diy

spring makes me super excited for the wonderfulness that is summer break. though i know i'll stay busy working, nannying my little cousin, and traveling, summer still allows SO much more time for fun things like crafting and DIY projects.  mostly, it's an opportunity for me to revamp my apartment.  i've already mentioned redoing a chair for my bedroom, but i have a few more things in my queue:

Like a variation of this yarn wreath from here

and a repurposed scarf like the one here

and a diy headboard for my bed

there are a couple other projects i need to dig out of the depths, but maybe they'll become something different altogether! 

p.s. on a similar note, i have a new obsession with pinterest, which is basically an online swatchbook of ideas, images, books, anything. if you're not on it yet, get on it! it's still in beta, but i have a couple of invites to share. as a lover of all things pretty, it helps feed my obsession with living in a beautifully lit, pretty thing-filled fantasy world. 

classes and chairs

classes start tomorrow, and yet i'm dreaming about pretty things....surprise, surprise.

next on the docket of pretty things is this soon-to-be pretty thing. i found an empty corner in my bedroom when i finally unpacked/redistributed some of my boxes (yeah...better late than never...). then i found this beauty for $10 on craigslist. i'm pretty sure one can never go wrong with a reading nook. all i'll need is a lamp and to re-do the chair, and i'll be in reading nook-heaven!

maybe someday my apartment will be complete (and clean) and you'll actually be graced with a proper tour!

the coffee table

i'm loving that my blog updates have been in high demand lately...unfortunately, though, my projects have been taking a little longer than i'd anticipated. storm clouds tend to roll in around 3pm every day, so that interferes with projects that have to be done outside. nonetheless, the coffee table, turned out GREAT.

do you remember this table? this week i sanded and primed it...and then it rained and got messed up...so i had to re-sand and re-prime a bit. then i got to paint. i pulled the light aqua/cotton candy blue from the fabric on the kitchen chairs, and i LOVE the color. After several coats of "lake shore blue," i distressed some of the edges and polyurethaned the top. now all that's left is a bit of drying time!

i think it looks pretty good, if i may say so myself. especially since it initially cost $5 at an estate sale. the pictures are kind of sneak peeks because my walls are semi-empty and the room is a little messy in its incompletion; however, i promise that more better pictures will be on the way soon!

the next projects to tackle are things for a gigantically empty living room wall and the chair & desk. oh and school starts two weeks from tomorrow!

chairs!

the last 7 days have been absolutely nuts! my parents and i moved all my things into the apartment, assembled a few pieces of furniture, made lots of walmart/target/Ace shopping trips, and then hit the projects. the week has been a huge learning experience for me as i helped (and mostly watched) my dad drill hooks galore into my outdoor storage closet, bathroom, and other various places. my mom and i are good at disassembling, putting things away, and my mom rocks the shelf liner. he, on the other hand, anchored my bookshelf and (still empty) wine bottle rack into the walls, and was much appreciated for every job he managed this week.

most notably, he and i reupholstered the chairs i brought from home. these chairs are part of a dinette set that was in my great-grandma's house in western new york. my parents have had these pieces in their home since they were married, and although i don't exactly remember when, i began eyeing them and was promised the set for my first place. as you may expect, the table and chairs were a little grungy. the chairs, in particular, were covered with a blue vinyl that had begun tearing and fading. it only made sense to re-cover them.

i'll spare you all the diy details, but in a nutshell, we removed the seats and backs, cleaned the chrome, added two extra layers of batting to the cushions, and covered them. the most interesting part of this project was an internal battle between my dad and me as to whose project these chairs were. i like to think that i was in charge of the artistic end of things (and the staple gun), but my dad certainly handled the majority of the labor and assembly. i'm pretty sure my mom got a big kick watching her two favorite type-A perfectionists perform this task, but our personality types kicked butt in the end, if i may say so myself.

 

what do you think?

next up: repainting the coffee table.