UglyThenPretty: September 2010

Clean line Dresser

Katy used just a little paint and some new IKEA hardware to turn this old beat up dresser into a one of a kind modern masterpeice. We just love the clean sleek lines it now has! Keep up the great work and EVERYONE keep sending in your submitions! We love hearing from you.

White Picnic Table

Sometimes all you need is a fresh coat of paint to turn something old to new, or UglyThenPretty. And thats exactly what Michelle did. She says "A few days ago, I was driving in our neighborhood and I found this beauty sitting out with a FREE sign on it. So, I jump out of the car (I think I stopped it), and checked it out. I did the Wobble test and the Sniff test and also looked under, over, and on the side. It checked out. Aside from being very dirty, it was beautiful…or the potential was beautiful.

I threw it in our minivan (Oh how I LOVE that car), and came home with my new treasure." You can find more photos of her project at falafel and the bee

Perfect stairs

Diane did an awesome job on these stairs. They were originally old stained carpet and after a little hard work and patience she made them brand new and better than ever. She says "We had our annual End-of-Summer BBQ on Saturday and I had promised myself that the stairs would be done for the party. I had to put in a few late nights, but I kept my promise! (Well, actually, I’m about 90% done. There’s still a bit of finish work to do, but I’m celebrating being done for now.)" You can read all about how she did it over at her blog The Perfectly Imperfect Life

Gulf Oiled Pelican

UglythenPretty is all about your before and afters, no matter what the medium. We get a ton of submissions about furniture and homes, but all before and afters are welcome here! Check out the great work that International Bird Rescue Research Center (http://www.ibrrc.org) did with this helpless pelican. He is a Brown Pelican that was washed at the Fort Jackson, LA Oiled Wildlife Center, cared for and then released. Keep those submissions coming no matter what they are!

Console TV

Finally someone has come up with a use for all those old TV sets you see on the side of the road. Check out what Beckie did! See how she did it step by step at her blog infarrantly creative

The Ugliest Dresser No More

Dharma at a Wannabe Mermaid recently overhauled this detailed dresser. She writes "So after much toil, this is the final product. You never see furniture with this kind of detail anymore....and maybe that's a good thing (LOL) but we're proud of it. I may soften the knob colour with a bit of silver to tone it down a tad but she turned out lovely."

What a difference! Keep up the great work Dharma!

Painted Palmetto Palms

Hilary took an old piece of scrap wood and turned it into 3 beautiful works of art. She says it only took her a few hours, and it was one her favorite projects ever because she spent it all outside! We just love the colors! Don't you?

Lawn Tractor

Jeremy was given this lawn tractor by his mother who picked it up for $50. It didn't run at the time, but after installing a new ignition switch, belt, blades, and the stealthy paint job its now a running mower that any man would be proud to own.

Outdoor Coffee Table

Field sent us this super awesome, super sturdy coffee table she came up with. She needed something to withstand the cold winters and strong winds. With a little elbow grease and carpentry skills she recycled a few materials into just what she needed!

Field said "The table was made out of left over lumber from a new deck and reclaimed metal legs off an old table. I sanded it down real smooth and added 4 coats of outdoor poly. It now resides on a mountain porch where it holds our coffee in the morning :) "

Night stand

Kim turned this very simple, beat up night stand into something new, clean and beautiful. Kim said "I realized it had a lot of issues. There was a huge circular ring mark on the top. The thin veneer was popping off in many places. Missing completely in others. BSD glued up what he could, but it was still in bad shape. It sat in the garage for weeks. Maybe months. I considered sending it back to the curb. But I decided to go ahead and just paint it to see what would happen."

"She's definitely not perfect, but she sure is cute! That blue paint is just so happy.

I was most excited by how cool the handle cleaned up. We were convinced it was brass. If so, I was going to spray paint it silver. BSD took his dremel tool to it, rubbed it with some kind of compound, and when he brought it back to me. Perfection! Satiny and matte. Just the finish I was after." Check out her awesome blog for more makeovers!