Retro Re-dos

Here are some projects that Ryan and I did the summer we moved into our house. It's taken almost two years to get the "after" pictures... how did that happen? Oh well, here they are!

Desk:

Before

This was a piece Nonny had in her basement that wasn't being used. We had an empty sunroom and visions of a desk that would hold stamps, envelopes and other office supplies. After peeling what was left of the wood veneer on the top, we sanded, primed and painted the rest. We don't remember how or why we chose purple, but the sunroom is full of light and surrounded by windows, and the purple adds to the cheery ambience. 

During

After

The desk lamp is a project in process. It was a handy-me-down from my mom's college days, and a rusted black with a hideously patterned lamp shade. They've each been painted, but I want to add a pattern.  Since I can't quite picture how I want the final product to look, I'm waiting for inspiration on this one.  

Coatrack turned Office Storage:

Before 

 This old coatrack was sitting by the curb of Ryan's great uncle's house after he passed away. We loved the piece because it came from family, but also because it would be practical in our home and had great potential. To begin, Ryan cut it down to half its original size and then reattached the back panel. After, he cut shelves to make it more practical for organizational purposes. We then primed it and painted it purple to match the desk for our sunroom and spray painted the knobs.

After

Brass Lamps:

Before

During

After

We bought these lamps at a second hand store locally. The shades were almost identical to the ones in the before picture (we didn't actually take a picture before we painted). We traded those out for a cleaner shade that we found online. Ry did the spray painting. They add a nice pop of color to our taupe living room.