Construction Project: Blue Bench

I've always loved this blue bench that's on the Vineyard. But in recent years, it's fallen into disrepair. The legs were rotting and it looked dangerous to sit in. I think everybody was a little sad to see it falling apart.

While we were there, Eric decided that we should fix it! He went out and bought all of the supplies to replace the seat and legs, and then we went to work. First we had to take it apart, then we had to measure and drill and hammer and screw everything back together. And then we primed. And painted. And painted. And painted some more (1 coat of spray paint, 2 coats with brushes). The result is AWESOME!

We didn't change anything about the back, except to repaint it and reattach one of the arms where it had come undone. Want to know something super cool about this bench? The back flips over, so the bench can face either direction without picking it up and turning it! 

We're both pretty proud of the outcome. The new paint is very, very shiny and blue. 

Before & After: Cabinet

I was sick and tired of looking at the faux wood finished cabinet in our office space, so I decided to do something about.

Rather than buy something new, I decided on a DIY upgrade. Saturday morning we headed to Home Depot and picked up the necessary supplies for my endeavor:

• paint (2 colors)
• paint brush
• steel wool
• knobs

I knew that Eric would being spending most of Sunday hovered over his computer and his latest batch of cases (his homework) for class, so I was happy to have a project. It should be no surprise that I took pictures as I worked:

I did all that with only 1 accident (spilled 1/2 a can of paint, but that's why I used the HUGE tarp, covered the couch with a sheet, and the TV area with an old towel). After letting the pain dry over night, I filled our cabinet back up this morning. Ta da:

I'm really happy with how it turned out. It's not perfect, though. I don't think the steel wool phase was as effective as I expected, and I'm guessing the paint will come off easily if scratched. We'll have to be careful, but I'm much happier with how the room looks and we didn't spend much money at all. I turned an existing piece of cheap-o furniture into something that looks (I think) a little more sophisticated and actually fits our tastes. Yay! I'm so pleased with myself. :)