A Whole Lot of “Ugly” Around Here
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There’s a lot of ugliness in my house and garage right now–a lot of unfinished, beaten up projects and furniture badly in need of some pretty paint and stain: a stark white basement crawling with Granddaddy Long Legs, a rack of half-finished projects that I just can’t seem to find the time to complete….the list goes on.
(Not to mention a dingy-looking garage that is sorely in need of a total makeover so that it can become a proper workshop for me!)
Anyhow, here’s a look at some of the ugliness goin’ on ’round here….. Don’t you worry–when I become Super Woman, I’ll get it all done. LOL
UGLY VANITY
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| Remember this $11.00 vanity I scored recently at the thrift store?? This is going to be my next project! |
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| MUST.LINE.DRAWERS! Ewwww….. |
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| What a sad piece of furniture. Thankfully, the sadder the piece, the more shocking the outcome, don’t you think?! |
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| Hmmm…..nothing a little wood filler can’t fix…. |
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| Good bones, y’all…..good bones. Remember dat! |
So while I am itching to get started on my $11.00 vanity, let me introduce you to the project that’s kicking my butt right now:
UGLY DESK
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| $12.00 thrift store desk! |
I’ve been working on that desk for a good 2 weeks, off-and-on. I have been making careless errors due to poor project planning and “jumping in” without realizing that some steps should probably get done first. DUH, Serena!
I’ll be posting pics of the “AFTER” in a couple days! Stay tuned….
UGLY WALLS
Here’s another “mini” project I sorta got to: stripping the glue residue left over from the wallpaper removal in the hallway (thanks to the previous home owners!)
When we moved into this house, there was wallpaper EEVVVEERRYWHERE, and removing it was horrific. You gotta see the pics……In some cases, like below, we removed the wallpaer, but never finished removing the glue, so we were left with dingy, rough glue walls.
BEFORE
AFTER….still in need of some pictures and decor, but a HUGE difference, ya think? Oh, and a new, updated light.
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| Ahhh…..no pictures yet, but at least it’s looking less “crack house”–ish. LOL |
UGLY BASEMENT
If this was your basement, would you want to hang out down there?
Meh….Well, we don’t want to either.
It’s finished, but not “finished, finished.” The walls are unpainted. The floor is that hospital-grade linoleum tile. Spiders love it. And there’s no furniture down there YET.
Remember last week I mentioned on my Facebook page that I went to my first estate sale and bought a pool table? Well, we’re getting it installed and balanced next weekend!
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| Slate pool table!!!!!! Scored for $400 at an estate sale. |
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| Needs paint, and LOTS of it! |
My vision is a game room and hang-out spot. We’re not big entertainers, but we’d like to start having people over, and what better place to chill than by the pool table, yo??!!! I love me some pool!
So yesterday I snuck out of work (hee hee) and went to an estate sale and picked up some things I think will help turn it into a “chill” spot for entertaining:
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| $15 each, barstools……Of course I will be painting them. |
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| $15 each, framed posters…ROCKY….THE GODFATHER…. |
THE PRETTY!!!
It’s not fair to just show you the UGLY going on around here without showing you the PRETTY. Although I have a lot of stuff to get done around here, there are also several projects that I have accomplished, as seen below 
It feels good seeing things come together, regardless of how slow the process.
It feels good seeing things come together, regardless of how slow the process.Lesson learned: keep forging ahead!
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| A hodge-podge of all my thrift and second-hand projects coming together: free dumpster desk…..$12.00 vintage chair…. $10.00 lamp makeover with a $2.00 shade……and other thrifted odds-and-ends. |
Yep……this shirt about sums it all up. LOL!
So do you guys have some ugliness going on in your house right now? Please, do share, so I don’t feel like the only dysfunctional person that can’t get it all done. LOL
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Tags: basement, pool table, stools, Vanity
You’re far from being alone. First off, I will not share pictures of my basement and shed out of pure shame. I was in the running for a “Hoarders” episode until that lady with the 102 feral cats beat me out. Federal aid has been requested, that’s all I can say.
Second, I would happily saw off my left arm with a rusty grapefruit spoon to have a.) a garage to work in and b.) a basement even remotely as clean and cool looking as yours. Revel in your accomplishments and use that energy towards your next project!
Scott, have I ever told you that your comments leave a smile on my face? Seriously. Now, about your hoarding, LOL, that’s so funny! Whatcha hoarding, anyhow?? And I guess you’re right. It’s great to have a garage (it’s a 2-car garage) and a basement, even if they are uninspiring. It’s just that I see so many other bloggers with these nice, well-put together homes (well, that’s how they portray it!) and then I see how UNput together our home is, still, after being here nearly 2 years come December. One project at a time, right??
I too have ugly but it makes me inspired to look at it and imagine the change to be wrought. Honestly, your “ugly” furniture made me want to go to Goodwill right now! Especially the vanity – ooooo, that’s going to turn out nice. Can’t wait to see what you do.
Lol, Ally, you should totally go!! I was suppose to go thrift diving today with a reader who lives close by, but my middle son just came down with a fever, so it’s a no-go. And yeah, I’m super excited about the vanity!!! Can wait to get on it.
First off, the word you’re looking for is “staging.” People take these great pictures of homes that look like the set of the next Pottery Barn catalog. No one shows off the sticker-encrusted cabinets, the jelly-smeared kitchen walls, the mountains of laundry and, most telling, the people who created these messes. You’re a working mom with three kids and you have a basement you can walk through with only minor tripping hazards? That that’s at least silver in Homeowner Olympics!
And you’ve done all this in only two years?! You may just go gold.
We’ve been in this charming two story landfill for ten years and I doubt I’ll ever see the end of the major projects I should work on, let alone the fun ones I want to be working on. Chin up!
It’s all about perception really huh??
One woman’s hovel is anothers pristine. LOL
Give yourself a pat on the back for making any effort. It could be worse, you could just go shopping in some standard alan key superstore.
This is the more creative & sustainable way.
Creativity is 9 parts mess & 1 part genius.
Look forward to seeing the end results.
Cheers
Lush
London, UK
Serena,
Thanks for visiting my blog. I’m glad you did!
Ugly things can be transformed which is so exciting to me. I love painting old furniture and make them look nice!