NY

Posted on April 28, 2020April 28, 2020 by Sarah

Family Desk Brought Back to Life – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

How are you? I hope you’re having a great week! We’ve had a good week here. Getting back to school and having a sunny Saturday was absolutely wonderful! Quick reminder that we now have online design consult available and they are on sale for half price from now until June 1st.

Also, we have free shipping for any online furniture purchase now until our store can open up again.

For this week’s furniture makeover, I wanted to share a desk makeover that we did for Amanda. This desk was used as a workbench for years and years by her father. She wanted to keep the piece in her family and restore it. The top was really damaged from being a workbench for years. So we spent quite a bit of time filling holes and repairing damage. John also built a matching handle for the drawer. I was impressed by how close he was able to get it to match the original.

Here’s the desk before:

We painted the desk with Benjamin Moore’s Black Enamel. Here’s a picture of it because you may have trouble finding it:

We also 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 afters?

Thank you so much for letting us be a part of the story for this beautiful antique, Amanda! We love that you chose to restore it instead of sending it to a land fill!

This set was done as a custom order so it’s not for sale. You can check out available furniture on our For Sale page:

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.

Posted on April 21, 2020April 21, 2020 by Sarah

Simply White and Chelsea Gray Kitchen Cabinet Makeover – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

How was your week? I think we had the hardest quarantine week so far last week, but the warm weather and encouragement from church online over the weekend has started this week with new energy and encouragement. Our store was vandalized last week, we had some other work complications with work, and the kids were off from school and missing the normalcy of seeing friends and doing fun things on spring break. It’s ok to have a tough week and we knew that those types of weeks would come.

For this week’s makeover, I wanted to show you some before and after pictures of a kitchen makeover with one of my favorite color combinations. I absolutely love the combination of Chelsea Gray and Simply White in a kitchen. Both colors compliment each other and look amazing!

Here’s the kitchen before:

We painted the cabinets with Benjamin Moore’s Advanced paint; The main cabinet color is Simply White and the island color Chelsea Gray, sealed it with a water based protective clear coat, and added new hardware.

We also removed the wood in two of the cabinet doors and installed glass in its place which made a huge impact in this space.

Thank you for working us Michael and Juliana! We so enjoyed working with you both!

Ready for the afters?

You can use our Contact Us form or check out other kitchen projects on our For Sale page. We’ll need to see a picture of your kitchen, a list of how many doors and drawers there are, and where you are located to email you an estimate. This change ups the value of your home and gives you a whole new look at a fraction of the cost of new kitchen cabinets!

Check out some fun new furniture for sale in our store now:

Please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

Posted on April 14, 2020April 13, 2020 by Sarah

Pine Bedroom Set Makeover – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends,

How was your Easter weekend? It probably looked different than other Easters. I know it did here! We missed being with our church family and then hosting a big Easter meal with my family. It definitely felt a little weird not being able to celebrate one of my favorite holidays like “normal”. At the end of the day, we asked the kids how they liked this Easter and they said it was their favorite Easter ever. Such a sweet day together celebrating our risen Savior.

We even had time to do some Easter photos that I thought I’d share with you!

For this week’s furniture makeover, I wanted to share this dresser and bed set that we recently redid for Barb and Vinny. They were so sweet to work with!

Here are the before pictures:

This set was done as a custom order!

We painted it using Benjamin Moore’s color Silver Fox. If you’d like to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post. After we painted it, we did a medium distressing and sprayed it with a protective clear coat. New hardware always helps. If you’re going for a traditional look, try hardware like we used!

Ready for the after??

This set was done as a custom order so it’s not for sale. You can check out available furniture on our For Sale page:

Please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

Posted on April 7, 2020April 8, 2020 by Sarah — 2 Comments

Oak Dining Room Set Makeover – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

How are you? I know this has been a tough week for NYS. So many sick, so many deaths, and life just doesn’t look like normal right now. We’re in this together… one day at a time my friends. The joy of the Lord really is our strength right now. That’s the beauty of having a relationship with Christ. The hard days feel doable and joy can survive even when things seem to be crumbling around us. So thankful for that!

In light of all the changes, I wanted to let you know about three specials that we are running through the month of April. If you purchase any of our furniture pieces online, we will deliver them for free (up to 30 minutes from our store).

Because we can no longer do in person design consults, I’m now offering online consults. We’ll be using Facetime or Skype to walk through the rooms you’d like help with. Then I’d email you ideas as we talk to show you colors, finishes, and designs. I can also pick out products with you and send you links of what you should order.

Another change is that you can now purchase some of our most common signs online and have them shipped to your home. Anywhere in the US! Or schedule curbside pick up at our store to skip the shipping cost.

https://funcycled.com/product-category/home-decor/

For this week’s furniture makeover, we’re sharing a table set that we redid as a custom order. Here’s the table and chairs before:

We painted the chairs and table base with Benjamin Moore’s Black Enamel. Here’s a picture of it because you may have trouble finding it:

We also sprayed it with a protective clear coat. For the table top, we sanded it all the way down and then did two coats of Minwax Classic Gray.

