Better After

5 In innovative idea/ kiddie

Getting Gamey

Happy Friday! And to make it as happy as possible, here are a few fun and colorful kid-friendly makeovers just for you and your lucky little eyeballs. Share them with the kids in your life. And their eyeballs.

Will I ever get tired of seeing entertainment centers turned into kid kitchens? Answer: NO. That was one of the very first things I shared waaaaaay back when this blog began, and they still delight me today! And I’m sure they delight the kids and stuff too.

This one is from Better After reader Lindsay who found this solid oak piece for free on Craigslist, prettied it up and sold it to a family with tons of little kids. Everybody wins! Except maybe that person who gave it away for free on Craigslist and would probably kick themselves if they could see it now. Sorry dude.

Alicia’s three-year-old son used one of these stools every time he went to his great grandma’s house, and that fills me with nostalgia, because my grandma had a stool just like this too.

Alicia wanted one for her house – it’s perfect for kids in between high chairs and regular chairs – and found this torn up one online. Just a little paint and fabric and it now it looks so good it will probably still be chugging along when Alicia is a great grandma herself.

See it on her page Drunk on Junk.

And lastly, here we have a picnic table perfect for serving up not much more than a splinter buffet. Yeowch. I would have probably taken a match or a monster truck to this thing, but Krista had less destructive plans, and turned it into a game table!

That’s an old door that she refinished and affixed to the top, with a Sorry! game board and Yahtzee score sheets immortalized inside it in epoxy. What a fun idea! Way better than that Pinterest idea going around “Yard Yahtzee,” where you make oversized dice out of giant wood cubes and then throw them across the yard to play the game.

They look absolutely adorable, but I’d only last two rolls before my biceps would seize. Same thing with “Life-Size Jenga.” Someone is going to lose a foot playing that game, mark my words.

See more from Krista on her blog The Dabbling Crafter.

July 10, 2015 By Lindsey @ Better After

3 In tables/dressers/ Uncategorized

Two Ways About It

Have you ever been reading a fashion magazine, and it will have a feature called something like “One Dress, Two Ways!” And they show the same dress styled in two drastically different ways, and both of the ways are like, ugh, who would even wear that?

Today’s makeovers are exactly like that except not like that at all. Because I think you will like them both! And they are actually pretty similar.

So get ready for “One Dresser, Two (similar) Ways!”

Brittany brought out the best in this beauty by refinishing the damaged drawer fronts and top. She used a walnut stain really enhance that quarter-sawn specialness. Vintage rose handles complete the sweet look, and you can see more at Sparrow Layne.

And Gilly also had herself a dinged up dresser that was thirsty for a little stripping, sanding, and love. And paint.

Herringbone paint! Doesn’t it look fantastic? And so precise too! I’m sure I would have given up one row in after trying to line up all those lines. But Gilly’s a champ and you can see more of her work at Colour Saturated Life.

July 9, 2015 By Lindsey @ Better After

4 In kitchen/dining

A Nesting Habit

Sarah first met her future husband the same weekend he happened to be closing on a house. Little did she know that nine months later, she’d be moving in as a newlywed. It was a bachelor pad through and through, but with lots of paint of ingenuity, she’s transformed it from mancave to lovenest.

First things first, let’s put the fridge in its rightful place, amiright? Then her husband turned the half-wall into a functional bar area by beefing it up with a reclaimed wood top.

From there it was just a matter of brightening up everything else with paint, including the counters which were painted to look like cement, and the faux stone backsplash!

Fantastic job. I just love big transformations on small budgets. Always inspiring.

See all the details on Sarah’s blog Come What May.

July 8, 2015 By Lindsey @ Better After

5 In chairs/ottomans/seating

Floral Flipping

Underneath the back-sweat stains, this chair appeared to be weeping. Or perhaps those are just additional back-sweat stains? But really, how did this chair get so grody? Did it used to be in an airport? Or the DMV? Was it a squat bench at the gym?

I’ll tell you what it is now though. It’s aflippingmazing.

Amanda recovered it in a large scale floral, complete with contrasting black and white piping around the cushion – my favorite detail! Plus the whole frame got updated in antiqued green and now I feel like wearing something ruffled and having a tea party, let’s do it.

See more from Amanda at Reloved Home Designs.

July 7, 2015 By Lindsey @ Better After

8 In desks/hutches/buffets

Oooh, that’s ahhhmazing!

Hey there! I hope you enjoyed your 4th of July! Ours was full of family, food, and fireworks: the three basics of a successful 4th. Actually, that is probably all you really need to be successful at life in general. Someone call Dr. Phil and tell him he’s fired. I’ve got it all figured out.

Kristine at The Painted Hive added some firepower to this basic storage unit. Just wait till you see it…

I’ll wait while you oooh and ahhhh!

Ok, catch your breath, because there’s more where that came from. Check out what she did with this set of nondescript dressers:

Jaw officially dropped. Boom! Grand finale!

Picture me hanging out of my parked car, shouting “Woooooo!” while flashing the lights and honking the horn.

(This is how everyone universally celebrates a grand finale, yes?)

July 6, 2015 By Lindsey @ Better After

6 In chairs/ottomans/seating/ decor

July 4th and So Forth

Happy (almost) Independence Day America! Wow, how old does that make you, 238, 239? You’re really getting up there in years old girl! Here, take a seat before those knees give out.

From Michelle at Green Acres Hobby Farm.

Oh, I’m just kidding. You’ve still got a lot of spring in that step! Why, you’re practically a teenager compared to the rest of the world. Now let’s have some cake. But first, this cake plate needs a little spanglin’: