Vintage patio set...

Our next door neighbor moved out and left behind a small wrought iron patio set from the 60's that she no longer wanted. She was going to toss it since the chair cushions had gotten thrown out at some point. When she offered it to me, I said yes, since I could see it had potential to be cute (even though it really wasn't my style).
Honestly, I just wanted a little project with some quick gratification, and this fit the bill. It was well weathered, but in solid shape.

       

The glass table top was so dirty that I originally thought it might be frosted glass. Mais non...just super caked with several seasons of dirt, but incredibly in perfect condition. Not a single scratch or chip once it was spiffed up.

My husband made a template and cut out 4 plywood cushion bases from some scrap that he had, then I set out for JoAnn Fabrics to buy some foam and pick out fabric (with coupons, of course). The foam and outdoor fabric set me back a walloping $29 and the 3 cans of spray paint from Home Depot, just under $16.

I know that these stripes aren't exactly "vintage-y", but with the scroll-y grapevine design on the table and chair frames, I wanted to step away from that fussy, flowery look that was popular in the 60's.

Since I had planned to spray paint the frames gloss black, I found some outdoor material with just a touch of black in it, and then stapled it around the foam and wood seat.

It's a sweet little set (I kind of feel like I should be setting out an afternoon tea for "the ladies"). And it was a quick, inexpensive project that will fill out a space on the patio of a house I will be staging soon. 

What I learned:

1. People's butts must have been much smaller in the 60's. These chairs are a bit on the dainty side.

2. The sentence "I'm going to throw this out unless you want it" is almost completely irresistible to me.

Master Bath refresh...

  

There was nothing glaringly wrong with our master bath. And it really wasn't on our radar to change it for a number of reasons. But then one day, we both looked at each other and came to the conclusion that it could really look so much better with a few changes that wouldn't necessarily break the bank.
     The tile (as well as the oval sinks) were all in great shape, but depressingly beige. 
Here are some "before" shots. Not horrible, just meh (and a little messy, don't judge)...

Already starting to demo the countertop...

     We REALLY didn't want to tear out all the tile around and behind the tub and in the shower (lazy, cheap, in a hurry...take your pick). So, we hired Miracle Method to resurface all the tile a bright white. The process definitely smells and we had to sleep in the guest room for 2 nights to escape the fumes. But by the 3rd day, the smell had dissipated. And we ordered new rectangular white sinks online at decorplanet.com after scrolling through, probably 800 sinks before we finally found these very simple looking ones. Couldn't believe how hard it was to find what we wanted.
     Since we had to replace our existing faucets (they wouldn't work with the new sinks), we were lucky to find 2 sleek new identical ones that we liked for $50 each, one on Craigslist and the other on eBay!

We are not fans of granite (so many look like mold to me), so we ordered a new vanity top at HomeDepot.com with a budget friendly laminate from Wilsonart that looks like brushed metal. To finish it off, we added a jazzy multi-colored runner rug found on Wayfair, a couple of plants, and new apple green towels.

Several years prior, I had already painted the 80's vintage honey oak vanity a black semi gloss. Voila! Now our master is bath is brighter and more stylish.

 
What I learned from this project:
1. We were ultimately happy with the tile/tub resurfacing, but it took two tries for the company to get it right, so our 3 day process turned into 3 weeks. Oh, well...
2. Like the our recent kitchen re-do, this bath re-do has encouraged me to keep things tidier and a little more streamlined.
3. Except for the art on the walls, souvenirs from places we've visited...still a little over the top...