Blog - Page 59 of 76 - FunCycled - Interior Design, Kitchen Cabinet Painting, Furniture Repurposing in Upstate NY

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Sarah

Modern Cedar Trunk For Sale and Katie’s Cream Dresser- Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

Summer colds… that’s the banner that we’re raising this week and it may not be a banner… it may be the red flag of defeat. Why does it seem like summer colds never end? That being said, a quick recap of two furniture makeover is in order and I promise that I’ll write a much more exciting Tuesday’s Treasures next week.

Oh, except to say we went strawberry picking. The first time of the season here in upstate NY! Fun times. :)

This old cedar trunk is really unique in my book. I’ve never come across one quite like it with modern legs and a bottom drawer that opens. One thing to know when working with old cedar trunks is that you have to remove the lock part of the trunk otherwise it locks automatically and that’s not safe if a little one climbs in and it closes behind them. Not to mention, legally you have to. :)

Here’s the trunk before:

We spray painted the base with Rustoleum silver spray paint and painted the box with black enamel paint from Benjamin Moore. If you want to see how to paint furniture yourself, check out our How To Paint Furniture post.

This piece is for sale!!! Check out our Furniture For Sale page for pricing and size info. Plus we added quite a few new pieces this week to the For Sale Page.

I also have to sneak in one more makeover… all my friends say they like what I do, but one friend is such a FunCycled supporter. She’s always telling people about us and sending business our way. Even though I wish I could do more to repay her, a quick furniture makeover for her is all I have to offer. Thank you for your encouraging words, excitement and genuine interest in every little detail of our upcycling. (This dresser is painted with Benjamin Moore’s Navajo White and lightly distressed. We used all the original hardware and spray painted it oil rubbed bronze.

You always bring a smile to my face, Katie! Here’s your before and after:

The after pictures are done by this lovely lady at Chelsea Bos Photography. I hope you all have a great week! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Having fun upcycling!
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. There is a box at the top right of this page to enter your email address in to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog.

Please sign up today! Last but not least, let us customize a furniture piece for you. We create custom furniture and will deliver for customers in upstate NY and will also 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 furniture for sale page.

Posted on June 24, 2014February 27, 2015 by Sarah

Aqua and Ombre Mid Century Desk – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

How’s it going? It’s been quite the week over here! We’ve survived our first week of no school for my kids and still running a business full time. Last year at this time FunCycled was just part time so it’s been… interesting. I love having the kids around, but boy oh boy did we forget how many times mom or dad could be said in 30 seconds. One time I didn’t reply on purpose just so I could count how many times they would say mom without an answer. I gave up… it was that many times. lol

We were able to squeeze some fun and relaxation in by some miracle. We enjoyed a fun day with our friends Sarah and Jeremy with a historic cruise of Lake George. I don’t know why we haven’t spent more time in Lake George especially since I grew up in this area. It’s so beautiful! Not to mention spending time with them was so relaxing and fun.

After wayyy to long of a wait, I finally got to go visit my sister in Maine. John had never been to Maine and Portland is right up our alley. All the unique downtown shops inspire and make me want to spend all the money I have. I am so excited about anyone who’s passionate about what they do. It uplifts the soul.

My brother-in-law Jess is in the coast guard and he gave us a tour of the boat he works on. My kids looooved it! I can’t say thank you enough for all the people who serve and protect our country. I see through my sister what’s it’s like to be a mom without a dad more than half a year and moving all of the time. It’s not easy, but they sacrifice and give for our safety.

Just like the downtown Portland shop owners, I’m beyond excited to share this thing that I’m passionate about… furniture designs. Continue reading Aqua and Ombre Mid Century Desk – Tuesday’s Treasures

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Sarah

French Provincial Desk For Sale – Tuesday’s Treasures

It’s graduation season for everyone, right? From college graduations (congrats John Kersey) to high school graduation (congrats Kailah Hill) to kindergarten graduations; it seems like everyone knows someone who’s celebrating. We have quite a bit to celebrate here in the Trop home. :) Both of our little ones graduated this week. K-4 and Kindergarten graduations. They melted our hearts with their little smiles and waves and made us more than proud by our little man becoming student of the month for May! When John and I prayed and searched for a school this year, we knew right away that this was the one. We are so thankful for God’s provision, allowing them to go to it.

