Bohemian House and Home: July 2014

I bought a spray gun for painting out my basement ceiling, but the ceiling is so daunting (I'll work on it tomorrow, I promise!) that I needed to do an easy home project to get me back in the swing of things.

I've been hanging out on the front porch a lot and it's on my list of summer projects to fix it up. It needs jacking up, new screens and a power wash, but it's very colourful and cozy. Yukon (the world's greatest cat) loves it, so I sit out with her and read anytime it's nice out.

I had a blank space in the seating area, just calling out for a table, but with looming house projects coming up, budget was an issue. I was gonna have to brush off the ol' DIY skills and make something.

I've had an old crate for a couple of years, which I picked it up at a friend's yard sale. I loved the faded Cascade pears label on the side, and thought it'd fit perfectly in the space. It was a little too short, so I went looking for legs. My original thought was to use retro hairpin legs, but I didn't see any in town, and I don't like waiting, so I had to come up with other options. I was at a hardware store and looked at castors, but didn't want to spend $40 on 'em, and I didn't need the table to roll. I looked at replacement bed legs, but they just weren't right. I looked at plumbing fixtures, thinking I could use short pipes and flanges, but they weren't what I really wanted for the project. Then I accidentally walked down the home organization aisle and found an interior cupboard organizer. Stainless steel, sturdy, simple...and 10 bucks. Just what the decorator ordered.

I went home, dug out some yellow exterior paint from an old project, hooked up my new spray gun(!) and went to work. All in all, the project cost less than $20. Here are the before and afters! (And yes, I KNOW I need to sweep the porch...)