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The Ambitious Brunette

Every girl needs a vanity, Right?

 

 

Lately I've been really getting into make up a lot more...since having Mason I haven't felt as pretty and I've kind of let myself go when it comes to getting dressed up. So I started watching tons of YouTube videos and started trying out a lot of brands. Don't get me wrong, I've always enjoyed wearing make up but I used to always wear very little. Now, I like to wear a lot more and really like how it makes me look (p.s I enjoy looking like a women and not a teenager).

 

So now that a have a ton more makeup... why wouldn't I want a vanity (a girls dream)?

As always I get myself going and start searching google for the nicest vanity or vanity of my dreams to soon realize there's no way in hell I could afford the one I want right now lol. So, inevitably I start searching for DIY or Cheaper ones.

 

During my search I found myself going back to one of my favorite places to shop for things for my house, Ikea. I love Ikea and most of the things in my house are from ikea ( as well as the mental list of things that I still have to purchase)... I joke that it looks like an Ikea show room.

 

So anyways, it seems like a lot of people use this Malm Dressing table (retails for $149), which also means it's right in my budget (well my imaginary budget).
This dressing table also has a pull out drawer which would make for great storage...



Here is what I would like to get as my vanity. I holding off on purchasing it because first of all I would like to first finish  my living room/dining room and secondly, I still haven't decided the exact color scheme for the master bedroom.

 

Do you have a vanity ???

Any tips on what to purchase??

I also posted two different seat option because can slide the bench all the way under taking up less space but this is also a more expensive option.

 

 



 

Forever 21
forever21.com

Umbra
containerstore.com

Black and White Owl Lamp
target.com

Tubo Countertop Organizer by Umbra®
containerstore.com

KidsLine Kids Line Espresso Wooden Letter
amazon.com

The Container Store > Acrylic Cosmetic Tray
containerstore.com

The Container Store > 6-Drawer Premium Acrylic Chest
containerstore.com

Wall Stencil

So the same weekend that I decided to take on my dresser project I got my wall stencil in the mail.
I was excited to tackle this project asap, so the hubs and I went to our local Lowe's and picked out paint and supplies for our hallway.


I ordered my wall stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils, I choose to go with the stencil called Zamira.
For this project we needed two different color paints, one for the wall and one for the actual stencil. You will also need a foam roller, tape or adhesive glue, a partner or two, painters tape to tape off any edges, napkins or cloth, foam plate, and paint trays.


First order of business was to paint our cream neutral color wall, we choose a Grey color ( I'll get the name later) we also picked a high gloss color for the wall color  and a flat color for the stencil so that it would be more noticeable.


After we let the main wall color dry we found the center of the wall as directed by the 1 million videos I watched before I started.

Because we choose high gloss paint, our tape would not stick to the wall to hold the stencil up in place ( BIG FAT FAIL). So for the first stencil that went down, I held the stencil and hubs went over it with foam roller (ANOTHER BIG FAT FAIL). As soon as we pulled away the stencil from the wall the hubs dropped the roller and walked off the project yelling FUCK THIS!!!  I was so pissed that he would give up after just the first try.

A couple of minutes later I was able to convince the hubs to come back and help me, this time he held the stencil up and I started to roll it, after  a couple of tries they got a little better. Let's just say the only time the hubs said anything to was when he was telling me to stop going over the same spot over again. He hated every hour that we spent on that wall, about 3 hours.

I do like the way it looks from a far and we still have to touch up a lot of it... but we had to put that aside for the meantime because I'm pretty sure the hubs would divorce me. LOL

If are thinking about doing something like this and have any questions let me know...

Here are some pics...

How to paint an older dresser!!

I had an area between two windows were I knew I wanted a server/buffet, I searched high and low for one that was reasonably priced but had no luck!!

 Here are two of my favorites but I just wasn't happy with the price tag.

Reflections Collection from Homedecorators.com $599

Ikea Liatorp Sideboard $350





So I did a lot of searching for a cheaper alternative and stumbled upon this pin
 (and many others) of brightly painted furniture.
I thought bet I'll give it a try.

HOW TO PAINT A DRESSER

What you'll need
 Old dresser or piece of furniture
ZipLock Bag
Powered hand sander
Sand paper
Tack cloth or old towel
Primer
Paint
Foam Roller
Paint Brush
Spray Paint (for hardware)

Step 1

Find an old dresser
We scored with this dresser!
 I search on craigslist for a couple of days with no luck
until I took a friends advice and searched first thing in the morning.
Can you believe I only paid $20 for this!!! (huge grin)

Step 2

Remove all hardware and put everything into a zip lock baggy.
Remove doors and drawers

Step 3
Sand. Sand. Sand.
Thankfully, I have an awesome hubby who was all for this project and did all the sanding.
(if you want to skip this step you can always use a paint primer that doesn't require sanding
- but I've never had any luck with them so i wouldn't suggest it)

Step 4
Make sure to wipe off all the dust with a tack cloth or towel to prep for painting.

Step 5
PRIME
We purchased a Quart of Primer
Depending on the color you choose you might have to use a tinted primer.
You can ask your local paint guy when purchasing the paint
We originally chose a bright blue color called song bird from Behr (I think)

which required a tinted primer

After about three coats and a light sanding after each coat it was ready for paint!!

USE A FOAM ROLLER FOR GREAT EVEN COVERAGE!!

Step 6
Paint.
We purchased Quart of this blue
We probably did another 2-3 coats of the paint color
 just to make sure that it was completely covered.
ONCE AGAIN USING ANOTHER FOAM ROLLER FOR SMOOTH COVERAGE
(and a good paint brush for the doors and small details that the roller can't get)

At this point you should be done and ready to put on the hardware!!


After a night of thinking about it i decided the bright just wasn't going to work for me.
I should have went with my gut!! UGH this always happens!!

Take Two

I went back to the original color I liked
Peru by Behr Paint

Spray Painted Hardware
I decided to keep the original hardware, but I knew I wanted to change the color.
I used warm water a brush and dawn dish soap to clean them up before painting.
I purchased a can of rust-oleum metallic pearl white spray paint
They turned out to be more silver then I wanted it to be
 I think that's because the hardware was such dark bronze.

All and all I love it!!!
Now it's time to decorate.