cushy cottage

White dresser

the dresser that i have it’s not going to work for the cottage theme that i’m creating for my bedroom. so, the old dresser is hauled to the guest room and i went hunting on craigslist. found this gorgeous dresser. it’s not in the best shape as it was stored in a shed for a long time. cleaning, sanding and painting will turn this plain dresser to a beauty, don’t you think?

after i aired, cleaned and removed the disgusting and dirty liner (those things are extremely sticky), i’m ready to sand and prime. i just did 1 coat of prime and 3 coats of valspar summer grey (same as my vanity table). Add a coat of polyacrylic to protect it. i was planning to keep the original hardwarre rusty look but, decided to spray them since i will use this dresser often and don’t want my hands to have the rust stench every time i open the dresser. so glad i did.

final product!!

i think my painting skill is slowly improving. the dresser stands handsomely in my room. the mr. was unhappy cos’ we traded a dresser with rails to one without. oh well…..he’ll get use to it.

more photos……

i used fabric & modpodge(didn’t know its existence until i join the decor/craft blogsville wagon) as liner for all the drawers. it was hard work, but well worth it. don’t think i’ll put my clothes in it without liners :P

i love the doorknobs accessories holder inspired by madewell clothing store decor. will post about it soon…..

price breakdown:
dresser $30
paint – from another project
spray paint – from another project
fabric $15
modpodge $5.99
total $50.99

quirky photo….i was cooking breakfast and the mr. walked by and saw 2 eggs shells in a spam can. with a sharpie he drew……..pretty creative, huh?

Linky

The DIY Showoff
Blue Cricket Design
These Creative Juices

yucky to yummy chair

was hunting for a chair for my vanity table. i've seen blogger fixing up chairs with new paint, fabric and foam. i’m having lots of fun reading up blogs about DIY projects. trash indeed turns into treasures with some “magic touch.” i’m not a crafty person and certainly can’t sew at all. once i tried to sew a loose button for the mr but ended up poking my fingers several times. the mr sew it himself after seeing those red stains on his pants :P i’m happy to find out sewing is NOT required to reupholster a chair. all i need is a staple gun which i found from one of the estate sales for $4.

picked up this chair from goodwill for $6. it has all the curvy details that i’m looking for. the cushion is stained and dirty, but it will be replaced. I had trouble fitting this chair in my coupe. with a few adjustments, it finally fits in the passenger seat. lol…..i wasn’t planning on hauling furniture when i bought the car. i envy all of you with SUV and trucks.

made a trip to hobby lobby for my supplies. was lucky that they were having sale on fabric and foam. but, i got the wrong size for the foam. mental note…..measure before heading out to the store. no one tells me hobby lobby closes on sunday. blah…..the project was delayed by another week and i’m stuck sitting on a hard wood chair for another week.

finally, after a few coats of krylon white spray paint, tug&pull, stapling and screwing……DONE! (please ignore the messiness).

i have lots of extra fabric. maybe i’ll use it for lamp shade? wall art? it’s going into my drawers for now :p happy tuesday!

Linky

vanity table makeover

i can't seem to find furniture that i want from the stores. when i find a piece that i like, they don't have the color that i want. then i started looking at blogs that feature diy projects for home, furniture and decor. i had no idea an old piece of furniture can be beautiful with new coat of paint or new hardware etc. before i wouldn't look at old junk or someone's used stuffs or go to thrift shops. i had only been to goodwill to donate. i had never stepped inside the shop. the idea of using someone used item creeps me out. after looking at cool projects from other bloggers, i figure i can overcome my fear and start hunting for unique and rare pieces at a much lower price. besides, there's always anti-bacterial cleaners and hot boiling water to kill all the germs.......rite??

one of the most important furniture that i need is a vanity table. it's where i spend 20 mins every morning. i don't want anything too big or too little counter space. i finally found this gorgeous table. it's meant to be a sofa/entry table. but i see it as my vanity table :) those curvy legs and wavy trims and of course the price....$40 make me tingle.

how it looks when i found it

after one quick coat of zinsser primer.

after 2 coats of valspar summer grey. voila!

we painted the room ourselves. we matched the color from benjamin moore's french lilac to sherwin williams harmony paint (supposed to be environmentally responsible and zero VOC). love the soft, romantic, soothing color. it was a hard 5 hours paint job. we went to bed that night with a whole new respect for painters. can't imagine doing this every day. phew~~~~~

LINKY

Estate Sale finds

i have been thinking about how to decorate the master bedroom for a long time. i been browsing around the internet and decor magazines for ideas and finally decided to go with the cottage(shabby chic) look. i've always like cottage decor (hence my blog name). it makes me feel comfortable, relaxing and cozy. so, i'm going for it! but it's only limited to the master bedroom since the mr wants to keep the other parts of the house more contemporary.