I’m so excited to share this week’s furniture makeover with you!! This desk was part of a french provincial bedroom set. I couldn’t wait to redo the desk. I actually started with the fabric and worked my way from there. I knew wanted it grey and I love grey and orange together but I didn’t know if I would be able to find fabric that would combine those colors with a design that I liked. Thankfully Hobby Lobby didn’t let me down as usual! ;) I bought this fabric and had to run through the knob aisle on the way to the check out (of course I do! it’s like an addiction… lol). These knobs were just too perfect to pass up. I was going to keep the original hardware, but I called John on my way home and told him to fill the holes because I changed up the design. I’m sure he loves those calls! ;)

If you want to know how to paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post. The paint color is Pewter by Benjamin Moore.

Here’s the before pictures for you:

REMEMBER this piece is currently for sale. Check our Furniture For Sale page to see if it’s still available. Drum roll please….

The after pictures are done by Chelsea Bos Photography. I hope you all have a great week! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Having fun upcycling!
Sarah ;)

Posted on June 10, 2014August 4, 2014 by Sarah — 4 Comments

We’ll be on HGTV! And a Rustic Desk For Sale – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

It’s been such an awesome week here! We were just given the a-ok to fill you in on a little bit of the excitement around here.

Back in the spring, we were selected to be on the HGTV show Flea Market Flip. I have been watching FMF for years. I don’t have cable, but my friend Marcie does. She would DVR all of the episodes and we would sit up late watching the show while eating ice cream, brownies and drinking coffee. Marcie told me I should try to get on the show because I love it so much and I laughed and thought… are you kidding me?? No one normal actually gets to be on TV. Well, I guess I was wrong because this normal girl was on TV!!! Woot Woot!! :) I can’t share the details or anything about the results until it airs (which won’t be for a while). I’ll keep you all posted once I know when it will air so stay tuned. :)

One of the many highlights of this experience was meeting Lara Spencer. I’ve had her book I Brake For Yard Sales for years. Her book helped me understand so many different design styles and it was really an honor just meeting her. She even signed my book!!! Ahhh!! God’s blessings have humbled us every step of this FunCycled way. Truly more than I ever dreamed.
Sooooo exciting!!! Also this weekend John and I celebrated our 11th anniversary NYC style. I lalalove NYC if you haven’t already noticed that about me by now. We went to Chelsea Market and tried all different types of food. From Fig and Ricotta caramel candy to vegan sushi… it all made me want to convert into a food snob. John had never been to Chelsea Market which seems like an injustice for sure given his culinary degree. ;) He loved it! Then we headed up to Central Park for a walk through the park. The weather was beautiful and the walk was perfect!! We rented a row boat and rowed on the little lake in the park. Then had dinner on the water.

You’re not here to see a furniture makeover are you? Ok, ok… on to that. We’ve had this oak desk and I’ve had a certain look in mind for it, but had to get time to work the magic on this piece! :) Here it is before.

We sanded and painted this piece using Benjamin Moore’s Silver Fox on the outside and Current Red on the drawer fronts. The hardware is from Lowes and we glazed it using Valspar’s Antiquing Glaze. If you want to see how we redo furniture, please check out our How To Paint Furniture post.

Here are the after pictures… and best of all THIS PIECE IS FOR SALE! Check it out on our Furniture For Sale page.

The after pictures are done by Chelsea Bos Photography. I hope you all have a great week! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Having fun upcycling!
Sarah ;)

Posted on June 3, 2014June 3, 2014 by Sarah

Mitchell Gold Inspired Modern Dresser – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

It’s warm, it’s warm here!!! We’re thrilled that the warm air came home from Florida with us! You can thank us if you want. Or not. It may really have nothing to do with us. :)

Our friends’ Stephanie and Norm have only lived in this area a couple of years, but they always go on the coolest outdoor adventures. They’ve been to places I’ve never even heard of and I’ve lived here my whole life. It’s impressive… and this past weekend they invited us to go along on one of their adventures. I felt privileged. :) It was just a few minutes drive from my house and it was an amazing hike. There was a pond, waterfall, and old water turbine. So beautiful! We skipped rocks and sang silly songs; my kids got drenched on purpose and their kids did by accident. It just made me realize how much there is to do right in our own town. I want to encourage all of you to get outside with your kids, take a hike and find things that are in your town, too. Every time we drive places we visited all of those family memories will come back into my kids’ minds. Here are some pics just in case you don’t believe me that beautiful wilderness can be found in Troy, NY. :)

This week’s makeover was inspired by Mitch Gold and Bob Williams designs that are much more modern. I love modern designs and was excited when our customer Holly wanted a modern piece in her home. Here’s the dresser before!

