Sip-tastic!

Here is another simple project I did to perk up the apartment: a coffee/drink station!

I had seen a few ideas on Pinterest of how to set up a station like this, so I used what I had. The shelf unit is from Target; I got it in Chicago to add a little counter space to my 30 sq. ft kitchen. Now it sits just outside the kitchen here in Tulsa, next to the small dining nook. There are hooks on the left of the shelf unit that I use to hang mugs, and there is also a small box of mugs on the middle shelf. The bottom shelf is where I store pitchers and our tiny stock of rum and scotch. The top shelf houses the coffee maker, as well as a small basket with a kitchen towel (for spills) and our coffee. It's a great way to free up space in the kitchen.

To hang over the shelf unit, I found a small knick-knack shelf at a thrift store and painted it with acrylic paint. I replaced the original wooden knobs with cute vintage-y ones from Hobby Lobby. To redo the whole shelf cost $8. I found the “G” at Michael's and just painted it a bright color with acrylic paint, and I cross-stitched the caption in the frame, which I also painted. The saying says “C is for Coffee”-- simple, cute, and cozy. 

What I aimed for with this station was a balance between storage and appearance. We have a much larger kitchen here than we did in Chicago, but counter and cabinet space is still precious, so this was a great way to open up the storage a bit more. Every little bit helps me feel closer to living in a finished, comfortable home!

It Has Great Bones

Moving to Tulsa from Chicago presented a slue of logistical and practical challenges, the largest one being a lack of furniture. Over the last few months, Eric and I have slowly been accumulating pieces in order to fill the apartment and allow us to stop living out of boxes (we're down to 2!) My goal was to find cute furniture for as little cost as possible; in other words, I knew I was going to be hunting through consignment stores and painting things myself. Here is one piece that I'm particularly proud of:

I found this little accent table at a consignment shop in town for $20. What I liked about it most was the simple finish it had when I bought it (easy to paint) and the great design of the legs. I like having different shapes and textures throughout the apartment, and the curved legs and rounded surfaces helped to balance out the straight edges of other pieces in the living room.

To redo this piece, I started by lightly sanding each shelf. Then I applied two coats of Zinnser Primer. This stuff sticks to everything, but I found that it sticks best after a piece has been sanded. I didn't have to sand anything very thoroughly, just enough to put a little scrape on the surface. 

Then I used Valspar paint for the color, and I sealed it all with 3 coats of Poly-crylic. Here is the finished product:

The wreath is a nice touch. My future sister-in-law made it for me for my birthday, and the pillow is from my other future sister-in-law. They know the way to my heart-- Sooner pride! You can check out their business page here.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed seeing the step-by-step on this piece. It was VERY easy to do and pretty inexpensive. Now go forth and conquer furniture challenges of your own!