Toy storage cupboard...

I accidentally took on a little furniture painting project. My dad salvaged these cupboards for me when Rosedale Bible Church was doing a little Sunday School building remodel project. They've been sitting in my Grandma Net's shop for a couple of years now, and I am finally ready to put them to use. I figured I'd just wipe them down and call them good enough. But, as most projects tend to do, this turned into quite a bit more work than I had anticipated.


After looking at the cupboard for about .1 seconds, I realized that the whole top layer of paint was peeling off. I suspect that the last time this cupboard was painted someone layered latex paint over oil based which caused the peeling paint. I figured I'd do a quick sanding, prime the cabinet and doors, paint it and be done. Well, the quick sanding didn't happen. Turns out the entire top layer of paint had to come off otherwise none of my new paint would stick. bummer. So...I've been trying to squeeze in working on this project when I have some free time (which is never...but luckily Sharon, my mom, and John have helped with the boys, so I've had more free time than usual). I was hoping to get it finished by this weekend, but I don't think that's going to happen, but maybe next weekend...hopefully.

It's not anything fancy, but it should meet our needs. I think a fresh coat of white paint will perk this little cupboard right up :)

Finished kitchen cabinets...

I've been talking about these kitchen cabinets for awhile now (evidence here, here, here, here, and here...they are linked in reverse chronological order) and they are finally done. Well, they've been done for awhile, but I just realized that I hadn't taken the time to post the after pictures. Better late than never right? So, here they are:

Being used as the changing table in the nursery

The bottom cupboards are currently storing books. We have a ton of books for the baby. So many, in fact, that we even have some stored in the closet. John agreed to build a bookcase this summer out of leftover beadboard & fenceboards (my request). So look for that project coming soon.

The top two drawers are being used to store receiving blankets, burp rags, & sheets

The second cabinet we painted brown and are using as an entry console in our front room. It's basically empty at this point, but I'll figure out the perfect use for it soon.

I love that side panel piece...because I was originally going to use both cabinets in the baby's room, we only put the panels on the sides that would be exposed. Due to the fact that these pieces are now standing alone, we (John) now have 2 additional panels to make this summer. Boo.

Countertop material: pronomen butcher block from Ikea. This is also what we have on our kitchen countertops and I love it. Low cost & low maintenance.

Knobs: Pottery Barn classic hardware

Rebirth of the brown chair...

It's back...finally. Our local upholsterer finished it yesterday and called John while I was out at lunch with coworkers. Being the gem that he is, he drove down and picked it up amidst the ominous rain clouds. Not only did he pick it up, but he drove to the atm to pick up cash to pay for it, as I had the checkbook with me. When I arrived home from lunch, John had unloaded and set it up, just as you see below. He didn't utter a word about it, so when I walked into the room to show my mom the crib skirt, I let out a gasp and was elated with his stealth set-up & delivery (and, of course, the chair made me a tad happy as well).

Overall, I am very pleased. I was warned about this particular upholsterer's thread choice, and those warnings were indeed true. The entire chair was sewn with turquoise thread...crazy I know. Luckily, all of the seams on the chair are hidden, so this is not obvious. Until, of course, you examine the chair skirt. It's surprisingly not very noticeable, so it doesn't bother me. It mostly just makes me laugh, as does most everything else about our dear upholsterer. Our brown chair has now become the brown striped chair (with turquoise thread ;).

Check out that turquoise thread

View from the door

The best seat in the house

sleeping issues...

So I had my first shower last weekend. Up until this time I had planned on using the pack 'n play below as a bassinet...

Once I received this gift and set it up, I realized that I was sadly mistaken. This thing is huge and takes up a large portion of our living room. Being the clutter-phobe that I am, I knew this would never do for me. So, after much financial soul-searching, I called my mom and told her that I was going to have to invest in a bassinet, but I only wanted to invest in the most compact version possible.

A few hours later, I opened my email and discovered that my mom had found the ideal bassinet for me online. It folds up, people! (Hardly any of the ones I've seen do that). This is indeed a bassinet after my own heart...and it looks pretty darn cute & simple to boot.

So, being the planner ahead that my mom is (I am her daughter) she decided to invest in the bassinet herself and keep it for all of her future grandchildren to share. Baby Wiebe just gets to be the first. So, thanks be to mom for this sweet & simple bassinet that is already on order. We can't wait until it arrives.

cariboo folding bassinet

The Brown Chair...

We have a brown chair, or more accurately, we have the brown chair. It was the chair that Sharon rocked John & Jill in when they were babies. It was the site of many a nap for John in high school. It is old & it is, of course, brown.

John loves this chair. It became his after college. He will never part with it. It has been with us since the beginning of our marriage. And while it is truly a comfortable chair, the upholstery fabric has seen better days. It is faded, dirty, and worn. Yet despite these issues it remains a favorite. We haven't used it much as it seems to be a bit large & bulky for our living space, but we both knew that when the day came to expand our family we would welcome the birth of our first child with the rebirth of the brown chair.

