La Vie en Blanche

Craigslist Finds: Marble Top Dresser

2014-09-11T16:22:00.000-04:00

Craigslist and Kijiji are my source for most of the wood furniture in my house. I have three dressers, one desk, and one small cabinet from Craigslist that have all served me incredibly well. I've posted about my desk and my kitchen dresser, but I haven't ever shown you my gorgeous marble top dresser I found for our dining room. Feast your eyes:

Marbletop Dresser from Craigslist: $30

As you can see, there are at least two major flaws ... namely the marble was clearly dropped and is split down the middle and had a chunk out of the side. In addition, none of the drawers work, and one of the side supports is at such an angle it's amazing to me that the dresser still stands.

But, I LOVE this dresser. I love it so so much that when people suggest I could get new marble I feel resentment. It works beautifully for us as an extra surface beside our little bar cart, it's also a sort of sideboard since our dining table is beside it. However, this dresser was $30 dollars for a reason, you can't put anything in the drawers, it needs some serious structural work, and the marble is beyond hope. The point is, you can have whatever furniture in your house that speaks to you, whether or not you overhaul DIY it. Not every dresser has to be perfect, or carefully painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, and perfectly staged. You just have to love it, and if this dresser never gets DIY'd to death, I'm going to be okay with that. This dresser has a history, it's been moved, suffered cracks, been well loved, and I love all of its imperfections.

Antique Table Re-Do

2013-09-24T14:09:00.000-04:00

It's been a year since I posted. I am a terrible blogger. BUT I did finish a Masters Degree during that year, so I should be forgiven.

This is a table that I bought nearly 2 years ago for 20 dollars. It was painted white when I bought it, with a nice touch of blue paint underneath that you cannot see until you start to strip it. The turned legs were also white and not pictured here ... I apologize for the lack of a full photo:

Here is the before and after:

Naturally Stained Pine Shelves

2012-07-02T16:36:00.000-04:00

If you are an apartment dweller come moi, you know that apartment bathrooms are ALWAYS minuscule and severely lacking in storage. My current bathroom has a single cupboard under the sink. That's it. NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE. Not when you share with boyfriend who has five old containers of hair product at any given moment in time. I could have spent fifty dollars or more on one of those mdf white painted or metal contraptions that stand over the toilet and offer a few shelves. However, I HATE THEM, so that option was out. I had some plain knotty pine pre-cut into 2 foot long and 6 inch wide pieces from a different project that never got done. However, did I want plain pine? No sir. I wanted this kind of pine from nimidesign

My Kitchen Dresser

2012-04-13T17:44:00.003-04:00

My dream came true. Boyfriend said "why don't we just buy this tiny, boring, kitchen cart from Ikea for 70 dollars more?". Okay that's not verbatim what he said. I told him to stop crushing my dreams, and then I got my gorgeous dressers. I found them on craigslist for 125 dollars each, which for Toronto craigslist was a great price. These are them in the ad:

Anthropologie: Do's and Don'ts

2012-04-10T16:58:00.000-04:00

We all love Anthropologie. Just try to deny it! You can't! But Anthro has a dark side of knock offs and pricey items that sometimes make me hate it. Other bloggers have commented on the love/hate relationship we all experience from Anthropologie, this is not a new phenomenon. But don't worry, this is your new how-to shop-at-Anthropologie-without-despising-yourself-and-it guide.

DO'S

1. DO buy cute kitchen trinkets and bowls you might not be able to live without while not breaking the bank.

Mason Jar Soap Dispenser (with a twist)

2012-03-04T11:38:00.000-05:00

I love my vintage teal mason jars. I do. But other than making various twinkle lights out of them, they've mostly been adorning my kitchen as purely decorative.

