Mid Century Moden Side Table Makeover With A Twist

Sometimes Mid-Century pieces are fine just as they are. The wood is beautiful and best untouched. But this isn't that kind of blog. So now's the time to hide your eyes if that's your kind of thing....

Plus, this piece wasn't in perfect shape, as are most of the pieces I redo. It was fine structurally but needed some cosmetic work. 

I love this blue-y, green -y color. 

A mid-century piece is known for it's lines and this one didn't originally come with knobs. Clearly.

But man, I really, really love what these knobs add.

The colors just blend perfectly and there's just something about gold and gilded goodness that I am loving these days.

I'm diggin how it turned out!

Jamie Lott

My Top 5 DIY Pallet Projects

I love a good pallet project! And these are my Top 5:

Pallet Garden Wall Phases I & II

I used a pallet to hide a big ugly gas tank in my back yard. Add a little turquoise paint, some plants and you've got yourself one fine garden wall! Click here for the tutoiral...

Pallet Topped Chest of Drawers

Ever have a perfect piece of furniture with a not so perfect top? Solution - top with pallet wood. It stains beautifully if you just do this.... Click here to read more...

Pallet Photo Frames



I love the natural patina of pallet wood, too. That's why pallet boards were perfect for making these vintage-style pallet wood photo frames. Click here to find out how you can make these, too...

Pallet Bookshelf



Add some interest to the back of a bookshelf by backing it using pallet boards. Give your custom piece an instantly and perfectly aged look. Click here to see how I did this...

Pallet Coffee Table

One of my favorite pallet project to date! In fact, my feet are propped up on it as I type this. Click here to see our DIY Pallet Coffee Table...

I hope you've enjoyed my Top 5 Pallet Projects! I love working with pallets so be sure to hang around to see what I dress up with a pallet next!

Jamie Lott

Cottage Style Chest of Drawers From the 1980's to Now

You know that furniture from the 80's, the heavy, over-the top wood kind often carved with some sort of floral pattern. Of course, to pull this look off one had to pair it with a luxe velveteen couch. Ahh the 80's! My favorite decade. Something things I'd keep, like the neon colors and the totally tubular music. The furniture? Not so much!

This is the top drawer that I took out and replaced with baskets. Someone asked me this week, when you do you decide to remove the drawer? Just when it's missing or broken? And the answer to that is, Yes. Usually. In this case I loved the slatted look of all of the bottom drawers, gave it a very cottage-y feel, but this top drawer really dated it.

Sure I could've painted it or even filled in that handsome carving and stuck it right back in. But I've got a better idea that I'll be sharing with you soon. I think you'll agree, this was a case when a perfectly good drawer had to go!

And as it is, I think it turned out pretty amazingly!

Adding baskets is one of my very favorite things to do. I love the look and it adds so much more interest in my opinion.

To leave the pulls or remove the pulls? That is always the question. In this case they stayed, got a little coat of  La Craie {The Chalk} in Vanille, plus some distressing for good measure.

Ya'll don't point out the fact that I spelled Picasso's name incorrectly on that chalkboard up there, m'kay?

Can't wait to show you the rouge drawer! I'll bet you won't even recognize it!

 

This piece is currently available at:

Nostalgia

25 N Main St

Statesboro, GA  30458

912-225-3737

NostalgiaBoro.com

 

Jamie Lott

Pottery Barn Inspired Coffee & End Table Revival

The story of these tables is kind of a funny one. I'm not sure what their original state was. All I know is, once I got them the were fully lacquered and shellacked. Now, I don't want to go about telling you what you should or should not like. I'm just saying the last time I enjoyed lacquer it was the 1980's and I was dying for a full set of black lacquer furniture - which I finally got about 10 years later. A decade too late.

So these days, when I see lacquer, it kind of brings back bad memories. And these tables were no exception.

Add to that some painting pet peeves, like the one pictured above and their previous finish had to go!

I thought about doing something drastically different with their new finish. After all, I wondered if you couldn't see them before AND after - in person - how much of a difference would you really be able to tell?

You wouldn't be able to see yourself in the mirror-like surface of the shellacked tops. Shiny tops aren't so bad. On some things. But I'm really more of a matte kind of gal myself.

And you wouldn't be able to feel that somehow never ending tacky feeling that lacquer can leave behind. 

But this you could see and it's another one of my pet peeves. Granted it's the underside of the table top and you probably wouldn't see it all that often but I wonder, if you bought this table and it was like this, wouldn't you be disappointed that someone didn't take more time, pay more attention to details?

Once all of the shellac was removed you could see the true beauty of the wood underneath. I love it's naturally worn look.

Then I covered the lacquer in La Craie {The Chalk} Furniture Paint in Wrought Iron.

Added a healthy dose of distressing.....

...and some burlap knobs for good measure and, Voila', updated, modern and reminiscent of one of my favorite inspirations - Pottery Barn!

Much better, right?

