tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008862063602972432024-02-20T09:20:39.661-08:00SECOND CHANCESJen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-10822551413840718102021-11-05T06:47:00.000-07:002021-11-05T06:47:31.757-07:00Antique night table lightened up I rescued this night table from the trash. It has great bones and is solid. Although it looked original, at a closer look I could see that veneer had been repaired and a new stain and polyurethane was put on top. It was uneven in areas. So I sanded off the top to reveal the original veneer. After giving the top new stain and polyurethane, I set off to lighten the dark stainJen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-61972612667404917222021-10-20T04:18:00.000-07:002021-10-20T04:18:41.304-07:00Old French Provincial to Modern Coca-Cola chestI had a French provincial bedroom growing up in the 1970s. Perhaps for that reason, the style just doesn’t look modern to me. So when this freebie came home with me, I first started by taking off all the hardware and filling in the holes with wood filler.Next, the feet had to be changed as well as the bottom kickplate so it would not resemble the old style. With some scrap table legs, I cutJen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-30010058864387249482021-02-16T06:05:00.000-08:002021-02-16T06:05:12.297-08:00DIY Floating ShelvesI have a growing collection of embossed antique milk bottles that have outgrown their cabinet and wire holders. In order to display them better, I decided to make some floating shelves. All you need is:Wood: 1x2s for the front, 1x4s for the bottom and back (if you prefer a higher back than a 1x6)Wood Screws and wood glue to attach the back to the bottomNail gun to attach the front Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-21790135448325350512021-01-15T13:05:00.001-08:002021-01-15T13:05:29.870-08:00Seaglass Holder with Recycled Products (Yoplait Oui Jars!)Just a few jars of gifted seaglassI'm a collector of seaglass and other items found on the beach. This has created a backlog of items with no where to put them. Add to that, I've since gained some "sea-sters" who love to swap seaglass with me. So along with my collection, I now have seaglass and sand from all over the world. I don't want these just lumped in with my East Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-16751968404327168252020-12-12T22:25:00.005-08:002020-12-12T22:30:50.304-08:00Seventies to Nautical (Coffee Table updated)My free table I found this 1970s circular table for free a year ago which was perfect for the space in our living room. However, it was worn and drab. After finding some rope on the beach (it really was just washed up!) I decided to incorporate it into the table to make it more beachy. With a little chalk paint and wax, the table was updated to an off-white. Then the Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-71593827644329275472019-05-04T10:29:00.001-07:002021-01-15T13:05:59.740-08:00Buffet Server Turned Tv/Media Center
When driving with my husband, I often make him pull over for furniture on the curb. He used to roll his eyes. But on this day back in 2017, he was the one who saw it first and pulled over. There it was, a broken down antique server on the curb for trash! We loaded it up and brought it home.
I have to admit, the server sat there for awhile in the garage whileJen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-38338755597600928872017-11-05T04:52:00.001-08:002021-01-15T13:07:05.005-08:00DIY Manly Bachelor Dresser
Furniture often finds me through friends or just waving on the side of the road. They come in all shapes and sizes, but mostly it's dressers and desks that find me. This solid baby was already half stripped when the previous owner gave up on him. With all the drawers intact, and it being a very solid piece, there weren't any repairs to be done except completely the sanding.&Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-26946085909089251212017-07-14T10:33:00.001-07:002021-01-15T13:06:39.644-08:00Nautical Night Table (anchor motif)
Lately, I have been rescuing furniture from frustrated furniture painters rather than the curb. It seems they beat me to the "curb alerts" only to give up when they don't know what to do with their findings. This was one such giveaway. The original night table didn't look that bad but it came to me already primed and the drawer pulls were already spray painted silver. Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-18741638322209926912016-08-18T12:04:00.004-07:002016-08-18T14:00:14.504-07:00Antique Dresser: What to do when the drawers are broken...make doors!
