Splendid Crendenza

Well folks I can finally post about my thrift store credenza. I bought it over a month ago for $15 bucks! It was originally $30 but it was 50% off, yes!

I needed a good storage piece for my new office and this beauty was just the ticket :)

                                  

             

Oh yeah, she was a real peach...complete with sticky residue, a missing drawer pull and torn off paneling. The Hubby was a bit grossed out. But she's a sturdy gal. And HEAVY. The two of us barely got it into our garage. Thankfully my Daddy had some furniture mover thingies that have wheels on them. They made it so much easier to maneuver Miss Credenze while we worked on her. 

The very first thing I did was clean her up. Good grief, it was pretty bad. But after a near entire container of Clorox wipes, I think I rid every speck of nastiness. 

If you notice in the top picture, part of the front skinny panel is missing, along with the left back corner of the top surface. My dad, who is just amazing, had the idea of adding a new piece of wood to cover the top of the credenza, solving the problem on the top. And trimming it out would take care of the missing half of the front panel as well as adding some stylish flair. 

Also, if you will notice in the second picture, there is gold trim below the front missing panel and again at the bottom of the credenza. It definitely wasn't the look I was going for so we pried it off pretty easily.

We measured the top of Miss Credenze and headed off to Home Depot to purchase some plywood. I love that they handle the cuts for you. One less thing for me to worry about!

Then Daddy and I set to work attaching the new piece. I am new to the power tools so thank goodness for my dad's helping hand. 

Beginning in the center and then working our way out towards each side, we drilled our pilot holes and attached the wood with a bunch of square head screws. 

Daddy drilling a pilot hole

Your girl giving it a go

Who wants to play I Spy? Because I spy something pink (above) and I'm not referring to my t-shirt :) Yep, that's my little ole pink lamp, obviously already painted but still awaiting a new shade. Oh and pardon the chair. That's my thrift store chair I revamped a while back. These two thrifties definitely give away how long Miss Credenze has been in the works.

New top secured

You will notice we removed the two sliding doors. I knew it would be easier to paint that way. I also removed the track they slide on so I could paint it as well.

Next up we had to add the trim. We measured between the top of the new surface to the bottom of the existing half paneling (right above the drawers). We knew it had to be exact since the drawers would be blocked if it was even a fraction too long.

My parents went with me to Home Depot since A) Hubby was still at work, B) someone had to help me pick out the right stuff and C) my child hates shopping so he needed some entertainment.

So we're in the trim section checking out the wide selection of various trim shapes and sizes. The problem we came across was locating one piece of trim that was my exact width...so we were left with finding two complimentary pieces that equaled the correct width. In the midst of our search, little guy made a big ole mess with a sucker so my Dad (the house builder and math whiz of the family) volunteers to take him to the restroom and wash him off, leaving Mom and I alone to calculate trim widths...not very pretty. Definitely not my best subject and let's just face it, "eighths" are confusing. Needless to say, we were thankful when my dad came back on the scene. 

Our best solution turned out to be a flat stick-like trim and a decorative trim that had a groove behind to fit over the flat "stick". The great part is we could adjust it to our desired width.

The flat part attached

Attaching the top grooved piece

One without my hands in the way

All the trim complete!

After we were done I puttied all the screw/nail holes and sanded smooth. I should also mention that I gave the top surface a GOOD sanding to get it really smooth. A few of the trim edges overlapped a little bit but it was instantly fixed with a little sanding of the edges.

My sweet Daddy really did an amazing job showing me how to do this first and major part of the project. Love him!

Next is priming and painting.

I used Zinsser oil based primer to cut out on sanding the entire piece. And it worked great!

I removed all the drawers, drawer pulls and the two locks on the big drawers. I decided to paint the inside of the drawers just because I still had the ick-ness vibe and paint just made me feel better about it :)

I lightly sanded once the primer dried and wiped clean. 

I knew I wanted it two-tone, painting the new top section a dark grey and the remaining piece, white. I chose Behr's Trail Print in semi-gloss for the top and Behr's Swiss Coffee in semi-gloss (which I also used on my china cabinet) for the remainder.

