This Is What I Do All Day...Refinish and Remodel

I have a passion for renovating and refurbishing. Let me be clear...I didn't say I had a talent for it. Just a passion. The decorating part I have a decided lack of talent. I love to build things and refinish stuff, but when it comes to finishing the room with layers of beautiful colors, fabric and accessories, I fall flat. But that doesn't stop me from starting new projects daily, and it doesn't stop my husband from groaning every time he hears me say, "I've been thinking" and "it's just an idea but".

The reason this all started? I'm notoriously cheap. No, not inexpensive or thrifty. Cheap. I try never to spend unnecessary money if at all possible. So I shop at thrift stores, craigslist, and yard sales for most of my decorating needs. I love looking at beautiful pictures in decorating magazines. I have hundreds of them because as my husband will attest, "I can't can't throw the damn things out" And my lack of funds helps me find creative ways to mimic looks for next to nothing. Most everything you see was second hand and refinished except the leather couch and Tv. Those we treated ourselves to new ;)

My home is a 1947 farm house that was falling apart and had no updates at all. Never. Had to have the lead pipes and wiring all replaced. It was scary. After be completely taken by a contractor for an ungodly amount of money, we decided to never again be vulnerable to repairmen and contractors looking to make a profit on us. So I watched endless of hours of home renovation shows and bought some DIY books and rolled up my sleeves.
I'll have to find the old befor pictures. Buried in the basement somewhere, but I'll describe what we did.The first picture shows the dining and living area from the entry. We bought stock pre-finished oak from Lowes and installed ourselves. Saved about 2000.00 or more. Then to separate the entry and dining a bit, we built the pony walls and installed pillars. Cost in materials was about 350.00 I think. My wonderful (and patient husband) did the trim work and crown moldings in the entry and hallway. Since white is so popular these days you can really do a ton of beautiful work using builders grade trim and moldings and save horrendous amounts by buying contractors packs.
The next picture is from the living dining area back into the entry and kitchen. The house didn't have a space for a dining area and I couldn't put it into the entry even though there was room. My husband couldn't get past the idea of the front door opening up to the dining table. So I decided to to carve out my own space in the corner of the living room. The space was a "dead" space that I could never use or decorate anyway.

A closer look at the kitchen island. Although the kitchen hasn't been done yet, we did build this kitchen island to make the small space more efficient. Half the top is used for food prep while the other half houses the family for quick meals. Built in is a lazy suzan for extra storage. We purchase a round under cabinet at a habitat home store used for 15 dollars. We raised it on blocks and wrapped bead board around it, then trimmed it with bendable PVC molding. The butcher block top was my favortite find. I found the top at a thrift store. It was a 70's amber colored lacquered top, detached from it's base. $25.00!! Three days of sanding to get all that varnish off, then a couple of coats of food grade mineral oil and there ya go!

That's all for today. Later I'd love to show you some thrift store furniture I've refinished and other stuff done. Thanks for looking!