Rough and Ready (for a makeover)

Just wanted to say a big thank you to those who left comments on the post about my brother. You guys are awesome and sweet. I guess that makes you awesomely sweet or sweetly awesome. Take your pick. Either way, you put a smile on my face.

So yesterday I showed you a picture of the table I bought at the auction for $5. For those just joining this conversation, here it is.

Yikes! Okay, let me tell you why I bought this table.

#1. It's just the right size. We needed something small here so we can open the hall closet door, but all the small tables I kept seeing were really small...like low-small. As in, you'd have to bend over to set something on it. And I'm not into all that work. I mean really, I just wanna throw my keys somewhere and call it a day. Don't wanna throw my back out. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. 

#2. It's made of wood. No particle board crap here!

#3. It was $5. I mean really. Who in their right mind would pass that up?

There was one disadvantage

It was ugly as crap.

But you know I'm a fan of a good makeover so I broke out the Kilz and some really bold paint (Ben Moore Rolling Hill Green) and went to town. Now it looks like this.

Not bad, huh? I chose a bright color since it's pretty even-keeled in our house right now. We needed a pop of color. Plus, this picture was a big inspiration. I love that green mirror!

Pinterest

But as I began painting it...

...this is how I felt.

It was a little too bright for my liking. So I told Mitch, "I think I'm going to 'dirty' it up." Mitch has learned to just nod and say, "Okay...whatever." So I just took a rag that I dipped in black paint and wiped the table down. Then I took another rag that I wet with water to go over it, so as to not have too much black paint on the piece. I think it turned out juuust right.

See? Dirty.

But that's only part one of this makeover. Part two: enter horrendously gawdy mirror that I picked up at a yard sale this summer. Behold, the two uglies meet.

The finish was a terrible gold color. THAT had to go. Paint is amazing. For the table, it was so drab that I used paint to liven it up. Whereas for the mirror, it needed to be toned down 'cause it was all faux-gild-in-yo'-face. Let's tone this puppy down!

So I bought some spray primer (first time I've ever used the stuff) and some spray paint (charcoal gray) and got busy.

Tapin' her up

Finn's keeping an eye on me (it was so gorgeous the day I decided to do this project that we all went outside and enjoyed the warmth and sunshine.)

Okay...now a final "after" with both pieces.

YAY!! I got me a place to throw my keys!

Quick funny story about this Hertzler & Zook ad. I saw this on ebay years ago and thought it looked really cool. And since our last name is Hertzler (and Mitch actually works at a company with the name Zook), I thought it would be fitting for our home. Although I thought it was like ten times the size. So when this teeny tiny clipping from a newspaper showed up in the mailbox a few days later, we both just busted up laughing. And now its home is in the smallest frame I own.

So there ya go. The table went from drab to fab and the mirror went from gawdy to naughty, if you know what I mean (wink, wink). Okay, maybe that was a stretch...

Linked to:
I Should be Mopping the Floor
Show and Tell Saturday
Tuesday's Treasures
Osie Moats