The New Old Media Cabinet

Hey everyone! It's me coming back with another project. (That sounded so YouTube. Lol. And yes I'm a junkie) Sometimes I think having a YouTube channel would be easier than a blog. I am a much better talker than I am writer. That reminds me, I'm suppose to be starting an Instagram account. We'll see if that actually happens though. Well, enough of the random chatting let's get into the project. Last week I finished my media cabinet. It is an old piece that I redid to make a new piece. Here is the original media stand.

Before

Like most projects, it started out as a general idea. I looked around and found inspiration from something I saw in a magazine. I decided in the new house that I would do something a little different. I still liked the piece, but wanted a change. It needed an update. So, an update it got.

After

It's blue! Well teal or aqua. I can't decide really. So, the media stand got a major facelift. First came the idea of doors. I had decided a while back that I was tired of seeing every DVD I own all the time. Then the color. In the apartment, the media stand is where the TV sat. In the house, there isn't a lot of wall area, so the TV will have to go over the fireplace. Without a TV on top, it was no longer a main piece of furniture. That means I could be a little more bold and adventurous. Why not make a statement. So, I went for it. 

Bright blue it was! The whole thing was painted using Behr latex paint in the color Bella Vista. Next it was time to make the pieces for the doors. Time to fire up the Miter Saw!!!!!!! Yes, this was my first time using my big girl power tools in the new house. It was actually quite nice. A big table, plenty of room, and no worrying about neighbors. Once the doors were cut and glued, they were painted the same color blue as the base.

I created the door fronts using a specialty paper I found at Binders. Can you believe they were only $1.70 a piece. That is a steal. Even the check out girl did a double take. I used thick posterboard, and adhered the paper to the front, and then secured it from the back using thumb tacks. 

Once the doors were complete I decided to add knobs. I have been dying to use the cool decorative knobs that they have at Hobby Lobby. This was my chance. I even planned out an afternoon to go look. I was going to take my time and relish in all of my choices. I decided on some cream ceramic knobs with flowers on the front. They actually matched the piece very nicely. 

Once the knobs were screwed in it was time to attach the doors. Now, I am not a fan of attaching doors. It is actually a giant pain in the butt! Trying to get everything to line up perfectly just never seems to be as easy as I want. I had thought about going a different route. A while back on Nate Berkus, I saw him do a kitchen makeover for someone. In this makeover, the washer and dryer were in the kitchen. They were giant eye sores. Since you couldn't move them, Nate decided to hide them. He made these giant covers and attached them to the front of the space using magnets. It was so genius! What a great idea. When you need to use the washer just move the cover, and when you are done move the piece back, and the magnets cause it to stay in place. So, I did a play on that. I attached magnets to the front of the media cabinet, and a set to each door. 

Now, one of my concerns was pulling on the knob and the whole door coming off. However, just my luck that since the doors are big and touch the floor you don't even have to touch the knobs. All you have to do is just pull it forward from the top. Can you say AWESOME! You can see the middle magnets on the front side of the cabinet. Now, I did not create a back for it. I could have, but did not see the necessity. This piece is against the wall so you can't see the back.  

So, with that piece guess what? I am done with furniture building upgrading in the living room. I'm excited! Now, all I need to do is accessorize and fill in the gaps. This is where the fun starts. Next couple of things are to hang some of my art pieces. They're kind of big though, and I've never been a proponent of using wall anchors. So this should definitely be interesting. Though I think I have learned my lesson, after the infamous medicine cabinet crash that broke the toilet. (You probably shouldn't ask) Stay tuned....it's on to the next project!

Refacing the Bookshelf

So, these days consists of building, projecting, and trying to keep some level of sanity. My house looks spotless for like 2 days, and then a tornado strikes. I'm actually behind on my blogging. I have the next 2 projects finished. This project has been done for a couple of weeks now. So, let's jump right in it. I finally finished refacing the bookshelf. Refacing you ask, is just that. Putting a new face on the bookshelf.