I had the honor of another "cast off" dresser finding me. It was the call from the curb, like a Batman Signal in the sky that came through social media to me from a friend. There was another dresser ready to hit the great landfill in the sky and I had to come rescue it. I have to admit, when I first saw the dresser, it did seem a little beyond repair but I took it. At Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-83837675212389895382016-06-30T11:53:00.000-07:002016-06-30T11:53:00.736-07:00This End Up headboard and footboard baseball makeover (Part 2 Bedroom)
Footboard Before and After
This is part 2 of the bedroom makeover from old This End Up furniture to a little boy's baseball-themed room. It continued with the headboard and footboard. I added a baseball diamond to the footboard so it would be facing out to the room. I first applied Zinsers 1-2-3 primer right on to the wood, followed by the paint, and then Minwax Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-20655371987216611962016-06-25T07:23:00.002-07:002021-01-15T13:07:41.827-08:00This End Up Night Table Makeover to Baseball Theme (Part 1 bedroom)
It started with a dresser by This End Up that a friend asked me redo for her grandson into the baseball style dresser she had seen earlier (click here for the first baseball dress). You'll see that dresser in part 3. But then I stumbled upon a matching night table and I ran with the baseball theme. I wanted to keep the wood showing through so I opted for painting Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-34470121935733499232016-05-02T04:15:00.002-07:002016-05-02T04:15:34.901-07:00Turning Wood Scraps into a Garden CageWe don't see many animals in our suburban backyard, however, when I plant lettuce and other spring crops, I swear a siren goes off alerting all the animals to come sample. Last fall, it got so bad that I was unable to harvest anything. If it wasn't the birds scratching in the soil, or the squirrels looking for seeds, then it was the rabbits and foxes coming to sample what had grown.&Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-76950716679448920332016-01-06T06:56:00.001-08:002016-01-06T06:56:08.513-08:00Repurposed Dresser into Sitting Bench with Drawers
Before (dresser) and After (bench)
Sometimes you get tired of doing the same old thing, and in this case, dressers. I seem to be drawn to dressers, and they find me, but the choices are to stain or paint. This time, I decided to cut it in half! I've seen this idea before but could never justify halving a dresser until now. This dresser came to me looking pretty good onJen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-17087937238331789542015-11-23T03:49:00.004-08:002015-11-23T03:49:55.347-08:00Curbside Headboard to Repurposed Coat Rack
After completing my first headboard-to-coat rack project (see the other one here), the biggest question I heard was "Can you make one smaller?" So I was on the hunt for a twin-sized headboard. This one was curbside and perfect for repurposing.
The footboard is still waiting to be repurposed...
After sanding down to the beautiful blonde wood, I stumbled across an old horseshoe Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-75107157226822181662015-11-18T18:47:00.002-08:002015-11-18T19:38:59.107-08:00Baseball-themed Dresser Makeover
This dresser, that was once used by another young boy, was needing an update. The dresser was rock solid, but looked dated (since it was from the 1960s.). That said, I live by "they don't make them like used to" so I prefer the older furniture over the new. It was time for an update and a new home. I can't take credit for this baseball idea since I pinned it onJen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-26951469839175228972015-10-22T04:09:00.000-07:002015-10-22T04:09:20.303-07:00Sun Lover's End Table
Before and After
Awhile back I saw a tutorial on using contact paper to stain around a design. I waited for the right furniture piece to be castoff to practice on. When I stumbled upon this light colored end table, I knew it was my practice piece.
