New chicken coop door

I inherited a few chickens when I bought my house and for the past 4 years, I've been dealing with a warped coop door. The door was now so warped it was getting hard for me to close. I thought a screen door with the screen taken out and replaced by chicken wire would be perfect.

Here is the coop before. It's quite large and well over 6 feet tall.

I found a screen door at a home salvage store and snagged it for $20. I took out the screen, replaced it with chicken wire (you can staple this on with a hand held stapler) and painted it the same color as my front door, Spicy Hue by Sherwin Williams.

I love it!!! It adds a little pop of color and it's great having a door that actually opens and closes with ease. Now, I think I need to paint the rest of the coop the color of my house!

Upholstered Chairs

While I have been on a project hiatus my mom has been busily working away. Today's post showcases a pair of chairs she re-upholstered. She bought these chairs for $7 each at Goodwill. $7!!!!

Here they are before she worked her magic:

In case you any of you upholstery fans are interested, here are the "insides" of the chair.

And now here is the after. Aren't these amazing?! My step-father used his carpentry skills to fix the arms and my mom has some serious upholstery skills!

Hutch Much?

Almost two years ago I turned the bottom of this hutch into a bookcase. Yes, sadly it has taken me that long to refinish the bottom. Here are the before pictures.

I painted the hutch a pale green color, and glazed it with my favorite Martha Stewart black coffee glaze. The top I stained a darker brown. And wha-la!!! Here is the finished product.

Chest of Drawers Refurb

Today's project is a chest of drawers I picked up at a yard sale. I loved it's details and especially it's handles. I don't know why but I'm a sucker for this type of drawer pull. It's a vintage piece with dove tailed drawers. Alas, it had seen better days. I had to do some extensive wood putty work along the bottom right side. Unfortunately, I got a little excited and started working on it without taking good before pictures so the only one I have was actually taken at the yard sale itself.

I painted it a grayish-blue (Britannia Blue by Benjamin Moore) and used the Martha Stewart black coffee glaze to bring out the details.

You might recognize this picture from my red bed post, but I love this stuff. It's so easy to work with and very forgiving. Not enough? Put more on. Too much? Wipe more off. Started to dry? Put on a fresh coat and resume wiping. I also like the small hint of metallic in the glaze. It gives it a little shimmer.

I tried to stain the top, per my standard MO but the wood took the stain too differently. Way too differently. Frankly, it looked awful. Have no fear fellow furniture refinishers! Should something not turn out the way you had planned or envisioned there is another way. Here I decided to paint the top black and put a coat of polyurethane on for protection. Do I like it as much as the stained tops? No. Do I still like it? Yes.

Without further ado, here is the finished product!

The Power of Spray Paint Part II

I have a couple of large projects I am looking forward to sharing with you over the next few weeks. For now, a fast, simple little project. I want to showcase the power of a can of spray paint! I found this cutie at Goodwill for $6.

Here it is before. Not bad looking of course, but I wasn't a fan of the natural wood frame.

And here it is after.

A reminder to keep your eyes open at Goodwill for pieces with great "bones"!