A Cheerful Foyer

I have just had a month of fun! It may not be your idea of a good time but it was for me. I was able to reimagine seven pieces of furniture and throw in a little decor for my son and daughter in law’s new house (Grace and Trey). Yay for furniture makeovers!

Their new home has a small nook in the foyer by the stairs and Grace asked me to see what I could come up with for that area. Almost carte blanche! Enter the sewing cabinet. 

First, the dated sewing table

This sewing cabinet belonged to my Grandmother. It lived for a while in my parent’s home, and then it was passed on to me where it was the desk for our home office corner.

Don’t get rid of good furniture that is versatile and can be reinvented for a new space. Think in terms of potential and usefulness, especially if you are just starting out. 

The sewing cabinet had a wonderful orange glow (eww) from its wood tone and there is no place for that hue in Grace’s house. So what on earth shall we do? Paint it, of course! And I even had permission for it to be a pop of color – from Trey, no less! The foyer is a stand-alone area but it is visible to several rooms and the pieces needed to visually blend with the rest of the home. 

The starting point was the fabric. Given a couple of options, this bird print was chosen. I already had some on hand so…FREE! It is decidedly different than other choices in their home but the variety of colors will both pop and blend. 

Given a couple of options, this bird print was chosen. I already had some on hand so…FREE! It is decidedly different than other choices in their home but the variety of colors will both pop and blend. 

Now, paint. The cabinet itself dictated where different colors belong. The top and sides are waterfall style so there is no discernible line or edge that would allow for the top to be a different color on its own. Also, the front drawer and door sections are slightly recessed which allows them to steal the show! 

This was probably one of the easiest pieces I’ve ever painted. It only required light sanding and there were no repairs or hardware changes required. White for the body of the cabinet and a bright duck egg/turquoise for the fronts. Amazing with the bird fabric! I spent approximately $20 on paint – that’s it! 

Tackling the chair

Next, the chair. Several years ago it was given to me by a friend who was going to throw it out. FREE! Her dog had chewed on one of the legs but in my mind, those are character marks! I painted it white and used it in my master bedroom until it went in storage with everything else. All I had to do for this makeover was to recover the seat. That’s it! Ten minutes flat and the chair was done! 

Since I’m me, I also splurged for a few accessories as well. Knowing that blue and gray play primary roles in other areas of the house I wanted a few things that would help in tying it all together. They had also both mentioned that they liked yellow. Oh my goodness, now we have turquoise, blue, gray, and yellow! 

I found the cute little bird, but he was color sad. As you’d expect, I painted him! Now he’s perky and showing off his spring colors. All the accessories were purchased on sale (that’s pretty much a requirement of mine). Accessories allow you to get a bit trendy but trends are short-lived. Therefore, accessories are not allowed to break the bank! They already had the lamp, and the other accessories only set me back $25. I found my accessories at Hobby Lobby but here are similar items. Bird // cube // trinket box // picture 

The verse on this piece of furniture is Psalm 9:10. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. I’ve been writing a Bible verse on the pieces that I redo. Just a way to share my faith and pray God blesses the families I have the joy of working with. 

Once the kids were moved in, unpacked, and set up, I’d say we did the job in the foyer. It’s bright, fun, and above all else, USEFUL! But the best part is that the sewing cabinet has a family history and we only spent $45 total on this project. Who knows where this cabinet will be next? Change the paint and it could go anywhere! 

Happy homemaking kids!