Awhile back I built a bookcase. The design was inspired by something I saw online. However, the original was all sleek and super modern...i.e over $1000. I feel like this whole modern furniture phase is just a way for them to charge you a lot of money for boxey shelving and uncomfortable couches. It looks cool, but that's about it. However, I digress, back to the bookshelf. Like I said I saw the design online, and decided I would make my own. Who am I kidding. I was always going to make my own. I just needed an idea of a design I liked.The shape was pretty basic, so I decided I would just go for it. I used 12" wide MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard - for the non Home Depot folks), and created it using a combination of drywall screws and wood glue. Then I painted it black to match the rest of my living room furniture.

For the most part I had no problem with it and it stayed like that for awhile. However, if you have ever worked with MDF then you know that the edges are very unfinished, and no matter how much sanding and prepping you do it soaks up so much paint you can never get a smooth surface. So, moving into the house caused me to finally take the plunge and finish the edges. I decided I wanted them to be nice and smooth and also wider as well.  The original edges are 3/4 of an inch. That was a little thin. I wanted a thicker more prominent edge. I figured molding would be the best option. I headed to Home Depot to find what I needed thinking that this would be a pretty simple project. WRONG! You would not believe how difficult it was to find what I needed. Honestly I didn't think I was asking too much. I saw all kinds of molding...plenty of 3/4" and 1 1/4" but no 1 inch. Really?! What a pain. I was going to go with Balsa wood from the craft store and just cut it to size. That was going to be an even bigger pain so I really wanted to avoid that. One day I happened to ask my boss if he had any ideas. He suggested door molding. It come in thin strips, and it's wasn't real wood so it would easily take the paint. It could be found in the back with the door frames. So, I ventured back to Home Depot and took a gander. However, I just so happened to look in the molding section one more time. I walked up the aisle, and was just about to walk over to the door section when I turned around behind me and there it was. Long 8ft pieces of small plain molding. Wow! Are you kidding me? Where the hell have I been. I have looked up and down this aisle at least 5 times, but never looked on the other side. I just assumed it was all expensive hard wood. I looked through the stacks. Funny thing is I have used this stuff before for another project years ago in where I needed to cover the raw edge for a desk. Go figure. They didn't have 1 inch, they did have 1 1/8" though. That was good enough at this point. I picked up 10 pieces, and 2 3/4" pieces for the bottom, stuffed it in the Corolla, and went home...feeling quite accomplished I might add. 

The pieces were pretty easy to cut. All I needed was a utility knife. I laid the bookshelf on it's side and then began applying the molding to the bookshelf using a mixture of wood glue and gorilla glue. I was actually pretty nervous about this being that I know just how heavy it is. Last time I tried to move the damn thing it almost fell on me. 

This is what I mean by MDF edges. They are unfinished and rough compared to the top

Now, being that the pieces are wider than the actual edge, they hung over 3/8". Since the bottom pieces can't hang I just used  3/4" pieces. Once it was done and all the wood was applied this is what it looked like.

 I let the whole thing set for a couple of days and then it was time for paint. I decided that since my living room no longer has majority black furniture that I needed to change the color. I wanted a neutral, but not black or brown. That pretty much leaves gray. So gray it was. I used a Hi-Gloss paint, and this is the finish product.

I know in the picture it probably looks the same, but in person you can definitely see the difference

I have started to accessorize it. However, I realized I don't have as many things now. A lot of the pieces I had on it before will be going into my office, so I've started playing around with some other ideas. I don't think I'm going to think too hard about it. I'll just gradually add to it as I see things I like. The only thing missing is the photo albums. They are suppose to go on the bottom shelf. However, upon taking them out of the box I realized how unorganized they were. Well they weren't really unorganized, but more so not so attractive. So, now a whole new project has been born. Let's not even talk about how that happened. I'll have to do an updated post once the shelves are more filled in.  

