Coffee Table inspired by an Ikea hack

On the blog City Farmhouse, I saw a charming family room makeover that inspired me. One of the projects there was a makeover of an Ikea coffee table. You should definitely check out that blog to see what a great job she did. It reminded me that I had a similarly shaped Ikea coffee table in my garage and maybe something similar could be done with it. It had a big gouge in the top from when my last house was being painted to get it ready for sale.

I had my dad put some wood on top and then I dragged it unpainted across the country to deal with it. Of course, once I got here, I wish I had dealt with it before the move. With a lot of chalk painting projects, I think I want to rough it up- chains, hammer, fake worm holes like you see on so many great blogs. But once I got to dealing with the table - well, I thought I would leave it in new shape and let my kids play all over it and let it get what they call patina naturally.

Here is what it looked like when I got started:

First I did a quick layer of Annie Sloan Old White which is my go to color.

Then I added some soft layers of Paris Gray and Coco. Dry washing is something I want to keep working on as I don't seem to get the softness that some people do. I was going for a beachy, driftwood feel. I think if I try this again in the future, I will test one of the newer beach driftwood stains I have seen recently.

I added some clear and dark wax and left it in the early morning sun and off I went to pick granite for the new counter tops. And, of course, half way to the granite place, the skies opened and rain came down. Luckily, we were able to do what we needed to and get home before the storm really hit our area. It made picking granite a lot easier because my mind was on the table.

Here is the table in the room. As I almost always do, I will add more dark wax and rough it up a bit once it has been lived on some.

Once I took this picture, I knew something needed to be done with the builder's grade, found everywhere fireplace. So I gave it a coat of Paris Gray and it looked much better.

Two things, first, this is the first time I have had a really hard time getting chalk paint to adhere so if anyone else was to try it, you should prime it first. Secondly, Paris Gray is an odd color for me. When I first put it on, it looks too gray and then once you wax it up, it looks a lot better and it gets much richer. This part of the room is definitely a work in progress. It needs more on the walls and some sort of rug here. I got the fireplace screen new in the box for five dollars at the Habitat Restore. If the Restore is not already on your secondhand shop route, you should definitely add it.

The Family Room

Last March, I came to Ontario with my mom to do some house hunting. We saw about 10-11 houses that day and this one caught my eye.

It was in a great looking neighbourhood and although the house was not decorated to my taste, it had a lot of great things about it. The room that really caught my eye was the family room. I just knew that my family could live in this space. Here is what it looked like when we got the keys.

As you can see, it has a ton of potential. It is hard to tell in the photo but there were some big gouges in the wall where the previous family had their TV. Along the back wall is a series of big windows that let in a ton of light and overlook the back yard. I had already ripped down the crummy tobacco coloured curtains left behind. Next to this room is a kitchen eating area with doors to the back garden and then the kitchen so it is a long shot of space which will be great for entertaining.

Anyway, long story short, here is what it looks like now. My aim was family home and not pretty house which has been hard for me!

We had the walls painted BM Manchester Tan. I wasn't sure if I liked it at first but now I, luckily, think that I do. We got the rug at Homesense, and bought the chaise/sofa and brown chair at Ikea. I saw a great Ikea hack on another blog and put together the coffee table based on it and I have recently chalk painted the fireplace. I will write about those projects in another post. A lot of living already happens in this room and I know once the weather gets colder, we will be in here even more.

Moving East

It's really hot today-almost stifling. There is a big thunderstorm due and I am ready for it to hit and cool it all down. I was not expecting weather like this - so tumultuous really. A few nice days, then it builds, then a violent storm that reminds me of a WW II movie and then the cycle starts once again. It had felt like fall but now it is deeply summer for a few, last days.

I miss home, that's just the truth. I miss water and mountains and wind with a salty scent. It's very pretty here, don't get me wrong but it is not home. I wonder how long you have to live one place before you can accept another as your new nesting place.

I am working on our new house and as anyone who has done a big move knows, it will be a work in progress for some time. But it is coming together. This house has good bones and lots of potential. I am enjoying playing around with it and seeing what it can do. So far, we have had about 2/3s of it painted, some new appliances, new furniture. Today we bought backsplash tile and a couch for the living room. It is a really rich red, hope I don't hate it. I am thinking it will be cheerful come winter.

So here, new province, new town, new house, new to do list. Welcome to my new blog, Cachet Blvd.