Coffee Bar Beginnings

Well, it's far from complete, but I am deeming it "good enough" to show you what it looks like so far.  Sorry in advance for the lighting of all the pictures....here's a picture of my kitchen lights so you can see what I'm working with....

....and I know, I should edit them to make them look better, but you already know the state of my computer.....let's just say I'm not sure it would last through an editing session!

Anyway, back to the coffee bar.  We went to IKEA a few weeks ago, and I passed on a few buffets I liked to save some money and found a table instead.  It works out perfectly!  Here's what it's currently looking like in it's not-yet-finished state.

I love storing things in clear jars.....keeps it fresh and I love the look of it.  On the bottom shelf in the penny-candy jar, I have teabags....

On the top, the jars are filled with coffee (for when I can't find the good deals on K-cups, and so we can keep on buying Just Love Coffee!), mini marshmallows (for the kids' hot chocolate), and sugar cubes (because they are cuter than regular sugar!)...

Still on the to-do list:  a shelf above the table to hold some mugs and maybe a few more jars!  (I would love to have a jar for hot chocolate mix too, but I'm already running out of room!)  And how cute would a little honey pot like this one be?!  And how about a mini-fridge for my creamers??  I kid, I kid!

I'm also needing a Hobby Lobby run for a little project I'm planning.....hint:  Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee :)

I'm really loving this little coffee station so far.  It's given me so much more room on my kitchen counters, and the shelf below gives some storage for some items I don't have room for in my cabinets!

How do you take your coffee?

Linking to:  Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts

Shoe Organization

We have a great little spot off the side of our laundry room where the kids sit and put on their shoes and grab their coats before they head out to the garage to get in the car.  (You can check out the post about the coat rack we made here).  The problem can been seen in this before picture:

And my son is currently at school, so imagine another pair of shoes, a winter coat, and a backpack added to this mess.  Real nice, huh?

After some cleaning, purging, and putting away, here's the AFTER:

Yay!  Much better!  Most of this is thanks to our IKEA trip last weekend.  I had a certain amount of Christmas money to spend, and instead of blowing it all on the sideboard I liked for my coffee bar, I found a side table instead.  I then had enough money leftover to get this great shoe cabinet....

 

and I'm loving it!  It's super thin and doesn't take up much room at all, keeps the shoes up off the floor, and looks pretty cute while doing it!

PS:  Did you see yesterday's post about our latest adoption fundraiser?  I'm hoping a few of you will donate items from your etsy shop or similar store to help bring our son(s) home from Ethiopia!  Please contact me for more details!

Home Coffee Bar

So yesterday I mentioned that we are now the proud owners of a Keurig!  One drawback is that to have the Keurig and the K-cup carousel sitting out.....it takes up a lot of room on my already-too-small counters.  So I've been toying with the idea of adding a coffee bar in our kitchen.  Of course I headed to Pinterest for inspiration, and when I typed in "home coffee bar," this delightful picture kept coming up, from {the vintage wren}.

Adorable!  We have an entire wall that is empty, so the spot is taken care of, but I need to find the cute buffet/sideboard/whatever you want to call it.  I have checked several places already, but I'm still searching.  It needs to be counter-height, so my toddler doesn't decide to make herself a cup of coffee, and not too deep (16-18 inches would be about perfect, max of about 20").  I contemplated a simple table, but I really would rather have something with more storage, since I'm incredibly lacking in that department!  Oh yeah, I don't want to spend an arm and a leg, since somewhere down the line our kitchen is getting remodeled.  (Somewhere waaaayyyy down the line, that is).

Here's a few pics I've seen online that I'm currently enjoying....

Sorry for the blurriness, but it's cute, right?  Price isn't too bad at $149.99 from JC Penneys.  I like the red, but have you seen my kitchen?  Mostly blue (ick) cabinets, a few cabinets that the paint has been removed, a white island.....I'm not sure that adding one more color is the best option!

I really like this one from Ikea, but at $350, it's more than I really wanted to spend.  On the plus side, it's white and very neutral looking....I'm thinking that once we no longer need it in the kitchen, we can use it somewhere else.

Of course, Pottery Barn has a multitude of drool-worthy buffets, but unless the sideboard-fairy drops one off on my front porch, I won't be getting one of those anytime soon!  Here's a few that I am particularly fond of....

I'm excited to find something I love.....I will probably be off to a few thrift stores this week, but I am hoping to find something SOON so I can reclaim my kitchen counters!  Thankful that I have some Christmas money to play with!  Any ideas?

Old Crate + Old Casters = New Table

Yippee for another great yard sale find...this delightful old crate...

Rope handles...

Worn letters on the front.... (5 B J 5 ......any ideas?)

The best part?  Only $6!

My hubby added some casters he had found, and turned the crate into a cute little table on wheels!

So, this space that needed a table earlier this summer....

now has one!  (And I'm loving that it can be moved super easily for when I get the urge to rearrange!)

