Dining Room in a Rental

What? It's been almost three weeks since my last post? Really?? My, where have I been and what have I been doing? Well, just two things. Work and travel. Oh, yeah, and a little project, too. It's been kind of a whirlwind between working ( too much) and I've been to Tampa, Denver, Seattle and back to Chicago.

I realized this week that we moved into this townhouse rental one year ago. It's been a bit of struggle for me settling into and decorating this place and I'm just now feeling like I'm at home here. I've had to decorate on a very tight budget and use my hodge podge leftover furniture that we didn't move down to our Florida home. For months I've felt like we were living in an apartment much like the one we put together as newlyweds- sort of a mix of mismatched hand me downs.

Over the past year I've unified most of my furniture with a coat of white paint. This past week I painted the dining room table. The table was purchased for this very small room and it's the perfect size. It's from the Better Homes and Gardens collection that Walmart sells.

I lightly sanded the top and primed it with a tinted Behr primer/paint in Promenade 400f-5. I painted a second color called Irving Heights 10573 by Walmart paints.

Then I used a creamy white I've used on the other pieces I painted throughout the house.

(Whoa, what the...? I don't know what happened here. I've painted hundreds (lots) of pieces over the years and I've never seen anything like this before.)

...nothing, though, that a little sanding and another coat paint couldn't fix. Then, a schmear of dark walnut stain and lots more sanding and distressing topped off with a coat or two of satin polyacrylic.

I didn't have any dining chairs so I bought a couple of slipcovered chairs from Ikea. They were only $79 each. I love them! These will easily be incorporated into our Florida home once we move there. I'm using a garden bench in the dining room too. I don't have any outdoor space for it, so I'm using it inside. The bench color was the inspiration for the under colors on the table. I wanted the table to look old and worn with a history of different colors peeking through.

So, although we're in a rental this place is feeling more cozy and homey. There are still some changes I'd like to make if our landlord allows.

What about you? Any of you renting and having a tough time making the space feel like you and your haven? I'd love to hear what you've done to make the place "yours".

Tomorrow is the official start of summer! Any plans? I know blogland has a tons of parties planned and I'll be visiting a bunch. Hope to see you around!

Linking to the parties:

This, That, and the Master Bedroom

Hey everyone!

How's your week going so far and did you enjoy Memorial Day weekend? We had a fantastic weekend. Our nephew was married on Saturday in Central Illinois. It was a beautiful wedding and essentially a family reunion. My husband is the only one in his family to move away from their small town, so coming home for the wedding enabled him to reconnect with many friends and family members he hasn't seen in years. It was an emotionally exhausting albeit super fun weekend.

The lilac bushes finally bloomed while we gone so this morning I cut a big bunch. The fragrance is intoxicating! I'm sure if you inhale deep enough you'll smell them too!

Ok, here's a question. Would your mate notice this change in your dresser?

Dresser Before

Dresser After

Mine did not. Hmmm... Isn't it obvious??

Anyway, I painted our master bedroom furniture and I love the way it turned out.

Once he finally noticed the change in the pieces, my husband loved it too! Now that the furniture is painted, I consider our bedroom "done". I still want to hang something over our bed, and maybe put a bench of some sort or a trunk at the foot of the bed, and the red painted bench could use some pillows, but for now I'm happy with it. And, you know I will be forever tweaking and fluffing. So, for today anyway, this is the master bedroom.

The color on the walls is Sherwin-Williams rain washed. I had the color copied and mixed at Walmart. I used left over paint on the night stand drawers then used creamy white on the rest of the pieces along with the usual walnut stain and distressing.

The duvet cover and shams are from Pottery Barn, the framed butterfly prints are antique book pages and the art over the bench is fait par moi...in case you are wondering ;-). Oh, and the upholstered bed is from JCPenny. The bench, the baskets, the shelf etc., etc. is all stuff I've accumulated over the years.

So. That's it. I'll be seeing you at these parties throughout the week.

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Tuesday Treasures @ Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
All Things Inspired @ All Things Heart and Home
Power of Paint @ Domestically Speaking
WowUsWednesday @ Savvy Southern Style 
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed

Broyhill Fontana Redux

Well, I don't think we want to bring the Fontana series back,exactly. There's a lot of it still out there and it's great but it just needs to be freshened up and brought up to date with new paint. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just take a look.

 

Recognize it now? This was the look of the '90's. The pieces are all classic and well made but the finish on the pieces really date them. The honey pine color and the thick laminate coated top have got to be updated. A farmhouse table will forever be classic. And so will ladderback chairs. And the chests are a welcome fit in any room.

I loved this set when I got it in 1993. It was the first "real" furniture we owned. We bought the farmhouse extension table, six chairs, 2 chests, the buffet with hutch, a bookcase and 2 night stands. I guess we didn't know it was ok to "mix things up". I'm pretty sure we walked into the showroom and said, "We'll take this entire room. As it is. All of it".

Last summer I finally had the time to paint the table, chairs and chests. The other pieces still need to be rejuvenated. The table top needed heavy sanding to get rid of the laminate and waxy buildup. The chests had water damage on them from my boys. They had used them as night stands and never used coasters for their water glasses. I sanded them really well, too. After the sanding everything was primed and then painted everything off white. All the pieces were lightly distressed before I added a coat of satin polyurethane.

Oh, and I removed the decorative scroll from the chairs and sanded that really well, too. The chair seats were easily recovered with remnant fabric.

I'm pretty pleased with the results. I think the table looks as good as the Norfork table from Pottery Barn.

Maybe someday I'll be able to replace the chairs with the upholstered ones I'm dreaming of, but for now, I'm satisfied with this redo. I think we'll be able to love this table for another 20 years.

I know you've seen umpteen white painted table posts, but I hope this will push you into believing that you, too, can do the same thing for your own home.

Hoping to inspire and I hope to see you at this weeks parties!

Barb