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Mirrored Buffet Before and After – Tuesday’s Treasures

Have you ever gotten in a rut with creativity and felt like you want to do something new? Well since John’s been home, I’ve felt a little less than creative mostly because he’s been doing all the work. Even though I’ve told him the color and design I wanted, it’s not quite the same as digging in and getting dirty myself. So, it was time to play.

Last week my kids were at Vacation Bible School at our church which gave me extra time to work on pieces for our for sale page. I’ve been itching to get my hands on this buffet for a couple of different reasons. I think it’s ugly. Yup, it’s true! Mostly because I don’t like the wood or the ornate detailing or the hardware on the doors. There is something about ugly that makes me want to conquer it even more, I guess it inspires me! lol It’s a sickness I tell you!

The minute I saw it, I wanted to add mirrors to the doors. John gave me the “look” of doubt but trusted my gut. (One of the many reasons I love that guy!)

The details on the front of the door were actually made out of plastic so we just broke them off and filled the holes from the hardware. Then John sanded the whole thing and primed it.

Now that the dirty work is done, I came in and painted it. :) I did a different technique for this piece where I made my own chalk paint using Benjamin Moore’s Shaker Grey and brushed it over the primer. Then I made chalk paint using Benjamin Moore’s Simply White and did a second coat brushing it on.

I took a palm sander and used 220 grit paper to sand away part of the white to reveal the grey. I call this the art of imperfection. I’ve seen this done wrong or should I say… done in a way that I wouldn’t buy it. The love of distressing is in the eye of the beholder. I also like when distressing is done in a way that says, “hey, this was on purpose”. In my mind that’s what happened when we added the mirrors. I ordered them at a local glass shop and attached them using liquid nail. My Little Man helped me with that part and did a great job!! Even a 5 year old can add a mirror!

The hardware is from Lowes. I wanted it to have a chic, modern and rustic look. The hardware brought in the rustic I was going for.

Here it is all done and pretty!!!
Thanks for coming along for the ride. :)

Here’s a side by side picture for pinning purposes!

Happy redesigns everyone,
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.

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How to Gold Dip Furniture – Tuesday’s Treasures

What’s a gold dipped piece of furniture?? Well, it’s just what is sounds like. A piece of furniture that looks dipped in gold. Dipped furniture is so “in” right now. It doesn’t just have to be gold, but I want to share this gold dipped dresser set that I’m over the moon about. Theresa bought other pieces from me in the past… she’s likes different styles and I love that about her. From her son Colin’s Chevron Dresser to her Pottery Barn Style Coffee Table, she knows how to pick ’em. She noticed this dresser on our Upcoming Projects page and gave me a call to see what I had in mind for it. When I told her I really wanted to gold dip it, she thought that sounded weird. I showed her what I meant by gold dipped and she was all in!! Thanks for being open to new styles Theresa!!

If you haven’t heard about gold dipped furniture, it’s all the rage!! Homedit called paint dipped furniture the new trend for 2013. I totally agree!!

Here’s the beauty before…

We painted the whole dresser using Benjamin Moore’s Decorator White. If you want to see how we paint furniture, you can check it out here. We used green Frogtape to tape a straight line wherever you want the gold dipped section to come up to.

CF120 Frog Tape (TM) 2"x60YD Green Painters Tape

Use another pieces of masking tape attached to a roll of paper and attached that to the green frog tape to prevent any over-spray onto the white. We used Rust-oleum’s Metallic Gold spray paint on the bottom section.

See the tape on the left of the dresser as we pealed it away? Use high quality painters tape so it leaves a straight line and press firmly over the tape to ensure there are no air pockets that the gold can get into. After a couple of coats of gold spray paint, pull off the tape and you’ll have a stunning, hot new piece of furniture.

Here she is!

Straight on…

Theresa also had a couple end stands that were a similar style so she brought them over and I sprayed those as well to match. Super cute, right?

Happy redesigns everyone,
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.

 

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Bird and Tree Headboard and Dresser Set – Tuesday’s Treasures

Good morning friends! Last week was insane here… insane on so many levels. The furniture projects were some of my favorites in a while. I was able to work with fun colors including orange, yellow, vintage teal, exotic lime, and white. It was also fun because I was able to try new techniques like gold dipped furniture and had fun doing some hand painted designs like you’ll see on this post today. I asked our Facebook fans to vote on all of the pieces we did this week to see which one they would like to see the before and after pictures of on Tuesday’s Treasures. The bird and tree headboard with the matching tree branch handled dresser won the votes by far! Want to be part of the fun in FunCycled and help us make decisions on projects? Like our Facebook page today!

