Odds and Ends and Stuff and Things

Transforming common, ugly Goodwill & Salvation Army rejects is an absolute high, and I'm not just talking about paint fumes.  There's nothing quite as satisfying as transforming kitschy knick-knacky krap into functional and sleek modern items.

These vases I picked up in Goodwill for $2 & $3 each.

Like Jem, they are truly outrageous.

This chair was $3.99.

And has seen better days.

A little spray primer later... ($3)




And finally, spray paint ($3). The green was a small sample jar that Lowes mixed for $3.

A Clockwork chair in a Fincher-esque world.

Still working on obtaining the perfect color fabric for the cushion - ideally something white & green with a dark navy blue. But not bad for about $15 so far!

Accidentally on Purpose

Sometimes projects are so simple, I question whether I should even post them.  This was one of my favorites, however, and I'm super pleased with the results, so here you go.

This floor screen frame was an unintentional acquisition from my ex-pack rat boyfriend.  I shudder a bit every time I remember the brief time we spent together, in which my office resembled an episode of Hoarders (because I wouldn't let him take over the rest of the house with his "salvaged" junk).

Anywho, this Oriental frame lacked fabric, was too short and too wide, and had been cheaply painted with dim gold flecks and fans on the bottom slats.  I guess those pokey tetanus-riddled hooks on top were once intended as a coat rack substitute:

But since I don't own a Chinese restaurant...

I saw its potential, however, and decided to make something I actually needed - a headboard.

First I ripped off the hooks and the bottom veneered panels. By disassembling the frame, reassembling it into a single pane and giving it a matte coat of dark brown paint (spray paint to the rescue, about $6), this Wang Chung throwaway became a chic modern headboard.  I mounted it to the wall directly behind our king-size bed, where it fit perfectly.

See?  It's pretty much my favorite.  Sweeney likes it too.

Excuse the messy bedroom - I think we had just moved in and I had nothing else set up.  Ugh, that brown carpet - gotta love the building boom of the 1980s.