Heart Happy

Having painted and updated every single room in the house now (not that it's a contest {it is}), I can honestly say this one was by far the cheapest.  Before photos are here.

Let me break this project down for you so you can appreciate just how much money I didn't spend.  That little table was an ugly pine color and has been in my garage for probably two years (at least).  I painted it with leftover paint samples purchased for the drawer filing cabinets (all of which was covered with a $3 tub of colored goodness).  The silver tray and Victoria Secret mannequin (crazy, right?) were also Goodwill finds from last year.  The chair was from TRUThrift (and was already in the basement).  So that little nook cost a grand total of: nothing.

I followed these instructions (minus spray adhesive, which I didn't have on hand...glue sticks, however, I had in abundance) and recovered my eight year old ironing board with fabric you probably recognize from my dining room chairs (already linked above).  Makes a HUGE difference when hanging it up, and also encourages me to do so.  The board is hanging off of two curtain hold back hooks randomly found on clearance at Lowe's (but were exactly what I was after) for $8.88.  Really.  Which brings the total for that tiny wall to (shocker): $8.88.

The most expensive piece of the puzzle was the (free! ha!) dresser.  I already had Zissner primer (three coats it took...THREE. COATS) to cover what turned out to be very sweaty pine.  Then three coats of $10 flat white.  So much painting...Mike does say, however, that this is by far his favorite piece I've done.

Each drawer was a paint sample from one color sample array, just a shade lighter as each drawer went.  Five colors at $3 brought this puppy to $25.  I bought $30 worth of hardware originally, but spray painted the original pulls with leftover paint from last year on a whim, and liked that better.  Back to Lowes they went and back on the Visa went the $30.

It's topped with some of my favorite things...a serving platter I made out of thrifted tea cups and china, my great grandmothers dressing table accoutrement, Sharpies, and one of an exact pair of porcelain dogs my sister and I bought at the Dollar Store at the Parks Mall when we were little kids.

I hid my sewing machine cover under a cool old metal crate (guess where that's from), spray painted a lamp (in the garage on top of that little table - same day purchase) with spray paint I had leftover from last year.  Decoupaged a lamp shade (again, already had lounging in the crawlspace), hung a fruit basket set purchased on a whim on yet another thrift store jaunt (man I am sounding like a Crazy Bag Lady), and TADA!  Light.  At $0.  Also that warmer makes the basement smell better than it ever has.  Thanks, Nar!

I spray painted one of the two dining room chairs (sans table...) Mike owned when we met, recovered the seat with my fav material (used here and here), and now have a pretty sewing desk chair for...yup.  $0.

More free furniture, and the inspiration for the "Things That Make Me Happy" theme...one small can of chalkboard paint ($10), some lovely colored chalk from Mom (thanks, Mims!), and two paint samples ($3 each) of yellow and blue, some craft paper (had it) and a Sharpie and voila!  Everything is organized, tucked away, and most importantly not falling off a bookshelf as was the previous setup.

$16 Craft Organization: BAM.  To the right will be a clothing rack for current projects and Dolly Couture wedding dresses (there's the kicker) once I figure out how I want that to actually look (it's a conundrum wrapped in a quandary).  In other news, I signed up to be an in-home bridal boutique!  I showed interest last year when I saw the opportunity on Facebook (before I shut that complete drain on life and all things good down) as I've followed them since I purchased my wedding dress through them online.  Since they don't have stores everywhere, I'm like a mini boutique!  I'm curious to see how that turns out...

I nixed the TV stand via Freecycle, somehow moved these shelves over to the opposite corner, and we now have this fantastic workout shelf, complete with TV/DVD player (from my first apartment, brought home by Mike from his office), all of our workout DVDs, the other dining room chair (poor boring guy), and all our workout equipment stored easily in one place!  It opened up the area so much for jumping around...

In case you weren't adding...that brings the grand total of Basement Redo to: $49.88.  Less than fitty bucks, peeps!

 You know you're jealous.

You're still reading?!  Well in that case...what I really want to do now is a paint-by-number mural behind the sewing desk/filing cabinet.  The wall could not be a more perfect size...this one's the front-runner!  Close second...and this one is lovely, but probably too difficult.  Which brings me to simple, but I don't quite love it.  And with the amount of time this will take, I'd better love it.  Wish me luck!