THE THRIFTY DECORATOR

How to fix broken veneer and get the smell out of old wood furniture

2012-03-06T00:01:00.000-05:00

I found this dingy looking piece of furniture one morning running off to work. Luckily I was able to call and convince the husband to come and get it before anyone else (probably most likely the garbage truck).

One good thing about this tragic piece was that the previous owner had thrown the broken off door inside of it

The first thing this little cabinet/dresser needed was good, old sponge bath. Soap and water x 3.

That set off a stench of cigaret smoke like there was no tomorrow. My goodness this poor piece of furniture appeared to be a clear candidate for smoke related diseases. Awful! So my next step then became getting the smell out. White wine vinegar is almost the solution to all problems and it also works to get smells out.

I more or less drenched the cabinet/dresser in white wine vinegar. Now it smelled like one big pickled factory. So to remedy this I set a few cups of cat litter in there to absorb the smell. To be on the safe side I just let it sit for a few days with cat litter sand.

With the smell and the dirt gone I still needed to remove all old paint stains on the surface without damaging the actual paint-stain. There are few things Clinique Skin Toner won't remove - including paint.

A few cotton pads later drenched with the toner removed the stains from the surface. Just be careful with this stuff as if you press too hard it will remove the paint as well (needless to say it has been a while since I stopped putting Clinque products on my skin - even though I think it is mainly rubbing alcohol in this one working its' magic).

The next problem was the veneer damage.

Your winning tool here is a good old iron. By pressing an iron - with some wax paper and possibly a towel in between - you will loosen the glue in the veneer and can then easily "lift" it off the furniture and remove it.

I then cut veneer to fit the size - if you use the wax paper and "shade" with a pencil on top (the way you copy the surface of a coin) you get the exact shape and size of the veneer you need. This you can then easily iron on where the old veneer used to be. Just be careful not to touch the paint and lacquer on the sides with the iron as the heat may very well damage it. To make sure the veneer was perfectly even with the old veneer I used a bread-pin to flatten it as much as possible.

The veneer comes on a roll like this and you can just cut so size

With the smell gone, the stains gone and the veneer replaced I just re-attached the door, added one thin layer of stain (I mixed to color of stains to get the exact tone I wanted) over the new and old veneer and everything else, one layer of polyurethane and two knobs. And that's it! (oh by the way the old veneer was replaced on the side but you cannot see it unless you were to look really close up)

DYI necklaces from old vintage pieces and beads

2012-03-04T15:31:00.001-05:00

A few days ago I attended a really fun jewelry-making class at one of the Anthropologie stores in Manhattan. It was a haven of beads, ribbons, a few hardware tools and a lot of creativity.

It was also really great to see all the master pieces everyone was coming up with. I made these two pieces my self and was amazed by how easy it was.

All you need is a bunch of beads or brooches or essentially any type of small knick-knack you would not mind wearing around your neck. Old vintage pieces are ideal - especially if you have something that has broken and that you don't know what to do with. I have a few jars where I throw beads and clasps into every time something break - but if you are less clumsy than I am Michael's Art Supplies has loads of beads and pendants.

Made of part fabric and part metal chain

You need something to attach your things to and just about anything work - ribbon, chains or broken chains that you connect or even rope. In the second piece I used ribbon and chains. And finally - everything gets attached with either jump rings or plain old glue. A jump ring is just a tiny little ring you use to open - by using a little plyer tool - and then close again once you have attached it to either the ribbon or the chain. Add a clasp and you are done! Would love to see your pictures and master pieces!

Vintage furniture and other goodies for sale

2012-02-27T19:12:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine is moving to Europe - what luck! - and has a bunch of stuff he has - somewhat reluctantly - decided to part with. I thought is was really awesome and cute stuff so I promised him I would upload it here. He has an Etsy page as well and specifically told me that his prices are flexible - if you want to get your hands on some of these goodies shoot him an e-mail at his Etsy store.

Happy Shopping!

And here is his Etsy page: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ParkSlopeVintage?ref=ss_profile

Old restaurant chairs get an updated look

2012-02-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

A restaurant in Caroll Gardens, Brooklyn was renovating and decided they did not need these chairs any more. Well good - because I did. They - the chairs that is - actually didn't need a lot. A little love - translated into wood-glue - and a coat of paint.

