Before & Afters

Enter one thrift store hutch find, solid wood I might add...

+ Annie Sloan Chalk Paint + bead board wall paper + stain 

=

Here is another Craigslist find. Sofa table with oak finish. I sanded, stained, and sprayed on a coat of poly.

 Now to one before and after, I think, makes a HUGE difference in our home. The stair railings! You know the things that are there that you dont'pay much attention to, and take for granted until one afternoon you trip over a car and take a plunge for the worst about to barrel down the stairs until your mind makes the connection that they are there to save your life! I can personally couch for this, and the fact that they save lives...The stair railings were all a old, dingy looking oak when we moved in. First I thought I would try sanding and staining the oak to get the dark look I craved. That went south very quickly and it was apparent very early on that it would be more hassle than it was worth and I would never achieve the try dark color I truly wanted on the railings using a stain. I headed back to HD and browsed the paint/stain section and this caught my eye...Rustoleom's Painter's Touch in Espresso!! Could it be too good to be true? It was worth a shot and I had a couple of bedroom pieces that needed some touch up so I threw it in the cart and brought it home to give it a go. Armed with one of my good Purdy brushes I started with a thin but even coat. Immediately I knew this would give the look I was after. It took a maybe 3-4 thin coats to get it all covered and I think the result is night & day to it's previous look. I haven't sealed it with a clear poly of any kind and I haven't experienced any chipping or flaking off in the past 6 months it has been on the railings. With obvious daily use, and two toddlers I definitely give it 5 stars!

Before shot- Sorry this is truly the only shot I have of the railings in their original state. This picture is from when we came in the night we closed to paint the rooms upstairs. Thanks Ivan & Kyle =)

After-6 months of wear and tear...and still looking fab!

Looking fab!

Chair Before & After

Once upon a time we were really into dark woods and a sleek and more modern design. I have always loved the traditional look as well but always felt it a bit too frilly and girly for my husbands taste so I curbed that when we were married and jumped on the modern bandwagon. I scored this chair at a thrift store and paid around $25 and forced it into our two door Honda coupe to get it home. I knew it would fit, the hubby said no but I said yes and made it fit. That's right, the woman is always right! Anyhow, when the house hunt became serious I started creating folders of looks and ideas I liked for our new home. I realized time after time I was selecting photos, or furniture with more traditional flair and some eclectic pieces thrown in here or there. Once we moved in to our home I knew this piece just wouldn't work to help achieve the look I was after so I needed a quick fix. I had scored tons of yards of a pretty quilted robin's egg blue fabric at a thrift store for $5, so that was what I grabbed to cover it up in a hurry. Sadly this project is only half finished. The front looks pretty good...just dont turn the chair around!  =) Eventually I am going to take a trip down to get a bold and beautiful fabric, and cover that bad boy up the proper way. But for now I am content with it. ..

Thrift Store find pre-kids...paid around $25

{QoK}