Pretty Pantry

I've mentioned before that the kitchen layout is not my favorite. Truthfully, I don't really like anything about the kitchen except for the fridge. Well, I like the fridge, but I don't like where it currently sits.

The previous owner opted to widen the doorway between the kitchen and dining room. To do that she needed to move the fridge... so she removed the pantry door and put the fridge INSIDE of the old pantry. It looks odd. Really odd. But that's a post for another day.

I guess after she got rid of her real pantry, she discovered that she actually NEEDED the space a pantry provides, so she bought and installed this thing.

Ummmm.... It isn't exactly our style. I think this would be great in a closet or craft room, NOT in the kitchen. We knew we needed to get rid of it, but we also knew we needed something that could function as a pantry until we remodeled the kitchen and regained our actual pantry space back.

It especially bothered me because it sat directly across from the fun breakfast nook space we created. It was throwing everything off.

Then, last Saturday, Mom and I were thrifting and I spotted this little lady.

It was super ugly. It had seen better days. There were giant holes in the back panel. BUT it was solid wood and was the right size and shape. AND IT WAS ONLY $20!!!

 

Hubs thought I was crazy when he came to pick it up. He laughed and said it was super ugly, but we would only be wasting $20, so he was up for the challenge.

We decided to go with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint because I love the look and the ease of working with it. I wanted to do a gray color to play off of the breakfast table, so Paris Grey was a good choice.

The beauty of this chalk paint lies in the fact that you virtually do NO prep. There is no sanding, no priming... you just paint. Two coats later, and we had our base color.

I really wanted a tiny bit of an aged, distressed look, so once the base color was dry, we added a tiny bit of white paint over the gray. Quite simply, Hubs would lightly paint the white on, then immediately wipe it off.

Before moving the new pantry upstairs, we had to take down the old one. I sold it on Craigslist. WOO HOOO! The new owner said she was putting it in her closet... because that's where it belongs.

In the meantime, my kitchen looked like THIS. UGH. Don't worry, the Krispy Kremes didn't sit there for very long.
 


Finally, we hauled the thing into the house. I complained the whole time. I HATE moving giant things. Hubs then measured, cut, and nailed the new back panel into place. The old one was in really, really bad shape.

 

Once the back was in place, we added a layer of dark wax to further give it an aged look. I was so pumped about getting the wax in all the nooks and crevices of the carvings. You can see the difference wax makes here.

Once the waxing was done, we added a new knob for the drop down cabinet. And with that, this project was complete.

Knob was purchased at World Market.

 And I now have a place to proudly display my Grandmother's (Martha Nell) recipe tin.

Quite a difference, huh? I love my little $20 cabinet pantry. It fits the space so much better than the Ikea unit that was there before.

And honestly, let's just look at this before and after...

This ugly duckling has been redeemed! Revamping old furniture is one of our favorite things to do. We enjoy giving discarded items a new life. Have you taken on any furniture makeovers? I'd love to see them! Talk soon, Friends!

p.s. You will notice a great deal of pics from the last two posts have a higher quality (some are still iPhone photos). Not only did Hubs throw me a LATE birthday party, but he also gave me a late birthday present... a new DSLR camera. I'm still learning, but I'm having so much fun with it. Hoping to shoot better photos from here on out!

xoxo,

Pillow Talk

Hi friends! It's been a fun couple of weeks at the Wigley home. My mom came to visit last week, and this past weekend hubs threw me a surprise birthday party... three months late (we were buying and selling the houses during my actual birthday). He called it my 30.2 party. It was a revival of my all time favorite birthday party... my 13th. He secured a DJ and we danced the night away to some awesome 90s jams. I love him.

But back to the house. As I mentioned, my mom came up to visit us the prior weekend. It was her first visit to the new home and she wanted to help us decorate. I knew exactly what I wanted her help with... sewing some pillows for the breakfast nook.

 

I loved the look we accomplished, but I thought it needed some color and texture. Pillows were just what we were lacking.

Saturday morning, mom and I went on a fabric searching adventure. I finally decided on this gorgeous print from JoAnn's. 

I fell in love with the colorful birds and thought they would fit in perfectly overlooking the jungle.

Thankfully, my mother is really talented when it comes to all things sewing. She made the two larger pillows with the pretty orange piping.

After she left, I used some of the skills she taught me and made the two smaller bird and orange pillows. I bought the yellow embroidered pillows from TJ Maxx. I think they help soften the look of the nook.

