Best of 2014 – Furniture Makeovers, DIYs & Home Improvement Projects

 

My Top 12 Furniture Makeovers, Crafts, Repurposing,  DIY & Home Improvement Projects of 2014. Plus some bonus posts on traveling that I got to do for “work” which really felt a lot more like pleasure. That’s when you know you love your job!

Yes I am incredibly aware that this post is well beyond past due. That was never part of my plan. It was also never part of my plan to have an immovable funk set in but that’s life and sometimes you just have to roll with the punches. So I’ve spent most of January trying to shake it.

Like everyone else this time of year I’m doing soul-searching, goal setting and slightly stressing out a bit about not getting a fresh start on the blank new canvas that is the new year. But more on that in a different post.

Today I’m eye-ball deep in an office/library renovation that I feel like has been at least 7 years in the making. At least it’s been in the making since I tried living with the wall color the way it was when we first moved in because my husband said it was fine, manly even. Truthfully it was the color of a pair of blue jeans. But not in a good denim sort of way. More of an outdated pair of knickerbockers kind of way. But more on that later this week.

1.Chest of Drawers with Basket Drawer2.Two-toned Sideboard with Driftwood stained top

 In case you’re new here, furniture makeovers are kind of my thing. Occasionally I’m painting things for myself but I’m usually painting furniture for clients. It’s my job aside from this blog. My day job, if you will. These two pieces, done for clients, were this year’s most pinned pieces.. They happen to be very similar in color because, hey, it’s a great color! But they both have great stories to go along with them. For instance, one of them was abandoned in an old house. Can you guess which one?

3.DIY Triple Galvanized Gooseneck Light Fixture4.Tile Top Table Gets a Wooden Herringbone Pattern Makeover – right over top of the tile5.Turn An Old Entertainment Center into a Spectacular Play Kitchen6.Floating Shelves for Around $5 each – NO BUILDING REQUIRED7.Faux Driftwood Paint Finish – How to Get that Restoration Hardware Look

I get a lot of questions about how I do things around  here and I really do try and do a better job with tutorials these days. Even though that is definitely not my thing! I don’t know if you guys know this or not but writing a tutorial is hard work. Or maybe I just over think it. But follow one tutorial from the internet and have it turn out horribly, come to the realization that you couldn’t have screwed it up that badly on your own and finally realize some crucial steps were definitely left out and it makes you pretty particular when it comes to writing your own. Know what I mean?

 

8.Our under $500 Master Bedroom Makeover

9.Guest Friendly Nautical Boy’s Bathroom Makeover

And then of course there’s the Revival House. Our foreclosure home purchased almost 8 years ago, completely gutted of everything except the walls and some pretty awful toilets. She’s slowly but surely getting some much needed updates one DIY at a time. We are both self-employed so a budget is a must. Luckily we haven’t encountered anything we felt like we couldn’t tackle. I shutter think what the house might look like if we did. We completed two major room renovations this year. One was our Master Bedroom and the other is our Boys’ Bath which also doubles as our guest bath.

These rooms have been featured on such sites as Elle Decor and House Beautiful which just kind of reinforces my purpose as a blogger and gives me just the push I need to keep on going and keep on sharing what I always hope is great content. Plus, it satisfies that little girl in me who squeals every time she sees her work published somewhere.  And for the Master Bedroom I got to work with eBay – eBay, y’all!! – and I just have to pinch myself every time I think about it.

 

10.School Supplies Cake Teacher Gift

11.Wood Slice Cake Pedestal

12.Wood Slice Votive Holder

Every now and again I get burned out on huge projects and just need something fun and creative with a quick turn around. Otherwise I kind of feel like I’m stuck in an endless loop of long, hard projects and I am more of an instant gratification kind of girl. I can honestly say I have never DIYed for the sake of having a project for this blog. Every project you see me do is something that I’ve done to solve a problem or because I want something that costs too much to buy. And also because I apparently have an addiction for all things wood slice and it’s a quick way to get my fix.

Shameless. Junkie.

13.Southern Revivals Goes to Toronto

14.Southern Revivals Goes to NYC

Something you may not know about me is I am full (to the brim) with Wanderlust. Possibly the most exciting thing to happen to me this year was traveling “for work”. Which I just feel guilty about the reference to work because it totally felt like pleasure the whole time. This year I got my first stamp on my passport (which is both sad and exciting). I got to visit Homestead House – the company that manufactures Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint, got to hang out (Again!) with Marian – a.k.a. Miss Mustard Seed (I adore her) and I finally got to meet the president of Homestead House – Jennylyn who I’m certain would be my BFF if we didn’t live in different countries. Oh! And I got to attend the  Toronto Fall Home Show. All. In. The. Same. Trip. Toronto calls to me in my dreams at night.

And then. And then! I was invited to visit Consumer Reports headquarters in Yonkers, NY. I am now officially the coolest person in my family. My dad and brother have both conceded to this fact. I can’t even believe it. Consumer. Reports. It feels funny just to type it. I’d never been to New Yawk at all before so I also had my first trip to Manhattan.

So while it still seems like 2015 is kind of off to a bumpy start for me I can’t help but feel like, especially after writing this, that 2015 can’t help but be a great year. Here’s to grabbing that proverbial bull by the horns 27 days late!