Chicken Wire Hutch

Life is hectic.  I mean H-E-C-T-I-C.  As you all know, I am a teacher in my normal life and a DIY furniture upcycler in my fantasy life.  I started school 5 weeks ago and it has been the hardest start in my teaching career.  I decided to loop with my class this year which ended up being a really good decision.  However, learning a new curriculum and adjusting to all the newness that this year has brought has been difficult.  Now my weekends are spent lesson planning, grading papers, emailing parents, (the list goes on and on...) - and NOT restoring furniture.  I hope all of that is about to change.  Mr. Dump and I are off to buy a new sprayer and I am ready to make time for my second passion.  Since it has been 2 months since my last post (please forgive me...), I'm bringing you a project that is large and in charge!  Take a look at this beauty...

Seriously... Can you say 1970s???  This piece was outdated, boring, and needed a makeover in the worst possible way.

We took all of the hardware off and removed the terrible glass. 

It was a rainy day so we put blankets down in the kitchen (Sorry, Mom! That's what happens when you move out!) and painted away.  It was a tight space, so Mr. Dump and I were constantly fighting over paint brushes, Cool-Whip containers of paint, and room!

This is what it looked like before I started playing with stain.

Take a look at the cabinet doors below...  The one on the top has a layer of stain and the one on the bottom doesn't.  Luckily, I liked the texture that the stain provided, so I decided to stain the entire piece.  We used stain that had polycrylic mixed in, and it provided a really nice protective coat.  Finally, I added cute red knobs, chicken wire, and put the piece back together!

Here is what the top looks like...

And this is the final transformation!

Random question...  If I start a weekly linky party, would any of you link up your projects?  Thoughts?  Suggestions?

As always...

Happy Junkin'!

Sarah

Good Grief!

Let me tell you, you are some patient people.  Sarah hasn't written since July 25th (!!!), and yet you continue to faithfully check her blog, hoping for more lovely transformations of furniture.  In fact, there are now 500 of you following her!!!  That's incredible!!!!  Heck, I'm her SISTER and I've just about given up on her.  You guys are incredible.

So where, you might ask, is Ms. Sarah?  Contrary to popular belief, she did not get trapped under a large piece of furniture.  And she did not get a big head when she appeared in Ladies' Home Journal and leave all of her fans in the dust.  I do believe that she is, at this very moment, buried under a pile of 5th grade papers.  Turns out, when you move from teaching the 4th grade to the 5th grade, you have to re-teach yourself all of the 5th grade stuff first!  Remember that show, "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?"  It was harder than you thought it would be, right?

Since School Sarah is back in action (as opposed to Summer Sarah, who we all know and love), I'm filling in this evening, just to reassure people that she hasn't suffered some kind of heinous death at the hands of her sander. Also, because I couldn't stand to read about "Blanche" any more.  I'm "Lola," Sarah's big sister, and I serve as the furniture picker/sander/general nag of Dumped and Discovered.  Believe me, I've been nagging her to write for WEEKS now.  I promise you, she has been painting, and we have been shopping, and she WILL start to blog again soon!

In the meantime, can we ask for a favor?  I know,  I know.  It's a lot to ask, especially when there are no pictures to this posting.  But as you all know, Sarah and her fabulous husband are in the process of updating our parents' house, which involves a lot of, um, editing of stuff.  We've worked through most of the house and really, really need to have a yard sale.  The house, however, is pretty far off the beaten path, and it would be hurtful if no one showed up.  Does anyone know of a great community yard sale coming up this fall where we can rent a space (or five?)  Anywhere in the Charlotte area would be fantastic, and any chance to meet fellow Dumped and Discovered fans would be much appreciated!  We are open on dates, but we would absolutely love to get rid of the junk treasures very soon!  Let us know in the comments section if you know of a great place to peddle our wares!  To be clear, it's not really Dumped and Discovered pieces that we're selling, but rather the crap stuff that is taking up room where Dumped and Discovered treasures should be.  Let us know, and bug Sarah about blogging more, okay?