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Daily Delight: Lacquer Spray Paint for Furniture

by Grant Dudley May 3, 2013 7 Comments

Amy Howard at Home has a very exciting product out — High Performance Furniture Lacquer (in a spray can!).

If you’ve ever wished for a thick, rich, hard-high-gloss finish of actual lacquer on a piece of furniture, frame or home decor — Amy’s paint is for you. Just prime your piece, spray it on — and a pale, faded piece of furniture transforms into an edgy, chic high-fashion statement piece set in lacquer. And did I mention it’s in an easy-to-use SPRAY CAN?!

EXTRA: MORE ON LACQUER FROM HGTV >>

Lacquer Spray Paint

Photos From Amy Howard at Home

The Nursery Files: Adventures in Craigslisting

by Marianne Canada March 29, 2013 13 Comments

My friend and coworker Camille and I have pretty different tastes when it comes to design, but there is one thing we agree on: We both love a bargain. And so, for this week’s installment on my nursery design, I thought I’d riff on her Adventures in Antiquing series and share my latest furniture find, as well as some tips for turning a diamond in the rough into a showpiece for your home.

I’m a Craigslist junkie. I have the app on my phone and iPad and also check it regularly on my laptop. Obviously, furnishing the nursery has been at the top of my mind lately, because I was lacking a dresser for the room. Since I want this dresser to double as a changing table, I wanted a long and low solid wood midcentury-modern dresser, and I didn’t want to spend more than $200. When I found this Franklin Shockey sculptured pine dresser on Craigslist for under budget, I knew it was The One. These dressers typically sell for $400-$1000, but this particular example was a steal because the finish was in pretty bad shape:

Franklin Shockey Sculptured Pine Dresser

I could see past the dried-out wood and scratches and knew this was a great piece. And so, I started off by giving it a good cleaning. Once it was dry, my husband, Chris, treated the exposed surfaces with Howard Restore-a-Finish, then gave it a generous coat of Howard Feed & Wax (I had to skip these steps because these products give off fumes that are a no-go for pregnant ladies).

Restoring the wood finish on a vintage dresser.

The dresser still needs a little more TLC — maybe some wood filler on the deeper scratches — and I might take Young House Love’s advice to use a brown magic marker to blend in more shallow nicks. But for now I am thrilled with the results:

Mid-Century Modern Dresser with restored wood.

This dresser is just my latest Craigslist find (I really am an addict), and made me think about some other items I’ve been lucky enough to track down. Like this midcentury couch and wacky 1970s globe lamp:

Mid Century Modern Couch and 70's Globe Light

Those are just a couple of favorites from a house filled with Craigslist bargains. How about you? Do you have any tales of triumph from Craigslist? Go on, make me envious.

MORE NURSERY FILES:

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Daily Delight: Repurposed Wooden Spool

by Grant Dudley January 18, 2013 5 Comments

You may not have an electrical spool lying around the house, but they’re oftentimes free at many home improvement stores. Wooden spools are excellent for keeping the garden hose tidy outdoors; they can be cushioned and repurposed into an ottoman, or they can be turned into a flea-style craft storage table like this.

Repurposed Wooden Spool

25 New Ways to Use Your Old Stuff >>

What clever DIY project have you taken on recently? Tell me in the Comments.

Best Times to Buy

by Sarah Herron January 2, 2013 3 Comments

For me, shopping is a year-round sport.

Stores drop prices and offer promotions throughout the year but knowing when and why retailers are highly motivated to clear their stock is a critical part of my buying strategy. Often stores keep old inventory when new models hit the floor but once the new year hits, retailers get aggressive about discounting and moving last year’s stock.

To that end, major appliances are typically at the lowest price point in January, with the exception of refrigerators because most new fridge models roll out in the summer.

The majority of furniture companies release new products twice a year — in February and August so January and July are great times to buy floor models.

I’m a big believer in shopping for off season items. For instance, now is the best time to buy air conditioners and grills. The only downside is that the selection is usually limited.

Electronics that weren’t purchased during the holidays are also deeply discounted. In fact, retailers will be running promotions for HDTVs and home theater systems for the Super Bowl.

One way to take advantage of increased competition during these promotional seasons is to scour ads for deals and ask for a price match from a store that offers free delivery and installation.

I’m a pretty tough negotiator and follow the old adage that ‘it never hurts to ask.’

I don’t consider it a win unless I get at least 50% off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP).

Having such high bargain standards requires a great deal of research and patience but waiting for the right time to buy is always worth it.

What’s the best deal you ever scored?

Adventures in Antiquing: Old Toolbox Turned Magazine Caddy

by H. Camille Smith November 7, 2012 12 Comments

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a big fan of finding new uses for old things. I’m the person you see huddled in a corner at an estate sale turning an object this way and that, brow furrowed, envisioning what it could be used for. Take this old wooden toolbox. It was filthy – as all great estate sale finds are — filled with rusty, old screws and nails and only partially painted yellow. A thick layer of dust covered both the box and its contents so it definitely had some age and looked to be sturdily hand-constructed.

I knew it would make a great magazine rack and I knew I had to have it: chipped yellow paint on old toolbox repurposed as a magazine holder

Other uses I considered: Filling the 3 compartments with potted herbs in my kitchen; using it to hold rolled towels in a bathroom; or as a caddy for organizing craft or gift wrap supplies.