If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post. Ready for the afters?

This set was done as a custom order so it’s not for sale. You can check out available furniture on our For Sale page:

Please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

Posted on March 31, 2020March 31, 2020 by Sarah

5 Tips From a Quarantined Extrovert + Pine Bedroom Set Makeover

Hi Friends!

How are you? We are into our 2nd week of social distancing and the word on the street is that we’ll still be distancing through the month of April. I don’t know about you, but hearing that it would be 2 more weeks felt totally doable, but then finding out that it might be at least another month felt overwhelming!

So many of my friends have reached out because they know I’m an extrovert who’s primary love languages are physical touch and quality time. They want to know how I could be surviving at home during this social distancing. It hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be so far so I thought I’d share some tip that have helped me!

Wake up and get ready for the day! On the days I sleep in or lounge around in my jammies, I feel blah ALL DAY LONG. I’m not as productive or as happy. It really helps to keep my routine in the mornings – even if it’s an hour later than normal for me because I’m not a morning person (seize the day and sleep in). :)
Take time to think about all the positives! Sure, money is tight (or non existent for some) and people will get sick. We also are getting time to catch up on much needed rest, spending time with our family, getting that project list done, reaching out to friends we don’t normally get to talk with. I’m trying to press into the positives and not focus on the negative because there’s NOTHING WE CAN DO TO CHANGE THE NEGATIVE.
Keep pouring into what help you be mentally healthy! I canceled my gym membership and extra subscriptions that I don’t need right now, but I didn’t cancel time with my psychologist this month. I’m still plugged into my small groups at church through zoom, texting and calls. This is the time to pour into reading the Bible or a good book, be listening to sermons or encouraging podcasts. I’m organizing my house which feels good, too. Look for way to help someone else in need; even if it’s not in person. A word of encouragement or a gift sent to their house could be just the pick me up they need.
Prepare for friendships to look different and be mindful to show grace! Because I’m such a people person, I wanted the friends I talk to the most to continue being my support system. Crisis and quarantines affect people differently. Some of my friends don’t talk to me as much. Some other friends I don’t often get to talk to, now reach out every day. Some have asked how I am, and when I said “just ok”, quickly FaceTimed without being asked to check on me. Others who I’ve asked to FaceTime have said no… ouch. We can’t control that either – no matter how hard it can be. So, I am constantly trying to be thankful for seasons of friendship and how it’s ok if things look different for a while. Try not to let it hurt you when close friends don’t reach out and enjoy the friends who take time to reach out. If no one is reaching out… you be the one to reach out first!
Get out of the house! Even though I can’t be within 6 feet of other people, I have gone on long walks around my neighborhood, taken long drives to enjoy the beautiful scenery. It’s so important to change up the scenery as an extrovert.

Hope these help you all! I know you stop by our blog to see makeovers so I also wanted to share a bedroom set makeover that was done as a custom order.

Posted on March 24, 2020March 23, 2020 by Sarah

Changes to FunCycled from Coronavirus and a Dresser Set Makeover

Hi Friends!

How are you all doing? No really… How are you? I ask that because I would love for you to comment below and let me know. We are based in upstate NY and our state has been heavily affected by the coronavirus this week. For many of us, our days this week will look nothing like past days. We have a mandatory state PAUSE which means we are suppose to all stay home as much as possible. Our schools are closed so we are a homeschooling family now. Here’s a picture of our first homeschooling day:

The PAUSE also required us to lay off much of our staff, close our retail store, and adjust our business in many ways. There are so many other small business in our area taking a huge hit and my heart goes out to them. Many small businesses don’t have the extra to survive for a long time without business and as of right now there’s very little governmental help for small businesses. If we close, we don’t get unemployment. If we can’t make our bills, there’s not much more than offers for loans with more interest for small businesses. If you’re a small business who’s struggling, trying move your products online, and create new avenues of income, feel free to share a link in the comments below.

On the bright side, hard times can cause us to try new things, change the scope of our business, or see where there is excess. It can end up being a good thing in the end even when it doesn’t feel like it while it’s happening! We have definitely been trying new things already and it’s only been one week. So I wanted to share some of the changes as of right now… stay tuned because I’m sure there will be more changes in the weeks and months ahead.

1st… we were required to close our storefront for now. We will reopen one we get the ok to do so! If you have custom orders with us, we can still meet you to give back your finished furniture by appointment. We will finalize the payment online before we meet and have the furniture ready and waiting for you at our home shop instead of at our storefront in Troy.

2nd change… We added some of our most popular custom made signs to our shop page on the website. The good news? We can now ship the signs all over the country! If you’d like to help our small business, but don’t live around here, head to our Home Decor section and order a sweet sign for your home! It would mean so much to us! Here are just a few for you to take a look at:

3rd change… I now offer online one on one design consults through FaceTime or Skype. You can do this from wherever you live!! This is an exciting change and I’m offering it at a discounted rate until 5/1! Use our Contact Us form to schedule your consult.

