Chairs Rehab

Today I will share my chairs rehab story.

It kind of happen when I was not looking to replace our dining chairs.

But you know the moment you see something and you think 

"I like that!".

And the moment you realize that something is not expensive and sometime even free?

I know.

My usual reaction is

"SCORE!!"

So back to the chairs...I'll spare you the pictures of the completely before.

But this is the picture of the back of one seat.

How to clean a pallet

I love pallets.

When I get "new" ones, I usually leave them outside to naturally age the wood.

I am in the process of making shelves for our laundry room,

so I went outside to cut down the pallet I choose for my project.

Every time, before using pallet wood,

I like to clean them up really good.

Recycling and Coffee Station Combo

This is a project that anyone could do in those occasion when you are limited in space,

or when you just want to be efficient in using the square feet your house has to offer.

If you remember, right before Thanksgiving,

I tackled this coffee station project.

(project here)

I initially used the bottom part of the table to store my 45lb pail of hard wheat, 

and several pounds of dried beans.

(as a long distance runner, 

I eat plenty of both. 

I love my carbs, vegetable proteins and iron)

One thing though was not working out very well in our kitchen,

and that was our recycling bins situation.

We recycle pretty much 

Glass Jars holder

Most times I am stuck by inspiration in the least convenient moments.

That's not always a bad things...

but can be at times.

I am also one of those people that has to get things done

...now!

So I decided to make a simple glass jars holder.

The wood I had was already a 

Coffee Station

I like both coffee and hot teas.

You would think that I had a coffee and tea station all my life.

Not so, not so.

But I had been thinking about having one in our home for quite a while.

Our kitchen has a limited space, 

and I didn't want to cram too much stuff so not to be able to walk in there.

But I finally came up with an idea...

the day before Thanksgiving.

Because you know,

when creativity strikes,

then you must act...immediately.

So I moved the microwave station to the side of the fridge, 

took the pantry door down (to make room for microwave cart thingy),

sewn a curtain to replace the door,

disassembled a sewing machine table,

Easy Wooden Headboard

If you remember,

almost two years ago, 

I built 2 wooden twin size bed frames (project HERE) out of a futon frame.

I initially just used a canopy to hang over the beds,

but this week I decided to build the headboards.

I looked in my stash and found some pieces I could use.

These were the backing of 2 solid wood bookshelves we got on

Dresser to Buffet

This dresser to buffet makeover that I am sharing today, is one of my favorite.

I like how it turned out,

and it was a FREE dresser that I got to play with.

My inspiration was this box.

Don't you have an inspiration box?

This buffet is going to stay in our rec room converted garage,

so I wanted this to have wheels for easily roll it out the door when needed.

I started by removing the

Creative Inexpensive Frame(s)

I am always excited when I can use something that was either free or practically free.

Today I turned this old window into a frame display for my map.

The window is original to our home.

It is one of two windows that were taken down when we turned them into doors to access

Emergency Room Heater

Do you ever wonder what would you do during an ice storm, snow storm or simply an emergency situation when you lose power during the Winter months?

First of all, have a plan.

Pick the smallest room in your house, with the least windows.

For our family, the smallest room is our sons room. 

A 10x10 room with only 1 window, facing south.

This room is also the only room in the house that has only one outside wall. 

Next, 

Bedroom Set Revamp

A couple of months ago I was about to start building a wooden bed frame for our son.

A few days later, a friend of mine called me asking me if I had any use for a twin size bed with 2 smaller dressers.

Well, of course. 

I was ok with the bed and dresser being mostly white, but the blue drawers needed to be toned down a bit.

I got my homemade mod podge and this "pallet wood" paper 

Think outside the Wooden Box

If you are a regular around here,

you know I love a good wooden box.

I have made many,

but today's project is different.

Literally thinking outside the wooden box.

Here were my requirements for this project.

I needed a box that:

would fit on a particular shelf

was light enough for the little children to move

yet, strong enough to keep up especially with Mr. Tornado,

and would look somewhat decent on the shelf in our sunroom.

Ok, got all of that?

Reason why I couldn't just build a storage box out of pallets

(whom I deeply love)

DIY Wooden Crate (here)

Chicken Wire Wood crate (here) 

So here is what I used this time around:

Our "New" free chair

I am all about buying used or get free stuff...within limits.

I always ask myself: 

can it be washed? 

or 

can it be wiped down with clorox? :)

We have had this chair in our living room for years. 

It was free.

Although you might like the pattern on the chair, 

the main problem with this was that the chair had lots

Pallet Project

I have been looking for some inspiration out there, 

and decided I was going to make a medal plaque for myself.
(you could also make this to just hang pictures and necklaces)

Something that fits my style and my budget.

The prices I found online were anywhere between $30 to $50.

The price for my medal and bib holder was $0.

I know, surprising.

I used 

The Open Pantry

Since I got these large 1/2 gallon jars,

I needed a place to store all of them.

I decided that this shelf I made pre-blogging days, was perfect to keep all my jars organized.

The shelf was made using 

Shag Rug (with recycled material)

Today I am sharing how to make a shag rug, the frugal way.

When I was looking at shag rugs I could not believe how expensive they are, 

for such small sizes.

So I looked into making my own.

This project was made with things that I already had.

The base for the rug is a rubber rug pad.

I remember buying this at the Restore for $1 several years ago.

The actual fabric material are 

Thanksgiving/Fall centerpiece

One thing I know for sure is that I love reclaimed wood.

It's so pretty, not just for the color variations, but also for the natural imperfection it has.

I call it natural beauty.

This morning I was in the mood to build something.

We just recently decided to stay in town for Thanksgiving, so I wanted to build something for our table.

This centerpiece is very large.

Apple Baskets

Today I decided to add a little something to this two apple baskets I bought a while back.

As usual, the choice of numbers makes it more interesting than just having a plain basket.

Words are also a favorite of mine.

This is one of those projects that can be done in less than

Vintage Industrial light repurposed

On a recent flea market shopping trip, I found this Industrial light that I wanted to use as a pendant kitchen lighting.

Because our kitchen is small, this light just didn't look right in that space. 

I went with this other option instead.

Wire Basket Light

This kitchen light project was long overdue. 

A long ago  few months ago I went to a flea market here in town, and I bought a little something that I wanted to use in my kitchen as a pendant light above the sink.

See, 

this is what I had for a long time. 

It came with the house.

 Beside the fact that it wasn't a beauty to look at, the really annoying thing was the constant buzzing sound from the time you turned it one, to the time you turned it off.

So, back to the flea market finds, this is what I was going to use as a 

Toys to home decor

Have you ever repurposed toys as home decor? 

As I was cleaning the children's toys, 

I found a few wooden toys that I thought I could use for something totally different.

Here is what I started with...