Better After

6 In tables/dressers

Getting Toned

Do you love two-tone? How about Two Chainz? Two and a Half Men? Two-wheelers? What about 2Cellos? I do love 2Cellos. (Because deep down, I am your great grandma).

Well, I hoped you picked two-tone, because that is what you’re getting from me today! Two-tone, and lots of it. Let’s begin.

Love the look of refinished wood, but don’t want to commit to an entire dresser? Just do the easy part: the flat stuff! From Debbie at Painted Therapy.

Here’s another from Debbie. This time she coaxed even more glorious grain out of the drawer fronts, and jazzed up the frame with yellow. If someone explained this to me, I would be like … hmm, I don’t know about that, but when my eyeballs see it, they’re like, “YES! I get it!” I love the darker color on the handles too, a very cool look. See it at Painted Therapy.

This poor thing. Not a lot of life left in it, right? Of course not silly! Shelly at 100 Things 2 Do made it shine again. Literally, look at that shiny little keyhole! So glad it’s been set free. It was way too cute to be hiding under all that sadness.

And lastly, Rayana wasn’t loving the fancy finish on this French dresser. Chalk-paint and distressing to the rescue!

Now listen. I know what you’re thinking. There is an epidemic of mediocre chalk-painted and distressed items out there in bloglandia and beyond. But this isn’t one of them. If ever a piece was just begging for this look, it was this dresser. The style just suits it so well, and Rayana did an absolutely professional job painting it. Simply lovely. See more on her blog FiRefinish.

May 23, 2014 By Lindsey @ Better After

16 In desks/hutches/buffets/ tables/dressers

The best things in life are free. (So are the worst things!)

Can we all agree on something? This dresser was not ever going to be a quality piece of heirloom furniture. This dresser was lucky that Bre even took a chance on it and rescued it from the ‘free’ section of Craigslist.

OhMYGOSHyouguys, can we also talk about the ‘free’ section of Craigslist? It is a wonderland of crazy. It is like Disneyland, if Disneyland was terrible and frightening but hey, free! You should have a look sometime. Here are a few things you can currently get yourself for free in my area: many broken TVs, an enormous tree that fell over in a recent windstorm (you haul!), a free hospital bed (what?! hurk!) and a free corner wedge of a sectional sofa.

Bre’s particle board dresser is looking better and better, now that I think about it. With a few modifications and a big splash of color, she turned it into much-needed kitchen storage for her friend. So cool! See more on her blog Brepurposed.

May 22, 2014 By Lindsey @ Better After

26 In chairs/ottomans/seating

Movin’ On Up

Straight off the set of a ’70s sitcom, this chair and it’s grungy fabric had clearly seen lots of Good Times and Happy Days. But if Dena wanted to keep it All In The Family, that crusty velvet had to go. (I would insert a joke about M*A*S*H here, but I never actually watched that show. That theme song has to be the most depressing sound in human history. I can’t lunge for the mute button fast enough). (Ok, I just googled it and learned that the name of the song is – no joke – Suicide Is Painless. Does it really say that in the song somewhere? I wouldn’t know. I’ve never made it past the first eight notes).

AAAAAnyway, the point is, this cute little cube chair deserved better. Dena took it back to its funkadelic roots with a fabulous floral, and you should check out her blog Hearts and Sharts to see it in its heyday on The Jefferson’s!

And a rear view:

May 22, 2014 By Lindsey @ Better After

12 In laundry rooms

Star Status

To quote the late great Michael Jackson: “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at your laundry room and make a chaaaange! Hoo! HOO! Nana na, nana na, nana na naaaa!” His version might be slightly different. But, same principle. Just a small change can make a huge difference. Paint your laundry room, and you’ll improve your mood! Improve your mood, and you’re nicer to strangers. Be nicer to strangers, and you might make a new friend. Make a new friend, and you might find out his name is George Lucas. Become friends with George Lucas, who decides to cast you in his next movie. Become a movie star. See? That’s the power of paint.

Sabrina only changed a few things in here: paint, new shelves, cute accessories, and a skirt for the sink, and it already looks like a completely different room!

I love how the shelves hide those weirdly high outlets (I bet she cursed her builders everyday for that one!) and how she removed the dinky little cabinet and public-bathroom-esque backsplash. Grand total of this makeover? $60! See all the details on her blog Pink Little Notebook.

May 21, 2014 By Lindsey @ Better After

3 In kitchen/dining

Scratching Itches and Serving Dishes

Laurel had a bedroom in the very front of her house that was just itching to be something else. So she scratched that itch by knocking out a wall and turning it into a dining room! It opened up the whole flow of the house and now commands everyone’s attention with those bold navy stripes. Plus now she has a place to serve Thanksgiving dinner, since the house didn’t actually have a dining room to speak of before.

Speaking of scratching itches, a couple weeks ago I was at a Manchester Orchestra concert with some friends and discovered I had, for unknown reasons, a retractable back scratcher in my purse. We were cracking up about bringing it along to wave in the crowd, this tiny little hand on a stick, just waving around in the audience. I ended up leaving it in the car, which was a good thing, because someone else at the concert was wearing a giant unicorn mask, so that would have totally stole our thunder anyway. It was a weird concert.

Check out more from Laurel on her blog SoPo Cottage.

May 20, 2014 By Lindsey @ Better After

9 In bedroom

Bed of Dreams

Feel like crawling back in bed today? I do! This week is the final stretch of days before my kids get out of school for summer, and I am limping across the finish line. I’m out of steam. I’m out of gas. I’m also out of bread. I might have sent them to school with peanut butter and jelly on hot dog buns, is what I’m saying. (I’m kidding! Of course I didn’t do that. I’m out of both peanut butter and jelly).

Anyway, for those of you dreaming of bed, I present a dreamy bed! Victoria took this flea market bed to the next level with paint and a heavy mix of appliqués. So fancy! It looks like it should be floating by on a cloud. She believes in celebrating the everyday, and waking up in this bed makes her feel like a queen. Love it.

See more on her blog Trois Petites Filles.