Glad I finally did this project. I've been wanting to reface the bookcase for a while now. It looks beautiful. So, now that that is done I guess it is on to the next project. Well actually I finished the next project already. Just have to blog about it. I guess it's back to the project after that....painting the living room walls. Definitely can't wait for that to be over with. I hate painting walls. I'm never tall enough to reach the entire thing so it requires lots of ladders and step stools. Stepping up, then back down, using the paint brush, then back down to get the roller, trying not to fall, and picking dripped paint out of my freshly washed curls (Don't ask!)...yes it all sounds so fun, but it's the life I lead. Until the next project folks! 

Love My Ladies

As of this past weekend, my house is a little over 2 months old. The decorating is coming along great. Probably not as fast as I would like, but I'm okay with that. I was told that putting your house together is a marathon not a sprint. I have actually been told some variation of this statement by several of my friends and coworkers. They clearly know me all too well. I am a definite busy body, and have this constant feeling of getting the house finished. However, I am officially back to one project at a time. Though I do have to stop myself from time to time when I start thinking 5 projects ahead. Last week I finally started to hang some of my paintings up. In particular my ladies. I'm excited because they are some of my favorites.

It all started one day I was having one of my many random conversations with my good friend Herb. Now a little background on Herb, he is just plain special. There is no other way to describe it. It amazes me the things that he says and does sometimes. All you can do is shake your head, smile, and go with it. He's one of a kind in the best of ways. He also happens to be one of those friends that pushes me creatively. We will just be discussing some random topic and somehow a great idea will come about. On this particular day we were talking about Outkast, and that trickled down to the Outkast cd art. If you don't know, Outkast puts women in some sort of artistic aspect on their cds. We thought it would be cool to recreate it but bigger. So, with that my first lady painting was born.

I didn't know where to find round canvas, so I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up a large piece of matboard. The whole painting took me a few months. Like I said in my last post, I was never much of a painter growing up. My expertise is abstract, so recreating something more real life always wrinkles my brain. I was actually quite surprised with how good it came out. I impressed myself! I did the painting for Herb and have not seen it since. It somehow seems to be in some secret location heavily guarded in his home. 

From that day forth I was inspired. Something about painting using the shapes and curves of a woman's body always makes for a good art piece. I definitely love men in real life, but in art no so much. After that I was inspired to do more. Most of my favorite paintings have been of women, and I finally found homes for all of them.

Fire and Ice

Fire and Ice is one of my favorite paintings. It's funny because I originally had no intention of keeping them. I only did it to create the idea that was in my head. I was actually getting ready to sell them. However, the guy who wanted to buy them seemed to have an awful lot of feedback on how I could have made them better. That was the best thing he could have done that day. I realized it wasn't the painting he loved, he loved collecting stuff. I wanted someone to love my artwork. So, I decided to keep it and after awhile fell in love with it myself.  Lots of people actually like this set of paintings. My aunt seems to have already claimed them if anything were to ever happen to me.

This was inspired by a picture someone posted on fb. It was a small postcard of a woman's back and a big curly afro. I thought it was cute, and mentally stored it for future project inspiration. One day I felt like painting something so I decided to give it a go. I imagined a woman with a big afro made of circles. The circles in my head were suppose to look more blended, but the colors weren't giving the effect I wanted. I decided to just make them more separate. This painting took almost 6 months to do. I painted the woman, her hair, and then got stuck. I wasn't sure what to do with the background, or her body. She was originally suppose to be bare all the way down, but once I painted it I wasn't really feeling it. It looked flat and lifeless. I got to a point where I didn't know where to go. So, I put it away. It stayed away for months. Then one day I wanted to finish it so I took it back out. With fresh eyes, the rest of it seemed to come together. You'd be surprised how often stepping away from something and coming back is all you need. I LOVE HER! I have had several people ask me for this one. I've decided I want to keep her though. I feel like I'm allowed to keep some of my art. :)

