Around the house

We've been busy lately with lots of fun projects around the house.  This summer we discovered our love for DIY projects and refinishing furniture.  There is a local thrift store here in town that is basically like a D.I. store and all the profits go to a local shelter.  We have found several treasures there that we have refinished and are using around the house.  Here is our first and favorite project, the dresser turned TV stand.

Before:

 After:

The drawer liner is a salmon color wrapping paper from Target that I cut to fit the drawer and then mod-podged in place.  The drawers are perfect storage for all of our DVD's and such. The paint color is a deep blue/turquoise and then we changed out the hardware.  My favorite feature is what's behind the cabinet doors.  There were originally 3 drawers behind the doors but Tim took the tracks out, cut some thin mdf boards that we glued down as shelves, and now we have shelving for our components.  I love that we can hide all those components and flashing lights when we aren't using them!  

We are in love with our new TV stand and joke that we have grown-up furniture now.  I wish I had a photo of what our TV stand was before.  We used an IKEA coffee table that was low to the ground and open so you could see everything; gadgets, wires, all of it.  We are graduating from our IKEA furniture and realize how much we love pieces like this with character that we can customize with new paint, hardware, etc. 

This secretary desk was a maple color with brass hardware (no before photo).  We decided to paint it a light neutral grey.  We decided to put it on the empty wall in the dining area and it is a perfect spot for me to sew at and do projects.

 

This is another favorite of mine.  Tim scored this dresser at the same thrift store, I think it was $30.  After sawing the legs down to make it the perfect height, painting it, changing hardware, and adding the molding strips around the top, Tim turned it into a changing table for baby girl!  I love it!

Tim has become quite the handyman.  Between these furniture projects and all the backyard projects (pics to come of our finished backyard!) he has become quite ambitious and developed a love for power tools!  This next project is one that he planned out, designed, and built for me for my birthday, with the wonderful help of my dad!  It was a total surprise to me and I am absolutely in love . . .

 They built this in just a few hours, amazing!   

Here is the finished, stained headboard!  Quite a step up from my fabric-wrapped-canvas faux headboard :)

Our most recent project was another piece constructed from scratch by my awesome Uncle Mike.  He is super talented and Tim loved being able to learn the process and techniques of building a mantle for our fireplace.

Before:

 After:

 All decked out for fall:

We love it!  Having the mantle makes a huge difference and just finishes off the room so well.  Plus I love having another surface to decorate!  You can bet it will be decked out with garland and stockings at Christmas!  

It's been a busy but fun few months of projects around the house.  We have loved being able to customize and decorate our home!  Besides having all these great finished pieces to enjoy, my favorite part of it all is the time we get to spend working on them together.  We both enjoy doing these projects and I'm grateful we have another hobby to share!