Sweater throw pillows

A great way to re-use old sweaters is to turn them into throw pillows.  Cardigan sweaters work especially well for this project, because of the front button closure. If you are using sweaters without button closure, you can add a hidden zipper on the bottom seam of the pillow.

Blog post by Heather Fulcher
Professional Organizer for Hire
Vancouver, BC, Canada
heatherfulcher@gmail.com
604-618-4829

Tomato cage Christmas tree

Use an upside down tomato cage wrapped in a string of Christmas lights for an inexpensive seasonal decoration.

It also looks great to wrap the tomato cages in artificial garland, burlap or ribbon, then add the lights.

Blog post by Heather Fulcher
Professional Organizer for Hire
Vancouver, BC, Canada
heatherfulcher@gmail.com
604-618-4829

Refurbished bedside dresser

I looked long and hard for the right size bedside dresser for our master bedroom.  It couldn't be too deep, because it would impede with the closet doors.  It couldn't be too high, or else it wouldn't function well as a bedside surface.  And it had to be the exact width to fit between the bed and the wall.  After keeping my eye on Craigslist for about six months, I finally found this little treasure, and it only cost $40.

The red colour doesn't go with my decor, and since it's solid wood (not laminate), it's easy to paint over.  I filled in a few nicks and scrapes with filler and sanded it flush.  I glued one corner that was lifting apart, and held it to dry with a tension strap.

I removed the knobs and painted them separately.  I recommend doing to give you the option of changing knob styles in the future.

In the end, I decided to splurge and buy vintage reproduction glass knobs ($40 for 8 knobs on Ebay)  to replace the original wooded knobs that came with the dresser.  I also decided to re-drill the handle holes a little bit wider than the original.  I filled the original holes and added another few coats of paint to the front of the drawers.

Blog post by Heather Fulcher

Professional Organizer for Hire

Vancouver, BC, Canada

heatherfulcher@gmail.com

604-618-4829

Shabby Chic bedside cabinet

I bought this bedside cabinet on Craigslist for $30.  It was described as an 'antique' and the previous owner told me he paid top dollar for it an antique store.  I think 'antique' is a bit of a stretch, it's definitely not a top quality piece of furniture, but I knew it had great potential and it was exactly the size and style I was looking for.

The inside cabinet did not come with a shelf, which I felt wasn't the most effective use of the storage space.  I added side rails and a shelf.

The original hardware was covered in years of paint.  I removed the hinges and latch, then soaked them in poly-stripper paint remover to restore them to their original glory, rust and all.

Note the addition of the side rails for the shelf.

Blog post by:

Heather Fulcher

Professional Organizer for Hire

Vancouver, BC, Canada

heatherfulcher@gmail.com

604-618-4829

Head board made from a vintage door

 Our new kingsized bed was crying out for a headboard, and as always, I like to find creative solutions while being as resourceful and thrifty as possible. I've always been inspired to create a headboard from an old vintage door.  I found a door at a local salvage yard that was the exact measurements to frame up my king sized bed.  It had a million coats of paint, all flaking off, and it was coated in junk yard grot.  But it was solid wood, the exact right size, and even the colour that I wanted. Cost $25. I took it home and sanded off the loose flaking paint, then distressed it a bit more by sanding the edges to expose some of old layers of paint. I then bought a french cleat bracket to affix the door onto the wall behind the bed.  I used a stud finder to locate the studs, and drilled the brackets to the wall at the selected height.  The coordinating cleat was then affixed to the door itself about 1" down from the top. The door was then hung onto the wall and positioned laterally to frame the bed in the exact position.  Cost of bracket $30.  Total cost of headboard: $55