New kitchen decor!

(This is a quick interlude from my countdown, I'll continue with that in a few)

My mom laughs at me constantly because I am never happy with my decor. Ever. I redecorate/retheme like every 6 months.  Lately, my problem has been with my kitchen...so it was time for a redo!  I just ordered fabric to recover my chairs (pictures soon) and in addition to my mixer art I did a few more framed pieces.

I bought a set of 40+ vintage advertising cookbooks on eBay (yep, still an addict) awhile ago for $15 (including shipping!) and have been waiting to get inspired for the perfect project.

Here's what I ended up with:

My main colors are going to be green, yellow and teal (all vintage hues, of course) with other colors added in...because heaven forbid I have a room with matchy matchy decor. Which, when I have my own house with it's 1950's kitchen* will look fab.

*post-Mega Millions lottery win, of course.

You could do this with any sort of old media--advertisements, newspapers, magazine/book covers, etc.

My next project will be with this little wonderment (picked up at a yardsale for 50 cents...and yes it works, but I totally bought it for the box):

"Guaranteed to crack your nut."

slipper bench redo!

Quite some time ago (actually it's been even longer than I'd like to admit) I found this little treasure at a flea market with the whopping price tag of $3.

I actually liked it as is when I bought it, especially the color of the top (the pale pink bottom I could have done without), but I always figured I could redo it when I got sick of it.

....annnnnnnnnnnnnddd 4+ years go by...

There, I admitted it. I never could make up my mind on what to do, and it wasn't really a priority.  A week or so ago I realized I was storing it under my coffee table because it clashed so badly with my living room.  Totally unacceptable.  Now it was priority level one.

First step...new paint.  I coated the bottom with a navy satin spray paint.  I used to actually sand, prime, and paint all my furniture, but once you use spray paint, you never go back.  It's faster, easier, and gives you more even coverage...IF you can get the right color.

My original plan was to rip the foam on the top off and replace it with something thicker, but once I pulled all the vinyl off, I realized that foam was not going anywhere.  So I just put the padding on top.  I bought this stuff called NU-Foam at Jo-Ann's (mostly because it was cheaper than regular foam) but it is pretty neat stuff.  I cut it to size and tapered the edges.

I put duct tape rolls between the layers to (kind of) hold them in place, then I layed the fabric over it, flipped it over, and staple gunned it on the underside.  Note: The more staples you use, and the tighter you can get the fabric, the better overall look.

To place the buttons on the top, my original plan was just to staple gun where I wanted them to go and then hot glue the buttons over the top.  Epic fail.  After my 5th staple sproinged out and went flying across the room*, I had to go to plan B...nails.  It worked surprisingly well.

*At which point I had to get up and run and grab the staple before Thor ate it.  He thought this was pretty much the best game ever.

Then I used some trim that I had purchased for a project I never got around to for the edge, and held it on with upholstery tacks.

It turned out even better than I thought! And because I love before and after pictures (and am trying to teach my self photoshop)...

Cost

Slipper bench: $3

Foam: 4.79*

Trim: Already had

Buttons: $1.93*

Fabric: $3.74

Upholstery Tacks: $3.00

Spray Paint: $3.44

TOTAL COST: $19.90

*Special thanks to the lady at Jo-Ann's who slipped me coupons when I realized I stupidly forgot mine.