January Sanctuary - Day Seventeen

I'm thrilled. I'm starting to see my home, corner by corner, inch by inch, cabinet by cabinet, transforming into a space that I love.

I opted to use a glass top over my refurbished white coffee tables. This way, I can change the colors and designs whenever I want rather than permanently affix the paint chips. I ordered the custom glass from "Fast Glass" and they were seriously fast - ready in one hour!

The lighting isn't perfect, but here is a sneak peak at my new coffee tables. See the originals here.

I also finished the last two panels on the screen. See the original here. 

It feels good to see my home better reflect how I feel - happy, bright, cheerful, and full of ocean colors.

"Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing? Can one really explain this? no. Just as one can never learn how to paint."
      - Pablo Picasso  

January Sanctuary - Day Sixteen

Big project today. With the shift to a beach theme, I needed to rethink my coffee table. I had a traditional cherry wood coffee table with glass inserts. Not quite my style anymore. I needed some inspiration, and came across this table online. I loved the bold color, the unexpected use of paint chips, and that it's made of re-used pieces.

My inspiration from this page.



The before. Two traditional cherry wood end tables.



Supplies including the best toffee decaf latte ever.

I cut 6 inches from each leg using a handsaw. The end tables were too high to serve as a coffee table.
Left: After cut and sand. Right: The before.
I used a power sander to roughen up all the surfaces then vacuumed and cleaned each table.

I painted in the park just steps from home.
This is after the first coat of primer. Looks terrible, doesn't it?

After the first coat of white semi-gloss spray paint.

The advantage to painting in my nearby park - seeing the sunset against palm trees.

5 hours later, the tables are on their final dry phase.

Fast recap. It took me:

• 5 hours
• 2 cans of primer
• 4 cans of white semi-gloss
• 2 calls to my Dad in Illinois (thanks Dad!)
• 5 trips to the hardware store (thankfully it's just two short blocks away)

Later this week, I'll add the paint chips and mod podge to seal the tops. This was a major project and spontaneous given I just found the inspiration photo last night. I hope it all comes together the way I'm envisioning.

Park Perk: It was fun to talk with neighbors that stopped by and people walking their dogs. Everyone was so nice, helpful and encouraging! One neighbor who I just met helped me carry the tables back home - how nice!


"I am always doing things I can't do, that's how I get to do them.”
                                                                                               - Picasso


Click here for an update showing the addition of the paint samples.

January Sanctuary - Day Fifteen

I'm guilty. I like to buy new things. I'm an over-consumer, even if I do aspire to a minimalist approach. So it's been nice to shift toward re-purposing and re-using during this month's projects.

Instead of new lamps, I repaired the ones I had and painted them white. And, I transformed some vases, a mail sorter, and some dogwood branches from my mom's garden from red to white.

The lamp before:

I forgot to take a before picture, but the vases and branches were a deep red prior to the primer. After one coat of primer:

See the red topiary. 

Apparently red roses don't like to be turned white. 

I gave up on the topiary after a few coats. 

 After first coat of white glossy paint:

Red dogwood branches from Elgin, Illinois re-imagined in white:

Lessons learned:
1. Primer is essential, as are having friends that recommend primer (Thanks Em & Shannon!)
2. Lightly apply each coat and expect to apply many coats of both primer and color.
3. Glossy looks best on the vases.
4. Walking over to the nearby park was worth the trouble - it was a beautiful day to paint in the park.
5. When in doubt, apply another coat.
6. Seriously, apply another coat. 
7. I love living in Seal Beach. Thankful that Main Street Hardware Store is just a two minute walk from my house.

January Sanctuary - Day Fourteen

This screen came with the apartment and stood to block the back of the fridge which faces towards the living room. But, it's red. And, it's old. And, begging to be made pretty again.

The before...

 The almost after....I finished the first panel but ran out of tacks. To be continued tomorrow...

 

Update 1/15/12. Here is the final photo: 

January Sanctuary - Day Thirteen

The magic of super glue! Fixed two lamps tonight that were wobbly in several places.