i also want to find furniture/decor that are unique and rare with lots of characters. so instead of going to furniture store, i'm going to estate sale ;) i have never been to an estate sale before and have no idea what to expect. i was quick to realize that people do get up early on saturday morning. estate sales usually starts from 7-8am. bleh....i'm not usually a morning person, so this require a bit of effort.

it's all worth it when i return with so many treasures.

a shabby lamp with platform to hold my other decor. i like the mix green and white paint, the 3 pedestal legs and the price. only $25

other treasures: frame ($0.50), jewelry box($2), crystal($2), ornate mirror($3), very old board game($3) and a book from 1940s($3)

close up details of the jewelry box

Brussels Trip + Paint Job

i didn't know smurfs are from brussels before the trip. did you know? brussels is not a very clean city. the metro stations are dirty, old and shabby. you wouldn't want to travel on it by yourself.

too bad EU headquarters was closed for christmas. it would be interesting to get some souvenirs there. so, we headed to the atomium(i call it a mad scientist project) and mini europe instead. not a good day to visit. gloomy sky and chilly wind

there were lots and lots of belgian chocolates in different sizes, shapes and flavors. yummy!

nice packaging. expensive feel.

she's real btw. pretty neat!

went to one of the earliest shopping arcade Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert. interesting little shops along the narrow street-like courtyard

my favorite place Grand Place-Grote Markt love those old european buildings. look at those fine details on every arch and statues. they are so intricate and full of historical evidence.

who's going to miss the chance to try real authentic belgian waffle with caramelized sugar (gaufre de Liège-Luikse wafel)? not me certainly!

meneiken pis. no idea why it's so popular. just a statue of a pissing boy. can you say vulgar?

completed the paint job in my master bed/master bath/living room after hours and hours of sweat, up and down the ladder, taping the edges, etc. finally, the gorgeous end results. goodbye plain white walls. will post photos when the rooms are more presentable.

i'm back!! rotterdam/amsterdam trip

i have been neglecting my blog for the past few months. i think i have a valid reason(hope you agree with me). i was in the midst of searching for a home, packing, moving, cleaning, organizing etc. this is in addition to my work which is pretty hectic recently. phew~~~~~finally, i'm more settled down in my new cottage, although i'm still sleeping on the floor like a nomad :) i'm starting to feel that being a homeowner ain't easy. my grass is dying and weeds are appearing everywhere. arghhh......i have no idea what to do. i used to dislike rain(i don't like being wet and caught without an umbrella), but now i'm hoping that it'll rain more often to avoid watering my yard&trees ;P

on to another subject, my much delayed post about my christmas '09 trip. it was a long journey from london to rotterdam. all because of eurostar not working in the cold winter :S we took a train from london to harwich way before sunrise. yawn~~~~~~ then we took a ferry to hoek van holland. it was a huge ferry and was packed with people. i slept most of the journey in the uncomfortable seats for ~7 hours. one ironic thing was they were showing a movie about a sinking ship. not a good movie to be shown to the ferry patrons, don't you think? then we took a train to rotterdam from the port. alas, we arrived! only to be stranded in the heavy snow and the tram stopped working. we finally made it to our hotel after lots of detour. the local people are really nice and helpful.

rotterdam is full with unique and weird architectural buildings.

can you imagine how cold it was?!!

windmill...the only one i saw at Delfshaven. it's a working windmill

amsterdam is famous for pancakes. this is bacon strips with vege...yum

the only tulips available are in Bloemenmarkt. i can imagine how beautiful it is in spring

erotic chocolates. i'll keep to myself what i saw in red light district sshhhhh......

next project: painting my room....how does french lilac sounds? psst...the organizer is given by shop n chomp. using it everyday :)

Happy Earth Day !!!

What's your contribution to give back to mother nature?

Here are some ideas

RECYCLE......it's not that hard, really
Use reusable bags when you shop......put them in the trunk. that way you'll always have them with you
Plant a tree
use energy efficient light bulbs, appliances etc.
turn off the water while brushing your teeth
take shorter colder showers
use a mug instead of paper/plastic cups
sign up for paperless bills

what other ideas do you have?

ps: in the middle of moving. hence, the slow posts

london part 1

went missing for a long period of time. no excuse. just feel like taking a break from the blogging world ;-P time to rewind and playback my Christmas+New Year vacation in UK&Europe. Everyone told me it was a bad idea to go there in winter, but what did I do?? ignore their advice and went ahead to a cold cold adventure >_<>

london was snowing when i got there. it almost never snows in london. what happen to our climate?? i'm happy to find out my friend's place is not too far from the tube station. don't want to be frozen every time i leave the apartment to the tube station.

first meal in london.......BURGER!! not what i wanted, but every pub that we went was full. apparently thursday evening is also drinking evening. surprisingly it was good (psst....maybe i'm just hungry)