I recently have embarked on a furniture project that I’ve had bookmarked for about a year now. The project entails tiling the top of a table. Geneva Vanderzeil did this to a coffee table that she found on the side of the road last summer and posted about it on her blog, and ever since, I became obsessed with the idea of tiling the top of a piece of furniture.
After I paid off my student loans, I figured that I could afford to spend a bit of money on inexpensive used furniture that I could very easily mess up completely, and throw away if I really needed to. Plus supplies, which was the more expensive aspect to this project. So I purchased two matching nightstands and a third one (which I may end up just painting), and I got to work.
So far, I’ve stripped off the paint. Which actually ended up taking me two days, because I used way too much of the stripping gel and it sort of ended up adhering to the wood like a pasty glue. So just removing the gel was a whole other situation.
Next will be sanding, tiling, and painting. The project seems simple, and to many it very well could be. But this is the first home DIY project I am doing that involves furniture restoration (or refurbishment?). And I decided to really go big or go home on this one — likely against the advice of the people who are actually experts in furniture flipping. We’ll see how it turns out.
A Boston condo that quickly went into contract
My dream of owning a home is usually narrowed down to a single, but ever-changing image: A standalone home on a small-ish property with just enough of a backyard to have friends over and for the future dogs to run around. Up until relatively recently, I never really considered the idea of owning a condo, but it certainly has its benefits. Not having to worry about building issues or maintaining a property is definitely a bonus. And if you’re living in a big city, it may be the only option available to you.
This two-bedroom, one-bath condo spans just 640 square feet in size. Located in Boston’s popular Back Bay neighborhood, it can be found inside a building that dates back to 1880. Features include hardwood floors throughout, two fireplaces, and exposed brick in the kitchen. The kitchen is seriously compact, but it looks like it has relatively new stainless steel appliances and plenty of cabinetry storage. According to Zillow, the condo went on the sales market for $790,000 on May 26 and a contract was signed by June 2. [Douglas Elliman]
Something I favorited on Etsy this week
The dream house that I imagine most often is of the midcentury modern variety. Okay, I’ll admit, my dream house is pretty basic: It’s the Sheats-Goldstein house. Like everyone else who’s ever liked midcentury modern and organic residential architecture. Which is a fair amount of people! And because I am aware that the deed to the Sheats-Goldstein house is likely never going to be in my name (never say never!), I like to look for time capsule household items that evoke the same sense of luxury.
While the Eames couple is perhaps best known for their furniture design (in particular, their chairs), this magazine rack is a special sort of piece that I imagine would look just amazing next to some natural wood furniture. But it could honestly look good situated next to a blow-up chair from the late ’90s. (This sold listing kind of shows what it looks like with magazines in it.) Is it expensive? Yes. But would it be totally worth it? That’s relative.