Pottery Barn Knock Off Chairs

When I found this set of chairs at a thrift store for about $5,  I had no idea they were the exact same style as Pottery Barn's beautiful Napoleon Rush Seat Chairs. While browsing through PB's online catalog, I couldn't believe how similar they looked and decided it was time to paint the chairs a much lighter color to create a great knock-off look like the ones I was admiring online. 

Here are Pottery Barn's chairs:

Source: potterybarn.com via Kristina on Pinterest

Why would someone have gotten rid of these? They were sturdy and in great condition. I was happy to be the lucky recipient and couldn't wait to cover them in a creamy shade of paint.

Here are the chairs before: 

And here are the chairs after! 

I revamped these chairs by spray painting the rush seat covers with a few coats of white spray paint, then painted a few coats of latex paint + primer in my off-white shade on the wood. (A cheap way to do small painting projects like this is to buy one or two of the $3 paint tester cans tinted in whatever color you like.) I lightly distressed the edges of my chairs with my Dremel to finish.

Here are the chairs in my dining room. So light and airy. By the way, did you know dining room chairs don't have to match? Here I mixed two different styles of chairs all painted a pale color to create a uniform look with eclectic style.

I am so happy with my transformation! It's amazing what a few simple coat of paint can do. (And, I have to laugh when people think I actually shop at Pottery Barn...)

Linking up with these parties.

DIY Interchangeable Framed Chalkboard

So, I have this frame that is a combination of key hooks, mirror and four picture frames on the side. I found it years ago on clearance at TJ Maxx, but it kind of looks like something Pottery Barn would sell.

I have been getting tired of the photos inside the frames and wanting to change up the look of it, so I came up with the idea of making interchangeable chalkboards for it so I could use it as a chalkboard or switch it back to photo frames if I get tired of that look.

(This works for me because you might be able to tell I get tired of looks and like to switch things around regularly!)



This idea would work for any photo frame that has a hard (not cardboard) frame backing.

What my wall frame looked like before as photo frames

Here's how I did it: 


First, I pulled out the hard backing and glass out of each frame. 


I set the glass aside and then, I painted each backing with chalkboard paint. 

I painted two coats of paint, one horizontal and one vertical, allowing to dry an hour between coats. 


After the paint was dry, I put the backers in first, storing the glass plates carefully behind them so I could use them as a frame later on. 

Here's what my new framed chalkboard looked like when it was done:

I decided to take my chalkboard markers and write the words "HOME" in the four framed spaces with a cross stitch pattern.

I filled in the metal key labels with pages from a vintage Shakespeare's Sonnets book I have. 

And here is my finished wall frame! (I guess I already wanted to switch out the lettering on the frame...I told you I get tired of how things look.)

I love the new look of my frame-even more like Pottery Barn style than before, I think. (I'm not sure I'm going to ever want to switch it back to regular photo frames again.) Now all I need is to find something to hang from the hooks. I'll be on the lookout for a garage sale box of skeleton keys...

Thanks for visiting ReMadeSimple! I hope you enjoyed your time here. I'm looking forward to sharing more revamps and a special Mother's Day Campaign post later this week. Hope you'll come back again soon!

Linking up with these parties.

How I Repurposed a Set of Vintage Enamel Pans

                                   

So, I found this cool set of enamel pans at a thrift store for only $1each

 and thought they looked so Pottery Barn-ish. 

I had seen similar ones on Ebay for $25 a set!

What could I do with them?

                        

 I loved that there were three of them...1...2...3...so I numbered them!

with foam stamps and midnight blue acrylic craft paint...

and repurposed them into planters! 

A nice new look for the New Year, and there's more to come--
if you've been following along, you know I've been in the mood to paint furniture.
And, as promised, my next post will be the big reveal of my pie safe revamp!

Stay tuned and thanks for reading!
(P.S. Don't forget to enter my $50 stencil giveaway in yesterday's post (winner announced Jan.11th!)

Linking up with these parties and this party.

Merry Christmas 2011!

our first real tree

my skinny tree with all of my handmade ornaments and garland

Patchwork Distressed Side Table Revamp

I was thrilled when Cassidy of Remodelaholic, contacted me and asked for this project to be featured on her blog, a very cool site run by a husband and wife team who have remodeled 3 houses on a very tight budget-like $5,000 cheap! I don't know how they do it but they are a very talented team. Thanks to those of you coming over from their blog today-
I hope you take a look around and like what you see here and stay awhile!

