Rocker Bench

From time to time, things...perfectly good things....are thrown away. It's my gain. My parents found this rocker bench in the trash one day near my grandma's house. That was two moves and almost 3 years ago, so it was time for a makeover.

Sad, huh? This was a super low budget project. I used paint from a previous project, so I got to add a few things and turn this into a front porch project.

In a neighborhood full of brown and tan...this will be a nice pop of color :)

After a heavy sanding, wiping, and LOTS of painting (Geez, so many places to get paint into!!) my bench looked like this:

It got a heavy clear coat since it will have to weather the elements, and then a few accessories. I'm so excited about my porch. I might actually sit on it now.

I used some previously purchased red paint to brighten up some ugly pots, bought a few succulents, and my pride and joy...the peacock. I seriously looked at that thing at Target six times before actually putting him in the cart and taking him home. I also found some funky outdoor pillows at Ross...gosh I love that place!

I love the end result, and I spent about $70 on the whole porch ($40 of that being the darn bird, lol).

My little piece of desert just got a lot more interesting to look at :)

Goodwill Bed

It's been too long, I know.  A couple of months ago, Angela and I decided to hit up some garage sales...and found absolutely nothing worth getting out of the car for, so we headed to goodwill and rummaged through the furniture.  We found a gem. Solid pine sleigh bed, and it just so happened to be a full size--exactly what I needed for the little miss's room.

Can you believe I only paid $30?!?! Solid pine. From a distance it looks great, it was up close that you could see it needed some work.

I had to wait a while to tackle the project. I decided that a crisp white would be the best route for this piece. The dresser in the room is a turquoise and I didn't want to overwhelm the room with a second huge statement piece. Also, when I'm done with it, it'll be so much easier to sell a white bed. 

First step was to sand it down.

After wiping off the dust, it got a coat of paint/primer in one. Polar white.

Then it got coats two and three. Plus some polyurethane to make sure its durable enough to withstand a toddler...and she's not a dainty little thing, folks. 

I had lots of help from my wonderful neighbor. She helped me with painting, clear coat, and helped me haul it up the stairs!! YAY!

Voila!! Finite!

Total project cost: $55 (paint and bed)

Can't beat that!