I found this beauty online in our local classified ads, and couldn't resist. I love chairs with a cane backing and knew I had to have this! The table itself measures out to nine feet long [with all three of the leaves in place] and recovering the chairs in the fabric of my choice is going to be fun!

 

Before

 

 

I decided on Black and white stripes on the table top. Two of the leaves were painted black and the third one is white. I wanted to keep the pattern flowing on the table so it looks like one piece.

 

 

The legs of the table were painted black but I still thought they needed something "flashy". My husband suggested polka dots (those are his favorites) and gave me the idea to dip the eraser from a pencil into the white paint and press it onto the legs. I love it!

 

I then took some Martha Stewart Metallic Gold paint and brushed it onto the divets of the table. It took two or three coats but it finally stuck!

 

I almost stopped there, but decided not to. I then painted some "courtly checkers" onto the rim of the table. I'm still not sure about these and each time I look at them I consider painting that part of the table white.

 

 

The chairs were painted black and I replaced the awful gold terry cloth covering with black and white polka dot fabric. I thought it would bring out the legs nicely.

Voila! The finished product:

 

 

 

Cocktail Cabinet

My Latest Projects

Before

I found dated beauty at a yard sale for $10, and I could not say no! I took it home, took the dresser drawers out and the hardware off ( most of the drawer pulls were missing, I was lucky to have the 2 large ones) and got to work. I primed the dresser with spray on primer (which was expensive at $4 a can and it took a few of them) and then found a fabulous color; Fire Orange! I painted and painted until I was satisfied with the way it looked then sealed it with clear polyurethane. The handles were spray painted charcoal grey and I had left over silver knobs [from my kitchen cabinets] that I also painted charcoal grey. 

After:

 This is the finished project. I used a few lamps from downstairs and added a beautiful blue and white planter [to bring out the vibrant orange] and took a few pictures.

Before:

I found this little lady at a local thrift store. I knew I had to have her. So I paid $35 and made her fit in the car. When I got home I took her apart and replaced the wood shelves inside. I think this may have been a stereo cabinet for someone, but we aren't sure. I sanded, primed and painted the cabinet with black and white stripes. I used blue painters tape for straight lines and measured every single space [1 inch apart]. The knobs I loved, so I spray painted them black and put them back on. I used it for a cabinet in my dining room to hold my crock pots, griddle, rice cooker, etc.

After:

Here is my finished project!

Dining room table and chairs re-vamp

Each time I walk into a thrift store or yard sale, I am on a mission! I want to find that one fabulous piece of furniture that I can tear apart, strip, sand , prime and paint. I love the process of creating  new looks in our home.
A few weeks ago I was cleaning up the dining room after dinner and it suddenly struck me that I was tired of the current table and buffet we were living with. On a whim I put my dining room set up for sale [thinking I had plenty of time to look for a new one]. Well, I was wrong. My dining room table sold within a few hours and we were without one.
I began searching for a used set in our local classifieds and found one. It is perfect! I paid $75 for the set and knew I had a lot of work ahead of me. It wasn't my favorite, but the table was in good shape and structurally sound.

Before:



After:

As you can see, our family loves animal prints.  I painted the chairs and legs of the table white and upholstered the chairs with a giraffe/cow print.  The top of the table, I distressed but kept the color.  I think it turned out nice.



Giraffe Wall

Hi!  Welcome to our blog, H + K Designs.  This is my very first blog post, and I thought I would share the first project that really got me interested in the neat things you can do to your furniture and your house.  Right now, my house is one big experiment!  


My sister, Heidi, came up with the idea of a giraffe wall, and like most of her ideas, I loved it!  I have a big wall empty wall right when you walk into my house.  We had never changed the builder's beige color (the one that came with the house), and I thought it was time.  I had recently painted the wall above my TV and fireplace in Martha Stewart's Natural Twine.  So, I thought I would use that same color for the spots.  I started by painting the entire wall an antique white color.  I'm sorry I don't have the greatest before picture, but this is the only one I took.  

I googled giraffe print and from there, I just studied the spots and tried to recreate them using a small paintbrush.  This was definitely time consuming.  It took me several hours to just get this far:

Once this was done, I had to go back and retouch spots that needed a second coat.  I also had to smooth out the edges of the giraffe spots.  I didn't want too unsteady of a line, otherwise it would look my kids painted it. 

I continued on.  At this point, I started thinking, "Oh, what have I done!"  I was worried that it would be way overwhelming, but at the encouragement of my husband, sisters, and mom, I continued.  I'm glad that I did, too!

Voila!  It is finally done!  I started in April and finished in July!  Of course, life, vacations, kids, and everything else got in the way.  Thank goodness my husband is so nice about living with unfinished paint splatters on the wall :)  Of course, I still haven't finished painting the other walls the antique white color.  Another day, perhaps!