So, about this fun experiment I got to try-my first time doing a patchwork technique:

This side table was sitting in a dark corner of my aunt and uncle's basement.
My cousin, who is moving into a downtown loft apartment has been looking for tables to
furnish his new place and he saw the potential for this piece. 

I was happy to take on the challenge of revamping it for him and his girlfriend. 

I have been fascinated by patchwork salvage furniture I've seen,  but not so hot about the prices (hundreds and hundreds of dollars when I can recreate the look myself??) I got to experiment first with this project and am really happy with the results. Curious? Read on to see what I did:

I used these materials by DecoArt as my accent colors and brushes for the project.
After priming the table, I brushed these acrylic colors in strips on all of the areas of the table
that had separate sections of wood, along with a muted yellow latex paint sampler ( believe it was Glidden eggshell paint in "Crisp Ginger Ale".

 I allowed to dry before I coated the table completely with a light latex gray eggshell. 


 I then allowed the top coat to dry for a full day before my final sanding, 
which I did using 100 grit sandpaper with an electric sander. 

Hideous looking at this point--but look below 
to see what sanding the final top layer revealed! 

The table now has a similar effect of those expensive salvage wood pieced together tables and chests. I love how all the colors subtly show through underneath. I finished the project with a protective coating of Deco Art Acrylic Sealer. It left the table feeling as smooth as satin.

 I hope Kevan and Anna like the end result as much as I do! 

I can't wait to try this technique on some pieces of my own furniture next. Stay tuned as I reveal more revamps...Thanks for reading! 

--Kristina

Linking up with these parties and this party.

Sparkly Holly Leaves

So, we moved into our new home last January and I noticed a holly bush growing in our side yard. I thought about how convenient it would be to clip the pretty leaves and decorate with them for Christmas. Well, Christmas time came this year and I thought about how I could  preserve the leaves so they lasted through the winter.

 I had just won some sparkle Mod Podge from Mod Podge Rocks and wanted to experiment with it. So, I painted my holly leaves, poking myself occasionally-ouch! The leaves are sharp! 

I allowed them to dry and placed them in a blue vintage Ball jar I got at a garage sale. I really like the result! I plan on keeping them up through the winter.

Later, I was browsing through the Pottery Barn online catalog and noticed that this idea flowed along with their theme of putting sparkly natural objects in jars-so I think my idea was Pottery Barn style without realizing it. How cool am I? ha ha...

Hope you enjoyed!
Linking up with these parties.

Simple Thanksgiving Felt Garland

I love Thanksgiving--it is such a simple season of gratitude--and life may be hard at times for many of us, but I think it's important to remember the ways we are blessed. I always think it's a shame that this holiday often gets overlooked by the rushed Christmas season ahead.

This year, I decided to celebrate a little early and decorate with a simple reminder to "be thankful". I have been loving all the machine sewn together felt garland I've seen around different blogs and on Pinterest.

Since I don't have a sewing machine yet,  I decided to put an old-fashioned spin on designing my own by hand stitching the garland.  I was excited to find some recycled felt made from Eco-Fi-made from 100% post-consumer plastic bottles by the brand Creatology. Plastic bottles never felt so soft!

Follow along with my tutorial if you'd like to make this project! This is so simple I would consider it a kid-friendly craft. Here's what you'll need:

1. Yarn needle
2. Felt in various colors
3. Fabric scissors
4. Yarn-I used two types of textures, but used the smooth kind for the lettering
5. Glue gun or tacky glue
6. Small circular containers in different sizes to trace-try a spice jar or medicine cup.
7. Pen or pencil 

First, I traced my circles around the containers-I alternated between two different sizes.

Then, I cut out each circle until I had enough to spell out my words. I used 11 circles.

Next, I threaded my yarn needle with the wavy yarn and stitched loosely through the center of the first circle.

I repeated the process, leaving about an inch between circles, until I ended up with a long chain of circles, like this:

To make the words, "be thankful" I cut small pieces of straight orange yarn and just looped and connected the pieces to form each letter. I then glued each letter to the center of the circle.

keep in mind that I formed the letters first before trying to glue them!

forming the letters while one of my sons curiously watches

Are you ready to see the finished product? Here it is!

a shot from below, the garland is held in place by the gourds.

a side shot

I love how this garland adds playful charm and an old-fashioned homemade feel to my mantle! And, of course that it reminds me to "be thankful".

Linking up with these parties: The Girl Creative, Life Made Lovely, C.R.A.F.T, and I Heart Nap Time), Skip To My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, http://funkypolkadotgiraffe.blogspot.com// House of Hepworth's, and these.