Inviting Entry

Hello Loves!!

Hi everyone! Things have been a movin' and a shakin' here at casa de Gardner lately and I wanted to share some of the DIY goodness with you!

A couple of weeks ago I shared with you this hutch I thrifted from Goodwill for $19.99.  I purchased it with the intent to turn it into a console table for the foyer area I was creating.  Our home is a true open floorplan and we didn't have a dedicated foyer area.  This was actually one of the only things about the house that I didn't like when we first looked at it.  I hated that when we opened the front door the pizza delivery guy, and everyone else for that matter, entered right into house.  I love foyers and I hate that we don't have one. 

We entertain guests and have company over quite frequently so we've had time to really examine what our needs are in terms of some sort of  "place to put keys, purses, etc".   Since we have a no-shoe rule in our home we also needed something to prevent our usual case of "shoe pile-up" that happens when folks come over.  I shake my head in embarrassment as I think about it.

I knew I didn't want to spend a ton of money on a fancy console table so I took this opportunity to try my hand at painting a piece of furniture.  To refresh your memory, here's what the hutch looked like before:

And after a bit of cosmetic surgery which included removing the doors, back, and bottom shelf, here are the results:

I think I did a pretty good job considering it was my first time ever hand painting furniture.  I used some paint I got in the mis-tint section at Home Depot for $2!  I primed the piece with Zinsser Cover Stain.  I had heard a lot about it and wanted to give it a try. 

The piece was originally a brownish-red stain and it bled even when I wiped it down so I thought the Cover Stain would come in handy. It did. Big time!  I sanded it down by hand, since I don't have an electric sander, yet, and filled in all the holes from the doors.  All in all, it was really easy to do.  The hardest part was waiting for the paint to dry between coats!  After priming I brushed on 2 coats of grey paint with a Purdy 2.5" brush.  After that dried I taped off the edges and painted the top a coat of light grey.  I haven't topped it off with a coat of poly yet, but I most likely will in the near future just to give it that extra bit of protection. 

Overall, I think it turned out well.  To finish off the look I took the mirror that was originally on the wall over the couch and hit it with a dose of  Rustoleum's Sun Yellow.  Here was the mirror before:

For this little project I used Kilz Odorless to prime. I figured since I was working on two projects at once I may as well try both primers to compare. 

The Kilz was definitely odorless when compared to the Cover Stain and the original Kilz primer formula.  The Kilz and the Cover Stain both pretty much do the same thing.  They are both oil-based and they both allow you to paint after only 1 hour.  I like em both to be honest, but I will say Ill probably grab the odorless formula over the Cover Stain just because of the odorless factor.  Now don't be fooled its definitely not "odorless", but it is when compared to the standard primer formula. 

But I digress, where was I? Oh yeah, the mirror.  So here is was after a couple of coats:

And here are the mirror-console table combo in action:

Not too bad I'd say.  The lamp probably wont stay and I still want to add a tray with a bowl or for keys and possibly some baskets underneath for more storage, but its off the a good start.  At least now when people walk in they have a place to drop things off on their way in. The shelf is the perfect place for shoes or purses.  I love that its only 12" deep because it doesn't feel awkward right by the door.  I'm also contemplating some funky stools or something underneath instead of baskets as well.  Who knows?  All I know is that as of now I can cross "create a foyer area" off my to-do list.  Here's the before:

  So how much did this lil endeavor cost?  Here's the breakdown:

Console table: $19.99

Mirror: Free

Paint for table: $2

Primer: $5-Kilz, $8 Cover Stain

Spray Paint: $3.97

Total:   $38.96

 Under 40 bucks!  Can't beat it!  So what have you been up to lately?  Any furniture painting?  I'd love to hear about it.  Oh and by the way, in case you were wondering what replaced the mirror over the couch, here's a sneak peak at that:

Until next time....

XoXo-Shavonda