Outdoor Bakers Rack

July 31st and the summer is half over already. Just like that. And it's been a great one so far. Lots of time with family and friends, incredible weather, a mountain getaway, lazy weekends at home, thrifting and projects...I couldn't ask for more, really.

But I never seem to find the time to blog what I get up to. However, this recent project of mine is a current favourite so I wanted to be sure to share.

I've really been enjoying my container gardening this summer and even planted a few perennials. Although we have a garden shed in the back yard to house everything, I decided a potting bench would be nice. We have a walk out basement and an under utilized 12 x 18 patio that I decided would be a good place for it. But nothing turned up on kijiji.

What did turn up was this bakers rack. At 3 feet wide and with no glass I knew it would fill the space I had in mind perfectly. And at $35 it was reasonably priced. It's very solid too. I've seen a few of these online used outdoors.

A before shot of the space as a whole, not very pretty and like I said under utilized.

Here is the bakers rack freshly spray painted and ready to hold all my stuff. But before I decorated I decided to spruce up the space a little too. I found some funky Martha Stewart pillows (the smaller ones) on clearance for $8.50 each and an outdoor rug for $14.44 for the seating area.

And here are a few shots with some potting stuff on the bakers rack.

I love how the gardening tools sit nicely on the wine rack.

Some thrifty items on here:

Galvanized tub for my potting soil, $2 garage sale find

Galvanized vases 25 cents each, garage sale find

Terracotta pots 27 cents each at our local greenhouse

(And everything else I had on hand)

Here's the entire space, it's a little more welcoming now.

Do you see that planter? That might be the most thrifty item of all since it was FREE. My office hosted a lunch time gardening session in June where they supplied all the plants and flowers to make a large planter.

Love it.

But I wasn't so sure I loved the bakers rack all junked up with the potting stuff. I think it can also be used as an outdoor space for drinks and snacks (lots of people do this from what I saw online). The tub would be great with ice for canned beverages and there is lots of shelf space for snacks, dishes, etc.

I still think I like it better as a potting bench.

So there's my bakers rack redo. I think I spent about $90 with the spray paint to revive the space. And the best part is we have been using it. It's been incredibly hot this weekend and this seems to be the best outdoor space to keep cool.

Thanks for visiting. I am linking up to Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures party and Linda's Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays.



Ikea Furniture Redo & Nook Makeover

Our kitchen table and buffet are from Ikea. When I purchased this furniture I thought it would do for a few years until I could get what I really wanted. We were in a new house and what I really wanted at that time was something that matched and was affordable. It is from the Leksvik line and is pine. The table was less than $200 and the buffet was only $99 as I purchased at a damaged box sale. Despite the banged up box it ended up being just fine. The nook has looked like this for many years:

I've never *loved* this furniture (nor has hubby, he hates Ikea) but replacing it has never been a priority. Over the years it has served us fine and I like the glass doors and display shelves. When my friend and fellow thrifter Charlene first suggested I paint the buffet I was totally opposed and didn't think it would be worth the effort. Over time the idea grew on me. I had hung the subway art sign in the nook and really liked the black and white in there. I decided to go for it and started with the table. Although sanding away years of kids handwriting from homework sessions at the kitchen table was a little sad, I was really happy with the end result.

I took a couple days break after finishing the table before starting on the buffet, which took much longer due to the doors, drawers, and shelves. I started the buffet about 2 weeks ago and was happy to see furniture being painted white all over blogland. The only white furniture we have in our house is in my craft room and after priming it was looking REALLY white and I was nervous. I used Pittsburgh Paint Cookie Crumb which is quite creamy, while still 'white' if that makes any sense. I thought about distressing the edges but wanted a modern look despite the shape of the piece. In it's original state it always seemed really traditional looking. I think it is much more transitional in white.

Anyways, I finally finished a little over a week ago and got it back into place. It was *not* love at first sight and I freaked a bit wondering if I had made a big mistake. However, after decorating it and putting my beloved french ovens back in place, I was(and remain)totally SMITTEN. It feels like we got new furniture.

My husband hung a new drum pendant to complete the nook makeover. I debated changing out the chairs but I think their neutral colour balances out the black and white against our maple kitchen. When I look at the before pics I can't believe what a difference painting made. I'm still not sure this set is what I want long term, but I think we'll get at least a few more years out of it yet :)

Although I finished this more than a week ago I'm linking to Primitive & Proper's Piece of Work Wednesday (I didn't get a chance last week). I cannot tell you how helpful Cassie's prepping and priming advice was. The last piece of furniture I painted was my son's baby dresser when I was pregnant (he turned 15 on Sunday!) so was VERY rusty. But trust me, if I can paint furniture ANYONE can.

Another valuable resource was this post on Young House Love.

Thanks so much for peeking and if I've managed to hold the attention of my crafty pals to this point I hope this explains my lack of posting things of a crafty sort lately!