Here’s the before picture of this dresser.

Amy had bought pieces from us in the past, but is buying a new house and wanted us to customize pieces to go in each room. She stopped by to check out what we had and liked the look of this dresser.

She also saw a headboard that I had on hand that never made it to our Upcoming Projects page. It was solid wood and cute from the get go.

We decided to paint both pieces Benjamin Moore’s Decorator White and distress them.  Then I hand drew the bird and tree design on the headboard and painted it black. The dresser pulls are from Pottery Barn.

I love how it works together as a set and can’t wait to see it in her new house. We also went and did a Color Consult to pick the wall colors for her new house.

That’s the excitement for this week folks! Stay tuned for more soon!

Happy redesigns everyone,
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.

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Majestic Blue Buffet Makeover – Tuesday’s Treasures

Another Tuesday’s Treasures today? What!! We’ve had so many fun pieces and I am having a hard time narowing everything down to just one piece a week. This cute little cabinet was given to us when we went to buy a different piece from someone. Our church is making a cry room which is a room where families with little kids who don’t want to be in nursery for some reason can go to listen to the sermon and keep their kids with them. So, my friend Kim and I went to work picking color and decor for the room. I’ll show you an after picture when it’s all done. One of the walls in the room was painted with Benjamin Moore’s Majestic Blue 2051-40. We had some extra paint and needed some additional furniture pieces for the room.

Since it was given to me, I thought that passing on the buffet (with a face-lift of course) was the perfect plan!

Here it was before. I didn’t like the back wood because it made it look a little more girly than I wanted. So, we removed the back and repaired the damaged veneer which is hard to see in this picture.

Then we painted and distressed it… and here she is with a matching end stand.

Philippians 4:6: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

Happy redesigns everyone,
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.

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Cream Farm Style Hutch with Chicken Wire – Tuesday’s Treasures

Good morning!! I’ve been waiting and waiting to do a piece with chicken wire and this hutch was asking for it! Do you see it?? Can you picture it??

No? Well, let me explain it a bit. If you find a hutch that doesn’t have any of its glass, chicken wire can be a great alternative. It’s a much more cost effective option than replacing the glass, not to mention it’s adorable and gives a farm house feel to any piece.So, we sanded, primed and painted this piece using Benjamin Moore’s Navajo White, distressed it and glazed it to give it an authentic aged look.

We bought chicken wire, spray painted it with Rustoleum’s Hammered Bronze spray paint and sprayed the knobs to match the chicken wire. John also cut wood to replace the glass that would have gone on the shelves. We attached the chicken wire using a pneumatic stapler and small staples.Look at the distressing first…
See the cute red bird in the chicken wire??? Well, I dropped it when I took it out of the hutch and it died. Poor thing… I guess it didn’t like being caged up. Ha ha! I crack myself up.
Here it is! Let me know what you think! 

Oh, and a I can’t leave without a cute kid moment to share. This week our Little Man picked a red berry from a bush outside and said, “Mom look at this berry… it’s pointless!!” “Pointless??” “Oh, you mean poisonous?”, I said. “Oh yeah, that’s what I meant!”Love him!! :)

Happy redesigns everyone,
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.

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Bar Harbor Beige Buffet Revamp – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi! How has your week been? So many people have asked me how everything has been going with John quitting his job to join  me at FunCycled. Since I don’t get as much time as I’d like to to chat with everyone,  I thought I would share what it has been like for him making this transition.

The 1st weeks was busy… almost like a whirlwind. We had custom furniture orders that were time sensitive because of people moving; it was crunch time to get everything ready. John rose to the occasion and pushed and pushed to take care of everything without sacrificing quality. That’s what I love about him. He’s a perfectionist which is a good balance (yet sometimes annoying) to an artist like me. I honestly think he is a better painter than I am, but he doesn’t have an eye for the design or antiquing of a piece. That’s where I come in now.

The 2nd week was equally busy, but this time everything John put his hand at went wrong. From bleed through to knobs not fitting right on a dresser,  and then replacement parts not working with an older piece. I’ve been dealing with those problems for over 1 1/2 years so I know some of the tricks that he just hasn’t learned yet. It was a very frustrating week for him and I thought he might have wanted to call it quits. He said he didn’t know how I could do this for the last year and a half. I assured him he was just learning and working together I showed him how to fix the troubling problems.