The $8 price tag seemed fair for its condition — dust, rusty nails and all. Once home, I dumped out the metal bits then gave it a good once-over with the vacuum. I then sanded all the surfaces to remove loose bits of peeling yellow paint and smooth the rough areas. Then, I stained it with an oil-based wood stain (Minwax Early American). BTW, I only use oil-based stains. I know some people swear by water-based because there are less fumes and the dry time is much quicker, but I’ve found that wood better accepts oil-based stains resulting in a richer, deeper color and less streaking.

Upon closer inspection, the toolbox is a mishmash of materials: the end pieces are pine, the sides are beadboard and the handle – I think — once belonged on a broom. You can see in the photo below how the mismatched woods took the stain differently, which for me, just adds to its vintage charm: old toolbox repurposed as a magazine holder

So, tell us in the comments below, how have you repurposed items in your home?

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Daily Delight: Eames Wire Base Low Table

by Grant Dudley September 24, 2012 5 Comments

The Eames Wire Base Low Tables, first introduced in 1950, are both practical and beautiful. Standing only 10 inches high, they are veneered in ash, treated with an aniline stain and have a correspondingly colored wire base in a durable powder coat.

The Herman Miller Collection is offering these colorful Eames tables through the Spring of 2013, when the company will cease production, giving added appeal to collectors interested in classic modern American design.

Eames Wire Base Low Table

Busy Philipps Talks Vintage Furniture Sale

by Abbi McCollum September 20, 2012 9 Comments

Actresses Busy Philipps and Courteney Cox have announced that they are teaming up with The Art of Elysium and One Kings Lane to co-curate a vintage and market finds sale on the One Kings Lane website. The sale will feature vintage items that they are donating from their homes, as well as an assortment of one-of-a-kind pieces hand-selected by the interior design enthusiasts. The 72-hour celebrity curated sale launches this evening at 9pm/8c at OneKingsLane.com and proceeds will be donated to The Art of Elysium.

Design Happens interviewed Busy Philipps and asked her about design, child-proofing and her One Kings Lane sale. Check out our chat below.

Actress Busy Philipps

DH: How would you describe your house? What’s your design style?

BP: It’s very eclectic. I personally don’t love when you walk into a home and you feel like it’s a page ripped out of a catalog. Some people feel very comfortable in those environments; that’s not how I choose to live. Our house is more like a collection of pieces and things. I have a sofa from Room and Board in my living room and we also have an antique wall unit with a desk. Years ago I bought Elizabeth Taylor’s dining room chairs from her Palm Springs Estate. There are things from Modern One gallery here in Los Angeles. We have really nice beautiful antiques mixed with newer pieces and we’re not married to one particular era or style. My favorite houses I’ve been in have been able to blend different styles seamlessly and that’s what we’ve tried to do in our home. And I think we’ve been pretty successful at it. What’s crazy about our house is that we are never finished. We are just those people who are continually like, ‘maybe we need a new couch for the TV room, we probably need to order a new bed, let’s re-wallpaper our bedroom.’ It never ends. We are never going to be done with our house. And I love it. I love doing it. It’s a never-ending project and I love it – much like our marriage, much like raising a child.

DH: You have a 4-year-old daughter. Did having a child change everything in your house, design wise?

BP: You have to be careful, especially when you have antiques and really nice things. You just teach them very, very early on – one finger, it will break really fast, you don’t climb on this furniture. You can climb on the sofa but you don’t jump on the sofa. And then she has her spaces – her bedroom, our bedroom, her playroom and our TV room that are her areas where she can go nuts.

We had a little bit of a situation. We have this really cool wallpaper – and you know wallpaper ain’t cheap – in our playroom, and she stuck all of these Tinkerbell stickers on it when she was two. Then she tried to take them off and ripped a big chunk of the wallpaper down. She didn’t get in trouble, I wasn’t watching her, you know what I mean, and she’s a little kid. I just had to suck it up and at some point I’ll have to pay to get it fixed, but it is what it is and things are just things.

She’s four now and she’s like “remember when I did that Mama?”
More With Busy Philipps

Secondhand Sprucing: Living and Family Rooms

by Kate Riley September 18, 2012 17 Comments

Hello, Design Happens fans — Kate here again with another roundup of inspiring projects for the home in the continuing series on secondhand sprucing, and this time the focus is on main living spaces. We all need a place to sit down, rest a book or drink, and visit with fellow residents or friends in a family room, and for most of us we need a place to relax while watching television. Naturally the furnishings we need include sofas, chairs, coffee and end tables, ottomans and storage units.

A secondhand sofa with a classic shape can be reupholstered in a modern fabric to give it a fresh look, or if the cushions are in decent shape, slip-covered for a casual and easy to clean option. Chairs are readily available on Craigslist and often you get lucky with a great set from your local Goodwill. One of the most clever ways to repurpose a coffee table is to cover it with foam and fabric and turn it into an ottoman!

Family Room Furnishings (Reupholstered sofa by Made by Girl; Bergere chairs by Design Manifest; Slipcovered hand-me-down sofa by Miss Mustard Seed; Thrift store ottoman coffee table by Five Days Five Ways)

Daily Delight: Fatboy® Chairs

by Grant Dudley August 27, 2012 6 Comments

The Fatboy® chair is so fun! It looks like the perfect seat for your student to get comfortable in (and get his or her homework done).
Fat Boy Chair 1
Fatboy Chair 2
Let’s get nostalgic for a quick second. Remember how popular the bean bag chair once was? I loved studying in that thing. Ah. Memories.

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Daily Delight: Medici Chair

by Grant Dudley August 10, 2012 7 Comments

Medici is a modern interpretation of the familiar Adirondack chair. Designed by Konstantin Grcic for Mattiazzi and distributed by Herman Miller Collection, there are both indoor and outdoor versions available.

Medici Chair