 Lamp base - I'll be spray painting it white this weekend.

I love these new single use super glue applications.

Also, organized one more kitchen cabinet. I have a tiny kitchen, yet I keep finding more cabinets to clean....

January Sanctuary - Day Twelve

Fitting in a home improvement project every day during a busy work week is challenging, but rewarding. I'm already approaching the half-way point for this month and I am loving the progress. The pace is a bit relentless, but the payoff is immediate. Little by little, tiny segments of my home are transforming.

Tonight, all these parts....

Turned into this... 

Not only did I finally get a nightstand (to replace the end table that I had been using in the meantime), but I also switched all my electrical to the other side of the bedroom, closer to the door. At about 15 steps, I think I might save myself 5,040 steps a month. I love efficiency.

"The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time" --- although as a vegetarian, I'm not sure I really like that example. 

January Sanctuary - Day Eleven

Finished painting birdhouse tonight. Pictures to come soon.

Busy week. Fulfilling. Colorful. Eventful. Sleep beckons...

January Sanctuary - Day Ten

Quick recap for today:
1. My canisters arrived so I transferred my flour, sugar, brown sugar, and flaxseed to airtight containers.
2. Cleared one more kitchen drawer.
3. Cleaned up my old spice jars so I can reuse them for next year's holiday gifts.

Sleep. Need sleep.

January Sanctuary - Day Nine

Tonight was a shopping night (fun!)

The quotes for the re-upholstery came in higher than what I originally paid for my sofas, so I switched gears to buy new. I researched for a few days then ended up at Macy's - lucky for me it was their semi-annual furniture sale so I bought a full size sofa and a love seat in vintage gray. I'm thrilled! Even better, the delivery date is January 25, so my January Sanctuary will end with a major improvement!

I stopped at Marshalls and found some great ocean/beach themed accessories.

Generally, I feel like I'm making steady progress, but there is still so much more to do by month-end. I'm glad I'm completing more than one project a day...

And, now on to adding blue paint to my birdhouse. Then sleep.

Goodnight!

January Santuary - Day Eight

Kitchen shelf above the stove before (unfinished wood):

View 2 of Kitchen shelf above the stove before (unfinished wood):

After first coat of paint:

This is a sentimental birdhouse that belonged to a dear friend of mine. I'm giving it a second life with sanding and a new coat of paint. Here is the before picture:

 

Here is after the first coat. I'll add blue tomorrow (or tonight if the paint dries quickly):

I also purchased glue and white spray paint to update and fix my lamps this week.

“Everyone wants to understand painting. Why is there no attempt to understand the song of the birds?”

        - Pablo Picasso 

January Sanctuary - Day Seven

Why are closets so impossible? Why is it hard to part with clothes and shoes? Some that still have the original tags on but I tell myself I might wear them someday. Others that are tied to memories, experiences, moments that I want to hold on to.

Definitely a first world problem *hangs her head in shame*. There are more important things to think about than my closet, so I'm happy to get this done and move forward. 

simplify. ruthlessly edit. keep only your favorites.

Managed to set aside 14 pairs of shoes to donate and one full bag of clothes (and this is only from one side of one of my closets). I need to read the mnmlst blog again (see link on right) and go through a second time tomorrow morning, bright and early.

"Knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet"
- Lord Chesterfield

January Sanctuary - Day Six

My spice rack is done and I love it! Not only did I regain a kitchen cabinet by moving the spices, but I love how I can see all the beautiful colors of the spices. It makes me want to cook something good!

Spices finished! Off to clean another drawer.

"Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another."
                                                                                                - Walter Elliott

January Sanctuary - Day Five

I'm looking forward to the weekend for my bigger projects. But in the meantime, here is today's recap:

1. Ordered a white nightstand to replace the end table I've been using (which was never intended to be a permanent placement)



2. My new tins arrived for my spice rack! Applied all the magnets. Created the labels, but I think I need to switch from white labels to clear - should have thought of that beforehand. Waiting 24 hours for magnets to stick before placing on fridge. Hope it's cute!

That's it folks... more projects to come!