Redesign - Hall Table

Another post with yucky photos. Yippee! I tried to get better photos, really I did. Three times I took photos and edited, and they were all about the same. This table is located in my hallway and there aren't any windows that are super close. Add that to the fact that we've got the typical, small hall light and sunscreens on our windows (which is an absolute necessity here) and you've got a recipe for poor photos (even with my big flash). Alas, I tried. You'll still get the idea, though!

So, I've been wanting to do small updates around here (though hubby and I differ on what would constitute "small"), so this is one of the simple updates I started with. This table gets largely ignored - because it's in the hall. What was on the table worked, but not well.

The before:


The after:



The after is just some small, simple changes. We've got tall ceilings here and there is a large barn star hanging above this table. So, the items that were on it before were a little small in scale for that large star (you can see part of the star in the last photo). This new grouping is much better in scale.

The only thing I didn't have in my house prior to this weekend was the lamp. Everything else came from somewhere within my house. That came from a model home sale I went to this weekend. I'd seen signs for them before, but had never stopped. I didn't know what I was missing! Anyway, the lamp I bought for the living room but didn't like it once I got it in there. It works great in the hallway, however! Since the lamp is so tall, I needed something tall to balance it out. So, down came the chicken from atop my laundry room cabinets. A small, gold photo frame from my bedroom and two hardcover books to elevate the other frame and I was done!


The end result is much better and doesn't make the table look as if it were an afterthought. I've wanted to put a different piece of furniture in this niche for awhile (like maybe a small armoire), but I've not been able to find the right piece. I had it in my mind that this would make a cute potting bench for my garden. Now that I've updated the accessories on the table, I'm liking it so much more. If the table ends up sticking around, I think I might finally give it a new coat of paint.

(Want to know a little secret? There is no electrical outlet anywhere near this table, so the lamp is purely decorative. One day I'll get an electrician out here to fix that! In the meantime, the lamp will just have to look fabulous off) :)

Knife Block Re-do!

Since I've got the itch to redecorate, I started in the kitchen. Nothing major so far, but I've updated the merchandising on my counters a bit and I'm much happier with what I've got going on now. (another post on that to come!).

Once I got everything placed where I wanted it on the counters, I knew I had to do something about my knife block. It's pretty necessary - I cook every night, so it gets a lot of use. That said, it has to stay on my counters, but I'm not digging the look of it. There's nothing really wrong with it, but it could be so much better! So out came the paint.

Here is the before:



And, here is the after:



So much cuter, isn't it? It took a couple of steps to get it to this point, but it was still a quick and easy process. Here's how I did it:
1. Sand the entire block to get the old varnish off. Wipe dust off with a damp cloth. Let dry.
2. Once it's dry, paint with a base coat. I used white on mine. Let dry.
3. Once dry, paint with a crackle medium, following the instructions on the can. I used a crackle medium by Behr that I got for around $10 at the Home Depot. Let dry.
4. Paint with a top coat, following the instructions on the crackle medium can. For my top coat, I used an off white/light tan color. Let dry. (are you seeing a trend here?)
5. Apply an antiquing glaze around the edges to give it an aged look (I used American Accents Distressed Ivory Antiquing Top Coat)
6. To get the monogram I used MS Word. I printed out the letter in the size I wanted on regular paper. I then went to a window and put the paper up with the printed size against the glass. Then I used a pencil to trace the image onto the back side of the paper. I then taped the letter onto my block, printed side out and traced around it. This will create a pencil version of the letter on the block. Then, I painted in the letter with craft paint.
7. Apply clear coat to seal it.

Now, I should say that since the knifes will be used on food that you should use paint that is non-toxic. I didn't check that (though I know I should have), but I didn't paint the inside of the knife slots - just the exterior of the block. But still - check just to be safe.

I just love the finished product!