I need a secretary...

Here's a quick example of what blogs have done to me.

I follow a blog called Nest Egg by Rachel. She's the one with the super cute swing that I also fell for...she's an interior designer in Nashville and gets paid to do that stuff. Lucky her.

She did a post last week about a project she saw on Eddie Ross. He used to do things like work for Martha (Senior Style Editor) and House Beautiful (Decorating Editor)... you know, similar jobs to what me and all of my friends do. ha.

Anyway, she showed off this picture.

Just a little something Eddie picked up on one of his trips to a consignment shop. It's Chippendale style. You already know how I feel about this stuff.

It doesn't really jump out at you at first. Kind of looks like something your grandma might have in her formal living room.

But then... look at what he did...

Oh dear Lord above. I'm in love and I want it. I don't necessarily have a need or the room for it, but that doesn't matter.

Ahh, the power of paint... and mirrors. Wow. I'm officially jealous. And on the hunt for something I can make look just like that.

One last chance

Other than the set of wine glasses my mother bought me and the random salt and pepper shaker my dad insisted I needed in my first "big girl" apartment, this entertainment center has lived with me longer than anything else in my home. I may still have a picture frame or two from college but as far as big things go, this is the oldest. Here's the back story...

I moved to Raleigh from Wilmington after college and moved in with my two best friends in the world. There's a lot I could say about our times living together, but I'll keep this post to the furniture. Stories about the 3 of us could fill up the entire world wide web. 

We each had our own responsibilities in our new apartment. Holly bought this entertainment center from Target. It matched, it held our tv and it was in our budget - cheap. I love Target as much as the next person and will be the first to admit when I'm wearing their clothes or have their furniture. But, lets be real... Target furniture isn't what your grandma gave you. And the fact that it's now made it through 4 moves is a testament to my frugal-ness and the power of wood glue. 

I really need something different, but I'm not happy with the TV I have at the moment and so I'm not about to go out and buy a new entertainment center until I have a new TV. And, unless you've been under a rock you understand that TV today aren't cheap either. Plus, I'd rather have the new camera than a TV for $1k plus. And so, I decided that my Target entertainment center that I inherited when Holly found the man of her dreams and left me, might be good for one last move and one last spin at my new place... at least for a little while. (I promise, when I leave here it will not be loaded on the moving truck, but rather lovingly placed inside the community dumpster). 

So, I got to thinking that maybe instead of living with it as is I would give it a face lift and try painting it. I wasn't sure how it was going to look or what color I'd go with so I played around with a very sophisticated software program called - Microsoft Paint. 

Here was my pre-paint mock up. 

Hahaha... It makes me laugh to even look at the picture. But, what it did do was confirm for me that I wasn't too off base thinking the grey might work. And so I got to work. 

I lugged the piece outside and took off the door knobs. I started with a grey primer that I found at the Seaboard Ace Hardware near my office. That store is so cute, if you think hardware stores are cute. Not to mention there was an extremely helpful man at the paint counter who answered all of my weird questions about primers, sanding paper and steel wool. I was in the middle of about 10 different projects that week and I was feeling like the amateur I am. I'm not an official spokesperson or getting paid by them, but I think they're awesome. 

Back to the grey primer...

And back to why I need to be a better blogger. I can't remember the type of primer I used or how much it was. All I know was that it was grey and it covered that brown wood "stuff" remarkably. 

After the primer I went after it with some Krylon light grey glossy paint. The picture below looks blue but I promise old faithful is a beautiful grey color. (Which doesn't clash with that green lamp like that blue does) I love the new look and the fact that I spent a whopping $10 on changing the look. I'm still on the lookout for some new door knobs but other than that I'm all set. It's made a huge different in the look of the furniture in my living room.  

A Little Table Dance...

I've been on a mission to get this new condo looking a little more like me. Not to mention, I'm making good use of my new found knowledge from all of the other blogs out there. This whole "re purposing"  craze has become my way I can contribute to the green movement. I'm not so good at recycling aluminum cans all the time, but I can find something old on Craigslist and attempt to make it "new" again. 

Exhibit A:

I found this table on Craigslist for $30. A very nice lady in Apex was selling it. In between the first email and the date I actually picked it up I think about a month passed. We couldn't get our schedules to coordinate and she was nice enough to hold on to it until I could get by there. Thankfully, I still wanted it when I showed up. 

I brought it home and got to work. I also had to buy my very first power tool for this one - a hand sander. Watch out now... 

Sanding and more sanding... I don't have a play by play or a how-to. Basically I just sanded it all down, painted the legs white and did my very first stain job. I didn't like coats 1, 2, or 3 but after about 6 coats of stain I started to like what I was seeing. 

And, voila... This is the best picture I could take that showed off the table and the legs. Unfortunately, I may own the most primitive point-and-shoot camera in America and so for every one good picture I take, I have 10-15 not so good pictures. (not to fear, I'm going to have a DSLR camera very soon - it's on the list)

This picture is one of those that isn't nearly as warm but at least it shows off the stain on top. Again... just imagine a really great, crisp picture that only a Canon Rebel XS can provide. It's coming... promise!

Side notes: 

You can tell from the pictures I've finally hung drapes and painted the walls. The drapes are silk panels that I already had. I think they came from a sale rack at JCPenney. 

And, after ALOT of contemplation and consultation with my go to designer (thanks, Bekah) it was decided to go with Sherwin Williams Sand Dune 6086. Of course, paint colors are always better in person than online, but you get the idea. 

Sherwin Williams Sand Dune 6086