NO MORE. Time to put them to work. Last night I stayed home and did graduate school homework (boo). Once I had accomplished enough (though it's never really enough) I got bored, started watching The Apartment, and began tinkering with my mason jar.
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Homemade Bread. (and you can to)

2012-02-10T16:56:00.001-05:00

I am NEVER EVER buying regular bread from the store AGAIN. NEVER. This bread is so effing delicious and simple to make you'll die that you didn't spend your adult life making your own bread before this.

Ingredients:

All Purpose White Flour

Canola Oil (or another light kind of oil)

Quick Rise Yeast

White sugar

Salt

Ikea Lantern Twinkle Light

2012-01-16T01:07:00.000-05:00

I made a new twinkle light. The subsequent photos of it exemplify how desperately I need a camera for my birthday HINT. Back to the twinkle. Who DOESN'T have that Ikea lantern in some colour lying around the house. Put it to good use for once and cram some twinkles in it. Plus, they already have a handle, so stringing them together and hanging them on your porch in the summer would be easy easy. Henceforth I am putting out a call for twinkle light jars/bottles/crates/vessles/pails/carafes that you have made. Share away via email, please! I would simply die to see your lovely contributions and I will dedicate a special post to all you twinklers...

Handmade Christmas: Teacup Candles

2012-01-02T22:00:00.000-05:00

I am an impoverished grad student. It's a disgusting fact of life. For this frugal Christmas I have discovered the satisfaction of handmade gifts. I'm into simple crafts that aren't ... kitchy/tacky/ew. When I found teacup candles on Pinterest, I knew I had a winner. I checked out a couple of websites beforehand for their advice, obviously Martha and this one from Craftbits and ended up with bits and pieces of their advice.

How to: Farmhouse Chic

2011-12-18T21:00:00.000-05:00

I wrote a post a little while back (click here to read it) where I described my style as shabby chic but a little more modern and farmhouse-ish and a little less floral and white. But let's get specific shall we?

1. If you're simply a massive fan of farmhouse tables, as I am, but you're worried that a farm-ish table plus some painted chairs from the 80's might be too too, pair that gorgeous table with a modern chair. This concept is ALL over the internet, because once apartment therapy does an article on it, it's over. The key is to have two different textures or colours, so if you've got a traditional farmy table, get yourself a metal, plastic, or coloured chair to offset it and not throw your house back into the 80's or worse (wait, probably better) the 1800's.

homedesignfind

Refurbished Oak Desk

2011-12-10T18:30:00.000-05:00

Yaaaaaaaaay it's done! It took a long time. Yes it did. I thought the desk was a poor buy (even though it was only 25 dollars) because the top had this gross piece of vinyl on it, and parts of the desk are plywood with veneer overtop. Fortunately, I managed to rip the vinyl off and the top doesn't look half bad, "rustic" let's call it. Besides, once it was painted black, who could tell if it's plywood + veneer instead of solid wood... no one! Here is the

Before:

Three Ideas for Old Dressers

2011-11-14T11:35:00.001-05:00

The DIY world has started to look at dressers and all their infinite possibilities in use around the home. THIS is a fantastic thing. You can purchase a second hand dresser for sub 100 dollars, or you can buy one that someone has already lovingly refurbished (ahem) if you don't have the time or the patience for paint. They already boast lots of storage, and the best part is that they come in SO many different sizes that finding one to fit your space is certainly possible. So here we are, their uses:

1. Dresser Kitchen Island.

This baby is all over Pinterest, but again, you don't have to limit it to the standard three drawer antique style dresser. Many DIYers out there are experimenting with different shaped dressers for a bigger, better look for their island. If you want to use it for food prep you'll have to treat the top of it specially or use a different counter top, however if like me, you have zero counter space and just want somewhere to put your kitchenaid or dishes or microwave while not in use, the it's easy!

oh the cutest of life from youresomartha (is it fate that I nearly named my blog becomingmartha? I think so.)

Antique Market Gift Ideas ... and other such things.