We also just finished up a dresser set that is absolutely beautiful! I wanted to share the before and after pictures with you here. Remember that now through 5/1 we will delivery any of the furniture on our online shop for free if you live less than 30 minutes from our store ($75 value).

Here’s the dresser set before:

We painted the set with Benjamin Hale Navy on the outside and Simply White on the drawer fronts. We also sprayed it with a protective clear coat. We painted the original a sweet brushed nickel. This set is solid mahogany and so well made! It would be an awesome heirloom quality piece for your home.

If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post.

Here are the after pictures:

This set is available on our website now or you can check out other available furniture on our For Sale page, too:

Please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

Posted on March 17, 2020March 16, 2020 by Sarah

Coronavirus and a China Cabinet Makeover

The past few days have been filled with waives of concerns, shock, disbelief for so many. As a small business owner, as a mom, as a daughter, as a friend, as a wife… my heart goes out to each and every person affected by #coronavirus #covid19.

It’s easy to be scared during dramatic, unprecedented times. I wanted to encourage you with words that encouraged me today. We will choose not to be consumed by these times because we know that God loves us. We will have trying times ahead, but God is faithful. Let’s take one day at a time and leave the worry for tomorrow. Let’s do what we can to not spread germs, and prepare to help others… not just stock pile for ourselves. Let’s touch base with those struggling with anxiety and those who aren’t. Let’s be thankful for the time with our family and kids even when we don’t know how we’ll possibly juggle it all. Let’s find ways to be creative while we are alone… learn a new skill; do something creative each day.

So many small business will feel this hit… many may not make it. I encourage you, while practicing social distancing, to also consider supporting the small business in your town. So many in our town of #troyny are offering specials like free delivery right to your door – everything from lunch to books! Even gift cards for future purchases can be a huge help!

Here at FunCycled we are offering free furniture delivery on any in store furniture purchase from now until the end of March (within a 30 minutes drive from the store – a $75 value). We’ll also be doing a couple give aways this week on Facebook to brighten your spirits! We can all have some fun online, can’t we?? That’s a safe distance! ;) We also are doing more frequent cleaning at the store and limiting our store hours over the next two weeks to Friday 12-5 and Saturday 10-2:30.

This may look like a new season for so many of us. Risk has a new meaning to small business owners this week. We will do what we did from day one. We will work our butts off, we will sacrifice at home to make sure our staff is paid, we will have sleepless nights, we will find new avenues of business when others have dried up, and most of all we will trust God with the results. So many of us want to be in control, but in the end we need to remember that we just simply are not. Day by day, little by little, let’s pursue a joy that’s rooted in something deeper than just our surroundings. In the end, that’s what it looks like to be truly successful, doesn’t it?

Now it’s time for a china cabinet makeover!
Here’s the china cabinet before:

We painted the cabinet with Benjamin Moore’s Smokey Taupe #983.

If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post.

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:

Please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

Posted on March 10, 2020March 9, 2020 by Sarah

Navy Mid Century Dresser Set

Hi Friends!

How’s your week going? It’s a beautiful, sunny day as I write this… the flowers have started to pop out of the ground and it’s almost 60 degrees. That means spring is just around the corner and I can’t wait! I love all things spring and summer in upstate NY!

This week, I wanted to share a makeover that I don’t have the before pictures of. I completely forgot to take a before picture and then it was too late… but I still feel like this set is worth seeing the finished products.

We painted the boxes Hale Navy, stained the drawer fronts with Early American, added a white stripe on two of the pieces, and sprayed it all with a protective clear coat.

This set 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:

Please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

Posted on March 3, 2020March 2, 2020 by Sarah

Geometric Mid Century Dresser Set – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends,

How’s your week going? This past weekend, we were able to do a fun little project with our friends Kori and Mike. They’ve been redoing a bus to turn it into a tiny house. They didn’t have the tools they needed to install a counter or sink, so they parked the bus at our house for the weekend and John helped them install it! You should follow along on their fun journey at 382North.

They’ve done such an amazing job on their bus so far. Being able to be a small part of the project was so much fun!!

This week’s furniture makeover was less than fun, but so worth the time and energy. I purchased this dresser set because I loved the clean lines on it:

The base is unique, the hardware is sleek, and it’s all so well made! That’s a winning combination in my book.

I knew I wanted to do more of a geometric pattern on this piece because I’ve been wanting to try that for a while. The hardware was already gold so that was perfect. We started by darkening the stain color on the whole piece and then clear coating it. We wanted to do stripes just along the front of the box, but even with the gentle FROG tape which usually works wonders, it just kept pealing and not doing what we wanted.

After redoing it twice, we decided we had to go ahead and sand it all down to get better adhesion and paint the whole box Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore.

We also played around with the designs on our phones to make sure we liked out it looked.

Looked good to me! On went the painted! If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post.
Ready for the transformation???

Mid Century Geometric Dresser Set for Sale

This set 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:

Please sign up for our weekly newsletter by adding your email in the little box below my picture.

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

Posted on February 25, 2020February 24, 2020 by Sarah

Build a Wall or Add a Barn Door? – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

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.

Here’s the finished product!

Sarah Trop