Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Well Ali, since you asked...

What I used my polyurethane for recently were these little projects:

1. We used this lazy susan (which matched our very old kitchen table) like 15 years ago for reals, but since it got a little ruined, and then didn't match the dining room table, we now use it for games. The perfect little project to teach my friend Birgitte the basics of wood refinishing!

Before: Ugly, scorched oak...


After: A little bit better...


It still doesn't match the dining room table, so we'll still probably use our marble lazy susan for family dinners, but as far as giving a new life to a still functioning piece of practicality, why not?

2. I used my poly on my bathroom vanity. Our guest bathroom has been the home of some SERIOUS UGLY for a long time. It's now only that I'm old and my mom has seen my handiwork on lots of pieces that she trusted me to remedy the main offenders in our guest bath.

Before: 80s oak monstrosity...


After: a little bit better...


To be fair, I did more than just refinish the vanity. I retiled, built a mirror, replaced the sink, faucet, light fixure, and electrical switches, and painted and wallpapered. I used all salvaged wood, bought the tiles from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, got the sink and light at the ReBuilding Center on Mississippi, and got the mirror itself at a garage sale. In fact, the only store purchases for this were the wallpaper, the faucet and the drawer pulls and knobs. I love how many resources for recycling there are in Portland!

4 comments:

lulu123 said...

one day when i finally have a house/apartment of my own will you come and make it beautiful? because after those pictures...seriously? no, come on, seriously? i'm a shameless amateur.

joojierose said...

i've said it before and i'll say it again:

i want your mad skillz.

honestly?! that bathroom is amazing lover. amazing.

Melinda said...

I wished you lived closer to us so you could help me do stuff in my house. You are super talented! Dang! You should teach classes on all these things. I would pay.

- A said...

In the words of Bette Midler, "you're my hero."