Last Updated on June 3, 2021 by lindseymahoney
If this first time stopping by, welcome, and thanks for visiting! A few years ago I decided to quit my corporate job in Denver and my family moved back to our hometown in Ohio. I became a local real estate agent have been sharing home renovation and DIY tips on this blog ever since. Two years ago we purchased a fixer-upper in Toledo, Ohio and I renovated our dining room as a guest participant for the ORC. I also updated my little boys’ bedroom and our master bedroom in the last two challenges. That brings us to my fourth One Room Challenge where I am renovating our living room!

This week of the One Room Challenge is all about budget-saving DIY projects for the living room. I have always been thrifty when it comes to decorating and this makeover is no different. The saying, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” definitely applies to me and I get such a rush out of creating something beautiful out of items that were discarded by others. I also enjoy challenging myself to reuse and repurpose what we already own.
Catch up with earlier posts in the challenge!
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8
Budget Saving DIY Projects
Record Cabinet
The design for the living room incorporated musical elements and after purchasing a 1960’s record player, we needed a cabinet to store our records.
I found this cabinet at a garage sale and bought it for $10. The seller told that his mother was a harpist and the cabinet was used to hold her music sheets. I immediately imagined this piece sitting on once side of the fireplace holding the records.

The wood was in pretty rough shape and felt very dry so I nixed my original idea of sanding and staining the piece. I decided to paint the cabinet a warm green and chose Oakmoss by Sherwin Williams.
To prevent the wood from bleeding through and create a blank slate for the green, I applied a primer. I had a can of Extreme Bond Primer leftover from our mudroom makeover and used it to seal the wood. I applied 2 coats to ensure full coverage.

Once the primer was dry, I applied two coats of the Oakmoss green paint color. I purchased a quart of the Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel which is great for cabinets. I replaced the broken latch on the door to complete the look!

This tired old cabinet went from this:

to this! I love the power of paint. This little cabinet is so cute and the green has the perfect amount of warm that I wanted.

Floor Lamp Refresh
We have owned this floor lamp for years! When we moved into our home a few years ago, I actually assumed we would throw it away and so it was used as our lighting while we renovated our kitchen and family room. Our house doesn’t have any overhead lighting so we need lots of lamps throughout the house. I decided to give his lamp a second chance at life and give it a refresh.
The base has paint splatters and spackle stuck to it, but I plan on scraping what I can off and giving it a fresh coat of spray paint.

To add more texture and color to the room, I will be doing the popular pleated lampshade DIY. If this lampshade goes well, I may do two more pleated lampshades in this space!

Check back next week to see how the lamp DIY projects turn out! Be sure to check out the One Room Challenge blog to see all of the fantastic projects of the other guest participants.
One Room Challenge sponsored by Better Homes and Gardens
Featured Designers for Spring 2021:
Ariene C. Bethea | At Home With Ashley | Banyan Bridges | Bari J. Ackerman | Brit Arnesen | Brownstone Boys | Cass Makes Home | Dominique Gebru | Gray Space Interiors | Haneen’s Haven | Home Ec. | Nile Johnson Design | Pennies for a Fortune | Prepford Wife | Rachel Moriarty Interiors | Sachi Lord | Susan Hill Interior Design | This Is Simplicite | Tiffany DeLangie | Victoria Lee Jones
Libbie@alifeunfolding
Saturday 5th of June 2021
What a beautiful transformation! I can't wait to see your reveal!
lindseymahoney
Tuesday 8th of June 2021
Thank you so much! Me too! Ha!