A Quick Furniture Reshuffle

We have lived in this house for almost 5 years now, and the living room furniture
has been in pretty much the same place, even when the furniture was different.

1st couple of years.

2nd couple of years.

I decided to move the wing chairs in front of the window

and the table across the room.

This simple difference really opened up the room

and made it feel larger.

It also allowed me to bring in a couple more chairs

and set up a little desk area, something I was really needing.

I also really like have the two chairs close together like this.

It makes for a nice conversation spot.

They coordinate nicely, don't you think?

For detailed instructions on making these slipcovers,

see here

and here

I thought there wasn't any other way to arrange the furniture in this room,

but I am so happy I finally tried something different!

Furniture Project: Turquoise Desk

Cute little desk someone recently gave me.

Definitely needed a facelift, however!

Blue, green, or a combination?

 I settled on mixing the 2 colors and using a dark wax.

 You can get such a nice, one-of-a-kind piece when you mix your own paint!

Sometimes I have trouble letting a piece of furniture go,
and this one would have looked pretty good in my living room.

But, alas, I have no room.
Something else would have to go, and I'm not ready for that yet.

Furniture Project: Secretary Desk

I LOVE this newest piece of yardsale furniture!

This is what it looked like when I found it a few weeks ago:

Technically, it was a bar, but what I really loved about it was the fold-down front.

It would be perfect for a desk!

And the details would really stand out with paint!

I decided to paint it grey and white. Now, I don't use chalk paint because it is just too expensive. So, to get the look, I use flat paint as the base color. (over primer, of course). It has that mat look to it and reminds me of chalk paint at a fraction of the price.

But to make it really look like those furniture pieces you see all over Pinterest, I add white/cream in a satin finish to the little nooks and crannies.

Look at the difference below:

The door on the left has the white paint added to it. It gives the piece so much more depth and interest and the satin finish gives just enough gloss to contrast with the flat paint and make it look even more "chalky".

 I painted chalkboard paint on the desktop and added corkboard (painted aqua to brighten it up) to the back to make it even more functional.

The final step was wax. I use Miniwax, mostly because it's cheaper than others.  The wax protects the paint and, again, gives it more depth and interest.

Ready for Oregon Street Antique Mall.