This painting is one of my most recent creations. After completing the last one, a fellow artist had asked me about recreating the painting in black and white. It's always difficult to recreate a painting. It never has the same "WOW" factor as it did the first time. However, now my interest had been peaked about an all black and white version. Black and white paintings pose their issues. When you only have 2 colors to use you have to get creative to create contrast and separation without the colors running in to each other. I remembered another painting I had done in black and white using different patterns, so I used that same idea. I drew the outline of the woman, and then started to fill her in. This was slightly difficult because unlike the other black and white painting, I needed the woman to stand out while still using the same 2 colors for the background. I have to say she came out so much better than I imagined. She's hanging upstairs near my bedroom. I am selling her so at some point I won't have her anymore, but stay tuned I have some ideas for a variation. 

I wonder what the next lady will be? Who knows, so for now....it's on to the next project!

Project Archive #3 - AUC Love

This past weekend, was graduation reunion in the AUC. As of this weekend I will have been out of college for 10 years. Wow, how time flies. I can't believe that it's been that long since the good ole college days. Walking the strip, socializing in the Library, partying at Studio Central and the Warehouse, AUC basketball games (aka AUC social event on a school night), and late night eating from Stegals. So, it's only fitting that I write this post now.

Most people would never think that growing up I was never much of a big painter. I was always more into drawing and sketching than anything. After graduating, my friend Landon, who I had done a picture for before, asked if I would do a painting for him. I was thinking okay, that sounds reasonable. Then he tells me what he wants. He wants something to remind him of the AUC. Now, in theory since I was never much of a painter I didn't know what I was going to do or even where to start. I mean something that reminds you of the AUC could be a wide variety of things, but I was up for the challenge. So, I took a day and traveled back down to campus and just started taking pictures. At this point I still had no idea where I was going with this, but I figured something would bring inspiration. I threw several ideas around in my head. How was I suppose to bring all of the AUC together? I looked through all the pictures I had taken, and it then it came to me.

Just like that my first painting project was born. Somehow I managed to combine the campuses of Spelman, Morehouse, and Clark all into one painting (Sorry Morris Brown. There wasn't enough room). I'm actually pretty impressed with myself. I'm an abstract kind of a girl, so recreating real scenery was a definite challenge. I just saw Landon this past weekend. He told me to this day that this is still one of his favorites. I guess I did okay for my first painting. What do you think?

No more power tools in the apartment!

I am happy to say that I will no longer be using my miter saw in my apartment. Why? Because I have a garage! YAY! (Insert applause here). I have been building my own furniture for years. It started when I graduated college. My uncle and I went searching around for a bed for my new apartment. All I saw were beds with mattresses and boxsprings, and I hate boxsprings. They're ugly.  I wanted a platform, and back then Ikea wasn't here yet. So, on a whim I asked my uncle how hard it would be to build one. He told me it's not as hard as you think, and actually much cheaper than buying one. That was all I needed to here. Cheaper than buying, so I went for it. I mean how hard could it could be? Make a box and put some legs on it. The rest is history. From there I became fully acuainted with Home Depot, and just started building all kinds of things. Skip 10 years, and most of my big pieces of furniture are TM.Originals. I always feel it has to be funny to see a 5ft woman, carrying an 8 ft piece of wood, and attempt to strategically manuever it into my Corolla.

Last weekend I really took some time to get some stuff done in the house. One of my projects was organizing my garage. Now, I am fortunate to have a 2 car garage. So, my car goes on one side and my tools and building materials on the the other.

Before

After

This took me about an afternoon. The main goal was to make sure everything was easily accessible and easy to find. As you know, I'm not one to be searching around for stuff for too long. I also wanted to make sure to keep the work surface clear so I had space to work and spread my projects out. The only things not out are my cans of paint. I put those in the garage closet.

