drawers

Before and After Drawers

by Chavah Kinloch on April 7, 2011

So who remembers this DIY project?

To refresh your memory you can see the progress work in these posts here and here. If you look closely in that last picture you can see that what I actually went with is completely different. I changed my mind when I was 2/3′s the way through. I’m really good at doing that.

I finished one set of these drawers sometime last year but was going to save the reveal until they were in their place in my daughters room. Seeing as I’m a hundred years away from getting her room up to scratch I figure I may as well just show the finished product now and then eventually… hopefully this lifetime, I can share a photo of them in a space that will do them justice. They’ve been getting a lot of use, a girl can never have enough storage. So without further ado, here’s what I ended up doing with them:

I love the blue! I totally need a team of people to make all my ideas happen faster because in my head the space they’re in rocks. In reality the space they’re in should be quarantined. Damn you fantasy vs reality.

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DIY Project: Boston’s Comic Book Drawers

by Chavah Kinloch on October 7, 2010

What do you get when you cross this:

With this:

You get this!

Do you like them? I know they won’t be everyone’s taste but I, personally, LOVE them. I can’t believe how great they turned out! They are going to look so good in Boston’s room.

The children can’t stop going near them, so I think I’ve created a hit.

I went searching for 2nd hand comic books locally but had no luck, I found two tiny ones. One was totally weird and I just had to buy it because it was so weird. Andrew and I had a good laugh reading through it; I’ll use it in another creation some day. The second comic I found was an Archie comic. I loved reading my cousins Archie comics! I’ll also use that for something else in the near future. I got those two comics plus another really pretty colour book for all of twenty cents. So as you can see, I didn’t get what I wanted for this particular project but I bagged a bargain; even if it wasn’t what I set out for. :P

Growing up my brother had a tonne of comics so naturally, I would borrow them to read. Xmen, DC comics, Asterix etc. Loved them all! Now that I have a house full of boys (and one lovely little lady) I want to introduce them to all sorts of things I enjoyed as a child and show them how to be creative. I thought these drawers would be perfect for that.

After having no luck locally, I was still determined to create the set of drawers in my mind so I hit up the internet, of course.

I picked these comics up for from Trade Me. I got five of them delivered to me for $3.50.

The set of drawers were hand me down drawers, to Boston, from his big sister. The drawers I’ve been working on here and the old blanket box I tidied up here, are now hers and I figure instead of buying new things in these renovations, I’ll just use as much of what I have, as possible, to keep costs down and make it unique.

Side note: I have actually finished those drawers now, well the first set anyway but I’m saving the unveiling until I get around to working on her room….so you’ll probably see them sometime next decade.

Anyway, $3.50 for the comics and $21.50 for the totally overpriced furniture glue (IMHO), means the the total of these drawers was $24.50.  Great price for something like this but still too much for my liking.

Now just because I want to show you more angles of the drawers, here are some extra photos:

*The drawers aren’t totally closed in that middle photo.

ETA: I’ve just added this to the Design Refuge – October This is Me Challenge. I think this project is a pretty good representation of my fun, upcycling, eclectic, authentic me style.

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Sexy New Subjects

by Chavah Kinloch on July 26, 2010

Welcome to the first official day of my regular routine! I’ve loved my time off but am really excited to be back painting my paintings and venturing into finishing and starting new furniture projects to take from wreck to ravishing.

This is my current project. I was going to make it extremely artistic but now I’m not sure if I want to anymore! I’m thinking I’ll change my mind and go a completely different direction.

Purchase price: $15.00

This is the lampshade I purchased in Dunedin. I loved it’s colour and lantern-like shape. I bought it the day after I visited the most kick-@$$ Chinese restaurant and was feeling inspired by the restaurants interior design. I’m considering adding some bling to this.

Purchase price $10.00

This was purchased from the dump. It looks to be part of a mid century Scandinavian design set. I love the little curves in the bars and at the front of the seat. It almost seems like sacrilege to take to it the way I want to but alas, I’m still going to do it my way.

Purchase price: $5.00

I’m not a huge fan of cane furniture but there are some pieces that I see potential in. This is one of them. Right now it has a rustic feel to it and is in need of a good spray and wipe. I’m sure it will come up a treat when I’m done.

Purchase price: $2.00

How cute is this stool?! My husband saw it first and told me he knew I’d buy it as soon as I saw it. He knows me well.
The seat is more of an olive green colour. It’s cute enough as it is but does need some TLC to bring it to it’s full potential.

