I’ve been reading DIY blogs lately – always dangerous. With the extension/renovation becoming closer to reality (there’s been a lot of prep kind of stuff going on behind the scenes – I’ll share it another time) I’m putting my efforts in to revamping some of the ugly furniture we have. I know that there is no way we can afford new furniture at the end of the reno, so I might as well start with what we have.

First up has been the chest of drawers we store Toby’s clothes in. We got it from a Vinnies store, and it is U-G-L-Y. Think 1980’s orange pine. I ordered some chalk paint on line because I’ve used it before and was really happy with the results. This time, the colour wasn’t quite what I expected (a little more tan/orange than I was thinking)  but I went for it anyway – it was still way better than the orange pine. A couple of hours of painting, mixed up with a couple of hours to dry between each coat, and it was done. I also splurged on some new handles while I was in town a few weeks back, and I’m loving the final finish! Better yet, I know it will look good in his room once we have renovated! Of course I haven’t got a full picture in his bedroom yet – will have to get on to that one.

While I was in a DIY/home improvement mood, I found a dining table on ebay that was both cheap, looked OK, and within driving distance. I won it last weekend, and on Wednesday Country Boy and Toby went for a drive to the Southern Highlands to pick it up. We have been meaning to buy a new dining table since we got married over 15 years ago, so you clearly can’t hurry these things. $250 for this table means that if it doesn’t look right once we have renovated, we haven’t spent a packet!