I really like they sort of ethnic feel. Even though it does not show so well on the pictures the backs have fairly intricate carvings. Since I have a thing for turquoise lately that's the color it had to be.

I still need to make some sort of cushions for them and I was thinking a dark coral but can't seem to find a fabric I like so for now we'll settle for some Chinese fabric and I just added a few tassels to funk them a little. Da-dam!

Getting creative with a beaten up vintage table

2012-02-18T15:58:00.000-05:00

One of my latest finds is this little sweet vintage table that was sitting on the corner of the street awaiting its' sad faith and the garbage truck.

The surface was in pretty bad shape and had plenty water damage.

I know there is the right way of doing things and then there is the lazy way with almost just as good of a result. Since I fall in the second category I stripped only the surface and I then used some iron-ons designs to make it a little bit more fun.

If you do this just be patient with the iron as it takes some time for the iron-on to transfer to the wood.

I then re-stained the top by mixing two stains until I got the color I wanted.

There is no problem mixing stains as long as they are both either oil-based or water-based. Lastly covered it with a few layers of lacquer and - voila! What do you think?

Making a Chandelier of Mardi Gras Beads and a Flower Basket

2012-01-29T20:53:00.000-05:00

I have wanted a wood bead chandelier ever since I saw one at Anthropologie with huge wood beads. Then I saw a post somewhere on a blog on how to actually make this happen and sort of memorized the instructions.

First, off I went to the party store to get some Mardi Gras beads – quite some to be accurate – 34 strings.

I got myself a flower basket that I painted and towards the top I attached part of a hanger I bent into a circle and taped together with electrical tape.

I then dyed the bead in different tones of gray and white and cut them up as they all came like necklaces turning them into long strings.

Beads drying after they have been painted

That was pretty much the end of the more fun part as the rest of it was just endless tying of the strings to the flowers basket using invisible thread and wire I painted white.

But – it is looking pretty spiffy – don’t you think?

I am still trying to decide whether I should attached a light-bulb or just put a candle in the center – I think either could work. What do you think?

Christmas in New York City

2011-12-26T11:37:00.000-05:00

The Christmas decor in New York City is always so much fun to check out from the Christmas windows to entire buildings draped in lights and decorations. Here are some pictures from the Holiday festivities along 5th avenue and a few other places. Happy Holidays!

Star on 57th and and 5th avenue

Plaza Hotel

Christmas window display at Bergdoff and Goodman

Christmas window display at Louis Vuitton

Christmas window display at Bergdoff and Goodman

Christmas window display at Louis Vuitton

Christmas display at Fendi

Christmas display at Saks

Tree by Rockefeller Center

Suzani inspired sewing chest

2011-11-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

My neighbor who is a sweet lady from the Greek Islands, felt she had had enough of her New York City experience and headed back to azur colored waters, probably plenty feta cheese and really good olives. But she left some stuff behind in her apartment that she could not bring and told me I could have whatever I wanted.

Since she was a seamstress she had a gigantic seamstress "chest", which I got. It is one of those awesome boxes that you can just pull and pull and they open a new drawer below the first one and then another one below that one.

I forgot to take a picture of it before I painted it almond but it was a regular medium brown -
boring (!) in other words. I then looked at some Suzanis and copied a color scheme and design from one I liked and simply painted it on top of the chest. What do you think?

Awesome storage for art supplies

I stenciled the black "leaves" and then just free-handed the rest

Dresser - version three - or is it four...?

2011-11-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

I added little metal plates for decor

Here is Mario's dresser that is my for ever project. Originally it was green and I stripped it to its' natural wood. But no. That did not work.
So I changed the handles. And - no - still did not work.
Then I added a graphic pattern to the drawers stenceling in a subtle two toned pattern. Nope. Did not work either.
Last night I stripped the graphic pattern and stained it in two tones - a dark warm gray and then a white on top of and I added little metal corner decors.
Let's see how long this one will last. Which one do you like the best?

After

Before

Before before

What do you do with left-over beads and broken necklaces?

