The Gang's All Here!

I've been talking about my collection of mismatched dining chairs for what seems like years now.  Even before we moved to the house, I knew I wanted mismatched chairs finished in the same color with the same seat upholstery.  I started collecting chairs shortly after we moved.  Now that the dining room is finally coming together, I'm finally getting my act together with my chairs.  I have 6 total to refinish, but only 4 will be regulars (in addition to our 2 new upholstered chairs).  The extra 2 will be for the rare occasions when we have more than 6 people dining. Meet the chosen 4

They are finally repaired and sturdy, and waiting to be primed and painted.  There's a lot of pieces around here waiting for the same.  Guess I'll be painting furniture all winter.  There are worse ways to spend my hibernation months.

Franken-Table

Do you remember this cute little table that came home with me from a tag sale about a year ago for $10?  I took her home because she has nice legs.

Her proportions were a bit off from what I wanted, though.   Let me back up for a sec.  We don't really have an entry way...  digging up a picture from before the bathroom makeover, this is the immediate view when you walk in the house.  (The living room is directly on the right.)  I've been searching for ways to 'ground' the pseudo-entry way a bit and add some personality.

A console table would be the perfect use of space, but all the console tables out there were too deep and completely blocked the flow.  What's a girl to do??

If your answer was enlist Handy Dad's help and make one, you are RIGHT!  Recognize those sexy legs?  Once I figured out the ideal size for the space, Handy Dad helped me work out a plan and get all the pieces ready.  We reused the legs and re-sized the dowels between the legs.

Handy Dad was kind enough to cut a new top and side pieces for me before all his tools got packed up and put into storage before the move.  I've had the pile of console pieces sitting in a box for almost 2 months just waiting to be assembled.

Thanks to my new friend Kreg ,

the new console table came together in an afternoon!  I've heard amazing things about the Kreg jig, but I have to say, it was easier to use than I expected.  The Kreg creates pocket holes that make joining 2 pieces of wood a cinch.

Today, this once awkward wall

has a custom Frankenstein-ed console table built especially to fit.

Now my biggest dilemma is what color to paint little miss sexy-legs-franken-table my new creation.

Did You Miss Me?

Yes, I am still alive.  I did disappear into the NCIDQ studying abyss much more than I originally anticipated.  I'm pleased to say that I survived the test.  I won't know if I passed for about 3 months (just to torture me...) but at least I survived studying and taking it. Things have been happening around here though, while I had my nose to the grindstone.

Look what arrived!  The new living room chair that we ordered came in early.

Confession time: Ms. Sexy Red Chair and I have been having a bit of a love/hate relationship.  I love the lines and she's so comfy!  But she's also soooo bright.  I'm pretty confident I can make her work, but she's more of a challenge than I really expected.  I already have plans to DIY the perfect pillow for the chair.

Come to think of it, I have a lot of DIY plans.  I haven't done any projects in over a month, I'm going through withdrawal here!  The dining room needs art and refinished chairs, the bedroom is getting the old dining room chandelier (after a make-over naturally), I have pieces of a frankenstein-ed console table that need to be put together and painted, the lawn needs some new grass, the porch could use some stain/sealer.... I could keep going, but I'm already making myself tired.

Needless to say, I have plans!  And of course, I will share with you each step of the way.