SARAH AND I........

As I was watching Sarah 101 last night, I did a double take.  She bought almost exactly the same end tables to use in the little girls' room that I had picked up from the curb on Ottawa's Free Day a year and a half ago. Though, mine were in worse condition.

Here's some pictures of hers (taken from my tv so please excuse the poor quality):

And she even used the same type of crystal knobs I did.  However, she used them on the refurbished dresser and I used them on the tables.

 Here's her finished tables.  Aren't they cute and girly!

 You can see them below in images from HGTV.

And here's mine:

Click here to read my post on them.  We did them in pink and purple, my daughter's favourite colours and gave them some glam with the crystal knobs.

Too funny!  I love that she reuses and refurbishes things all the time and I love to do that as well!  It's such a thrill to give something a new purpose.  I especially love to see people's reactions when they see the before and afters.

I believe that every space can be comfortable, warm, elegant and beautiful. I would love to help you achieve your beautiful space!  

Lisa

IT’S DONE, DONE, DONE..….

The dresser that I purchased from Kijiji last April has finally been finished.  I can’t believe how long it took to get it finished but you’ll find out why once you read the rest of this post.  I originally blogged about the dresser here and I thought I would get it done so quickly back then…..
Here’s what it looked like in it’s original home:

Since the dresser was for my daughter’s room and her walls are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Pink Raspberry 2075-40 and Pale Daffodil  2017-60 we decided to go fairly neutral with the dresser and used Benjamin Moore’s Alabaster OC-129. 

Then we, but really I mean “I” sanded down the dresser, primed and painted it.  I used Benjamin Moore’s Fresh Start to prime it and then gave it three coats of the Alabaster to ensure it was a good strong finish.  I used a foam brush and roller – I have to look into a paint sprayer – must talk to Donna of dh Designs about that!! 

I then remembered a Celtic knot stencil I had bought awhile back for some project and never used and I thought It would be the perfect finishing touch.  We decided to use black paint to tie in the other black items she has in her room.  Here’s a picture of the drawers after my daughter stencilled them, she liked doing that part…

Then I was on the hunt for crystal knobs for the middle drawers and black handles for the outer ones.  Well, after much looking around I found these ones on Ebay for the fabulous price of $16.00 including shipping for SIX!!! WOOHOO!!

And then I got these black handles at Lee Valley Hardware.

So I thought that would be all it took to renew this fab dresser but unfortunately – I wasn’t quite done.  After we put the drawers in we realized that the dresser was bowed in the middle –  we thought it was probably due to the fact that it is very long and only has four legs – two on each side and no support what so ever in the middle.  :(

Anyways, hubby to the rescue  - he suggested that we replace the back of the dresser as the original piece of wood was split and damaged and he thought that may be were the problem was originating. 

So off he went to the Home Depot and came back with a nice new piece of plywood and after screwing it in place the dresser was level and

TA DA!!!

the problem was fixed!!!

So here’s the afters FINALLY!!!

And a close up:

See how nice and straight it is and all the drawers close nicely now. 

The black handles and the Celtic knot stencil with the crystal knobs on the middle drawers work very well with the black bed frame and mirrors and give the dresser some interest. 

Dear daughter is very happy with it and she has already filled all the drawers and dear Mom is so happy to not see clothes all over the floor and bed…

So a happy ending after all – so the moral of this post is when you are purchasing a used dresser ensure that it is level and not sagging in the middle or you may have to do a little more work than you anticipated…..

I am linking up this transformation to Metamorphosis Monday’s at Between Naps on the Porch.  Thanks for taking the time to check out my makeover and please don’t forget to stop over at Pat’s blog to see what everyone else has been up to!

I believe that every space can be comfortable, warm, elegant and beautiful. I would love to help you achieve your beautiful space!

Email me at lisa@lisagouletdesign.com or if in the Ottawa area call me at 613-762-0818.

Lisa

A BUNCH OF TWIGS

I was visiting The Lennoxx the other day and Linda had a great post on a bedroom done by Thom Filicia.  He had the perfect little night table in this room:

I love tables with branch and twig bases and I thought I’d look around and see all the different ones I could find. 