2011-11-20T00:00:00.000-05:00

I realized I had jars and jars of pretty beads, broken bracelets and necklaces I was never going to get around to fixing. So I took everything apart that was not already broken and put the mixed pieces on wires randomly. I figured as the holidays come I can bend them into hearts and circles and hang them in silk ribbons. Or they could be napkin rings if I actually ever had a fancy sit down dinner.
Either way the beads are a lot better off on a piece of wire than just sitting in a drawer. Any other ideas on what to do with these?

Bengali inspired plate

2011-11-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

One of the absolute best things about living in New York City is that your friends are from everywhere around the world and speak and write all kinds of beautiful languages. So since I have a predisposition to languages other than mine is I got my friend Imtiaz - alias Tumi - to write a William Blake quote in Bengali on this gigantic plate I picked up at a Marshall's sale for a buck.

After - you guessed it - spray painting it - Tumi wrote in his most eloquent handwriting. I then stenciled a star in the center and finished with a coat of spray lacquer.

"To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour."

After

Before

What to do with odd glasses?

2011-11-18T00:00:00.000-05:00

Mario found a box of old glasses someone moving out left on the street. Some of them were crystal and other ones pressed glass. The one thing they all seemed to have in common they were the only one or two pieces left of a missing set. So what do you do with 15 pieces of odd pretty glasses?
so I thought I could put all of those little pieces I accidentally break off my plants when I water them or just to keep my little saplings and seedlings. Usually a bunch of odd ends with something in common works the best together - as opposed to spread out around the house - so I let them all cram in on this cookies display platter.

To wish upon a shooting star...

2011-11-17T00:00:00.001-05:00

Ehhh - so why is there a really lousy picture of a plastic star on this page? Because many moons ago I got myself a whole bunch of these stars that glow in the dark and then I stuck them to my bedroom ceiling all over the place. I was very excited about if for about a week and then I forgot about them. Until a few days ago when one of them came shooting down almost hitting me in the head. Not sure if that counts enough to make a wish - but I figured you never know so you may as well take your chances.

Flowers around the house

2011-11-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

Oldest trick in the book I think - and one of my favorites - just buy a sweet little mixed bouquet of flowers - I get mine at Trader Joe's or the Farmers' Market - split it into smaller little "bunches" of flowers and spread around the house - bathroom sink, bed-stand, hallway - you name it!

Could have been a great shot if it wasn't for the fact that Aycha decided to walk right into it - but you get the idea...

Hat mania - how to

2011-11-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

Earlier this year I went to Jordan and a few days before returning to NYC I was trying to figure out what I should get myself from Jordan. The answer came to me outside of the mosque where a guy was selling these beautiful hats.

I found one I liked, and then one more, and one more and before I knew it I had like six or seven of them. The salesman went to get more... I told him it was already hard enough to decide between what I had - no need to get more.

It fell on deaf ears - probably quite literally - as we did not speak a word of the same language. So back came the hat saleman who quite contently at the end managed to sell me 14 (!!!!) of these beautiful hats. I just could not design which design I wanted. So there they are. I clearly need to paint the wall to make them "pop" but still they are quite impressive.

Creating a vintage sign

2011-11-13T00:00:00.001-05:00

This is a "painting" I did a few months ago but since everyone asks me about I thought I may as well put it up here. I had seen some really charming vintage signs from Restoration Hardware but the price was in the sky and not justifiable. But there a few things you can solve with a stencil.

1. I listed a few of my favorite spots and measure them so they would fit in size and length (just doing the math between the canvas and the printed size).
2. I then printed every letter needed to spell all of the places and cut them out. The reason I did not print each city is that I was too lazy to cut out all of the letters so many times.
3. I painted an old canvas I had with basic black paint
4. I laid out one city at a time and painted with white in my stencils.
5. To get a little bit of a vintage feel - I pressed a paper onto the paint before it was dry and when I pulled it off it took some of the paint with it creating a worn out look.

And that's it! You like?

Steampunk Cuff

2011-11-12T15:52:00.001-05:00

My friend Chicago-based artist Tania Rodamilan makes a lot of Steampunk style jewlery and sent me this. Any thoughts for Tania?

"I am trying to turn a door knob part into a Steampunk cuff. Could not get the thing to bend (using hammer), any ideas? maybe applying heat?"

