Lindsay Ballard, Author at Makely

After we left Destination #2, we had another day long drive to reach Destination #3. By this time, I was feeling very well acquainted with my friend Janice (Yes, I named the voice in my TomTom GPS.). In fact, I was so well acquainted with her that I found myself talking to her. That meant it was time to stop for coffee.

Janice got the kids and I to our destination in about 8 hours, including stops. It wasn’t a bad trip, and we actually did a lot of backtracking from Destination #2 towards Destination #1. We were glad to get out of the car, and the kids were ready to play. I mean, I don’t blame them. This was our backyard.

My mom and dad met us there, and we spent a few days laughing, relaxing, and eating. There were also many, many hours spent with my glittery toenails in the sand.

Each night, I went to sleep with the moon shining in my window and the sound of the ocean waves rolling in. And each morning, I woke to one of the most beautiful sights in the world.

We never “co-slept” with either of our kids when they were babies, but Emma always seemed to find her way into my bed while we were on our road trip. I loved every minute of it (although she is such a bed hog for such a tiny human!).

Of course, we couldn’t leave without having breakfast at one of our favorite joints. This “little” beach town has grown over the 35 years I’ve been visiting, but it’s always refreshing to know that as some things change, some things remain the same.

For those of you who have been here, I know that last picture totally gave it away.

Any guesses as to where I was? Remember, there will be an opportunity for you to win a HUGE Bag of Swag at the end of my Destination reveals. I promise, you aren’t going to want to miss your chance to enter to win it!

As you guys know, I’m currently trekking across some secret part of the country with my kids in tow. I’m driving through all of these little towns with all of these cute little vintage shops, and I’m just dying to stop and shop in them. But, having four little hands and no more space in the car has kept me from stopping so far.

The good thing is that my friends Monica and Jess at East Coast Creative have put together a great transformation project on a piece of vintage furniture. If I can’t get my fix by finding a project for myself, I’m glad that they have an AMAZING project to share with you today.

Here they are!

If we haven’t met before, let me officially say, “Hey! It’s super good to meet you!” I’m Monica, and I blog with my BFF Jess over at East Coast Creative. You might recognize our faces, but not our name, and maybe that’s because we used to be The Real Housewives of Bucks County (and maybe that still doesn’t help, but at least now we’ve officially met).

Jess and I blog about all things DIY, home decor, and toss plenty of real life in there too. We’re super-big fans of Lindsay and all of her awesome projects and DIY knowledge, so we’re flattered to be here today! Outdoor Furniture Upcycle

If you follow along on our blog, you probably know that my hubs and I have been DIYing a 600 square foot patio. It’s been a huge job, but it’s 99% done and we’re loving it! (Don’t tell our blog readers that I’m giving you a sneak peek, because they haven’t seen any of it finished yet!)

600 square feet is a lot of space to fill and I wasn’t about to go out and buy all new furniture for the space. I’ve had this old record player hutch (if that’s even such a thing) in my basement for about 7 years now- It was just waiting to be upcycled.

This baby used to house my in-laws old record player and then eventually a boombox. It’s crazy to think that now that all of my music is on a 4 inch iPhone. Anyhow, if you need any convincing that this piece needed some upcycling, I’ve provided you with some evidence…

One of my favorite things to do, is to look at a piece of furniture and see past the “yuck” and into the potential it has. One of my favorite pieces we did was this dated dresser turned Anthro Knock off.

They key to a good furniture upcycle is to believe that anything can be changed and set some goals!

To Upcycle this piece, I had a few goals:

#1- Get rid of any and all scrolly things (I sorta loathe them)

#2- Remove the speaker fabric

#3- Paint it with outdoor paint

#4- Add some bold details

#5- Distress it (so I don’t get mad when one of my 4 kids “distress” it for me)

#6- Add new hardware

Get Rid of Scrolly Things

Sometimes it’s easy to think there are things you can’t change about a piece, but it’s amazing what you can do with a jigsaw! I just taped off a straight line and cut those scrolly babies off!

Remove Speaker Fabric
I ripped off all of the lovely fabric and then had to take out the speakers. There was no magic to this step. I actually gave a hammer to my seven year old son and said, “bang away!”

I love when furniture has an industrial flair, so I cut plywood panels and covered them with chicken wire. It isn’t the most fun to work with, but it’s not impossible either.

Paint with Outdoor Paint
This piece was originally intended to be used indoors, so I wanted to be sure to paint it with good quality outdoor paint. I really don’t love taking tons of time painting furniture, so I used Valspar’s Exterior Spray Paint. It took about 3 cans to do two coats on the whole piece.

Add Bold Details
Since this piece was originally so traditional, I wanted to do something graphic and more modern as a detail. I thought a thin herringbone would do the trick.

Herringbone is super-simple!

#1- Mark out your center line. Then, measure the width you want the stripes (I used 1″) and make tick marks down both sides of the column. #2- Tape off your lines. The top of the left side slants down to one tick mark below on the right. #3- Paint & Remove your tape. Let it dry and repeat on the opposite side, but shift your painted section down one, so you have the “every other” look.

Distress the Piece
You might notice that my lines weren’t completely crisp in the herringbone. I was painting outside in 100 degree heat (blogger foul), but I also knew I was going to distress it anyhow. I’m not always into distressing, but I figured it was going to get banged up outside (and I have 4 kids that are pretty rough on furniture).

To distress, first I went at it with a sander with 220 grit paper.

Have you ever had this problem? I ran out of the right size sanding pads. Oops!

After sanding it down a bit, I gave the entire piece a good glazing. I actually began my glazing love affair by reading Lindsay’s blog!

My favorite glaze is Martha’s Black Coffee. As you can see, I slopped it on, rubbed it around, and then wiped it off. I wanted pretty solid coverage, so I used a good bit of glaze.

After adding some hardware she was all finished and ready for the patio!

I think she’s much more my style now!

All that’s missing now is some cool, outdoor artwork. I’d love to hear any ideas you have in a comment. Lindsay tells me she has insanely creative readers!

Thanks so much for letting us visit today. We hope you’ll come by and visit us at East Coast Creative sometime. Here’s a little peek at what we’ve been working on lately. (You can click on each pic to see the full post)

Lindsay, thanks so much for having us! You know you’re one of our blog idols and we’re so honored to be here today! Hope you’re having an awesome vacation!

Destination #3: Where in the World is Living With Lindsay?

Guest Post: East Coast Creative Rocks an Old Stereo Cabinet