Elte Sherwood Accent table

via Houzz modern family room design by new york architect Dufner Heighes Inc

via Houzz contemporary living room design by san francisco interior designer Michael Merrill Design Studio, Inc

contemporary living room design by san francisco interior designer Michael Merrill Design Studio, Inc

 There’s even a DIY to make this table at The Style Files. 

Jayson twig table via HarmonyandHomeblog

Here’s a metal version

viaStylehive

Another one using twigs and LED lights.

via West Elm

  viaRoomRemix

viatheHouzz

viaDecorPad

Did I mention that they are everywhere?  They are tiny and versatile and bring a little of the outdoors in…I know what I’ll be looking for…

I believe that every space can be comfortable, warm, elegant and beautiful. I would love to help you achieve your beautiful space!

Email me at lisa@lisagouletdesign.com or if in the Ottawa area call me at 613-762-0818.

Lisa

A COUPLE OF TREASURES FOUND…..

My hubby and I purchased an old cottage about six years ago.  It was in very rough shape and needed to be gutted and rebuilt.  But that’s for a bunch more posts.  Anyways, the previous owner left many items that she didn’t want to move and so we became the recipients of many interesting items. 

I insisted we keep some of them much to my hubby’s despair and a few of them have turned out to be precious little treasures.

The first piece was this desk that had belonged to the owner’s grandfather.

I couldn’t bear to get rid of it, I think I was more sentimental about it than she was.  Anyways, an antique dealer has told me that it was a library desk made in the early 1900’s of oak – in the mission style except for the scalloped edges at the front – a decorative touch the carpenter decided upon. 

It has these cute little shelves on each side to place books on from the side. 

It has it’s original finish with marks, scratches and drops of paint but I’ve been told not to refinish it as that will negatively affect it’s value.

So now it has a special little spot in front of the window at the cottage with it’s finish intact. 

Then there was also an old 1920’s chair that I refinished and blogged about here. 

If this wasn’t enough there was also a tiny Gibbard drop leaf side table which was in sad shape.  There were cigarette burns on the top and a piece of the leg was broken.  While I refinished it my Dad (the handy guy) fixed the leg and now it resides in my living room.  Gibbard was too good for the cottage!!!

Isn’t it a cute little table. 

(P.S. Don’t look at the wing chair upholstery that is on the list to be redone.)

Now see if you can see what is in the frame in the above photo – it’s another little treasure from the cottage. Stay tuned for a post about it soon. 

 

I believe that every space can be comfortable, warm, elegant and beautiful. I would love to help you achieve your beautiful space!

Email me at lisa@lisagouletdesign.com or if in the Ottawa area call me at      613-762-0818.

Lisa

A LITTLE TEASER

Okay this has taken me much longer than I expected but I have made progress with this dresser I picked up from Kijiji in April, I think it was.

To refresh your memory here’s the before (picture taken in it’s previous home):

Now I have the body painted and my wonderful daughter whose room it will reside in helped me do the stencils on the drawers this morning.

Here’s how the middle drawers look now:

Love that celtic knot stencil!!!  I’ve ordered glass knobs from Ebay for the middle drawers above.  They look like this:

And for the six drawers on either side I’ve picked up these handles from Lee Valley Hardware:

So we’re on our way – I hope to post the final product soon.

Have a great weekend and stayed tuned for my giveaway announcement tomorrow!

I believe that every space can be comfortable, warm, elegant and beautiful. I would love to help you achieve your beautiful space!

Email me at lisa@lisagouletdesign.com or if in the Ottawa are call me at             613-762-0818.

Lisa

Painted furniture

I'm a big fan of painted furniture - much to my Dad's horror! However, so many pieces look so much better with a fresh coat of paint. I have been doing this for years and I posted awhile back photos of my daughter's desk and dresser that I painted.

These are the chairs that we inherited with our cottage, they were an ugly shade of brown stain with fake red leather seats that had cracked and had no cushioning left. I painted them a soft white and added new foam and a cheery plaid fabric in green, yellow and blue (the official colours of my cottage). I also stain guarded them as we have children and lots of guests at the cottage.....

I think they look fantastic and the lovely detail of the back splat shows up much more now.

I believe that every space can be comfortable, warm, elegant and beautiful. I would love to help you achieve your beautiful space – email me at lisa@lisagouletdesign.com or if in the Ottawa area call me at 613-762-0818.