I lightly sanded in between coats giving a nice smooth surface. When it was completely dry, I applied two coats of Wipe-on Poly for a protective coat. 

I scored some adorable vinyl shelf liner in Michael's dollar bins so I lined the bottoms of the drawers with this bit of cuteness. Love!

And once I was done with all that, it moved into the office and sat for several weeks until I decided on what to do about the drawer pulls. I couldn't find any in the local stores that were long enough to fill the existing holes. Mine were 4.25 inches and the longest I found was a little over 3 inches. I know I could have puttied the existing ones and drilled new but honestly, I just didn't want to deal with it (gasp!). So after some procrastination, I finally ordered some purty pulls exactly 4.25 (hole to hole) and they were only a little over $2 a piece. I ordered 4 and my total came in around $16 with shipping. Not too bad. I also purchased two new locks to replace the current ones in the top drawers. This way I have keys! And since they were gold, I also painted them Swiss Coffee to blend with the piece.

And they all fit PERFECTLY!

Introducing Miss Credenze!

Yes, I am purposely not showing you the space above the credenza. That's for another post :)

Here's a few pics of some of my crafting goodies organized in Miss Credenze. I finally have a place to put this stuff! I put fabric and larger items inside the center space behind the sliding doors. No pic of it though.

Wowee that was a long one. I am thrilled the way this piece came together. It was a lengthy process but well worth the effort. More on what's going on above the credenza soon!

Partying Here!

Sitting on a Sunny Spot

I am FINALLY bringing back some DIY to the blog and what better way to lift the clouds of our stormy aftermath here in Alabama than to bring in a little sunshine.

This little phone bench belonged to my grandparents (my mom's parents) and has been sitting in their living room as long as I can remember. I mentioned to my mother a while back that I was hunting something similar for my new office. She was over at my grandparents house a few days later and noticed the bench was gone. My grandmother said it was moved to the basement to make more room. Mom mentioned my liking it and she said I could have it. Yes!

Having a piece that belonged to them means so much to me, especially now that my Granddaddy is gone. There is something extra special about a piece of furniture that has been in your family. Just glancing at it brings back a multitude of memories spent at my grandparents house.

Alright, I'll be nice and go ahead and give you before and after shots.

BEFORE

AFTER

Since my office accent colors are pink and yellow, I went with a light yellow for the bench. I couldn't be happier with the color. It was the exact shade I envisioned. 

I'll go ahead and mention the picture frame as well as the random piece of fabric hanging out in the corner. I wanted to pay tribute to my grandparents with a photo of them so that anyone who may see the bench will know it was theirs. I chose a picture from their honeymoon in 1942. They are on a dock at the beach in Panama City, Florida. I just love it! I bought this frame for it because it reminded of the dock. I placed a little starfish by it to echo their seaside romance. They were married 65 years when my Granddaddy passed away. Their love story is truly remarkable. What an inspiring pair! 

Here's an up close shot of the frame and photograph. Such a handsome couple!

The scrap of fabric I have there will eventually be a pillow. I just haven't gotten around to making it yet. But this gives you an idea :) It's the leftover material that I used to cover my thrift store office chair.

But let's rewind a bit. 

Starting off, I sanded this sweet little bench A LOT and got rid of the shiny top coat, getting down to a nice and smooth paintable surface. Sorry no picture.

After cleaning up the sanding mess that covered the bench, I primed the piece with my Kilz primer. 

Cell Phone Picture Alert!

After priming, I lightly sanded again and then added about 4 coats of paint over the next couple of days. Nope, not kidding. I should have listened to the Lowe's guy and bought a tinted primer. But alas, I convinced myself that my white primer would be fine. Oh well, live and learn. The paint I used was Valspar's lemon curd in semi-gloss. As I said earlier, I L.O.V.E this color.

I placed the bench on a short wall in my office that is the perfect location for it. I hung my window with my yellow wreath above it to complete the look. 