Time to reevaluate, right? I was a manager for 7 years before doing this so I’m all about making sure you’re on the right path and doing what you love. I would even say that to my staff at my last job, this is America and if you don’t love what you do, let me know and I’ll help you find a job that’s a better fit for you. We went out to dinner, just John and I, and talked about went wrong and what went right. He asked me if this was his “evaluation” and chuckled. John reassured me that he loved doing this and was sure learning more would  only make the job easier. Up until this week, he had never even used an air sprayer. For those of you who have ever used one, you can understand why that alone can make you want to cry. He’s a hard working, patient guy and was ready to dive into this past week with gusto and excitement. Also, note to the DIYer’s out there that think what we do is easy. Some projects can be easy, but others definitely not so much. It’s a learned skill and you have to love it to do it every day.

So, this past week came and went and was SO much better! Things went smoothly and we’re starting to get a good schedule down. We definitely complement each other. I’m honestly not sure how I did all this without him. I really don’t! The only one flaw this week was ordering a gallon of the wrong color paint in a miscommunication. That doesn’t sound like much, but that’s a $45 mistake and a $45 mistake to this family is a big mistake.

Ok, I’ll stop blabbing on and get to the furniture makeover. That’s why you’re here anyway, right? Cheryl reached out to us because Dawn over at Botanic Studio told her about us. If you haven’t been to the Botanic Studio or met Dawn, you simply must go. Her terrariums will take your breathe away. I’ve been hinting to John for years that I want one… hopefully some day soon. ;) If he reads this blog, that is. lol. Seriously though, her pieces are amazing and Dawn is right up my ally. She’s kind, professional and encouraging. Definitely go see her and the beautiful shop in downtown Troy.

Here’s the buffet before. It was in good shape, but Cheryl wanted a different “look” in her livingroom. We went back on forth on some colors… should it be black, teal, red or beige? After a few days, Cheryl went with beige. Benjamin Moore’s Bar Harbor Beige 1032 to be exact!

We kept all of the hardware original because they were in good shape and Cheryl liked the color. We primed, painted and distressed the whole piece and then sealed it with a water based clear coat.

Are your ready for the after??

You might have missed Cheryl’s daughter’s dresser and end stand makeover earlier this week. If so, check out the Pottery-barnish Dresser Makeover.

So classic and stunning, isn’t it?? Thanks for stopping by today. I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below. Have a wonderful week!  

Happy redesigns everyone,
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.

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White Pottery-barnish Dresser Set

It’s Saturday!! Why am I posting on a Saturday?? Well, I was up early and with having John home I’ve had time to get more pieces done in a week.  That being said, I have so much to share with you and not enough time to write up the posts and share it. Since I’m up early, I thought I would share some before and after pictures of a dresser set we did for Catherine! Stay tuned for next week’s Tuesday’s Treasures to see her mom’s cream buffet makeover.

Here’s the before pictures of this set. It’s very little girl-ish; Catherine is moving away from home and into her own place. She is ready for her furniture to look more mature… {Pottery-barnish} as I like to call it. I’m was so happy she wanted to give life to her old piece instead of buying new since it was structurally great and solid wood.

Catherine ordered the knobs from Anthropology. Do you know how much I love Anthropology knobs? It’s one of the things in life that melts me inside. Just sayin’.

I painted it white, glazed it with Valspar’s antique glaze and distressed it a bit.

Catherine already had an end stand in white that she wanted to match it so I distressed and glazed the end stand at the same time. Here’s the set together!! So beautiful, right??

Catherine, I hope you love your new job and the area  you’re moving to. Thanks for being so sweet to my kids! Keep in touch!

Happy redesigns everyone,
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.

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Coffee Table Inspiration From a Canvas Shopping Bag – Tuesday’s Treasures

Has it really been a week since I wrote my last blog post?? I feel like I was just here telling you all about John starting to work with me, I blinked and now I’m back at the computer again. lol That’s how wonderfully busy the past week has been. I’m not complaining, in any way, because I LOVE what I do. I’ve been loving the custom orders, color consultations, and creating some of my own beauties. Check out this new piece on our Furniture For Sale page: Yummy goodness… don’t you want to make it yours?? I know I do! ;)

But for this week’s Tuesday’s Treasures, I found inspiration from what?? A canvas shopping bag!! Say what?!? It’s a true story. My mom’s friend Susan had this coffee table that was given to her from her father years ago. She wanted to keep it for memory’s sake, but wanted more color to brighten her small sitting room. (Sorry for the bad picture! I forgot to take a before picture)

Susan came over to talk colors with this canvas shopping bag in hand. She loved the design and the color combinations so we decided to take the plunge!
It’s super cute right?? So, I painted cream on top (I know it looks really white, but it’s not), graphite grey on the base and I drew the top design by hand. I changed the design a bit, but not too much. Then I sealed it for an extra layer of protection using a water based polycrylic.
Here it is… cute as a button. Or cute as its’ buttons. Ha ha! I crack myself up.

