DIY Console Table

It all started with Young House Love. Well, actually that’s how a lot of my ideas start, with that fabulous Petersik duo. They built a sofa table and I was smitten from the start.

So “I” made my own. And I’m kind of too impatient to write real tutorials anymore. So this is just to show you what we (my Dad & I) did, but not really a how-to. Mmk?

When I lived in the rental, I used my existing sofa table behind the couch and it served its purpose just great.

In our new house, the way the living room is setup, I don’t have light close to the couch or anywhere to set a beverage besides having to lean all the way forward to the coffee table. I tried dragging our current table behind the couch to set lamps on but it just looked really funny because it was so little.

Enter the next best thing, build one!

I pinned a few ideas for a table but figured it’d be a while before I could get around to talking my Dad into helping me build it. Well, enter a boring rainy 4th of July holiday weekend and we had before us a perfect project day!

The best part about this whole thing is my Dad had almost all the supplies. I bought some new primer and paint and that was it! It’s beyond nice having a Handy Dad!

I picked out some good pieces of angle iron from his stash and happened to find one perfect piece of wood in the wood pile.

 

I based my idea off of this design.

He was the brains behind the operation and I helped where I could. His welding skills brought this idea to life!

“Buzz, your girlfriend. Woof!” Name that movie.

(Home Alone)

 

That is paint or something in the mask. Not doo doo or chocolate (unfortunately).

“You look like the Fourth of July!” Name that movie.

(Legally Blonde)

 

Testing the fit. Since my Daddy did it, it’s perfect!

Yeah, I wasn’t in the best gear for grinding.

 

Securing the wood piece.

Last step!

Now let her dry!

Hauling her home. I was a wee bit excited!

I couldn’t get a good picture of it behind the couch for obvious reasons, but here she is in front of the chalkboard wall on full display. (For after pictures only, not her final resting place although I do love it there!)

I LOVE IT.

My clearance Target lamps are perfect for it!

Sidenote: 1) I am awful at window pictures. 2) I have got to do something with my drop cloth curtains. I originally bought them to paint stripes. Their current blandness is driving me insane-asylum-crazy.

It is so useful. I love having the lamps next to the couch. I don’t care for overhead lighting if I can use a lamp so these little babies are glowing pretty every night.

Thanks again to my awesome Dad for putting up with my never ending ideas! You’re the man!

Pantry Door, Meet Palladian Blue…Your Perfect Hue

Well, he’s coming around. The Mr. that is. I’m wearing on him. He’s giving in. He is losing battles left and right, and in fact he even sang the “I give” battle cry recently. In fact, with a few things off limit, he pretty much reluctantly said I can do what I want with the inside of the house.

HALLELUJAH!

So, of course immediately following our conversation, I was planning my next project!

From the moment we moved into this house, I was dying to paint the pantry door. Of course he was adamantly against it from the start. He’ just so into “plain”.

Can we say borrrring?

But new rules now, and off to Pinterest for color ideas I went!

Since I just did the lamps in our room and they’re very “in your face” I wanted to do this a little more subtle yet still make it stand out.

I think I succeeded! I absolutely love it!

The color is Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue matched to Valspar Semi-Gloss (Primer + Paint in one). I was fretting a little about how to get the color I wanted to Lowes since I didn’t have a swatch. However I called ahead and they were able to pull up the color in their computer after I gave them the paint code.

I first saw this color in Katie Bower’s office. It really is a beautiful color and definitely changes with the light. It’s pretty muted most of the day until the light hits it and it’s a lot more blue.

I bought a quart of paint but only used maybe 1/3 of it. I did two coats with a foam roller and used a small 2” angled paint brush to do the nooks and crannies. I didn’t remove the door, just the handle and gave it a good wipe down with liquid deglosser before painting. No sanding, no separate priming, just paint! 

It was a pretty quick and painless process. And the outcome is perfect.

I am debating putting a vinyl word on the door, but I may live with it naked for a little while to make sure first.

Before

After.

It really is more blue in real life.

I miss my little setup under the mirror, but that has moved to a new spot because…

…we have a new furniture addition in the living room. But I’m not showing you yet! So pretend you don’t see those lamps hanging out behind the couch. I’ll write about the new sofa table very soon!

Adding Some Spice to the Dining Room

My obsession with chalkboards has yet to subside. Although the trend may be phasing, I am still riding that train! There’s just something about wiping the slate clean and creating new.

I’ve been making chalkboards for a while now but have always, always coveted chalkboard walls. David however, doesn’t share my enthusiasm for them.

Let’s take for example the Pantry Door Chalkboard Grocery List.

