The secret to painting this faux-mosaic table top? Dot stickers. Plus some white paint followed by a few coats of fabulous French blue paint. Add matching French bistro chairs (don’t you just adore these chairs?) and an old Ikea chandelier, and you’re ready for an al fresco candlelight dinner. But not just any dinner. Snag [...]

I posted a sneak peek of this project in May. It took me a couple months, not a couple weeks, but my tool cabinet is finally finished. I outgrew my toolbox end tables, but I refused to pay hundreds of dollars for one of those ugly Craftsman tool chests. Handles on both sides make this [...]

My friend Julie Chai (watch her videos here) at Sunset magazine gave me this lamp base as a project. Southwest isn’t my style, plus it had rusty hardware and a tattered, taped cord. I adore Jill Rosenwald’s lamps from Maine Cottage, but they’re out of my price range. So I decided to rewire and paint [...]

I decided to try a different take on the tray table I made nearly a year ago. This time, it would have a more practical permanent top. Plus, it’s an ideal opportunity to use more of my furniture nails, which I adore. I’m volunteering at a girl’s camp next week, so I’ll post my next [...]

My first project on Craftynest was a spice rack. So it’s fitting that, nearly a year later, I work on another one. I bought this old Spice Islands rack at a thrift store for $3.50. After dumping out the ancient spices, soaking off what was left of the labels, and laboriously scrubbing the jars, they [...]

“First rule in government spending: Why build one when you can have two at twice the price?” Any guesses what movie that line is from? I loved these salvaged window frames so much, I bought both. This one was a little worse for wear, but it was nothing wood glue and a fresh paint job [...]

A few people have asked me for jewelry organizing solutions. You asked for it, so you got it. (More jewelry storage ideas to come.) I bought this Ikea room divider for $10 in the As-Is section last year. I wasn’t a fan of the black hook-and-loop holding it together, but the individual panels make a [...]

One of my friends referred to this as the “ugly mirror.” Another friend said, “Whatever you paid for it, you paid too much.” I get more excited about a project when I hear comments like that because I think, “Just wait till they see what I do with it. Mwahaha!” For the record, I paid [...]

Two drawers were left over from my modular bookcase project. I didn’t think they’d be useful for anything but firewood. But upon closer inspection, I began to appreciate the aged beauty of the wood—even the smattering of white paint. Combining the drawers into one shadowbox—and not painting it—was a great way to showcase the wood’s [...]

I bought this trolley for a steal on Craigslist. You may have seen it here. You can’t tell in the photo, but it’s banged up and rickety from years of use. My friend Peter added some reinforcement to make it sturdy, then I filled in the nicks with wood filler and oiled the squeaky wheels [...]