WILLN (What It Looks Like Now)

There's lots of spots in my house that I wish I could change. I think every person probably feels that way, right? This spot in front of our kitchen and next to the stairs is one of those places. We've had this bookcase here since we moved in, and although it fits the space just fine, I think it's too dark and a little boring. Because it's so dark, its been a little difficult to decorate, and so I feel like it's always in a state of flux. And when the new bookcases in the music room got put in, this little bookcase seemed to collect all the reject accessories. Poor guy. This is how the space looks right now.

It was looking so dreary over there I compensated by adding the bright flower canvas. It's a little much I think. But hey, it's spring!

You may remember it looking like this from a previous post:

Anyway, for a while now I've been searching for a buffet/sideboard/credenza/dresser-type piece to put in its place. I don't have a huge budget though, so the search has been a little frustrating. If I had an unlimited budget however, I would love to have one of these.

Love the thin gold legs on this, don't you??? I don't have a source or a price.

 Oh Dallas, why do you have to care about Mid Century Furniture and overprice everything??? This one is $775.

West Elm $900

 This is for sale in Dallas for a bazillion dollars $725.

I love this vintage credenza in Emily Henderson's house. Staged for Christmas, but you get the idea...

West Elm $700

Do you have a favorite? Obviously all of these are out of price range, so I'll keep looking for that perfect piece at the right price.

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New Addition

I was strolling around Salvation Army as I do every week more often than I'd like to admit,  and almost missed this beauty hiding amongst the big bulky furniture.

I'm not sure if the navy blue wool fabric is original, but it's in perfect condition, a total steal for $50, and goes great in our family room!

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Side Table Makeover

I got this lovely, but confused side table at Salvation Army for $13. The legs are mid century modern, the curved sides of the top have an Asian feel, and the planked wood is a little bit country. I had plans to refinish it, but it sat in our garage taking up walkway space for a few months before I had the gumption to work on it.

I hesitated working on it because of step one: filling in the lines. The planked wood look just didn't fit, so I grabbed some wood filler and started filling the holes in. Pretty sure I put too much on, but I wanted to make sure it got in the grooves and had room to sand down to level.

When I got to sanding it however, it was a beast. I used 60 grit sand paper, which did the job, it just took a really long time. I finished up with a fine grit sand paper to smooth it down.

Instead of my regular method of priming, painting and sealing, I tried something a different and used chalk paint. I got some Chalk Country Paint from a local antique mall and chose Sailor Blue.

And because there are a gazillion examples out there of painting with chalk paint, I'll spare you the details. I must say though that it is a totally different experience painting with chalk paint. The texture of this paint was like thick chocolate pudding, so it's virtually drip-proof, which is super nice. Chalk paint dries fast, so I was able to do three coats of paint in a matter of hours. As thick as this paint is, it doesn't cover well. I didn't want a distressed look on this piece so I was very liberal with the paint. However, with chalk paint you get a very flat finish, and it gets dirty or chalky really quickly. So its important to seal it. 

You can choose to seal with wax or with polycrylic. I chose poly because I don't have to re-seal it like you do with wax. 

But first I taped up the legs and sprayed the bottoms gold to give them a "dipped" look. This might possibly be the worst DIY process picture I've ever taken. You're welcome. 

I let the spray paint dry, did a coat of polycrylic, let it cure, and then brought it in to stage.

I plan on selling this, so the staging is just for fun. Because the side table is such a statement piece, I decided to go with a monochromatic look and bring in other bright blues. It's like Cinderella's dress color and I kind of dig it. The blue pillow is from Ikea, the flowered pillow is new at Target.

And here's a before and after:

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