Jamie Lott

Hometalk - Better than Pinterest?

Hey! Now, listen. I'm not cheating on Pinterest. I'm just like everybody else - I'm still in love. But sometimes it's kind of like falling down the rabbit hole. You're there for one reason and three hours, 3742 pins later you still haven't accomplished it. Know what I mean?

I'm a home decor and diy blogger and I love having a specific place to go for just these things. Where experts, bloggers and everyone else congregate, ask questions and answer them, too! And that place is Hometalk.

I'll never forget the first post I read on Hometalk: 'How to keep ants out of my Hummingbird feeder'. And all I could think was, genius! I've always wondered that! Seriously.

If you don't have a hummingbird feeder, perhaps you have a closet?



Here's my Under $100 IKEA Hack Closet Makeover

Whether you're a gardener, diy-er or you just want to get something done around the house, you'll find something helpful on Hometalk.

Hometalk is the largest home & garden knowledge hub on the web. It's fueled by the firsthand experience & advice of hundreds of thousands of home enthusiasts and professionals. Ask questions, get inspired, research a project or post your own projects.

It's a lot like Pinterest - it's fun, free and easy to get signed up. The difference? You might actually get something done!

Join me now, on Hometalk! Click here to sign up and get started on all of your home and garden DIY dreams: Join Hometalk



Jamie Lott

A Look at My Dream Kitchen

If you follow me on Facebook, you probably already know about my super-duper shiny new fridge. It's the prettiest thing in my kitchen. I love that refrigerator. It lights up like an airport every time I open it with it's sleek blue LED lights. Some times I open it just to look at it. True story.

But it begs the question, what does my dream kitchen look like? I know what my dream refrigerator looks like. But what if I could love my WHOLE kitchen?

Well. It's large. Very large. You know, the size kitchen you can fit your entire extended family in since it's the place every one seems to congregate any way. In fact, it looks a lot like the one above that's filled with Electrolux appliances.

And it has to have two ovens. If they are double wall ovens like these from Electrolux's Suite Design, then even better.

Naturally there's a farmtable, like this one, in there, too.

A butcher block island with a beverage center. Oh! And one of those ice makers that produces crystal clear ice cubes. How pretty would that be!

My dream kitchen is industrial farmhouse chic. Is that even a thing?

It would be great, too, if all of my appliances were as pretty as my refrigerator. Beautiful appliances that complement one another and that fit into the kitchen like they were built for it - like a counter-depth refrigerator!

And as much as I love beauty, what good is it without functionality?

I'm not a chef or anything but I do love to cook and it's great to know that Electrolux offers a suite of matching appliances that are stylish and sleek but most important are ingeniously designed to enable professional results.

That and the fact that the Electrolux dishwasher can hold up to 180 items in a single load, well that's a dream in itself!

*Find more beautiful and functional appliances on Electrolux's Facebook page.

Jamie Lott


I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

DIY Farmtable ~ West Elm Style

I have a love affair with Farm Tables. The more two-tone the better. Though, I do find myself loving the weathered allover look more and more these days. The first farm table we ever built we built for ourselves. Which in my business, doing something for yourself, almost never happens.

You can see our farmhouse style table here. Though you won't be seeing a finished picture of it. That's because it didn't turn out a perfectly. Not like the one above. The one we're GIVING away to charity. And as excited as I am, I'm also sad to see it go....

The new one started out just the same as ours. Wood, glue. Lots of cutting and screws.

We built it with the same hands. It's just as substantial. It seats 10, just like mine. So what's the difference between mine and the amazing table above - besides that fact that my precious little ones' finger prints are underneath?

THIS. It's as simple as that.

There was no Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint when my table was growing up. So it got latex instead. Latex. That covered it's gorgeous wood grain completely, instead of blanketing it in velvety smooth all natural perfection.

Milk Paint.

Where I get my beloved two-toned look without sacrificing the beautiful wood grain underneath and the ability to apply an all natural food grade hemp oil to seal the top. Sigh.....

Yes. That's the difference in my table and this one. And what a difference it is!

Can you believe by this time next Wednesday someone will call this beauty theirs?! And have the satisfaction of knowing they've benefitted a great cause, The Statesboro Food Bank. AND that their brand new table is covered in and sealed with all natural products - Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint.

Needless to say, MY table will be getting a makeover!

Of course that stain is still just a stain and it will be until someone, somewhere can make a comparable product that doesn't given me a migraine when using it. But then beauty can always be painless. More on that another time!

*Raffle tickets for this table are available in-store and online until 6 pm on Mon, May 13th at:

Nostalgia

25 N Main St

Statesboro, GA 30458

www.NostalgiaBoro.com

Tickets are $5 and proceeds benefit the Statesboro Food Bank

Information on the products used to finish this table and how to purchase can be found in the Milk Paint section of my blog.
Plans for this table adapted from the Ana-white.com Farmhouse Table



Jamie Lott