Decorating/DIY Archives - Page 5 of 269

Back in April 2014, I found on bed on Craigslist that I just HAD to have for Zack’s room. It had great lines and only needed a little work, which sounded awesome after just finishing Emma’s green bed. I wasn’t quite ready to work on it, so I put it aside in the garage.

Two in a half years later, I decided that there was no better time than the present. HAHA! Procrastinators unite!

After I got the bed cleaned up, I could tell that the finish on the veneer was peeling and bubbling in places. It wasn’t in perfect shape when I got it, but I’m sure that hanging out in the hot garage for a few years didn’t help its case.

Well, it was time for me to get started refinishing furniture again. I decided to do some light sanding on it to see what would happen. It’s always touchy when you sand a thin veneer, because if you can easily go through the veneer. Like this.

Okay, so that’s not EXACTLY what happened. The veneer was pretty marred in these spots and felt really rough, so sanding it down was a decision that I made and not an accident. But, it could easily happen if you aren’t careful!

Because I just couldn’t handle this turning into a multi-day project, I started thinking about how I could save this bed. I could paint it, but I really didn’t want a painted finish. My friend Marian suggested that I use a chemical stripper to take the stain off the veneer (which was actually the “right” thing to do), but that made me feel like Andy from Wet Hot American Summer.

So…that wasn’t going to be the right answer for me.

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As is the continuing saga of my life, I fall in love with light fixtures on a daily basis. DAILY. And if see a homeless light fixture, it comes home with me. Some people adopt pets. I adopt light fixtures. Well, I do have two adopted dogs, so don’t throw things at me.

So, when I was planning for Zack’s new room, I desperately wanted a $350 light fixture from Shades of Light. Y’all, that’s a lot of money to spend on a light for a bedroom. I’m okay with that kind of cash in a living room, but not so much in a room that not many people will ever see. However, I was obsessed and really considering it, but then I noticed that it took G9 Halogen bulbs and I CAN’T GET DOWN WITH THAT.

Back to the drawing board. I knew I wanted a brass fixture that had room for fun bulbs. After lots and lots of searching, I came across the Odyssey 4 Chandelier from Schoolhouse Electric. ANOTHER $350 light fixture, y’all.

Okay, so hear me out. This one is pretty cool. The socket connectors are adjustable, so you can change the direction of the bulbs. Fun, right?

But, even though I think it is cool, it is still $350. And the fact that it had an even number of arms really bugged me.

After some more searching, I came across this post from Mandi at Vintage Revivals and this post from Kelsey at Simply My Simple. They both pointed to a website where they bought brass parts to build their own chandeliers.

Challenge accepted.

So here’s what happened. I ordered a bunch of parts and was going to do a tutorial for you on how I built it. But, my sweet husband put it together one day as a surprise when I was at roller derby practice. I actually really loved that he did that, so sorry that you don’t have a tutorial. However, Mandi’s and Kelsey’s tutorials will walk you through the general things you need to know. The rest is like Tinker Toys.

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Sometimes Refinishing Furniture Makes Me Want to Throw a Tantrum

Building This Adjustable Five Arm Brass Chandelier Basically Put Money in My Pocket