Shabby Chic $1 Coffee Table Makeover

I needed a new coffee table and wanted one with a bottom shelf that I could use for storage (like the one pictured below from Bella Rose Cottage), and I wanted my table to have a Shabby Chic finish.

The problem was these beautiful coffee tables sell for around $220 which was definitely beyond my budget! So I made it my mission to to scour yard sales and thrift stores and find something as close as possible to refurbish.

I looked for months without success. Then finally, one Saturday morning I was on my way home from my regular weekend treasure hunting trip, when I spotted a yard sale sign I had missed earlier. It was late in the day and my first thought was that all of the "good stuff" would already have been snatched up. But thankfully, something drew me in and I stopped.

To my amazement, sitting there in a pile of marked down left over items was a small rectangular coffee table with a bottom shelf. I squealed with glee at my luck! I couldn't believe no one had snapped it up. Then again it was painted an ultra high-gloss, bright white and one of the legs had been stripped down to bare wood.

I put on my best bargaining face, expecting to have to jockey down the price, and approached the seller. I asked her the price and was shocked by her response! She told me that she just wanted rid of it and quoted me a firm  $1 sale price. I knew I could transform this eyesore into my "shabby chic" dream coffee table. So I happily paid her and took my treasure home.

I actually didn't need to do much to transform it. First, I sanded it with a fine grit sand paper to remove the high-gloss shine.

Then to ensure a Shabby Chic look, I distressed it by sanding all of the edges and raised areas with a medium grit sandpaper.

Next I antiqued it by applying Folk Art 'Woodn' Bucket Brown' Antiquing Medium (#817). You simply wipe on the antiquing medium with a clean cotton cloth, and then wipe as much or as little as desired until you get your perfect weathered, antique look.

For storage, I added some inexpensive baskets that I found at Wal-Mart.

So what do you think, wasn't that a $1 well spent?

To see more  my living room bargain makeovers check out  My under $200 fully decorated Centsibly Chic living room post.

Stenciled TV Cabinet Makeover

One of my favorite pastimes is searching for treasure. No, not buried treasure, but the troves of household treasures that long to be discovered at thrift stores, estate sales, and yard sales. They lie in wait buried underneath awful out-dated paint jobs, or nicked and scratched surfaces. All they need to return to their former glory is a little imagination and alot of TLC.

For example, this beautifully antiqued and stenciled television cabinet was a $35 thrift store find.

When I brought it home, it was battered and bruised. It was plain brown wood, had a few dings and scratches, and the doors were off-track and uneven. I nursed it back to health with some sandpaper and a little elbow grease, then transformed it  using paint, antiquing medium, and stencils.

Unfortunately, I was so anxious to get started on it that I failed to take a before picture, but I love how it turned out...just beautiful!

Fabulous Frugal Find: $5 Table Lamp

BEFORE

This striking table lamp is another one of my fabulous frugal finds. There is a Kirkland's pricetag on the bottom of $59, but I only paid $5 at a local yard sale. The lamp was in fairly good condition with only minor imperfections; however, it didn't come with a lampshade. I originally thought that I would leave this item as is but it was just too dark for my space.

In order to lighten it up and make it a little more Shabby Chic, I decided to paint the whole thing and give it a complete makeover!

First, I primed the base and body and taped off the cylindrical ball in the middle. I then painted the metal part with some Rust-Oleum, Heirloom white, satin spray paint, and the ball with a sage green craft paint. However I felt the green finish was too lackluster, so I then added a pearlized paint finish over the green and now it glistens under the light. I love the way it turned out but I am still scouting for the perfect lampshade.

AFTER

My Under $200 Fully Decorated Centsibly Chic Living Room

I just wanted to share some pictures from my Centsibly Chic home. Most of these pictures are in-progress photos that I took as I was decorating my living room, which the final project cost for the entire room was less than $200 (and YES that includes the furniture)!!

The white antique octogon shaped table was my aunt's, it had a dark finish before I painted it.  The metal lamp on it was a flea market find for $2 that I also painted white. The cute little candle holder was only $.75 at a yard sale.

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The white wall plaque had a dark wood finish and the metal center was painted black
 was a splurge, I paid $10 for it. The white tin vase, another yard sale find was $2. The tall  item was gold  and the $.50 candle holder had a dark green finish. I used a spray primer on them before I painted them with Rust-Oleum Heirloom White spray paint.

The gorgeous floral oil painting is one that I purchased at a yard sale for only $2. It consisted of the canvas only and was missing a frame. The frame that you see here was FREE and salvaged from a broken mirror, and to my delight, was a perfect fit. Originally the frame had an outdated shiny gold metallic finish, so I primed it and painted it with Rust-Oleum satin Heirloom White satin spray paint. The frame already had mounting brackets attached, so I simply inserted the canvas in the frame and hung it on the wall.

The love seat in the next picture was also FREE, however it has a horrible large floral 80's print in blues and oranges, but the love seat itself was in great condition. So to update its look, I covered it with this soft green floral embossed-look slip cover that I found at a yard-sale for a mere $5!! What a bargain! To accent it, I then purchased some coordinating fabric remnants in a soothing green and yellow floral print at a local fabric outlet store for $4. I then covered the old matching blue and orange pillows. 

As you can see in the above photo, another fabulous find that I added as a room accent are these great candelabras. They were given to me by a friend who felt that they were outdated. This picture contains both the before and after look of the candelabras. As you can see, the gold finish was peeling off and did make them look very dated. To refurbish them, I sanded each item to remove the loose and peeling paint. Next I primed them and spray painted them to match the floral oil painting's new frame and added these sage green taper candles.

I then placed them on either side of the floral oil painting as accents.

My favorite piece in my living room however is my television cabinet. It was a thrift store find which I purchased for $35. It was in poor condition but was solid maple. Tho original finish was a medium wood-tone. The sliding doors were off track. It was heavily scratched and had a few minor dings. This project was much more labor intensive than the rest of my living room projects, but was so worth the effort and elbow-grease.

First I sanded all the exterior surfaces and repaired the door tracks. Then I primed and painted the entire piece. This was also my first stenciling project where I stenciled the elegant design on both doors with store bought stencils and craft paint that I got on sale at a thrift store for $2. Then I antiqued the piece with antiquing glaze. I then replaced the old dark gold knobs and drawer pulls with some that I already had, which I also painted and antiqued.

The tall candle holders on either side of the TV are actually lamp bases I found at the thrift store For $2 each.
  

Almost every single item in the picture above is a frugal find makeover project so I will include more of them in future posts.