You have no idea how excited I am to finally have my own workshop. For years living in apartments, I would always build in my living room. Yes, in my apartment living room. I have drilled, cut, glued, sanded, spray painted, and sawed all indoors. Inhaling sawdust is not pretty. Trust me, I have learned the lesson from personal experience. It sounds crazy I know. I will admit that using a Miter Saw in an apartment is not the best idea, but I have to work with what I got. Now, I know what your thinking....the noise. I will say that I try to be a considerate neighbor. I do not do any loud work too early in the morning or late at night. To this day no one has ever complained. Well at least not to me. My coworkers joke that they're too scared. You hear a noise like that your not sure what it is.I could be a crazy person cutting up bodies. HA! No bodies, just 2x4s. Now, I will not never do a project in the living room again, because that would be a lie. My bookshelf is currently laying on its side upstairs right now getting a face lift as a write this. However, I will definitely keep it to a minimum. 

I'll be doing my first building project next week. I'll have to come back and tell you how it went. Should be exciting. The only thing missing now is a table saw. Then we would really be in business. Until then, it's on to the next project!

Bedroom Serene

So, I said I would be back soon. I'm actually kind of behind on the posting. The original plan was to work on one project at a time. You all know me though, that wasn't going to happen. However, I think the initial wave of OMG! I just want to decorate is simmering down. I seem to be able to focus a bit more now. I had a friend today ask me what I was working on now? I just moved into a house. You can pretty much assume I will always be working on something. So, on to the good stuff...I finished my first room! I did the bedroom and master bathroom. Now, the bedroom actually wasn't much of an undertaking. Like I said last post, I started redecorating months ago. The bedroom was one of those rooms. Actually the bedroom has been in the works for awhile. It all started when I decided I wanted a new bed. That of course was the focal point. Everything else went from there. Most of the stuff in the bedroom I already had. I only added a few things to complete the look and feel. 

 So, once again my wonderful bed. I'm still in love with this piece. (Until I stub my toe on one of those legs...MAN...it takes me out for a minute.)

 

Now, in this room I have a ceiling fan. So, my plan of adding 2 bedside lamps didn't make a lot of sense anymore. I still wanted the big regal bedside situation though. The main pieces that you'll find on both sides is the tall piece. Honestly I wasn't sure what was going to go there. I just looked around and kept an open mind. I was in Pier 1, and saw the 2 clear pieces. The glass actually has a cracked look. Much more interesting in person. The picture just doesn't do it justice. Once I brought them home though they weren't quite tall enough. So what did I do? I went to my store. The silver balls are really candle holders I used to have on my coffee table. Way to repurpose...GO ME! I added the picture of my mom and I and my cherub box I got when I was in Paris. The pinkish/red globe is the only new thing. I got it from Hobby Lobby during my first home shopping spree. I felt I needed some sort of color.

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This is a painting I did a while back. I did one originally for my phone cover. Then decided I wanted a bigger version. The shelf under that is from the greatest store ever (well next to Target)...The Container Store. People, if you have never been inside the Container Store, your life is just not complete.I got this a while back when they had a sale. I didn't know where to put it in the old place so I just kept it in the package. The intention was for it to always end up in the bedroom though. On top of that is my queen chess piece. 

The last project in the bedroom was a perfume tray. I bought an old picture frame from goodwill, and spray painted it black. I put a mirror inside to give it that sexy glam look. 

In the process the master bathroom got done too. I actually have a nice bathroom. Everyone's favorite part is my bathtub. I'm not really a tub person though. I don't have the patience to sit that long while doing nothing. I'm going to try and embrace it though. I have definitely gotten used to the stand in shower. I originally was not a fan. For one, I don't like drains under my feet. Gives me the creeps, and after seeing the movie "IT" by Stephen King, that was a wrap. I avoid them at all costs. The ones at the pool are even worst. They're just gross. I was also afraid of it feeling a little claustrophobic, but you know I've grown to really like it. It's more roomy in there than it looks, and I added a bath mat over the drain to ease my anxiety.

The inspiration for the room was a hot pink bath towel and my new soap dispenser. 

The soap dispenser and the towel were not necessarily in the same color family so the other accessories had to some how bring them together. My favorite part of the bathroom though is...wait for it...my drawer dividers!!!!!

