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Archives for May 2020

Furniture Makeover: Toddler Bed Reading Nook

My most recent furniture makeover is a toddler bed for a reading nook. Some people cut bangs when they are stresses, I paint furniture. I also paint when I’m sad, happy, nesting…you name it. Most of the time, I paint for myself but occasionally I paint projects for others. This was a project for my Mom. She requested this a few months ago originally and then while in the midst of making decisions about what she wanted, we ended up getting the news that she had been diagnosed with cancer.

The project had already been started but it sat in the garage the last few months. The cancer got worse, she passed, my focus was everywhere but painting and then quarantine. Oh quarantine! What’s a girl to do cooped up with no other obligations and boiling over with the stress of the unknown?! Paint.

Before toddler bedbefore headboard toddler bed

 

So, I did. I painted for approximately 2 hours total, add in some dry time that spanned 2 days and voila. The makeover I never saw coming. This may be my favorite furniture makeover. I love chalk paint, I forget how much I love it sometimes until I’m working on a project and then all the butterflies come flooding back to my soul.

Before and after collage

Furniture Makeover Supplies:

In the details:

Book from Rifle Paper Co and beautiful peace lily from The Heavy in Winter Park. Sheets from Pottery Barn Kids and Pillows from Pottery Barn. 

My Amy Howard Review

The Amy Howard Spa White was a color my Mom has used in her guest room and it has some grey undertones. It turned out beautiful. I may get some eye rolls from some chalk paint purists but I don’t like chalk paint wax as a finish. ::ducks and covers::

I prefer to use Matte Poly, especially fir pieces used by kids, for it’s durability and ease of cleaning. Matte keeps that chalk paint look and esthetic. The Spa White was covering a very dark wood so it took all of 2 two full coats. The coverage of the first coat was pretty streaky as was to be expected but the 2nd coat made a world of difference and I instantly knew it was going to have great coverage. This was my first time using Amy Howard. I very impressed with the color pigment and coverage.

Final Reading Nook toddler bed makeover

Laundry Room Craft Corner

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Quarantine life has inspired some Spring cleaning and finally getting to my Laundry Room Craft Corner project I’ve been putting on the back burner. In my pre-Covid days, my happy place is crafting, home reno projects, refinishing furniture and trips to Michael’s. I’ve been itching to get the “other” side of our laundry room done.

When we first bought our house we were so excited with the extra large laundry room. But just like any room that isn’t outfitted to reach it’s ultimate potential, it became the dumping ground for anything that didn’t have permanent home. Including a desk that I planned to use in my son’s room.

Back in December, I went on a deep dive on Pinterest and planned out my laundry room craft corner. I searched small craft room, craft nook, laundry craft room, among tons of other queries. Occasionally, I’d walk in the laundry room, look at the corner and be scared away by the “immensity” of the clutter that had collected. During a big sale, I purchased my craft cart and then it sat and sat. Now that we’ve been locked in the house and among other stresses, I decided to take out my frustration on the clutter.

It was well worth the wait!

Before Craft Corner Makeover
The very scary BEFORE!

Supply List:

My Needs:

  • Cricut Storage
  • Craft Storage
  • Gift Wrap Storage
  • Esthetically Pleasing (let’s face it, if it’s not exciting to see it looking pretty…it’s not going to stay organized)

My husband needed to run to Lowe’s because we’ve been having a leak in one of the bathrooms so I begged asked him to grab me some pegboard and hooks while he was there. Happy wife, happy life so…

My plan was to get this beautiful area done with little to no intervention needed from my husband. Especially since he was working on his own project. HAHAHAHAHA! <that’s what the universe said about that!

Craft Room Progress

FAIL 1: I had measured the area twice and looked up dimensions online. The board was much bigger than anticipated. I had to ask him to cut off a few inches…oops.

FAIL 2: I ASSumed that I could just prop it up to the wall and between even weight distribution and the cart, all would be great!

IT WAS NOT GREAT! At 12:51 AM, I experienced my biggest DIY fail to date. Everything came crashing down. Busted ball jar, Cricut to the ground, cart on the ground, everything from the pegboard was everywhere.

SECURE IT TO THE WALL!!!! Please, pretty please… gravity does not care about DIY aesthetics. With it now securely fastened to the wall. It’s beautiful, it’s functional and it’s totally worth the take 2.

Finished craft area
A few hours before the EPIC fail but the Craft Corner looked great!
Before and After DIY Makeover Laundry Room
F4Family.com Laundry Craft Corner Final

Quarantine Reflections

Quarantine life!

Going strong and on a pretty good schedule. The new “normal” still feels odd. We wrapped up one holiday (Easter) where we weren’t surrounded by both sides of the family. We kept the most important traditions and still made it special for the kids. And we are entering another holiday, Mother’s Day. Some things have opened back up, others haven’t.

I’d be lying if I didn’t say that part of me enjoys this new normal. The pace is slower. The introvert from my introverted-extrovert is happy to nest in place. I miss the ease of running errands and seeing my PTA Mamas, friends and family we haven’t seen for a while but I enjoy having everyone important to me close and within arms reach. 💗 (and when we feel on top of each other, a 30 min run helps bring me back around!)

Long Term Change?

There are times I sit and wonder what long term affects will all of this have on our every day lives and on our children. Will they look back fondly at the time at home? Will this spur a new generation of germophobes? Will we keep a slower pace or rush back to filling our times and days with as much as possible? I hope the last one is a permanent change towards a slower pace. I hope my children remember this as a time where we spent more time together, happily! I also know that this is a very privileged view of time at home. This isn’t the environment that all children in our community are facing and that is definitely still in the back of my mind often.

For the families struggling, I know that each day drags on and adds more stress to this situation. For them I hope they are finding their moments of peace and happy. For those household that NEED to get back to “normal”, I diligently stay home and remind myself that this sacrifice is nothing compared to what others are sacrificing during this time. My husband and I have donated and raised money for Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida during this time because it’s the little that we can safely do for our community. If you have the option, please find ways to reach out to your community in any way that is safe. Spread kindness, not germs.

Michael’s AD