I'm pretty pleased with the look of the breakfast nook now. It's functional and FUN! I'm still deciding about what color/if I'm painting the walls in the kitchen. We may wait until the kitchen gets fully remodeled. But for now, I'm liking what I'm seeing.

Mom's visit inspired me to keep sewing. On Sunday night I churned out this cute little pom pom, envelope pillow. Y'all, I can't believe I managed to make something that turned out mildly adorable.

Well, it's adorable until you look at the back of it. HA! I need to add a snap to keep the thing shut.

 

I've decided that I really enjoy sewing. I just need to keep it up and try new things! What new projects are you trying these days? Talk soon, friends!

xoxo,

Breakfast Nook Changes

Hi there! Hope you guys had an awesome Independence Day weekend! We celebrated by having friends over for a good ole' fashioned American cookout and spent lots of time at our neighborhood pool. 

He loves 'MERICA!

Project Stoneywood is steadily starting to feel more and more our style. When we first moved in, the breakfast nook (yay!!! We have a breakfast nook) was a bit wonky. The previous owner decided to put in a VERY large island/dining cabinet thingy. This mammoth thing made the space look really small. It was super hard to go and sit down. Truthfully, it was just plain awkward.

(Side note: We totally want to do a full gut of the kitchen. It's not terrible, but it's an awkward layout. We will probably do a phase 1 and a phase 2. I'll be doing a full post on the kitchen soon.)

The pics above are from the real estate listing. It doesn't look quite so mammoth (or awkward) here, but trust me - it was an unfortunate situation.

What we did love is that awesome window and window seat! It overlooks the backyard jungle. I really enjoy sitting there in the afternoons and in the mornings. It's so peaceful. 

But... back to the dining situation. We knew we needed to remove the island/cabinet dining thingy and replace it with a more suitable option.

I've been swooning over this gorgeous round dining table from Restoration Hardware.

 or this beauty I found on Joss and Main...

I was drawn to the shape and the aged look of both options... But with price tags around $1200, these simply weren't an option.

Hubs had seen me drooling over these guys for a little while. Finally, we came up with a better option, let's upcycle an old table!

I searched and searched on Craigslist to find the right size and style. I knew we were going to do some work on whatever table we found, so I was also looking for the right price tag - less than $100.

After a few days of searching, I found a handmade, antique little fella that I thought would work just fine. We found it for $70. I wish I had gotten a picture from before. It had several layers of paint and stain on it. We separated the top from the base and broke out the chemical stripper.With hours of elbow grease, the pretty oak started to shine through.

 

I made sure to tease the Hubs with chants like "Strip, Baby! Strip!" and "Take it off!!" He only found it mildly amusing. I think the chemicals might have been getting to me.

Once all the paint and stain was removed, we did a wash to get rid of all the excess chemicals. Remember, we are planning on eating on this thing!

 

I knew I wanted that aged, sun bleached look. So we opted to use Varathane's wood stain in (you guessed it) sunbleached!

We applied four layers of the stain to get the base color we were looking for. To give the table that extra weathered look, we added two layers of a darker colored wax to the top of the stain.

We also needed to add about 6 inches to the height. Not sure why the table was shorter... but Hubs built up the pedestal where the top connects. He also added some pretty trim so you wouldn't notice the extension easily.

(Sorry for the grainy iPhone images.)

After the addition was finished, we put everything back together. I was so pleased with the outcome.

I'm pretty happy with the distressed, aged look of the piece. It came out way better than I imagined. The handmade qualities still shine through (the different sized planks on the top are my favorite) and the colors enhance the beauty of the wood grain.

Unfortunately, I tried to wash the covering of the window seat. The foam doesn't seem to want to fit back in. I hope to make (or have one made) a new cover soon as well as some pillows. For now, just try to ignore the massive lumps.

We paired the table with two chairs we found at Hubs' great aunt's house. The minty green color and style of the chairs just mix perfectly with the table.

We also changed out the light fixture. While I liked the colored chandelier, I think this farm house pendant goes better with the style of the nook.

I think the pup portraits go perfectly here! We still may add another bench along that wall. That might happen in the next few months. We are still on the fence. 

We probably spent around $30 on stain, wax, and wood to modify the height. All in all, I'm pretty happy with my little $100 table. I suits the space and our budget. And I'm kind of partial to a table that has a story... and not bought to LOOK old. Although, I do still love those Restoration Hardware tables. HA!

Once again, I'm just thankful Hubs has the skills to pull this stuff off. He's a keeper. 

What projects are you taking on? Do you have something you want to upcycle? I'd love to hear about it. Talk soon, friends!

xoxo,