2011-11-13T20:51:00.001-05:00

A small post while I struggle with a tiny, farmhouse table with plank top and turned legs. Why struggle? Because a previous owner painted oil over latex paint ... and the undercoat was a BRIGHT and PERVASIVE blue. No fun, blue fingers.

Refurbished Bankers Chair

2011-11-01T16:48:00.000-04:00

Oookay the chair .... is .... done. Almost. I still have to put the the sealer on it and add a couple of screws but for aesthetic (i.e. pretty white purposes) it is done. It took a lot longer than expected because as usual, yours truly plowed ahead before doing adequate research because I was too excited. Lesson learned? Probably never.

So we're going to pretend the part where I impulsively spray painted the chair white, which resulted in a permanently sticky texture and me having to strip it (see photo below) and start over, never happened.

After spray painting ... and subsequent stripping

Home Hardware, Krug, and most importantly, Mason Jar TwinkleLight

2011-10-26T21:34:00.001-04:00

There was a furniture mishap. I am not the most patient of girls, so I jumped with both feet and a can of white acrylic enamel spray paint. Woe is us. It did not dry well, and stayed sticky, and it required some hefty back pedaling. But now we're back on track and on the right track this time!
In the meantime this is my new home away from home. I've been here six times, it is aptly named.

Modern Farmhouse, Shabby Chic

2011-09-24T16:22:00.002-04:00

Turns out I have a decorating style. It's getting worse (better?) everyday. I'm terrified that one day I will look around my apartment and realize that I've gone overboard on the slightly modernized shabby/farmhouse/chic. Oh yes, it's a sickness. Let me give you a perfect example. I now adore mason jars. I want them in my life everyday. I want to do EVERYTHING in this apartment therapy article with them. Although, much like with twinkle lights, I don't want them just for summer parties, I want them ALL, THE, TIME. I want my dishwashing liquid in vintage seltzer bottles. I want most of my furniture to be classic, that has been found and refurbished by moi. I want cute mismatched chairs all painted in soft turquoise for a kitchen I do not currently have. I want antique doors and windows turned into desks, shelves, cabinets, and decor.
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Let's Talk Lighting

2011-08-19T18:56:00.002-04:00

I love a good twinkle light. They remind me of the fireflies I never got to see or catch as a child. In case you're thinking it, twinkle lights are not only for Christmas or summer dinner parties. No no. They are for whenever you want and wherever you want, indoors and outdoors. Example time.

Twinkle lights in mason jars, or any jars for that matter. Too cute. Also helps satisfy your craving for fireflies in a jar if you never caught any in your infancy (like moi). No I did not think of this, I just wish I had.

Courtesy of ljc@flickr

Woes and Baking Things

2011-08-03T10:30:00.004-04:00

Currently I am apartment hunting in Toronto. I came across this ad http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/apa/2519064425.html which encapsulates my feelings on the subject. Okay so not totally, there are some good ones out there, but luck isn't on my side for the time being, and neither is money. The Alberta government seems to think I can LIVE (rent, bills, food, cat food, other normal things) on 9000 in the most expensive city in Canada. HA. So funny, so funny. To distract myself from the depression of it all, I've resorted baking plans and new measuring cups. Martha Stewart has this fantastic list of her top 40 good things that I will show you soon. In it is one of my most favourite things to do while baking; measure everything out beforehand, put all the ingredients away, and have a lovely set up to bake in the most organized way. To do this, you need pretty bowls and containers. This has led me to decide that I absolutely have to collect cafe au lait bowls later in life, and have a cupboard like this one to display them:

Something Borrowed (and painted white of course)

2011-07-31T16:06:00.002-04:00

So you may have different (or better) taste then I. However this is something we all can do regardless of our taste in furniture. I happen to be in love with Hemnes from Ikea. Now in the spirit of supporting capitalism, I own a beautiful black queen size Hemnes bed frame that I truly adore. However, I have very cheap bedside tables and a very orange coloured oak desk from my parents house. How to fix this?
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