Gotta love old stuff that can be turned into something new!

Linking to a few of my favorites ~ check them out!

It is always an honor to be featured ~ THANKS so much!

Table Advice Needed

I really like my living room.  It's cozy.  I like cozy. You can see the tour here.  But lately I've been thinking it really needs some more color, since everything just seems to mesh together.

I'm thinking about the painting the table.  I love it, but I think it might be one of the easiest (and least expensive) ways to add some color.

What do you think?  I thought about just bringing it down a few shades to a lighter off-white.  Then I was thinking about yellow.  I've had this picture from Liz Marie pinned for awhile....

I also thought about the Colonial Red color that I used on this chair a little while ago....

So, fellow DIYers, what is your advice?  I'd love to hear if you would paint the table, and if so....what color?  I'd also love to hear some of your other ideas for livening up the space (I am planning on putting some kind of plant in that 7up crate, and I will probably make some new pillows or a blanket for the couch).  Let me know what you think!!

The Red Chair

A few weeks ago, I had the urge to paint something red.

Does that ever happen to anyone else?  The color comes before the project?  A little weird, but I went with it.

In my search around the house, I came across this old chair.  I'm not exactly sure where it came from, but we've been using it as a replacement chair at our dining room table since one of our other chairs kept breaking.  (High quality stuff we've got!).  The only problem with it was the little crack (middle rung on the backrest), but oh well.....free and on hand....what could be better?

I found a great shade of red ~ Rustoleum Colonial Red in Satin ~ and went to work.  Cleaned it and sanded it.  The chair, as you can see, has one of the woven seats.  Since I really didn't want to get paint on it I fixed it up with a little painter's tape and some Glad Press N Seal ~ which actually worked really well!  I might have to start using it for my projects more often!!

The spray paint I used was Rustoleum's Ultra Cover (2x the coverage) and I was pleased at how well it went on.  After it dried, I decided to distress it with some sandpaper....but then I didn't like how it looked.  So I painted over the part I distressed, and for this chair, I was much happier with a non-distressed look.  Here's the finished piece...

I love the fun pop of color it adds!

What is your favorite brand/shade of spraypaint?  I'm always looking for great colors!

Linking to a few of my favorites ~ check them out!

Rocking Chair Redo

Back here I showed you this kid's rocking chair that I bought at a yard sale...

Our Carly has this weird fascination with anything she can sit in or on.  She will find the strangest things to use as a seat....for example, back around Easter....

Yep, that would be her brother's Easter bucket.  Anyway, when I saw the rocker pictured above at a yard sale, I knew she would love it.  It was priced at $5 but I offered the $3 I had in my pocket and they accepted ~ good deal!

A few coats (ok, a lot of coats) of Rustoleum's "Sweet Pea" and here's what it looks like now...

The stuffed monkey is in place of my little monkey who wouldn't sit still long enough to have her picture taken!  She really does love her new and improved chair though.  And I should clarify...it wasn't Rustoleum's fault that it took so many coats of paint.  My primer spraypaint was clogged and I couldn't get it to work, but I really wanted to do the project right then and there (ever happen to you?!), so I didn't use a primer....which won't be happening again.  (Note to self:  buy more primer, or else this will happen again!)

Linking to a few of my favorites ~ check them out!

Always such an honor to be featured ~ THANK YOU!

First Aqua Experience

Remember back here when I showed you this cute little table I found at my fave thrift?

If you don't remember, that's ok.  I know you were probably so stunned and amazed at my favorite find (Steven Q Urkel) that you couldn't concentrate on all my other great stuff!  The table was only $4.50 and since I didn't spend an arm and a leg I decided to experiment with a color I don't normally go for.  I have been seeing so much great turquoise and aqua furniture and thought it would be fun to try.  I bought a can of Rustoleum's "Aqua" and got to work!

Here she is after the paint was all dry (it's clearly a she, didn't you see those legs?!)....

She was looking a little too clean-cut for me, so I sanded some of the edges to let the original black paint show through for a more distressed look.

Sanding was a definite improvement, but I still wanted to tone down the color a little, so I mixed up a little glaze (I just added some water to the black paint we had left over from the shutters and porch swing).  I used a sponge brush and did a small section at a time, painting and then wiping off.  (I really have no idea if this was the correct way to do anything, but it worked for me!)

The finished product was looking a little "beachy" to me ~ perfect for summer.  I threw on some random summery-type things from around the house ~ a bottle, an old picture of Jon & I at the beach, and I took the bird nest out of the cloche and put in some sand dollars and starfish.  Here's the result...

Yep, the baseboard is half painted.  This is in our upstairs hallway, where we ripped up carpet and still haven't gotten around to finishing up the painting.  Just pretend you don't see it.

I do like how the table turned out and I'm glad I took the aqua plunge.  I'm not sure if it's really me, but at $4.50 and a can of spray paint, I won't feel bad if I decide to change it again in a few months!

Linking up to a few of my favorites ~ check them out!