Creating a Cozy Breakfast Nook from Thrift-ed Finds

out with the old and in with the new    ~ love it~ 

In our Dave Ramsey fueled purge we sold our cute dining room table. The bulk went to our Emergency Fund and a fraction went to finding a replacement. I was totally thrilled to find the corner bench...something I've always wanted in our dining area. We weren't in love with the pieces we ended up with (except me with the bench) but we knew it was temporary and I could practice some furniture makeover skills on their ugly hydes. 

Table Before:

faded, stained, discolored paint...was that intentionally painted yellow or aged? or dirty? 

bottom line: it was embarrassing and usually hid under a table cloth

Table + 3 chairs = $35 dollars on Craigslist

Corner Bench Before:
free because one seat was broken, someone must have jumped on it. quick fix with some spare wood, problem solved.

original paint was in good shape until my kids took to it with markers. why did I think a 3 and 4 year old needed markers, and more importantly, needed them when my back was turned? must have been one of those days where I needed a cheap "babysitter" so mommy could "take 5." lol

we didn't mind the original fabric design but it was stained horribly! no amount of soap & water, nor the power of an upholstery cleaner could remove whatever dark and scary substance(s) had been ground into the fibers. since the cushions had to come off to be recovered I decided to just paint it. I was hoping for a more collective look, too. the white frame of the bench wasn't meshing as well as I'd hoped with the white legs of the table.

Corner Bench FREE via Craigslist Free

During:

see the yellowed paint? has an odd ombre effect to it. probably not natural

found some white enamel paint (nightlight is the name) in my basement, a cast off from moving neighbors. it sharpened up the table beautifully!

benches were recovered with dropcloth. this is the first time I've worked with dropcloth and I can tell you that I am SOLD on it. cheap, cute, and cleanable. perfect. 

bottom corner: table with the leaves removed (needed floor space to recover the cushions)
the cushions are just propped up since the frame is still curing
I was just sooooooooooooo excited to see it all come together, even jumbled up.
I had to take a picture and smile at the transformation
~dreaming of sitting here with a cup of coffee~

before and after

 The table top is a vast improvement from a year ago where I lamely covered it with a bright orange plastic tablecloth from the dollar store.

Very very pleased with the results. :)

 Now, to pick a color for the chairs. :) 

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