Improvements

Things have been happening here at The Practice House. Two big projects have been completed over the last couple of weeks--or at least completed enough to take pictures of and post on a blog. In true Sethswife fashion, there are still a few things to be done.

This was the eating area of our kitchen a couple years ago after some work:

Cute right? I remember being so happy when I took this picture. It looked just how I wanted it to look.

However, it had some problems. 

First of all, it only ever looked like that on the day I took the picture. The pillows, while lovely, were never lined up so nicely. The bench was made of plywood and not very supportive. The cushion on the bench that I made out of a pillowtop mattress thing was definitely NOT my best work. The sheet covering it was always haphazard and gross, regardless of regular washings. The round table which we'd purchased years before at a thrift store was not holding up well. It was wobbly, damaged, and really hard to clean. Not to mention that the roundness made it difficult for more than one person to sit on the bench.

So, thanks to Pinterest (so many projects begin that way), I decided to do something about it. Something awesome. Something wonderful. Something revolutionary.

Something cheap. 

Now I don't know why we didn't just do it this way then, but that was before Pinterest was there to give me direction.

First thing we did was rip up the bench. Then, Seth went out and spent a whopping fourteen dollars in wood and supplies. After a couple sawdusty minutes, we had this beauty:

We immediately sat on it timidly, then bounced on it, and finally stood on it triumphantly. It was quite supportive. Well done, Seth. Well done.

Before I show you the finished product, another big change to this area came from Craigslist. For years I've been stalking Craigslist, seeing things I liked, imagining painting them and making use of them, but never feeling brave enough to contact a stranger and come out and look at their stuff. I loathe the idea of potentially rejecting them or of having to haggle over price with them. I love garage sales, because I can peruse and walk away and not feel rude for not buying anything. Craigslist just feels so...personal.

But something just came over me when I saw this table:

I didn't hesitate to shoot the seller an e-mail and ask for dimensions. It was perfect. The right size, real wood, and only $30. 

It was about forty five minutes away, so I was REALLY hoping it was as good as I thought it was and when we made the trek out there, it ended up being exactly what I was looking for.

So with Pinterest pins in mind, I set to work at my new old table. After much sanding, staining and painting, I'm very happy with the results. 

So here are the befores:

And here are the finished products:

I still need to finish painting the legs of the table, but I was out of the paint I usually use, so I just slapped on a coat of some really, really light blue paint that I used in the bathroom. When I get around to picking up more paint, it will match the chairs...which could also use a new coat.

Other things to do here: Move the ceiling light over, add trim around the edges of the bench, get a new knob for the table drawer, touch up the wall and trim paint and replace the outlet covers.

If I were a real blogger, I would have done all those things before showing you. And I would have put pretty place settings on the table and fresh flowers. 

Maybe next time.

Coming soon, the other side of the kitchen gets revamped.