Thankfully I had some matching hardware from another modern piece so I could make them almost all original. We spray painted just the legs and the hardware a matching silver. Here’s the after for you!!

The after pictures are done by Chelsea Bos Photography. I hope you all have a great week! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Oh, and stop by our Upcoming Projects page today! We added a ton of new amazing furniture pieces this week.

Having fun upcycling!
Sarah ;)

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Sarah

White and Weathered Grey Armoire – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

How was your holiday weekend? I hope you were able to relax with your family! The last two weeks here have been loads of fun and new adventures. Some I can share and some I have to keep a secret… it’s killing me to not share it! Either way, down right awesome things are happening here!

We took our first family vacation since John joined me to work at Funcycled full time. That’s a different adjustment – needing to plan ahead with both the work schedule and income, but it was so worth every minute and penny. I read an article a while back that said to keep your family healthy while running a home business, you have to plan to go away quite a bit. Work never stops when you’re home so even if it’s camping for almost no money or visiting family, just leaving the work zone helps keep the family focused on each other. We’ve found that to be true!

Thanks to the kindness of our friends the Fischer’s for providing an inexpensive place for us to stay, and to my husband’s ridiculous addiction to hiding $20 dollars here and there for the last 5 years for his dream vacation, we were able to take the kids to Disney. We had so much fun going with our awesome friends and visiting more friends and family while we were there. I never went as a kid, but John and I went for our anniversary pre-kids. Going with kids is a totally different experience. I found myself not trying to enjoy what was going on around me as much as wanting to look at their tiny faces and watch them soak it up, drink in the magic and live in what seems like the best dream they’ve ever had.

My favorite moment with our little Sweetie was when she met her favorite princess. I may have teared up. ;)

Our Little Man’s favorite moment? Jedi training!!!

I really want to do a “dos and don’ts at Disney post” because we learned so much on this trip. One day soon perhaps. ;)

And I can’t leave this post without saying a huge thank you to our customer turned friend, Jamie, for surprising us with 4 passes to Legoland the day before we left. Jamie, you are one of the kindest, giving, thoughtful souls I know. I am beyond blessed and humbled by your kindness to our family and belief in this dream called FunCycled. You are one of the first people that made me believe this could be our full time work and dream come true. Love you lady.

This week’s furniture makeover is one that I didn’t want to give up! I actually never put it on our UpComing Projects page because I wanted to do something special with it. Sometimes when I put it on our Upcoming Projects page someone will order a piece in a way that I don’t like. I know that may sound funny but sometimes I just want to save a piece to make it as beautiful as I know it can be.

Sheryl stopped by to look at a different armoire that ended up being a little too small for what she needed. She saw this armoire and asked if it was available. I gulped and said, “it’s available, but I had something in mind for it.” She asked what I had in mind and let me do it almost exactly like I wanted it!

Here’s the before!

I loved the top and the legs of this piece. Just so elegant! I wanted to remove the doors, add a new wood back and add some shelving. We did just that. The wood in the back is actually wood flooring from Lowes that you can stain any color. I stained it using Rustoleum’s Weathered Grey stain. If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post.

John built shelves and we painted it all white. Sheryl wanted the legs left brass and brass knobs on the piece. That’s one of the small things I would have probably done a little different if I had my druthers. But over all I Lalalove it!

Here are the after pictures.

The after pictures are done by Chelsea Bos Photography. I hope you all have a great week! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Having fun upcycling!
Sarah ;)

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Sarah

Purple Bedroom Set, Say what? – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends, It’s been a SUUPER busy week here so I’m keeping things simple on today’s Tuesday’s Treasures. Even though purple is my least favorite choice on the color wheel, when Stephanie reached out to us asking to bring some of pieces on our Upcoming Projects page together with Benjamin Moore’s Purple Lotus I actually really loved the color. Purple Lotus is a pretty purple in my book and I’m a picky purple person… say that ten times fast. lol So here are the pieces before… Here are the transformations!

