Drab to Fab: A Shelf Story

Once upon a time there was an outdated little shelf sitting at the local thrift store, whimpering for someone to take him home and lovingly adorn him with new paint and hardware.

Okay...maybe it wasn't that dramatic but regardless, my sweet little shelf was the perfect little makeover project. And at $4.99, he quickly leapt into my arms :) 

I found this shelf in the midst of another project (to be revealed soon, a revamped china cabinet!) Anyway, I wanted to try this distressing technique that Kate over at Centsational Girl demonstrated here. I thought my shelf would be a great guinea pig to test out before going with the big cabinet. 

Loving this price!

I primed the shelf first which erased my dark brown color of the wood underneath. So, as Kate did, I spray painted the edges a nice and rich expresso color.  I used Kilz 2 latex primer because it was what I had on hand. To be honest, I have no idea how reputable it is but it worked just fine both times I used it. For my brown paint, I used Rustoleum Expresso in a satin finish. 

Excuse the solo peg there on the shelf. I couldn't get it loose but my Hubby removed it out when he got home. 

Now for the fun part. I used Rustoleum's Heirloom White for my final color. I forgot to take a picture of the actual distressing technique for the shelf but I did take one for my cabinet. Not that it helps you at the moment though :) However, Kate's post can give you a good visual in the meantime. Basically, I sprayed the shelf and with my finger underneath a baby wipe, I ran my nail along the edges, wiping off the white and exposing the brown color. Voila, instant distress. A little messy but it looks great. 

I bought two hooks at Home Depot for about $3 each. They are a dark rubbed bronze color that I thought contrasted well with the white. I chose to go with this type of hook so I could cover the gaping holes the original pegs left. It worked out perfectly.

And here he is! All spruced up and ready for display. He will probably find his home in my new craft room/office. But more on that later...

Here is an up close one of the distressing detail. Pretty authentic, huh?

And of course...nosy little Too had to scope it out while I was taking pictures.

Breakdown of the Cost:

Shelf - $4.99

Primer - Had on hand

Expresso spray paint - Had on Hand

Heirloom White spray paint - About $3.50

Two robe hooks - $6.00

Total Cost of Shelf - $14.49 plus tax. Not too shabby!

Again?

Yes, another wreath. Ha! I started this a while back and just now finished it up. I apologize for my short blogging hiatus. Things have been busy around here. I have several projects that are halfway done but that doesn't make for much blogging entertainment. So I am kicking myself into gear and will hopefully have a few more posts coming this week! I have some organization projects and my first furniture revamp to reveal soon.

So back to the wreath...I have seen this coffee filter wreath all over blogland and since I am a little obsessed with wreaths I had to give it a try.

The verdict? I love it! It's cheap, simple to make and looks lovely. Can it get any better than that?

 As for your supplies, you will need a styrofoam wreath ($1 at the Dollar Tree), coffee filters (about $2.50 at Target) and hot glue. And also ribbon to hang your wreath. Oh and don't forget the kitty tail :) Nosy little booger.

I used the brown/natural filters but the white ones look great too. It just depends on the color you want. Each package of these contained 40 filters and I only used about 55 total. Mine were also more flat at the  top...not scalloped like most filters. Again, it's your preference. The scalloped filters will give the wreath a more flowery look.

It's very simple. Open you filter and "pouf" it a little bit and then hot glue around the wreath, sticking filters in as needed. Just be sure to hold the filter in place for a few seconds to be sure it secures to the wreath.

My helper gave up on me...quitter

 About a quarter of the way through.

And here she is on my mirror in the living room. I chose to add my ribbon to the wreath before it was done and secured the filters around it...some on top of it. I didn't want to have the ribbon all messy looking on top of the filters in front. I love the final result!