Bookshelf To Bench! Easiest Project Ever!

Hey! I'm so excited and enthused to use my building tuesday to....write! I got home from the "day job" a little too late this evening to spend any quality time in the garage, so I'll spend it at the laptop....

I'm MOST EXCITED, MORE THAN EVER, NEARLY OUT OF MY SKIN to reveal my current projects, BUT - I'm still working to get past projects on my blog to build content as they say....

(I like to end sentences with dot dot dot's because it's like - at any point I MAY have more to say about that particular subject.)

I have soon to upload my awesome kitchen island that I designed, used a lot of new techniques, dealt with some naysayers, built it with some upcycling, some recycling, some new stuff, all with my partner in crime, and boy-oh-boy did it come together. And then there is my current project. My first ever, honest invention. Very excited.

But for now - this is one of my favorite projects. Dresser re-do's are so gratifying but this is great. I will do this again. As always - my first time on something is an experiment, so I learned a lot. If you have this pinned on pinterest - get to building it. It's awesome.

On the left is the bookshelf after I took it apart.... (AGAIN - wasn't great at the before pics - I'm getting there....)


I tuned it sideways and added standard Lowes-issued feet. I think I spluged and spent $4 or $5 on each....

 One thing I haven't seen on other sites was this little touch - I had some spare trim and decided to dress the soon-to-be bench up a little.  I determined the size of the plywood that I'd put on top of the bench (for the cushion and fabric to be added to and then stapled to which THEN could get screwed/nailed to the top of the bench.

So here is a better aerial view of the piece of plywood I had. This actually has a lot of family history in Mr. Perfect's family, so it's cool to add it long-term to a project......

                   Another View.....                                                       

With the trim added.... & full view with the feet.

I spray painted this (first coat shown) because, as always, I was looking for a quick-fix project. 

Ta-Da! finished project with cushions. Of course you are missing a few steps, but you get the idea. The cubbies are for baskets or shoes, or whatever. I believe I will actually re-do this someday in a much better color (I was REALLY into grey for awhile) and a much nicer fabric with better cushions - would have been best with 3" foam. So there you have it. Start to finish maybe 3 or 4 hours? If you were buying the bookshelf it would be less of a money saver although I think I picked this one up at AC Moores years and years ago for around $30 when my girls were little and we needed something to shelf all their books and games, but I digress.

NOW WHAT????

Old Chairs Get New Seats - Easy Project

I love these old chairs from my Great Grandparent's house..... I loved them even more once I refinished them, but the seats were busted and saggy and old. While I loved the memories of the old red vinyl seating, it was time for an update.

You can see at the back of the chair that it's saggy:

I took off the seat and used it as a pattern to make a new one. I used 3/4" Plywood so that it would be very sturdy. I like sturdy. Rugged.

I even rounded the corners. I placed a lid with the approximate correct curve and got out my handy-dandy jig saw.

Mr. Perfection thought the corners should be smoother. He took a wood file and worked at it until he thought it was acceptable. 

I don't see a difference. But he did.

Inside I taped the edges with masking tape. I haven't ever seen a tutorial advising of this step, but it is how I was taught. Keeps the layers from being rubbed through as fast on the rough wood.

1 layer of batting..... MISTAKE. I will eventually have to take these apart and add more. This is now the second project where more cushion would have been a smart investment. Take note. I also added 1 layer of linen.

Finally, I added the actual seat cover - this awesome fabric I love but can't decide really what else to do with it as it's a little old fashion and that's not how I want everything to be done in my home.... I do like it on the chairs though.

NOW WHAT????

Good Example of What Not To Do

I debated putting this on the world-wide internet. But if you are like me (i.e. Rammy, impatient, a tad spontaneous, adventuresome, trying your dardest to stay out of trouble, and low on funds) you may be tempted to do something like this one day. And I want to guide  you away from it. I want to lead you to the light. Think before you act. Measure twice & cut once. Think: will another week of waiting really matter? Do your homework....

HERE IS A BED I DECIDED TO MAKE ONE AFTERNOON - I'm only a little pleased with it.

Here's what I like:

- I got it done FAST
- I got it done CHEAP
- I got it done

Here's what I don't like:

- I should have used better wood
- Should have used more batten on the headboard
- I definitely shouldn't have decided to use the dremel tool which I have never used before
- I should have used higher quality paint

OK enough of it - let's see what we are talking about. Remember - this was a Sunday I woke up with nothing to do, just a few pieces of wood lying around, very few dollars in the pocket, and had a little creative juice (= wine.) I also happened to still be sleeping with my mattress/box spring on the floor.

I had 1x3's in the garage. I started experimenting a little.

Before I knew it, I had a decent idea in my head. I measured my full-size box spring, laid out the 1X3's accordingly. I did - for real - stop for a moment to look on the internet for a good leg idea and this was the most simplest. I Cut 9 pieces one length and 9 pieces a little shorter. I screwed those together with one end being level. Yes. I already said it. I am impatient. It was a quick, fun Sunday project that I am now living with until I get around to doing it better.... but wait..... it doesn't tun out THAT bad......

