my apartment | AK Studio

If you weren’t around yesterday, I recapped my last couple weeks.

And now today… back to normal posting!

I’ve been talking about my nightstand DIY for way too long to not have shared it already. So here they are. Sadly, they don’t look at all that professional in person. The paint was much harder to work with than I expected, but overall, I love the look of them.

The Before:

Purchased from a thrift store. Not super cheap, but really good quality and nice storage. Definitely not my taste but we lived with them for two years.

So then I took them out to my deck. Painted them using Rustoleum White Protective Enamel Paint (gives a really nice lacquer). I had read all these reviews on blogs about how easy this stuff was to use. Wow. Not for me. It is so thick. Hard to paint evenly. It also drips. Oy. And silly me… it does not come off your hands. Ohhh and you have to let it dry for 24 hours in between coats. I needed 3. And to get 3 days of good weather in a row in Chicago. Needless to say. It was an adventure.

The After:

I purchased these new pulls for $4.78 a piece. Can of paint was $30. After that I thought they were done. But after a couple weeks I decided they needed something more. Then I saw these on a blog, $4.99 for 8. Done and done.

The makeover was $44.55. Well worth it.

I know my pictures aren’t the best. But I have to keep the rest of the room under wraps

Hope you understand!

Since my new bench from the Jayson warehouse sale is arriving early next week, that sadly means I have to sell the bench that is currently at the foot of my bed.

It was recently reupholstered in Kelly Wearstler’s Confetti Cream and the base was painted gold.

SOLD! as of 8:20am 11.18.11

I am selling this piece (to Chicago buyers only) for $75 (a steal since the fabric costs that per yard)!

Email me at alexandrasberlin@gmail.com if you are interested.

And here is the quinoa recipe from Monday. I was hesitant to post too many recipes but since so many people requested it, here you go! And just a warning, since I didn’t think I was sharing this one I didn’t write down a lot of detail.

You will need:
* 1 cups of dry quinoa (this serves 4-6)
* Butternut squash
* Dried cranberries
* Toasted almonds
* Red wine vinegar
* Olive oil
* Sugar
* Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
Dice up butternut squash into bite size pieces, sprinkle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast on a cookie sheet for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cook quinoa according to instructions on bag/box. When quinoa and squash have completed cooking, combine with cranberries and almonds. To make dressing mix 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar and 1 teaspoon of sugar. This dress isnt strong, just enough to moisten (ew I hate that word) up the salad. Serve at room temperature.

Hope you have a great weekend!! xo

Nightstand DIY

Bench for Sale! And a recipe