I LOVE them! I'm so excited about these, I don't know what to do with myself. The inside of the drawers are just plain white. I put my stuff in, but it just looked jumbled to me. I thought about just buying some. However, I could not find any that fit in exactly. So, I made my own. They were really easy too. I just use posterboard and some sort of decorative paper for the inside. This time I happened to be in Marshalls and came across adhesive shelf liner. SCORE! It's big in size and adhesive. I was originally going for a more girly pattern, but when I saw this I actually liked it.

Can I just say though ever since I moved, I've been in Homegoods/Marshalls/TJ Maxx a lot. They really have some nice things for good prices. Almost better than Target or Walmart in some cases. I just never paid that much attention before. Now I am.

Well, I think that is enough for you all to take in for one post. Until the next time....On the the next project!



Decorating, Designing, and more Decorating

Life has become quite exciting. This house thing is really coming together quite nicely, and I'm having soooo much FUN doing it. And to think, I haven't even been to Ikea yet. I think after all these years I have finally found my decorating niche. Usually I get some grand idea in my head and plow full speed into it. I'm not one for patience, and want it to all be transformed and perfect like yesterday. Then at some point I end up redoing half of it again when I see something I like better.

 Then...Nate Berkus happened. He had a show, on the decorating of his new New York home. He said that his house was a collection of things that he had purchased over time. Things he had bought from flea markets, showrooms, and from his travels. It was such a nice mix of eclectic things that all seemed to come together to make a cohesive room. I was so inspired, and at that moment the light bulb went off. I wanted my a space to look like that. Too often when people decorate they go for what they see in a magazine or on pinterest or on the showroom floor of Ikea. Their spaces are beautiful, but says nothing about them. Now, my space say lots about me, but they always feel somehow disjointed. So, from that moment forth I decided to change the way I decorate. Why not decorate the way I do art. When I have an idea for a new painting I start with an idea in my head. However, what's in my head doesn't always translate into real life perfectly. So, I start with the basic idea and then go from there. I'll put down one section, and then stand back and see what comes to me next. Sometimes it all comes quickly and sometimes slowly. It may not be instant gratification, but the gradual building always turns out twice as magnificent. 

It also helped that I started redecorating last summer. I knew at some point I would be moving so, I decided to start the decorating process. I tackled projects that I had been putting off, and buying things that I like when I was out and about. Even though I had no place for them at the time, I knew somehow I would incorporate them. My theory was that, if I started now then I wouldn't have so many things to do once I was actually in my new space. And you know what, it's working out wonderfully! I'm finding all kinds of new things that I forgot I had, and don't have to buy so much new stuff. Your home should be filled with things that you love. I am now definitiely living by that mantra. It's been quite the adventure. Here are some pictures of what the space looked like after I moved in

Can i just say how relieved I am that the couch, pillows, coffee table, and end table are done in here. Can I get a EXHALE!

Please don't judge me about this curtain situation. It bugs me too. 

I love the see through cabinets.Gives me a place to showcase my growing coffee mug collection.

This is suppose to be my office/workroom. The lack of excitement is killing me though. I may not be able to sit on it for too much longer.

This is one of the rooms that I had already redecorated. So there won't be too much extra in here. Oh and don't worry people. "The bed" will have a blog post of it's own. After all it's is the coolest thing I've ever built. I'm still amazed at how I managed to make that happen in my apartment. 

Word on the streets is that my tub is pretty awesome. Not really a bath person, but I may have to convert.

The blue room is the second bedroom. In time it will be my guest room/extended closet. For now it houses my shoes (of which there are really not that many) and my "store". I had the idea to take all of my decorative and organizing items, and lay them out in here. So when I need something I go look in here first. This saves me from buying things that I already have. So far it has been quite helpful.

Well I would say that is it for now. Stay tuned because the next posting shouldn't be far behind. I have already put together a few of the rooms. Until the next project.