So - if you look closely in the above picture, the short ends of the "legs' support the weight of the bed frame. I didn't want something that would wiggle and be loose. This is NOT loose. Very solid, actually.

I put these handy-dandy 2X4's cut on a diagonal that I used for the black dresser, in the corners to give it some more solidity and to keep it square.

A few good views of the "legs."

Then - it was done SO FAST - I literally could do it all with my miter saw and it was very repetitive, that I decided to break out the dremel which I have NEVER used before. But how hard could it be? And wouldn't it be SO CUTE to add a little saying? Wouldn't that be neat? Wouldn't it???? I THOUGHT SO TOO!!!! But - one should know how to use the freaking tool. This is how it came out - 

Then I painted - grey. My color at the moment. Not any longer. Unfortunately. Since everything in my house is now grey.....

BUT WAIT - That was done SUPER FAST TOO!!! Maybe - Maybe I should make a fabric covered headboard? A quick and messy dig through my attic turned up some nice black fabric (Which later, I have discovered, to be a super duper lint attracting fabric!) I had VERY little batten but who cares? (I do now) It will look AWESOME! I drew a pattern on some newspaper taped together and folded in half - unfolded it and taped to a piece of plywood - 1/2". Then whipped out my jig-saw and this is what I ended up with.

Then I covered it.

Then I carried the frame upstairs and screwed the headboard on using connecting 1X3's.

Then I made my bed to make it look less silly.

And then I decided that I really liked it. I was glad my bed was off the floor. It was 3+ hours well spent. Maybe it was $20 some dollars? The 1X3's made it cheaper and I did have the material. If I had had to go buy everything it would have been closer to $100 and not, probably worth it. For $100 I could have done it so much nicer.... And I plan to!

For now - this keeps me up off the floor. Keeps my pillows from falling behind the bed - and helped me learn a few basics about building a bed frame. I know what I'm doing next and how it will be awesome. The cool thing is, I can unscrew all the wood and re-use it for some other "experiment."

NOW WHAT????

The Little Grey Dresser That Did

Who doesn't love Pinterest?

OK. Maybe a stupid, too-broad, question..... If you are on Pinterest you love it. You are addicted. You are late for work because you are on it, you don't mind the doctor that is running late because you are checking out Ana White's latest free downloadable plans (what an awesome chic! Why didn't I think of it first?)

****OH - and did you notice my improved blogging skills? Yeah. That's right. I can link. Just TRY to keep up! LOL ****

Anyway. I'm addicted. In fact, all of the above might, in fact, be just about me. Do love me some pinterest. I got hooked during my divorce. I felt I needed to get off Facebook for awhile in case one night at midnight, after some wine, and maybe a sad call or text, I decided that the best thing to do would be to post my deep, personal feelings on Facebook. I knew I couldn't take the temptation. So I went off it, cold-turkey. My youngest egg recommended Pinterest. Been a cray-cray about it ever since. You can check out my Pin's Here: My Boards.

One of my first challenges on my own was getting the girls' rooms set up quickly. And on a nearly non-existent budget. It didn't take me long to stumble onto this sweet little idea, found on luckymestudios.blogspot.com.

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I had seen a few other variations of this, but I drew color inspiration from this (loved the grey), but decided to get rid of the drawer completely to put baskets in - then, from some other pins, decided to make that interior a snappy color.... Thanks to my awesome mom-friend, I had a free dresser and was ready to get to work. I do not have a lot of before pics, unfortunately..... (That is a LESSON LEARNED - if one plans to perhaps, one day, start a little blog - take before picture!)

But here are some pictures of the process:

I actually spray painted. Scared to death to do that. Big leap of faith. Coming from a family of woodworkers, it's always been somewhat of a sin to paint wood. I have rationalized it in my mind as such - if it's a piece that CAN be refinished and is WORTH being refinished, then I'll do it. This piece had a lot of veneer that was lifting. I sanded it down so that it was flush and smooth with surrounding pieces and spray-painted away.

Here it is with the frame painted and the inside taped off so that the spray wouldn't get in.... In hindsight, what would it have mattered?

So then I carried the beast outside. Not really that heavy, but awkward.... Anyway - the step that I do not show is that I took out the rails for the first big drawer, cut plywood, and THEN spray painted this pretty teal color..... (Which I later came to find out my daughter didn't like.... so LESSON - ASK a teenager FIRST.... BEFORE investing time, money, energy into something for them! ALWAYS ASK THEM FIRST!)

Oh - check out my moment of genius. That is a fitted sheet around the top of the dresser! 

SO EXCITED!

Oh. My. Goodness. I just loved this.... Also kept the old antique pulls that were just WONDERFUL but spray painted them black. (Which is pretty much my go-to accent color.)

LESSON LEARNED - with baskets, it looks best if the baskets fit really, really well. These were just baskets I had in the house. You will see from an upcoming project what a difference that makes.

ALL DONE! 

NOW WHAT??