I started by sanding down the top and choosing my design....a sun to hang on to summer a little longer. After Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-91796304465332471982015-10-19T05:17:00.003-07:002015-10-19T05:17:30.258-07:00Salvaged Desk: from Curbside to Charming
Before & After
There's nothing better than saving furniture from a landfill and turning it into something more charming than imagined. That's what happened to this desk that was saved curbside. Upon getting it out of the car, I quickly realized that it was discarded for it's black mold, not it's age. The bottom 4 inches were caked in black mold and water damage. Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-65939898009778563382015-10-18T07:47:00.001-07:002015-10-18T07:47:43.306-07:00Easy Coffee Table Restoration (with Howard Restor-A-Finish)
Sometimes furniture is solid but on the less-than-pretty side. I had been wanting to try Howard Restor-A-Finish but wanted an old "junker" to try it on. So along came this FREE coffee table. It was solid wood and ugly. It was definitely in need of restoring! This was the perfect guinea pig for my trial run with this product.
To say I was pleasantly Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-58065480717777743002015-08-24T17:36:00.004-07:002015-08-24T17:36:44.081-07:0019th Century Empire Dresser
Empire dresser, circa 1870s
When I found this gem for FREE, from a man who no longer had room for it, I knew I found a piece of history. He was an older gentleman and said it had been his parents' dresser but didn't know the extended history. After doing some research, and consulting on the piece, it was believed to have been from the 1870s. Oh, how I love stumbling on aJen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-53995987555810793432014-11-19T07:09:00.000-08:002014-11-19T07:09:11.437-08:00American Girl Doll Cabinet Makeover
When this vintage/antique cabinet that had been redone with a 1980s stenciled creation showed up for me to rescue, I fell in love with it immediately. It was long overdue for a new overhaul and new purpose. Upon removing the paint from the top, I quickly realized that the wood was not uniform around the cabinet and it would need be kept a painted piece rather than stained.&Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-12258381380976348582014-11-16T20:46:00.005-08:002014-11-16T20:46:59.124-08:00End Table Checkerboard Fail and Redo
I had seen this great pin on Pinterest from Minwax about how you can stain a checkerboard right into the top of a table. I was up for the challenge and purchased my $5 yard sale table to being the project. However, when I sanded down the stain off the top, I found the wood to be a knotty pine that would never in a million years cooperate with a checker pattern. With my luck Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-78176834297866189882014-10-30T11:34:00.001-07:002014-10-30T11:34:24.393-07:00Salvaged Headboard becomes a new Coat Rack
"I see dead people" was a line from the movie, The Sixth Sense. That's how I feel sometimes when I see a piece of discarded furniture. Of course, I don't see dead people, but sometimes I look at it and see something that my family can't see. In this case, I saw a headboard in my neighbor's trash that I just had to have because I saw a new coat rack. My Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-30741860240873649472014-09-25T05:26:00.001-07:002014-09-25T07:51:52.460-07:00Mahogany Woodard Antique Dresser Finds a New Home[UPDATE: This dresser sold to a young couple in Philadelphia and now resides in their 1920s home along side other antiques.]
Without all the hardware, my husband is holding it up for the photo
Repurposing furniture or renewing furniture with a fresh coat of paint is the new craze these days but sparing an antique is not so popular. Sometimes, history is worth saving from the Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-19832079550207660502013-12-09T12:01:00.003-08:002013-12-09T12:01:54.406-08:00Old Skis Find a New Home for Christmas
Yes, that's real snow at the bottom from our Dec. 8th snowfall
The radio is playing "Let it Snow" and "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" so what better decoration for the porch than a set of skis? My husband had this old pair sitting in the attic for years. Finally, this year we pulled them down. I love an old sled draped in holly that I occasionally see on front lawns.Jen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200886206360297243.post-22228803968173281722013-05-12T05:39:00.000-07:002013-05-12T05:39:20.089-07:00Mother's Day Tribute: "A Mom, the Ultimate Tough Mudder"
[In honor of Mother's Day, and my wonderful husband who supports me in all my "second chance endeavors", I'm posting his tribute rather than a project. My husband, Kyle, who is a fan and participant in mud races (and now my kids too!) composed this wonderful essay on motherhood. So to thank him, and to thank all the Moms out there for all you do, enjoy reading!]
A
Mom: TheJen Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16724053288958173401noreply@blogger.com3