This set of drawers has been at the bottom of the stairs since before I moved in with Ant.
It’s full of his tools, screws, ‘things that will come in handy one day!’ etc.
Things also get dumped on top of it and left there for years (it may sound like an exaggeration but that printer has been there 2 years at least and last week there was another printer next to it and a box of computer software books on top of the big printer!) and now I’ve had enough of having to look at it every time I walk downstairs.

I’m not sure how old it is but it’s seen better days! The wood veneer was chipped off on some of the drawers and it just looked old and tired.

I sanded it all and removed the veneer from one of the drawers due to more veneer coming off while I was sanding it.

I filled the other chips with wood filler then painted on the primer….with a little help from Ella!

She really enjoyed helping, as she always does!
It took a few coats of paint but it’s finally done 🙂

I bought the dandelion stickers from eBay for about £5 and the paint from my local B&M store. The white paint cost £4.99 for 1.25 litres and I used less than a quarter of a tin and the brown paint was by Crown and was on sale for 49p!!
I was very happy with my bargain tin of paint!

I wasn’t sure about the brown when I first did it and was getting ready to repaint the drawers white but I’d already ordered the stickers and Ant suggested I waited until the stickers were on to see if I liked it then.

I loved it! The stickers made all the difference.

I came across a wonderful website called Cherry Menlove but unfortunately, as of 2017, it’s no longer available. The author of the site has inspired me to cut my addiction to Facebook and actually do things that needed doing around the house.

Inspired to make changes

Here’s what I’ve done since finding Cherry’s site a few weeks ago:

I finally got all of Aiden’s baby pictures out from under the bed and onto the wall, going up the stairs. They’ve been waiting to see the light for over 5 years!

At the bottom of the stairs, next to the front door, was a big white bookcase that stored loads of VHS tapes (yes, I do realise the world has moved onto DVDs, but we just can’t seem to rid ourselves of all those tapes….!) and it wasn’t a very pretty first impression when people came through the front door.

Swapping Furniture

At the top of the stairs, was a small, brown bookcase (holding more VHS tapes I’m afraid!) that I knew would look better in the place of the white one so I swapped them over.
This also opened up wall space and I was able to put pictures of the girls on the wall.
The hall looks so much nicer now although I haven’t quite finished.

Updating Furniture

There’s a set of drawers at the bottom of the stairs where Ant stores tools, nails, screws etc and it’s quite old. I’m thinking it’s in need of a loving makeover (I haven’t discussed it with Ant yet, but he usually tends to just let me get on with things around the house and only steps in when I ask for help!) but I’m not sure what I want to do with it yet.
I’m thinking it would be nice to change both the bookcase and the drawers in some way that will make them match and brighten up the area.

Kitchen Update

I wish I’d have thought to take pictures before I started but I wasn’t planning on blogging any of this (and yet again, Cherry is the reason I remembered this blog and decided it was high time I got it up to date!) so didn’t think until it was too late. I decided to move onto the kitchen while I think about what to do with the bookcase and the set of drawers.

Every time I went to the kitchen, my eyes would be drawn to the unit where we make drinks and I never liked what I saw.
No matter how many times I re-arranged things, it never looked tidy.

Before:

I was browsing Very online and came across some great storage boxes. The prices were quite good so I snapped them up and ordered them for next day delivery.
I had the rest of the day to fill while the children were at school. I set too and made some curtains out of an old tablecloth to hang under the shelf and hide the shoe box, bucket, clear plastic drawers etc.
We don’t have a sewing machine so I had to sew by hand, but it wasn’t a chore. I enjoyed making them, especially as I was recycling something that I would normally throw away.
Ant hung them for me when he got in from work and I was very pleased with how they turned out.

I eagerly awaited my delivery the next day and was so excited when it arrived!
I went straight in the kitchen, emptied the shelves and packed everything away in my new, lovely boxes.

After

I must say, it felt so good seeing it looking 100% tidier!
My next kitchen project is to brighten up the cupboard doors until such time as we can afford a brand new shiny kitchen!!

While looking for material to make the curtains, I came across some old bedding and curtains that we no longer use.
They’re an assortment of purple and lilacs and would match the girls’ bedroom decor so I decided to make them each a patchwork quilt for the summer.
I know it’s going to take quite a while having to sew it all by hand but I made a start that afternoon and I’m enjoying it!
I’ll add a post and pictures when I’m done.

So, thanks to Cherry, I feel better about my kitchen and hall and I have projects on the go and in the pipeline.
It’s much more satisfying than playing games on Facebook!

Thanks, Cherry 🙂 xx