20
Oct

Update Old Furniture with Paint

author: Amanda       category: Home Decor
Our old entertainment center that we have had since our first apartment.

Our old entertainment center that we have had since our first apartment.

You may be in the market for a new piece of furniture, but look no further than your own house.  This weekend I decided that I wanted a new entertainment center, but I only wanted to spend…. just about nothing.  I looked on Craiglist and Ebay, even checked out some of the stuff over at Ikea, I found nothing that I liked that was in my price range. 

Then I looked into building something and I realized I don’t have very many tools.  I had to think of something.  Then it happened, I looked around my living room.  Sitting near my front door was an old chest that we had bought on Ebay last year for $10.  We had emptied out  everything that it had originally been for and it was just sitting there, empty.  I had no other purpose in mind for it and I was going to give it away on Freecycle.

 I took at look at it and measured our TV, our TV would perfectly fit on top.  I could paint it, add some new knobs, and it would be as good as new.  I headed off to Lowe’s.  At Lowe’s I purchased a gallon of dark brown paint (to match all of my dark woods I already have in the room) and went to work.  Although I could have gotten away with a quart of paint, I know I will find other items to paint this same dark brown.  So, for the price of a gallon of paint (~$18) and new satin nickel knobs (~$20), I have a new piece of furniture.  I actually think the chest will work much better than our current entertainment center, being half the size.  Our room is not huge and every inch of space needs to be utilized. 

Before

Before

I am known for painting, well, everything.  My mom has a few rules when she gives me something, “Don’t paint it, sell it, or give it away without asking first.”  She knows how I am with paint.  Here is what I did to make it new.
  • Lightly sand the piece.  This will help the new coat of paint stick.
  • Wipe your freshly sanded piece down with a damp cloth.  This not only cleans the piece, it removes the dust you just sanded off.
  • Paint your piece with an even coat of paint.  You will need to apply at least two coats.  I needed three in some spots.  Make sure you take out the drawers (if it has them) and paint them separately.
  • Let the piece dry thoroughly.  If you put things on it while it’s still tacky, your fresh paint will peel right off, so be patient. (I know, it’s hard.)
  • Add new hardware.
After

After

I promise you will not regret updating a piece of furniture in your home.  Even if you paint it and decide you hate it, you can always paint it another color.  The possibilities are endless.  Have you every painted furniture before?  What challenges did you run into?

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16
Oct

How To: Clean Out Your Closet and Keep It That Way

author: Amanda       category: Organization
Photo Credit: Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/liliesandbees/
Photo Credit: Flickr lilies and bees

Have you ever entered your closet and not even know where to start, I know how you feel.  If you have a husband like mine, his side of the closet is so stuffed full of clothes that he has not worn is who knows how long.  I have never had this problem, throwing things away is second nature to me.  Santino on the other hand, doesn’t understand the concept.  Here are a few rules we use in our house (myself included) to keep down the closet clutter.

  • Turn all of your clothes hangers around backward.  This may be a little bit more of a pain in the behind, but do it.  Turn around every hanger, I mean all of them.  Once you do this, wear your clothes as usual.  When you do laundry, put the hanger back in forward, this way you know which items you have worn.  Don’t touch any of the backward hangers for an allotted amount of them, we usually say 6 months.  This will all depend on where you live and how often your seasons change.  Here in Florida we have Summer all year except for 2 months of Winter (yes, be jealous).  Believe it or not, I actually have an extensive (well at least for Florida) Winter clothing collection.  This consists of sweaters, coats, and color coordinating scarves, gloves, and hats.  After 6 months, go into your closet and take out all items with hangers still backward.  Assess them.  Why haven’t you worn them?  Are they out of season?  If they are just out of season, keep them.  If you just haven’t worn them, then you need to  sell them, donate them, or freecycle them.
  • Have you spouse or significant other go through your closet.  Yes, I said it.  I go through Santino’s closet and pick out things he tries to keep and still wears when they should have been tossed months before.  These items include jeans with holes that show his underwear, stained shirts, socks with holes, and boxers where the elastic has worn out.  These are things he would still wear if I did nothing about them.  He is a young professional, he should dress like one, not like a homeless bum.  Here is a thought, give the worn out clothes to a homeless bum, he will truly appreciate them.
  • Use the shopping rule.  When we go shopping, if we buy something, we have to give something up.  If we buy a new T-shirt for example, we go home and get rid of an old one.  Hats are another item that are hard for him.  He has a hat basket and hats can only be stored there.  If the basket gets too full, he has to clean it out.  Usually when he wants to buy a new hat, he has to sacrifice 2 old ones for 1 new one.

All of this may sound harsh, but it works.  It is the only way we can keep the closet from getting out of control.  How do you handle this issue at your house?  Who has more clothes, you or him?  I think in most households, it’s the woman who has the shopping problem, Santino and I are the exception.

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