He kicked, whined and objected from the moment I said I was doing it. He begged me not to. Said no one wants a chalkboard painted on a door (albeit even on the inside) and that it wouldn’t bid well for resale one day. Um news flash, we aren’t selling and don’t plan to be selling for a very long time. So resale schmeesmale! And to counter that argument anyway, I cooly reacted with who wouldn’t want a chalkboard painted on the inside of their pantry? If anything, that could be a selling feature!

The black square got painted and we both love and use the list all the time. #iwin

So, can you imagine my surprise when he somehow agreed to let me paint the biggest wall in our dining room, in chalkboard paint?

Thunk. That’s the sound of me hitting the floor when I fainted.

Yeah, I was shocked to say the least. It may have involved some bribing, but that’s beside the point. The point is, he said I could!*

*Unfortunately I am married to someone who cares deeply about what I do to our house from a decorating standpoint and therefore everything I do has to be a mutual agreement. I mean really, why should he care what color the walls are or what I do to it? He’s got a large TV and a John Deere, and that’s where his decisions on decorating should end. Girls whose husbands don’t give a darn about what you do to the inside of the house, consider yourself lucky!

I digress.

After I got the go ahead, I didn’t waste any time. I cut in the wall that night with existing paint I had.

Then the next day I made a Lowe’s run and picked up two more quarts of Valspar Chalkboard paint. I don’t know of anywhere locally that chalkboard paint can be bought by the gallon. If you know of a place, let me know!

I couldn’t find a large foam roller so I got a low nap one that worked just fine.

I painted one coat, let it dry for about an hour, and then painted a second coat. Then when the second coat dried, I touched up in just a few places.

Then came the hard part, waiting the three recommended days for it to cure before using it.

Fast forward three painstakingly slow days…

First things first, I had to season the wall. Turn a piece of chalk on its side and rub it over the entire surface. Some tutorials I’ve seen then smear it all together with a dry cloth, I haven’t done that before and mine always turn out fine.

I started with a pack of regular chalk. That lasted about .20 seconds. Target to the rescue for big chalk!

Remi shared this message to our antsy Facebook friends.

After seasoning, I wiped the entire thing off with a damp rag. Repeat three more times…

Then the fun begins!

It could use a better wipedown between art. But technically the white streaks add to the charm. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

I am really excited about the endless possibilities in store for this fun wall. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the way it turned out. I also, as weird as it sounds, am totally crushing on the big black wall and the way it looks in the house. It adds some drama to the room and a cozy aspect as well.

Chalk writing tips:

1) I moisten my chalk and write on a dry wall. It goes on dull but is bright and crisp when it dries.

2) To get cool font ideas, go to dafont.com. Pick a font, preview your text (you can type it in) and reference it while you’re drawing.

3) Use a level for large art. I didn’t until the last line and by then it was too late.

This one time, on Pinterest…

…HomeGoods pinned my dining room!

They wrote, “We’re obsessed with this modern dining room. The plates on the wall are from HomeGoods as well as the yellow garden stool!”

And then I found my kitchen pinned by Star Furniture who says “Black is back in this beautiful kitchen”.

Okay, that’s all. Just wanted to share that I was uber excited to find my house on Pinterest! It continues to amaze me when my projects get pinned, but to have an actual company that I absolutely love to pin something? Fainting episode!

If you want to see what’s been pinned from your webpage, here’s how:

Type the following into your URL http://pinterest.com/source/yourdomainname/. Except for your domain name, change it to your website. For example this is mine http://pinterest.com/source/thejollyjames.blogspot.com/.

Happy Pinning!  

San Antonio, TX

I forgot to post this but at the beginning of June I went to San Antonio, TX for a work conference. I stayed at the Hotel Valencia Riverwalk. It was such a nice hotel and right in the middle of all the fun!

Here’s a photo dump of the trip. Unfortunately it was almost all work and no play, but I get to check another state off my list!

Airport attire and my departing love.

Flying never gets old.

Such a funky/moody/neat hotel.

My room. Loved the black plantation shutters!

River boats and The Esquire.

Perks of traveling.

View of the river out of my room. It snakes through the city!

 

We got to tour the H-E-B. produce facility. We didn’t get to check out the labs unfortunately, but the warehouse where all the produce goes through for inspection was very cool! No pictures allowed inside though. Boo.

Then we got to go to the actual store. It was an absolutely huge grocery store!

 

When in Texas, one should wear boots. Heading to dinner one night.

 

My group ate at a restaurant called Bohanan’s. As you can see from the menu, it was rather pricey! I got the soup and salad which was dee-licious!

Heading to the last day of conference.

The Esquire again. Seriously such a neat place!

The Riverwalk

Everything really was bigger in Texas!

 

Homeward bound!