Yes, that's a red ball in the doorway. Wonder who left that there... 

Honestly, it's like he hears the camera and comes running...

I love having this in my office. I think it looks adorable! Lots more to come on the office soon. It's almost done! 

Partying Here this Week!

 

Heavy Hearts in Alabama

Our beautiful state was devastated last Wednesday by the violent tornados that ripped through our cities. The severity of damage is utterly heart breaking. The loss of life even more so. The death toll is over 250 statewide...with 300 more still missing. My heart aches and my emotions spill over into tears for those who have suffered such devastating loss. Their loved ones, gone. Their homes and all they hold dear, gone. Why did my family make it out without a scratch? Why do we still have our homes standing? Why did this deadly tornado lift into the clouds as it passed over our small town? Here is a map of the tornado's path that came through Tuscaloosa and worked its way up to Birmingham. Do you see where the pink line cuts off and the red line appears? The little space in between is where we live.

My husband, little guy and myself (along with the dog & cat) took shelter at my parents house, about 15 minutes away from our home and also contained in the little space on the map. My brother's family were also there since neither of us have a basement or storm shelter. They had no power so we no choice but to huddle in the dark basement...although we did have lots of flashlights and candles. We had a weather radio and family calling/texting us the current situation, informing us it was heading straight for us. Now let me be totally honest. I respect storms and the threat of tornados so I take a lot of precaution. I had huge pillows and blankets down there for us and we prepared a corner of the basement that was the deepest underground. But with that said, it still didn't hit me at how bad this could actually turn out. My brother had brought us some Arby's sandwiches and here I am slapping some Arby's sauce on my sandwich when the loudest clap of thunder I have EVER heard sounded and shook the house. I literally leaped onto my sister-in-law who was the closest person to me and screamed. My child who was eating french fries didn't even flinch. I was completely sick to my stomach from fear afterwards and needless to say, did not eat my sandwich. As it turns out that thunder/lightening was the tornado we had been dreading but was up in the clouds as it passed over us. My Dad was watching and saw the rain enveloped storm change directions once the lightening struck. It then came back down not a few miles away and continued its destructive path. When we knew the danger had passed, we roamed around the backyard and my brother found a receipt from Tuscaloosa (about 60 miles away) along with more bits of debris.

We knew the storm had passed by our home but at the time did not know if the tornado had actually been on the ground. My husband just knew our house was gone.  Thankfully, he was wrong. We had no damage.  Just a few more bits of debris. I found this in our yard, looks like some kind of building material.

Here is a video of the tornado in Tuscaloosa.

It was astonishing to hear the horrible news of how much destruction was left behind in this deadly storm's path. It made me realize at that point how close we came to being part of it.

So, why weren't we? Some friends and I were discussing this very question last night. We don't know the answer to such a question but we do know there was a purpose. Jesus wants something from us and I intend to find out. My prayer is that Jesus can use those left untouched and unharmed in whatever way he intended. May we open our eyes to see and ears to hear Him. I also pray that those who have suffered loss and devastation would look to Him for comfort, strength and courage to trudge ahead.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1


Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

To anyone who may read this blog (I know some are not local), I ask for your prayers for our state, for those who are feeling discouraged and bereft. There is a long road to recovery up ahead and those involved need your encouragement. If you are able to do more, there are many ways to send support and donations for those in need.

Please visit ServeAlabama.gov for more information.

What humbles me is the fact that disaster can happen anywhere, to any of us. I was foolish to think something of this magnitude would never happen in Alabama. Our world is continually being struck, whether it is a natural disaster...earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, or the threat of terrorist attacks. I urge you to ask yourself...am I ready? Would I be ready to leave this place and meet Jesus?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.   John 3:16


For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.   Luke 19:10

I truly believe God shakes us to humble us. He is sovereign and in control and sometimes we lose sight of it, getting caught up in ourselves and thinking we are exempt from destruction. Praise Jesus for his continuous grace and love for us. We don't deserve it but I am so thankful he gives it.

We will praise Him in this storm.