Some goldleaf for the most basic IKEA frame

2011-11-12T00:00:00.000-05:00

One thing IKEA is really good at is sort of offering you the basics of something you can then modify. And it since most of the time their stuff is fairly inexpensive it is not such a biggy if you like totally screw it up. So I got myself a multi-pack of plain, old, simple wood frames. I then gold leafed them, added some red and brown on top of the gold leaf, stuck some of my favorite works and quotes on the inside and I was pretty happy.

Yes - the South American map is supposed to be upside down...

Not a pink - but a white elephant

2011-11-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

On my way home from a night out with friends a few months back I crossed a street where someone was cleaning out what seemed to be the basement of a theater company and what should I stumble upon if not this little friend!

So mini-Dumbo accompanied me back home on the subway and then got to hang out for a few days in his old outfit until he - as happens with so many things that come inside my doors - was covered in a nice, clean, crisp coat of white paint. I love walking the back streets of New York city - you just never know what you will come home with...

Egg shells as planters

2011-11-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

I got this little eggstand a while back mainly because it was cute. And then I made Mario eat omelet, scrambled eggs and sunny sides up since I don't really eat egg - all so I could get the shells. Now I have to admit - this is not really my idea- I think originally it was Martha Stewart's but whatever - ideas are always up for grabs so now I happily grow my herbs right out of the shells. If I had a garden I could probably just dig a hole and plant the whole egg in the ground but for now they'll do just fine here.

Aycha's elevated style

2011-11-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

My dear Aycha got a new and improved little lunch box a while back and everything was fine and dandy until I realized that living in NYC it doesn't matter of you are Donald Trumph or some pauper in the ghetto - the roaches will find you. At least they don't discriminate and my cat apparently does not mind sharing with them. But I do. So I had to find a way to feed only my cat and not any uninvited visitor at the same time. Well, fortunately the solution was less than a foot away and practically right in front of Aycha's nose.

Two little hooks drilled into the bottom of the table under which she kept her lunch box and two loops added to the lunch box pretty much turned her lunch box into a swing. But ever since - she has had it all to herself. Ha!

Hacking IKEA upholstery for my street chair

2011-11-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

I could not leave this chair in the street. I also could not afford to pay for upholstery fabric I wanted in the garment district. So I "hacked"an IKEA Ektorp Jennylund slipcover for a chair, which cost me a fraction of the what a yardage of upholstery fabric would cost - $29 to be exact.

Let me tell you - tearing of 50-60 year old fabric from a chair eliminates all needs for any type of anger management classes. And it is FUN!

After I stripped the chair almost to the bones I layered some additional new padding before staple gunning the whole piece together. Too much fun!

After

Before

After I just about tore it to pieces...

I bought cheap inner pillows at IKEA and after I cut them up I used the filling to further add padding to the chair

Finished!

Adding a graphic pattern to a dresser

2011-11-06T00:00:00.000-04:00

This is Mario's old dresser and somehow I forgot to take a before picture but essentially the whole piece is just light wood. Perhaps birch - what do I know.

So I wanted it to have a subtle two-toned pattern and set about stenciling this in.

It looked pretty alright as I was moving along with it but I think now it just looks really bland and boring. That's alright - it gives me an excuse to come up with a new project.

Any thoughts on how to make this more fun? Maybe with stained numbers? I'll be back with an updated picture of the re-updated dresser once I figure out what to make of it - just thought I'd show this so at least you get the idea of what I had in mind...

This pattern is beyond subtle. I can barely see it on a close-up so got to come up with something else.

Wood shutters become a Moroccan style headboard

2011-11-05T01:34:00.000-04:00

This past summer I found two wood shutters down on my street that I had to have. I then got stuck with figuring out exactly what to make of them. But with some sawing and re-piecing them together two shutters became three - a few layers of walnut stain and some gold stars - voila! New headboard!
And I attached hinges on the back so supposedly if I ever needed some screens to undress behind I'd be all set. What do you think?

The doors were too tall so I sawed off the tops and made a third shutter door

My Dremel is awesome as it can almost "draw" on wood, which is how I got the stars

Little side-table goes French

2011-10-23T16:28:00.000-04:00

I found this unresistable little table in the street and had to just save it from the landfill and add a little French touch to it - Que-est-ce que tu penses? Would love to see any love you have given to any of your old furniture!

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After