Very Cool DIY - A Headboard Bench

 Photo taken by me with my iPhone

So my love for benches continues....spotted this bench a few months ago in the lobby of a restaurant.  It wasn't until I got home and was posting it on Instagram that I realized that it was actually a headboard made into a bench...very cool, right?   I always love a good DIY and even better, repurposing something.  The bench I saw was made from just the headboard, but some of the ones below have cut the footboard in half and used it on the sides for arm rests...such a great idea...love this!  

If you're thinking of making one, I would suggest that to really get the full impact of the headboard you should paint it dark if it's against a light wall, and paint it light if it's against a dark wall.  These can be real show stoppers if put in the right surroundings.  The light ones below would look stunning against a dark wall.  Here's a tutorial if you're interested in making one...you can see more on my Pinterest board.

via shabby2chic Etsy

via recreatedesigncompany.com

via afewgoodpieces.blogspot.ca

Some of you have sent me pics of things you've painted and DIY projects you've done, and please keep them coming.  I love seeing what you've all been up to, and I'm always happy to hear if I've inspired you in some way.

Have a great week!

I Did It...I Painted My Stairs Black!

So my stairs finally got painted...and wow, what a transformation!

I know I say this all the time, but I can't believe what a difference a little bit of paint makes. 

This was a pre-owned home so unfortunately we weren't able to choose any of the finishes.   When we first moved in I painted the railings a dark grey (Iron Mountain by Ben Moore) to make them a little more bearable (see below).   The light floors and railings wouldn't have been my first choice, but I was very grateful for the hardwood.  Also, the stairs had beige carpet running up the middle of them (yikes), which over time was starting to look a bit nasty.  

I delayed taking up the carpet because sometimes builders cheat the hardwood on stairs to cut costs, and put a cheaper wood where the carpet is.  Fortunately, we had hardwood all the way up...whew!   The next challenge was taking all of the staples out of the stairs.  This next step took a really long time and it was a lot of hard work.  Let's just say that the guy that had the staple gun went a little crazy...some stairs had over 20 staples. .

Next I had to choose paint, and had heard about Fusion Mineral Paint on Instagram from The Learner Observer.  I saw that she was painting her stairs with Fusion Mineral Paint, and she was nice enough to answer all my questions.  This paint is used mainly on furniture so it was great to see it used on stairs.  The good thing is it really adheres to rough surfaces and goes on smoothly...so no brush strokes.  Also, it's not very thick and is very runny so a little goes a long way...one small jar did the railings and stairs.   I wanted the colour to be an off-black so I mixed equal parts Ash (dark grey) and Coal Black (very black) until I got the colour I wanted.

My original thought was to paint them all black and then I decided I liked the look of the light stairs and the dark risers...oops!...(like a really big oops!.. like run

 to your neighbours' house as fast as you can and borrow their sander oops)!  The last step, once they were sanded, was putting  a light coat of sealer on them.

Before

Ok so here's the before and after...keep in mind that the before is quite a 

few years ago...big difference!

After

I just realized that I've never really shown this front room's before and after pics...probably because it changes every week....before and after pics coming soon.  

Also, I really want to try another project with this Fusion Mineral Paint.  I'll give you a hint...it has to do with the bathroom but it's not the vanity.  Can you guess what it is?

September was not an easy month for us, and it's taken me quite a while to write this post.  

I lost my sweet Valley Bulldog, Po, a couple of weeks ago, to Wobbler's Syndrome.  She basically couldn't walk anymore...most of the time it looked like she was walking on ice, and when she fell down, she couldn't get back up.  She had no pain, but this was very hard to watch.  I'm still getting used to her not being here and miss her so much.  I've had many pets over the years but can't remember being this attached to a dog before.   

I think what's so hard about losing a dog is they really do exhibit some of God's characteristics...they are always faithful, are always happy to see you and love you unconditionally.

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our life whole." unknown

R.I.P. Po!