That day has come. We took the chair to our local upholsterer today. This will be, literally, the first time that John has spent more than a night or 2 away from the chair (excluding his college years). When we dropped the chair off, the upholsterer marvelled at the quality of the chair. The frame was sturdy, the foam was intact. An "easy" job to complete he said. So now we sit and wait, on pins & needles, for the return of the brown chair. What a happy day that will be. Only to be closely followed by that April day that we are waiting for with great anticipation. I'm pretty sure John's first stop upon arriving home with Baby Wiebe will be the brown chair. What a celebratory occasion that will be...

seriously faded

The chair will be recovered in this brown ticking fabric. I was firmly told that the brown chair must remain brown, so I complied...

The Crib & Bumper Pads...

...I'm having some sewing withdrawls now. I worked like mad on the quilt and then the bumper pads, and now I have come to a screeching halt. I have plans to improve some ikea drapes & make a crib skirt, but those can't be done until the walls are dealt with (which will be very soon :) So, I'm in a sewing purgatory of sorts. I'm sure I'll come up with something to make, I mean, I still have a ton of scraps from the quilt left...I'll keep you posted.

My dad walked in last night to look at the crib and he immediately said, "It looks just like yours." I was glad he said that. I think it does too.

The Crib...

...assembly took place last weekend. Once I finished the bumper pads I had to make sure they fit...and they did, but that's for another post...

Obviously, we didn't follow the directions above

Completed pictures in another post.

Kitchen Cabinet redo...

...he's started painting the cabinets. The hardware has been ordered. The countertops will be purchased this weekend. Hopefully we'll wrap this project up very soon.

Cedar Chest redo...

G. Sue gave me this cedar chest for my 8th grade graduation. It provides great storage and plenty of sentimental value, but its looks aren't exactly my thing. There were plenty of directions I could have taken this chest, but I didn't really have time to ponder any of them. So, I (John) just painted it your basic brown.

Before

Up Close

After...it is now officially out of the baby's room and into it's new home, where it will store blankets & miscellaneous table linens.

Knobs & Pulls...

I'm looking for some pewter knobs & pulls to put on the kitchen cabinets that John is redoing for me. I think I really like these. They are on sale at Pottery Barn for only $4 each, which is a pretty decent price. I'll keep you posted.

Have I ever told you...

...how much I love this hutch? If I could think of a place to put it then it would immediately find itself on my perpetually evolving home improvement/decor wish list.

Furniture exchange...

G. Sue gave this table to Denise about a month ago. She had originally given it to her mom, Great-grandma Reimer, as a gift many years ago, but had inherited it upon G-G Reimer's passing. G. Sue decided she didn't have room for it, so she gave it to Denise, and Denise, realizing the same, passed it on to me. I love it. It's classic good looks are second only to it's sentimental value. I love old stuff, especially when I know it's story.

Cabinet Repurposing...

Work on the kitchen cabinet repurposing has been a little slow. I grossly underestimated how much time it would take to complete this project. Not only is progress a bit snail-like, but the cabinets take quite a bit of skill and expertise to put together. This would be no problem for an experienced cabinet maker, but for a novice, this has been quite a challenge. Either way, John is determined and has promised not to give up. I'm proud of his efforts.

Pipe clamps holding the frame together

The finished door

Project: Kitchen Cabinet Reinvention...

I thought this was going to be a fairly easy project (I always think that)...but I guess I was wrong. My husband and father-in-law are working together to reinvent our old kitchen base cabinets. I saved them from last year's kitchen remodel project (pre-blog, therefore, no documentation), because, of course, I can't bear to throw out such potential. The cabinets are white metal, with silver drawer pulls, cute, but very kitchen-y. So, I convinced them that it would be perfect if we could just recover the whole thing with a little bit of beadboard and trim, and voila! A perfectly new looking piece of faux-wood furniture. Once they agreed, I immediately drove to Lowe's and picked up some metal-wood adhesive, 2 sheets of beaded board, and various other miscellania for the project. Unfortunately, my quickness resulted in 2 sheets of warped bead board and 2 very frustrated Wiebe men, of which, neither were my intention. Lucky for me (and unlucky for them) I am not easily discouraged, so we pressed on. The frames are cut, using Bob's new table saw (bought as a result of this project), and the bead board has been repurchased. Hopefully my whole metal-wood adhesive idea will work, and I'll have a beautiful new piece of furniture, crafted with the sweat and tears of my dear husband and father-in-law. I'll keep you posted.

Hey, he's smiling, see, it's not so bad

The kitchen cabinet, pre-beaded board

The wood trim-freshly cut & notched

John at the helm

Once Bob left, I kept John company in the garage while he worked. This was my workspace.