Check out how we paint furniture on our How To Paint Furniture post. These pieces were painted, lightly distressed, glazed and a clear coat of protection was sprayed over top. I think the hardware made a huge difference for the dresser, too. They are soooo pretty and from Hobby Lobby!

The after pictures are done by Chelsea Bos Photography. I hope you all have a great week! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Happy redesigns everyone, Sarah ;)

Posted on May 13, 2014May 13, 2014 by Sarah

A Little Fabric Goes a Long Way – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

Who had a great Mother’s Day? I hope you all did! Whether mother, daughter, or “2nd moms” – thanks to all the ladies who serve without recognition and love without measure. Here’s a quote that I keep on the inside of one of my kitchen cabinets. A great reminder…

“If I had my child to raise all over again,
I’d finger paint more, and point fingers less.
I’d do less correcting, and more connecting.
I’d take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less, and know to care more.
I’d take more hikes and fly more kites.
I’d stop playing seriously, and seriously play.
I’d run through more fields, and gaze at more stars.
I’d do more hugging and less tugging.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I’d build self esteem first, and the house later.
I’d teach less about the love of power, and more about the power of love.” -Diane Loomans

Continue reading A Little Fabric Goes a Long Way – Tuesday’s Treasures

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Sarah

Hollywood Regency Green Hutch For Sale – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

How is everything going? We had a fun week here with the T-Ball starting!! It’s Sweetie’s first year and she may or may not have hit the ball and run to 3rd base instead of 1st on her first play of the season. Cute as a button. ;)

This picture seemed so appropriate since the day they were given their outfits for T-Ball was the last day that they were 4 and 5. This week we celebrated our little man’s 6th birthday.

He is so serious but sensitive… funny and quick witted. I love that he still sees me in a crowd and waves like a crazy maniac, and he still wants my kisses. He tells me almost every day that he loves me 10,000 times. He may have an addiction to Lego. He can build anything he sees and will spend hours working on a set. He can sing, but he’d never do it for you unless he doesn’t know you’re listening or when he’s in a group at church. He loves God and wants everyone to love Him, too. He’s a daily gift of God’s love to me. For some reason this birthday was harder for me than the rest. He’s almost half way to being a teenager, he’s not a toddler anymore and he just looks like a boy not a baby. Ugh. I held him and said, “Why are you growing up?? I told you to stay little forever.” He looked me right in the eye and said, “Mommy, I have to get bigger. It’s how God made things to work.” Melt. Cry. Emotional me. Yup, true story!

On to the story of furniture remaking! For so long, I’ve admired Hollywood Regency style furniture – something with a shiny finish (sometimes with bold colors), a tiny bit of Asian flair, and embraces the glam factor. I thought of that design right away when I saw this hutch. It had the right lines, hardware, and mirrored interior. Here it is before…

We sanding it lightly to create a good surface for the primer to adhere to, taped off all of the mirror on the inside, and painted it with Valspar’s Cliveden Pasture. I love this hue of green, really bold but without being obnoxious. We used some of the original hardware, but spray painted them gold. Are you ready for the after pictures?? Remember we just put this piece up on our Furniture For Sale page. So check it out to see if it’s still available!!

The after pictures are done by Chelsea Bos Photography. I hope you all have a great week! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Happy redesigns everyone,
Sarah ;)

Posted on April 29, 2014April 29, 2014 by Sarah

Cream Dresser Makeover- Tuesday’s Treasures

Some of you may look at a dresser like this week’s Tuesday’s Treasures and think it needs to be sent to the curb. Sometimes I think that, too, but in this case I knew that this could be beautiful!! I’ve redone one with a similar look before, you can check that one out here.

Caitlin reached out to us to have this family heirloom brought back to life with repair, paint and a new mirror. Here are the before pictures!

We repaired quite a bit of the damaged veneer using Bondo and had to sand a lot of the wood smooth before priming and painting this piece. We painted it using Benjamin Moore’s Navajo White. I slightly distressed it and we used all of the original hardware except the top two drawers because we wanted to add a little glam to this piece. :) If you want step by step painting instructions, check out our How To Paint Furniture post.

And here are the afters!!!