One of the things I love the most is when a project is easy, it takes very little time, and it requires very little moo-la. This past weekend I worked on a bunch of small projects that didn't take too much of my time and by the end of the weekend I felt like I had accomplished so much! Don't you love it when that happens?! I know I sure do.
Let's talk couches for a second, shall we?
Did you know that the average couch measures anywhere from 6-8 feet long? Our couch measures just over 11 feet! That means our ginormous couch far surpasses the average by a third! When we moved into our previous apartment, the main wall was a whopping 16 feet long!!! Both the couches we had previously owned prior were worn, dated, and just looked disproportionate up against the massive wall. So...we went couch shopping, found a great no-interest for 16 months deal, and purchased this 11 foot beast. We paid it off in 12 months thanks to my financially smart guy and it really is the most comfortable couch in all the land. What we didn't anticipate or take into consideration (our bad) was if/when we ever moved (which we eventually did) and how this massive couch would dictate which apartments we could/could not live in. Our apartment search was brutal. All because of a stupid couch. We looked at and had to turn down so many other apartment communities all because the main living area didn't have a space large enough to accommodate our couch. #lessonlearned
All in all everything worked out, as most things do, and we decided (settled?) on the apartment we're in now. Our couch barely fits along the main wall, but hey...it fits. Which brings me to the project I'm blogging about today.
The main wall in our current apartment is approx. 13 feet long. Our couch clocks in at a tad over 11 feet. Which means that on either end of the couch I have about a foot of space to work with, if that. Immediately after moving in and placing the couch, I realized that end tables just weren't going to work. Bummer dude. I tried shoving the couch to one side and having an end table on the other but then my OCD kicked in and I just wasn't having it. Out went the tables.
Last summer I was in HomeGoods and found myself in the garden section when I spotted the solution to all my problems. Garden stools. The new end table for small spaces. They're small, compact, they offer a flat surface albeit a small surface, but hey, beggars cant be choosers so into my cart it went and decided to give it a whirl. The only problem? It was green. Mean green.
See?
Didn't exactly go with my black, white, grey, navy color scheme I have going on. But nothing a couple new pillows with some green couldn't fix, right? Right!
Well...not so fast.
I searched. I scoured. I came up empty handed. There are a ton of pillow options out there but none that I absolutely loved that would help make this green little stool apart of the family. So it's sat here in the living room just waiting. Until now.
I'm working on the lamp situation too...in case you're wondering. No side tables, no table lamps = it's a hard life.
I found the perfect pillows but the green would have to go. Nothing a little spray paint cant fix! I tell ya, pillows and spray paint can solve just about any decorating dilemma! This mean green garden stool not only got a fresh coat of paint, it also got a tabletop! Wanna see?
I ordered a plain pine wood table top online because I couldn't find one the perfect size at any local hardware or hobby store. It cost me less than $10. I followed the same steps to stain the tabletop as I discussed in this previous blog post and it turned out great!
Once the top was stained in my favorite Walnut stain, the garden stool got a few coats of Rustoleum's Candy Pink in Gloss.
Originally my initial thought was to permanently adhere the table top to the garden stool but then I decided against it. If ever down the line I want to repaint the stool or actually use it in a garden some day, I'd be wishing for an easy way to remove the top and restore the stool to it's natural state. That's when I had my little light bulb moment and decided to attach the top using my forever favorite command adhesive strips.
Worked like a charm!
The pink may seem odd now, but it will when I show you the recent changes to the living room, it'll all make sense. My uber supportive boyfriend didn't even flinch a muscle at the pink. What a keeper!
The table is a lot more functional now than it ever was and can now hold drinks without the fear of them toppling over from sitting on an uneven surface. For a little over $10, this quick little DIY project solved our space issue just perfectly.
I always love finding ways to use things in unexpected ways or to use them in ways in which they weren't originally intended. This project personifies that to a "T"!
Did any of you purchase a giant couch and had to forgo end tables because of it? What did you do to solve that dilemma? Do tell!
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