Seating For 6 in A Small Kitchen Nook

Not too long ago I turned our Dining Room/ Area into a Music Room/ Office/ Guest Room/ Mud Room so that left no room for a dining table.  What is a family of 6 supposed to do when we want to eat?  I tossed around the idea of tv trays or a folding table, but didn't like that it was too casual. Someone was bound to turn the TV on and there would be no conversation.  I don't like that!

I had already built a tiny table using 1 x 8 boards and Ikea legs for the kids to eat in the kitchen.  I really wanted benches, but my nook has 2 uneven sides since there is a doorway on one side.  I thought about building in a banquette, but one side has a cabinet that I need to get access to.  Well, building my own benches was the answer.  I found this super simple bench on Ana White and decided to go for it, tweaking the dimensions so I could have custom sizes.  

Then I expanded on the existing table by adding 3 more 1 x 8 boards.  Now the trick to this table was that I attached it to the wall using shelf brackets.   It made it much more solid.   I moved around the legs a bit on the original table for better support.

Here's the final product.

 I painted the chairs the same color as the bench using a custom chalk paint I mixed up at the last minute.  I was too cheap and lazy to go to the paint store.  The vinyl on the seats used to be black, but I spray painted them white using plastic spray paint.  (Seems to be holding up well.)

Now I'm able to put the 6 year olds on the small bench, my husband and I on the larger bench, and the teenage boys on the chairs.

If we have a dinner party I just pull out a folding table with and put a bunch of chairs around it in the living room or dining room.  Works like a charm.

mONICa

Kids Art Center for Under $35 Bucks

Last weekend since it was an extended weekend I ventured off into a bunch of projects.  One of the projects was to create an art area for my kids since they love to color.  I had stools that I took out of my kitchen to extend my nook area (post coming in a week or so), so I thought I would make good use of of them.

All I did was basically mount a long shelf.  I had a 1 x 12 cut to size (around 50") and stained it in a dark ebony color to match the other furnishings.  Then I used 3 Ikea Shelf Brackets at $2.00 each.  

I then added a couple of Ikea Rails.  This allowed me to attach a basket to put pencil cup holders in.  

I used laundry twine from the Dollar Tree and nailed 3 rows on top of the desk for the kids to hang their finished art projects.  Some Clothes Pins to secure their art and it was a wrap.

Super easy and fun project and the kids love it!!  If you need stools there are always the ones Target and Walmart sell for around $12.00 each, or you could also mount the desk at chair height.

xoxo,

Monica

DIY Piano Stand

Since I went back to work full time its been challenging to get projects done around the house.  I've resorted to buying Ikea stuff as disposable furniture.  This weekend however, was different.  I needed a stand for my keyboard (a newly found hobby of mine).  However, I couldn't find one that fit my keyboard.  Yeah, I could've resorted to one like this that they sell at Amazon and hope it wouldn't fall apart.

But  that one is $89 dollars plus tax and who knows what it is made of or if my keyboard will even fit.  Then I found this online.

It was perfect (well almost).  See my keyboard doesn't have a lip that the side could slip into.  So that meant it would need a top.  He made the above one out of two shelves from Ikea and some added wood, for only $26 dollars.  I thought I could get even cheaper if I did the whole thing DIY.

Here is what I came up with.

I cut 2 matching sides out of 1 x 12 and a 1 x 4 support beam.  Then added the 1 x 12 top, screwed it all together and gave it a quick coat of stain.   Viola!  It was super easy and fits my keyboard perfectly.  

xoxo.

mONICa

IKEA Expedit Turned Kitchen Island (Tutorial)

I know this is not the first Ikea expedit island hack you have seen, but I had to post it.  See originally I was not going for the whole island with seating thing, I was just going buy on expedit to place it on the floor for extra storage, but I couldn’t help myself.  I saw the opportunity for a couple of stools and had to go for it!!!  The best part it was super easy.

Step 1- Put together your expedit (I don’t have to show this step because lucky for me, I was able to find one on Craigslist for $30 bucks already put together)

Step 2- Attach the feet.  I used ball feet purchased at Home Depot and painted them white using Pure White Annie Sloan. So first you just screw these metal leg brackets in.

Then you screw in the feet.

Step 3- Attach the Table Top.  I used an Ikea Vika Furuskog Tabletop, because it is made of wood and is stainable.  Just use long screws to screw it in.  I used 2 1/2 inch wood screws (Note- At this point I was just going to go natural with a sealer so if you decide you want to stain, you may want to switch Steps 3 & 5)

Step 5- Flip it over to see what you’ve got so far.

Step 6- Seal or stain it.  If you want to leave it natural than just seal the top, if you want to stain it, then you can go ahead and do it now, or do it before attaching it to the expedit. I used Miniwax stain in Provincial and sealed it with a dark wax.

