Heading into the weekend of July 4, I decided to give my front porch a makeover. The wood was starting to look a bit too weatherworn for my taste and I figured a fresh coat of paint would cheer it up while also offering some weather protection for the aging wood. I actually believed that I could complete this project over the course of the 3 day weekend but I very quickly recognized that this was a crazy impossible goal. In fact, it turns out that this painting project is so big that I need to complete it in phases. Phase 1 was all about getting the paint onto the…

This is a story about a vintage gossip bench, also called a telephone table, that was forcibly given to me against my will. Many years ago, my sister picked up this cute little piece of vintage furniture at a yard sale for $3. It sat in its original form in her shed until last summer when I visited and she insisted that I take the chair home with me. I argued that I did not have space in my car or my home for another piece of old furniture but she still managed to jam the thing into the back of my vehicle anyway. I couldn’t find any markings on…

I have been a painting fool lately, upgrading everything I can with a fresh coat of color, like my front door, my dining room table, a secondhand desk, repurposed dressers, and a bunch of other things I haven’t even shared with you yet, including this antique table. I bought this table at an estate sale back in 2011. It was actually two tables when I found it. It had been cut in half and mounted to the walls as two smaller two-legged end tables. I thought it was such a clever way to repurpose a table that I had to have them. I don’t remember what they cost but it…

The weather I have been waiting for has finally (mostly) arrived and I have been taking great advantage of the dry days to get some painting done. I have a list of spring and summer home projects that is so long that it requires three columns to fit it all on one page. Last week, I was able to tackle a pretty big project and cross it off my list. My shoulders hurt like hell by the time I was finished, but it was worth it because I now have the dining room table of my dreams. Nearly three years ago, I shared my dining room makeover when I painted…

There’s an old proverb that says one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. I have lived by this proverb for basically my entire life and my wonderful neighbors next door know it. Whenever they have trash that they think I might treasure, they always offer it to me! A few weeks ago, my neighbor texted me this photo of an old desk and asked if I wanted it before she put it out for garbage. Ummm…yes, of course, I wanted it! But I think she already knew that which is why she asked me first. The timing was perfect as I had been waiting for yard sale season to start…