Susan is moving out of state (back to her VA home) at the end of this month so I’m happy she’ll have something to remind her of her NY friends. We’ll miss you so much!!!  “Y’all” have been a huge blessing to my parents and I am so thankful to have met you this year. God knew we needed you here in NY for a while.  Thanks to everyone from back home for sharing you with us. :)

Happy redesigns everyone,
Sarah

If you like what you see, please like our face book 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.

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After’s Without the Before’s – Tuesday’s Treasures

It’s been quite the week here at the FunCycled home. John’s first week working with me was AMAZING. What most people take as normal, I was able to enjoy for the first time. John and I went to bed together and woke up together. This may sound little, but it’s the little things that mean the most, right? With his last job, he was in bed by 8:00pm and up at 3:30am. I was in bed by midnight and up at 6:30am. John being able to see the kids at breakfast and be a second helping hand in the morning was worth it’s weight in gold. We were even able to have lunch together some days. A girl could get use to this change of pace. Feeling pretty spoiled over here!!

I’ll keep you posted on the progress of everything as we go. I’m sure there will be good and bad with the change, but for now I’m so blessed by the good. I’ve missed that hubby of mine who’s been working 60 hour weeks and doing FunCycled work every minute he could squeeze in. If you’ve been vacationing and missed out on my post about John working for FunCycled full time, we’re now creating more custom furniture and also expanding into interior painting and kitchen cabinet painting.

On this week’s Tuesday’s Treasures, I’m sharing some noteworthy “afters” that I forgot to take before pictures of. Hey, I get busy!!  This is a judgment free zone. lol

Here they are in no logical order. ;)

Becki’s Cream Distressed Display Cabinet. Paint color: Benjamin Moore’s Carlisle Cream

Audrey’s Antique Book Case with glass doors in black

Dee Dee’s White Cabinet with mirrors on the doors Paint Color: Benjamin Moore’s Decorator’s White

Dee Dee’s Queen Canopy Bed painted Benjamin Moore’s Decorator’s White

And last but probably my favorite out of all the pieces…
Jacquie’s  Distressed Pink Dresser with knobs from Hobby Lobby. LOVE how this one came out.  The color is Benjamin Moore’s Pink Starburst. I wish I had the before pictures of this one because this dresser was in rough shape with about 20 large holes drilled all over the top. Definitely had to paint over this one!

And a close up to see the knobs and distressing a bit better.

I hope you all had a safe and a fun family filled 4th of July!!

Happy redesigns everyone,
Sarah

If you like what you see, please like our face book 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.

 

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Retro Atlantis Blue Dresser – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi friends! Can you believe it’s the 4th of July this week?? I always feel like the 4th of July is the half way point of the summer. I know it’s not really, for most it’s the official start of summer but in my mind I think summer’s nearly over when we hit the 4th of July.

This week John starts full time with me at FunCycled! I’m BEYOND excited about this change!! :)  Now in addition to furniture make-overs, we will offer interior home painting, color consultations and kitchen cabinet painting. If you’ve missed the post about the transitions, check it out now.  If you are interested in any of those options, please use our Contact Us form to reach out to us.

On to the furniture, shall we?? lol We’ve had this dresser on our Upcoming Projects page for a little while. It’s much larger than it looks and it was the other 1/2 of the Navy Number Dresser that we customized for Carly. This part of the set is going to a different family. Kerri reached out to me to see if the dresser would work for her daughters room. They came over with decor in hand and we picked a color that would best coordinate with the room.

Here’s the dresser before. Still in good shape, they just wanted a pop of color.

A pop of color they have!! The color is Benjamin Moore’s Atlantis Blue 768 and I glazed it after I painted it. We also painted the knobs with a hammered black spray paint.

I love how I was able to get the texture of this piece to almost look like leather. Just love it!!

I hope you all have a safe and a fun family filled 4th of July!! Please keep us in prayer as John joins me on this adventure. We need it!

Happy redesigns everyone,
Sarah

If you like what you see, please like our face book 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.