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Living Rooms

Kitchens

Furniture

3 In Uncategorized

Flood Staining Made Simple and Sweepstakes!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Flood® Wood Care. All opinions are 100% mine.

I was recently offered an opportunity to review Flood® Wood Care
products and I jumped at the chance!  I had a great experience using
Flood to fix up some weather-beaten wood around my house last year, as
you can see on my former gate of embarrassment. It’s held up fantastically through a long and brutal Phoenix summer, so I was thrilled to try out some Flood products again.


Here was my next victim:

In case you can’t tell underneath that fading coat of paint and thick
layer of grubbiness, it’s a picnic table. It’s on my back porch. It’s
disgusting.

Do you want to eat here?  No. You do not. 

I usually just slap another coat of paint on it every six months or
so, but that doesn’t hold up worth a darn. It gets hit hard with the
afternoon sun and a lot of over-spray from the sprinklers, so it’s
splintered and uneven and pretty much the most unwelcoming place to sit
and eat ever.  

I’ve always wanted it to match the bench I stained last
year, which sits on the other end of the porch. But where to start? 
You can’t just stain over a painted table, right?  Especially one this
gross?  Can you?

Enter Flood’s supremely handy Staining Made Simple
guide. No matter what type of project you’re doing, from something
small like my table to a huge deck resurfacing, this guide makes it SO
easy. Just answer a few quick questions about your project, the type and
condition of the wood you’re staining, choose the colors you like, and
whamo!  It gives you a list of  exactly which products you need, along
with short videos of how to use them, and the closest place to find
them.

These were my recommendations:
 Flood Wood Finish Remover and Flood OneCoat Waterproofing Finish.

  Here’s what the finish remover does: Removes
latex, oil, semi-transparent and solid stains to prepare wood for a
new finish — Ideal for exterior wood decks, fences, siding
and furniture –Used for changing existing stain color
. Ummm, sounds perfect!

Let’s take a look at the results!  Just in case your memory has wiped
away the traumatic before picnic table, here it is again:

And now:

This is the opposite end of the first picture, but I swear to you,
it’s the same table!  I did have to sand it a bit to get down to the raw
wood; there were a LOT of coats of paint on there.  But it was worth
it. I had no idea it could look this good!

For now I’m just planning to keep the benches painted white. It would
be too much trouble to try and remove all the paint from the nooks and
crannies of this thing, and I dig the two-toned look. I’m confident that
the tabletop will hold up SO much better than before, based on my
previous experience with the waterproofing power of Flood OneCoat Waterproofing Finish.

 
 
 
 
 
The color I used is called Cedar, which matches the rest of my outdoor
furniture, but Flood offers a great selection of other colors and
wood-tones too.  

I am happy to promote Flood
products, they are truly a brand I believe in to restore, protect and
beautify your wood and other surfaces. And right now they are running a Flood Better Backyard Sweepstakes for a chance to win a $1,500 gift card or one of twelve $10 gift cards given away daily!

Just like Flood® Wood Care on Facebook to enter, and share the sweepstakes for more entries! Easy as pie!  Sweepstakes ends May 17th, 2013.

Also, follow Flood Wood Care on Twitter for helpful tips about staining and other ways to make the most of your outdoor living space.
 

NO
PURCHASE NECESSARY. Legal residents of the 50 United States of America
and (D.C.) 18 years and older. Ends 5/17/2013. To enter and for Official
Rules, including odds, and prize descriptions visit www.facebook.com/flood.
Void in Puerto Rico and where restricted or prohibited. This
Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or
associated with Facebook. You understand that you are providing your
information to Sponsor and not to Facebook. 


Visit Sponsor's Site

 

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6 In tables/dressers/ wood

Trash Talking Tables

Better After reader Wendy needed a big, sturdy table for getting her craft on. That was kind of a dorky thing to say. Gettin’ crafty wit it?  Yikes. She needed a craft table. Yes. We’ll just go with that.  Anyway, she found this one at a used furniture store and thought it was perfect. Perfect for keeping in the garage.  But that wasn’t the plan! This thing was going indoors!  It needed to have a few dances with a sander and a long term commitment with some stain before it could be part of the family.  She gave it a deep color on top just to make sure nothing iffy from its past showed through, antiqued the legs, and now it looks brand new.

 So shiny!

And here comes another table makeover from Better After reader Hanna, who received this for free from someone who planned to toss it in the trash. If this table could talk it would say “Woah! Slow down! Think this through, you hasty furniture-tosser! I’m actually really cool! I’m not even in that bad of shape!” But their loss was Hanna’s gain, because it looks spectacular now in a gently distressed white.  I secretly wish it was mine.  Guess that’s not much of a secret now.



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1 In chairs/ottomans/seating

Hot Pink and Zebras, Take 2

By far, the most popular post in all of Better After history is this one.  Thanks to Pinterest, this little hot pink and zebra-themed kid kitchen has traveled the world thousands of times over.  Perhaps today’s little chair and dresser set might strike a nerve with all those hot pink and zebra lovers out there.  It certainly wasn’t striking any nerves before, other than maybe the sciatic nerve if someone tried to use that chair.  Looks a bit uncomfy.  From Beck at Beckwith’s Treasures.



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7 In bedroom

From Musty Mustard To Glam Gray

The gym I go to used to be painted a similar shade as Fabrizia’s before bedroom, for reasons unexplained.  Maybe it was supposed to make you crave mustard, which would mean you’d need to find a hot dog to put it on, then you’d have to eat said hot dogs, thereby requiring you to work out more?  I bet that’s it.  But they recently painted it a soft gray, which looks and feels soooo much better.  I should write them a letter of appreciation. Or just … work out once in a while. Thinking about working out counts as working out, right?  
ANYWAY.  Same deal with Fabrizia’s bedroom.  Looks so soothing and serene thanks to a can of Benjamin Moore Sheridan Gray and a bunch of new bedding I just want to swan dive right into.  See more on her blog Fab Twigs.

And one more lovely look.  Is that an Easter Bunny I spy?

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6 In desks/hutches/buffets

Antibest!

If you are not acquainted with emerald green, you should BECOME ACQUAINTED.  I know, I know, it’s like the “trendy” color this year or whatevs, and maybe you think it’s not for you.  I get it.  But look how gosh darn classy it looks on this desk by Amy at Playing Sublimely.  I especially love it against the blue accents on the trim, which is called Provence by Annie Sloan.  The green is also by Annie Sloan and called Antibes, all of which she toned down with a coat of dark wax.  Can we give it a collective high-five?  Looks great Amy!

PS: Giveaway winner Tiffany Patterson, I have not heard back from you, please check your email!

words



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8 In bathroom

Model Behavior Bathroom

I have a passive/aggressive hobby.  I love walking through model homes. But … I also get depressed walking through model homes. Something about touring a pristine, professionally decorated home on an unlimited budget really makes coming home to reality a big fat bummer.  But it’s also so fun!  I love seeing new ideas and dreaming! 

And I love Chelsey’s new bathroom. It could easily pass for a model home bathroom. Everything about it screams “upgrade!”  From the tilework to the fixtures, right down to the fancy new handle on the toilet.  I’m inspired!  And mildly depressed.  Great job Chelsey!  See more on her blog Things To Be Stroud Of.

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