The Latest: Nov 2013

Plenty of people redo old furniture to give it a second life but most of them don’t transform their former changing tables into super-chic, almost unrecognizable pieces. Claire did. From Claire: This particular DIY dresser makeover project is extra special. It’s a very common pine dresser; you’ve probably seen a million of ‘em. I have too. But this particular dresser was my childhood changing table.

Mary’s brother made this TV stand for his 8th grade shop project in 1983, and her mother’s been using it ever since. Looks like it’s ready for the next 30 years! From Mary: My mom asked me to paint it for her but wasn’t specific on the color, she trusted me to pick it out. Since her favorite color is yellow, I chose this bright and cheery shade. I also bought new hardware with an oil rubbed bronze finish and added a shelf inside to store her books and magazines.

Merrill loves the organic, natural look of tree stumps as end tables, but doesn’t love the price: individual tree stumps can cost hundreds of dollars. Luckily crafty Marril decided she could pull this off on her own. From Merrill: After tracking down some free tree stumps in good condition, the rest was a simple process. The bark was ripped off with a hammer and chisel and the stumps were sanded. Four coats of polyurethane were applied to finish them.

When she moved in, Diana had a lot of books but little else. Considering her tight budget and completely empty room, she faced quite the challenge. From Diana: $4500 sounds like a decent amount of money, but we started with no furniture, no linens, not even a rug liner. To shop wisely, we hunted for the largest pieces of furniture first. The sofa was the biggest challenge — we finally found a red sofabed for $500. We wanted the rug to make an impact so we found one from Urban Outfitters.

I might belong to the last generation who grew up using these touch tone style handset telephones (aka, the Trimline). I see them pop up regularly at thrift stores, yard sales, and on eBay. They’re commonly found stored away in garages, attics, and closets, disconnected and forgotten.

Laurel originally purchased this tall IKEA cabinet as a storage solution to be tucked away out of sight; but after a move, she needed it out in the open. So she endeavored to make this big brown box into something that she’d want to look at! From Laurel: I had discovered a seller on eBay, Victoria_larsen_stencils, that sold stencils designed not to be used with paint, but with joint compound.