Step 7- Decorate

Step 8- Add stools and Enjoy.

xoxo,
mONICa

Side Table Out Of Salvaged Cabinet Doors

It all started with these windows that my dad brought to me.  He had found them on the side of the road in the trash.  There were four of them.

He brought them to me and said, “Can you use these?”  Did he even have to ask?  I was like, “Of course, I’ll find a place for them.”  So, the first one got painted bright yellow and I added hooks and placed it near our front door, which was merely decorative since we never used our front door.

Well, these windows sat in my garage for so long I forgot about them, until we moved a few weeks ago.  During the move one broke so I was down to two windows. Then I realized I needed a side table to hide my wine fridge and I started planning.  Wouldn’t you know that the windows were the perfect width for the sides of the table.  That made me super happy because now I could have a cool table out of salvaged stuff.  So my good friend Dustin and I started plotting our trip to the lumber store and this is what we came up with.

   
We used pine 2x6’s for the top and the shelf and just used finishing nails to tap it in.  Then we  used a super thin plywood for the back to give it some extra stability.  It’s a fun conversational piece in the living room and I”m in love.  Plus since the wine fridge is kind of an eye sore on its own it’s an awesome disguise.
Speaking of disguises, check out the awesome video my friend Dustin made, if you look really hard you will find a cameo of me.  If you get a chance, subscribe to his channel, I’m sure there are a lot more awesome videos to come.

xoxo….
mONICa

This Table Is Just Right

Yes I'm talking about Goldilocks and the 3 bears, because that is exactly what happened with my Dining Tables.  A year and 3 tables later, I think I finally have it just right.  See the first one was too big.

Now that I go back, in the scheme of things is would've been fine closed using no leafs, but then we found out my husband would be working from home and our formal dining room had to double as a home office.  So then we found option #2, complete with two drawers.  I thought it would be perfect to double as a desk and dining table.

Well the concept was good, until I realized that it would be my husband using it as both.  I don't know what possessed me to think that by dinner time the table would be clear of work stuff and that we could actually use it as such.

Well one day while making my usual thrift store runs I found it, and it so happens that the same day I found 2 chairs to match 2 others that had already headed for the for sale pile.

That's when I made a quick decision....I decided to get rid of an antique dresser that I had been using as a credenza in the room and use that space to tuck a desk in for my husband in the corner of our dining room, and finally get us a proper table.

And here it is:

 I used Annie Sloan Pure White Chalk Paint for the base of the table and covered it with Minwax Dark Paste Wax.

 I got this great Better Homes and Gardens fabric with a coupon at JoAnns fabric for 50% off.  Fabric for all four chairs cost me around $20bucks.

 The chairs are painted in a custom color mixed by yours truly with leftover paints from other projects.

 I decided to leave the top wood, but stained it in a much darker walnut color.

I'm super happy with the whole project, and the better news is this whole thing cost me around $80 bucks, thanks to the table having a crack in it (adds to the character) that I picked up for only $20, the chairs being $10 bucks each, and the fabric for $20.

Does anyone else out there go through several pieces of furniture a year?

xoxo....

mONICa

Living Room Reveal

Hope you are up for a Bohemian eclectic rendition of my living room.  I'd like to take you back to what my living room used to look like.

This was before I moved in

 and this was Thanksgiving of last year

 This is what it looks now. obviously with new furniture pieces.

Heres the view from my dining room office with the bench I made for 5 bucks.

 I moved my tv to the corner and added this decoupaged cabinet.

 This is the view when you walk into my front door.

 and a little reading corner featuring my simply spray spray painted chair and some of my children's art work.

 The top of the tv cabinet which really was an old hutch was used as a shelf in my entry way.  At the top I added an old leaded glass cabinet door with some extra hooks for coats and hats and painted to match.

 Some extra pillows in a basket are my daughters favorite for napping on the couch.

 Some inexpensive pillows found on clearance at Pier One and Ross ranging from $3.99- $9.99

 More pillows 

 This little corner I have used to put my wine fridge along with a tray for glasses decoupaged to match my chair.

I love the eclecticness and hominess of my living room.  Wish I could paint, but I can't so I used pops of color to give it a fun vibe.

xoxo....

mONICa

Quick and Easy Tray Update

I love how trays are the thing that gives a room a pop of color. What I love even more is that they are super easy to personalize.

Take this tray for example that I picked up at Ross for $7.99

Not that it was an ugly tray, it was just not my style.

I scratched up the surface slightly and primed it with Rustoleum white and threw a coat of warm yellow on it.

I then took some left over fabric from my chair project and modged podged it to the bottom of the tray.

I love how it turned out.

xoxo....

mONICa