Purchase price: $6.50

I looove how sexy the base of this table is. It’s REAL wood, extremely heavy. This is the project I really want to get started on BUT my rule for myself is I have to finish one thing first before I move on. So I’d better get back to it now :)

Purchase price: $20.00

Do you have any current projects on the go? Feel free to leave your link! I’d love to see.

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Time For An Update

by Chavah Kinloch on July 6, 2010

Things are moving along slowly here at my place. There’s a lot going on and zero energy to do anything other what NEEDS to be done right now. I’m sure you’ve all been there!

Well, ok, maybe I can fit in a bit of drawing here or there. That’s kind of essential though right?

Children are on school holidays for two weeks. These holidays are usually quite hard because it’s the middle of winter; which means we’re trapped inside all day every day, only emerging to attempt grocery shopping to buy the essentials for survival. Not this time though! The sun is out and our days are just feeling like crisp summer mornings. It’s quite strange but I’m welcoming it and loving it. Next week the kids grandparents arrive and then we’re off to Dunedin for a few days too. All of that equals a pretty easy two weeks for me. Sooo happy.

Over the weekend our gardens got weeded, trees got pruned and the lawns got mowed. They used a ride on lawnmower to get around the place. I knew our spot was big enough for one of those! Our backyard jungle has turned into a safe-haven for children to play in again. The gardeners did such an amazing job. We’re keeping them on for good.

I haven’t been lucky enough to receive my shipped goods for the large painting I’m working on. I’m a bit frustrated because I was having so much fun working on it. When I’m really enjoying myself the results on the project I’m working on always come out better than expected, now I’m a little worried that because the flow has been broken it won’t turn out as well as I had imagined. I’m hanging in there though! I’m just determined to get the results I want with this piece.

In the mean time I’ve been trying to get to my drawers. I didn’t get as far on them as I wanted last week. Boston is back to being a cranky pants. The one week of peace was awesome while it lasted lol. He’s teething right now and is not letting anyone get any rest. He’s up at 4am and stirring through the night. During the day he’s clinging and unable to settle, then at random moments he’s the happiest kid on the planet. We’re lucky if those moments are lasting more than an hour. Nevermind, this too shall pass!

Bloom was unveiled on Friday night and looks STUNNING. Head here to see the list of participants.

I’ve made a little bit of progress on the drawers, still a long way to go though!

Things were quiet one night while I was waiting for Andrew to arrive home so I sketched myself as the evil Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.

And seeing as my goods haven’t arrived in town yet, I figured I’d start on another painting.

That’s where I’m up to now! I’m off to work on this portrait. I love painting.

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The Latest Project – Side Table Drawers

by Chavah Kinloch on June 25, 2010

Ahhhhh. First off, I just wanted to say I’m feeling great. Thanks for the lovely comments I got all around the place :)

Next up, my latest project!

So my favourite places to shop down here are Habitat from Humanity and the dump. This particular project was found at the dump.

Shopping second hand down here isn’t like shopping second hand in a big city. Everything is labelled ‘antique’ when really it’s just old and nasty and only worth a dollar. So buying an affordable set of drawers is no easy feat. Not to mention a set of drawers that match.

When I saw them I instantly saw gorgeous side tables for a living room, hallway or bedroom. The shape of them is stunning IMO., and those handles…yes! The drawers are quite big/deep so they’d actually store quite a bit even though there are only two of them. At $15 each, I couldn’t say no.

I’d heard you could actually refurbish veneered wood so I thought this might be a good introduction to working with it.

So here’s the before:

I’m still working on them but here are some during photo’s:

I still have a long way to go with this project but I’m hoping the end result will come out as what I envisage in my head.

I’m working in my dining room.(The whole middle of winter thing.) I’ve completely trashed it.  Well, I’ve gotten paint everywhere, my baby has trashed it lol. I’ll be doing something that requires a lot of elbow grease, like sanding.. and he’ll come along and pull things off my desk and sprawl everything across the floor. Darn him for getting bigger! He’s into absolutely everything right now. I think he believes he’s helping me… but really… lol.

The results for the drawers are great so far and I really, really hope I can pull it together. So keep watch! All going well I’ll have it done by next week… unlike my painting which is STILL waiting on goods to be shipped so I can finish it.

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