a true "upcyling"

It's like Christmas morning when someone gives me free furniture and says "go crazy! I just want it out of my house." No one can understand this obsession (especially my sweet, patient roommates who I know roll their eyes when they see a new desk in the back yard), but seriously..nothing makes me happier.

So when Kristin had a little trouble staining a desk from her grandmother and handed it over to Wade..I was in immediate "covet-mode." Wade finally cracked and let me take my beautiful baby home. This truly was a gift--after two weeks of rush, I needed a project to de-stress and let my creative juices flow.



Charlotte struck again with her fabulous and colorful room as inspiration. We had some fun and lacquered it up with apple green paint.

The wooden knobs were simple and cheap from Home Depot and allowed me to tie in the coral from her side table:

So here's my DIY tip for the day:

Distressing is SO easy! Use an old brush with slightly watered down white and gold paint- with a little on the brush (I usually wipe some on my hand or a paper towel to make it as minimal as possible) wipe random marks on the wood where there might normally be some wear and tear. Don't worry if it goes on too "harsh" in some places, just wipe it with your hand and come back to sand it later.

Make sure and get the edges and any indentations in the wood to create shadows and depth. It may sound confusing, but just grab a brush and start swipin'! When it's dry, go back with sand paper and rough up any places that are too bright or look heavily painted.

It's really about trial and error and the great thing about shabby chic-your "errors" are simply shabby :) Try distressing out on a piece and let me know how it goes- as always, feel free to ask me any questions at all!!

Thanks Kristin, Wade and Charlotte for this wonderful find, you are great and supportive friends.