Monday, September 19, 2011

What I found at Buffalo ReUse

I mentioned yesterday that I dropped by one of my favorite stores over the weekend.  It was completely unplanned (as I have enough stuff to paint in the foyer alone to last a month...) but I was close by and I couldn't help myself.  Bufalo ReUse - it's a great resource for older building materials.  If you're in the Buffalo, NY area, I highly recommend stopping by.  I have purchased furniture, doors, and even a landscaping rock from this place. They have everything.  And the inventory is always changing - so it's fun to look around often.  Which is what Craig and I did yesterday.  But what is even more exciting is that they are in the process of moving their store to a new location a few blocks away - into a facility that is three times the size!  I can only imagine how much time i will waste spend looking around!

Anyway, with no planned project in mind, I just looked around at everything.  Trying to get inspired.  And I found a few things that caught my eye -





I already have some plans for these great old architectural objects.  And I've already started with the old door.  It was the last thing we found - but I was happy to see it.  It's a mini version of the door I used to make my headboard -


And it fits perfectly as a headboard on my son's queen size bed.  Yes that's right - there is another bed on a cheap metal frame just shoved up against the wall.  Ugh.  Well, there is a reason for that.  In our old house, we had to use bunk beds to fit the kids into very small bedrooms.  In our new house, our two boys could enjoy their own rooms.  Right after we moved, we decided that one of these rooms would double as a guest room (as our son could temporarily bunk with his brother) so we bought a queen size bed.  It has worked out great - we have had a few guests and even a foreign exchange student stay in the room.  And now it's time to upgrade it a little.  (Side note - our son does not care if he has a headboard or not.  I am obviously taking on this project for future guests.  I hope they will enjoy it - and not notice the dirty clothes on the floor...).  So, I started sanding the old door and getting it ready for paint.  I am basically going to go through the same process that I outlined here.  Here is the first coat of paint -



I know what you're thinking - is that the same color as the last headboard you painted?  Well no.  But this color should look familiar because I have used it on this table -


I explained this table makeover here - it's still hard for me to believe that I got this table for only $10!

And I used the same paint on this $5 night stand (also purchased at Buffalo ReUse) -



Sorry about the different lighting - but it is the same color.  It's called Valspar Lincoln Cottage Black. It is a very soft black.  And since I moved this nightstand into my son's room, I thought a matching headboard would look nice.

Breaking down the costs of this project - $8 for the door.  $0 for the paint.  Woohoo.  I'll finish painting it today and try to hang it up this weekend.

As for the other things I found, I have some plans for them already.  I'm pretty excited to try some new things.    I think these will be fun projects!  Check back soon!