Sit a Spell

At my last garage sale, my SIL brought over her beloved rocking chair from her aunt.  Because of a combination of the "fabulous" (sorry Aunt Jackie) look of the chair and the fact that my nephew is perfecting his mountain climbing skills, my SIL felt that she had to sell the chair.  I knew she loved it, so I told my bother to put it back inside.  I knew that with a little love and sweat, the chair could be beautiful.  (Unfortunately I couldn't and still can't do a thing about Zach's climbing ability.)  Did I mention the look of the chair was straight out of the 60's? 

Isn't it pretty?  Yeah, not really in the vein of my SIL's house.  (Again, sorry, Jackie.  It does have  great bones though!!)  In case you're missing part of the glory, check this out.

Yup, it featured every great color that WAS in my house before its transformation.  Scary.  Anyway, it plunked itself in my living room and sat there for almost six months before I got around to transforming it.  Hey, I said I'd do it, I didn't ever say it would be fast!  ;)  

I typically am a big fan of the Behr Ultra paint.  So much of a fan in fact, that I know Guy and Suzanne on a first name basis at local Home Depot.  I love the low-ish odor, easy clean-up and so far great wearing paint, but I didn't think it was right for this project.  Okay, so maybe part of it was I didn't think it was right and part of it was the fact that I was desperate to jump on the chalk paint bandwagon.  

In case you have missed all of the blog buzz about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, I'll give you the short version.  Chalk Paint is an all natural paint with NO, yup, no odor which dries to a super matte finish.  It requires no sanding, striping, priming or other prep work.  If you've ever tried to sand anything, you will understand my immediate interest in chalk paint.  Add to that it's an English product that allows the under thing, whether wood, metal, glass, brick, cinder block, whatever to breathe and I was hooked.  And after a little research, I found the price.  Ouch.  It's not cheap stuff folks.  At almost $40 a quart, this cheapie was a little shell-shocked.  It didn't take me long to convince myself that the paint was worth the original cost, but not shipping.  (I really HATE to pay shipping on anything!  Yes, I'll spend twice as much on gas, but I digress.)

So, after checking the state side suppliers, I found one in little ole Waco, TX.  Imagine!  It's one of 3, yes 3 in the entire state.  I did some sweet talking of my mom and Mimi and they graciously picked up a quarts of Old White and Paris Grey for me.  It is a probably a good thing that I didn't go because I'm sure I would have come home with way more than two colors.  (Scroll down on the link to see the best representation of all the available colors I could find.)

My mom decided she would use the Old White to redo the daybed in her "kids' room."  Because I had no idea how far this paint would go, regardless of what is online, I went with the Paris Grey for the rocker.    In true Sissi fashion, which I could blame on the 3 digit heat, but since I do the same in winter I can't, I plunked the rocker down in the middle of my living room on some leftover plastic dropcloth.  In one evening, I was able to double, yes double coat the entire rocker, complete with flipping it different directions for total coverage and wax the whole piece.  When the paint first dries, it is very, very matte with somewhat obvious brush strokes. 

Since I get brush strokes on every stinking thing I paint, this doesn't surprise me in the least bit.  I'd blame it more on the painter here than the paint.  But, anywho, the paint covered the finish nicely and and worked great.  After the paint was dry, I put a coat of Johnson's wax on it and buffed it to a shine.  I also used 220 grit sandpaper to knock down the brushstrokes and add a little wear and tear to the piece.  My goal was to make it look like it came out of a French farmhouse.

While the chair was only an evening's worth of work, the cushions were a different story.  I went with the same neutral fabric that is elsewhere in my house.  Thankfully I was able to squeeze all the pieces out of scraps left over from Elphaba and slipcovers.  I made easy to clean covers that zip on and off since I know better than to think they'd stay clean for long.  For picture purposes, I grabbed my ruffle pillow and it fit perfectly.  Since it's currently destined for Zach's room, the ruffles aren't a permanent thing, but I'm on the lookout for a train pillow.

 

In case you need a refresher...

 Not too shabby I'd say!

(All opinions are completely mine and I haven't been paid for them!)

The lowdown on the lowboy

I was a lucky/blessed girl when I moved into my house because so many friends and family donated NICE pieces of furniture to me to help furnish my house. One of the pieces came into my house as a part of matching set for a bedroom, 2 side tables and a dresser. I already have a highboy dresser in my bedroom and don't need another, but I desperately needed storage in my living room. So, I plopped down the piece against my wall and left it there for almost a year now.

While the piece was nice and heavy, man is it HEAVY, it just wasn't my style. It took me a long time to realize that it wasn't the shape of the piece or the accents, it was the color. It was too something. So, after much perusing on Miss Mustard Seed, I decided to bite the bullet and go for it. As I mentioned this piece is super heavy, so I pulled the drawers out and put them on my super special custom painting station in my backyard. Jealous aren't you?!? After a good spray of primer and Heirloom White spray paint, I used 100 grit sandpaper to distress the edges and bring out the texture.

I then broke out my new favorite tool, toy, stuff??? Minwax Finishing Paste Wax in special dark. The finishing wax brought out the details in the furniture piece and added a soft darkening hue to the creamy paint. I was so excited about the new look that I put the drawers back in the piece, unmatching and all!

Last weekend I was able to cajole family into helping me haul the base of the lowboy outside to the carport. There I sanded and sanded and sanded to take off the old finish and reveal the wood beneath. I then hit the sides with more Heirloom White and prepped the top for staining. I chose the darkest stain I could find, since I wanted the biggest contrast between the top and base.

I have to say that I was super impressed with the results. The final look is FABULOUS and matches so well now in my living room. The texture and finish of the paint is so cool and I am so excited that it worked. The top however was another fail, but I cleverly photographed it so that it wasn't too noticeable. Eventually I will haul it back outside and redo the top, but until then, I'm going to enjoy the look it lends to my living room!

 
 

A Thing of Beauty

One day while visiting my mother at her job, I noticed a pitiful looking podium hanging out in the hallway. After a couple of weeks of it sitting in the hallway, I asked if it was up for grabs. After loading it up in my car, I took it home and placed it carefully (read dumped) it in my carport. There it sat for weeks. On a random visit, my SIL stated that she would love to have a podium in her classroom for holding her textbooks and materials. She teaches English to 9-12 graders. (God bless her for that!!) Once I had an intended person, it became a huge push to get this sucker refinished and headed to someone else's house!


As you can see, the podium had a pretty rough life. The original teacher's name was still on the underside. Come to find out, it was a former teacher of mine and if I remember correctly, this podium was in use when I was in the 6th grade. (Here's a hint, that was at least a day or two ago!)

After a serious sanding/scrubbing, we created a new lip for the front that was considerably more sturdy. Oh, the books my SIL will be able to stack up! After gluing on the new lip, I clamped it down and shot some nails in to help secure the edge. There it sat for a couple days, let's say I was making sure the glue was dry...


After the glue was dried completely and then some, I took it out to my special painting place. (For those of you not playing along, that's my back patio saw horses.) I primed the entire thing with a good coat of grey primer.


After priming I finished with 3 coats of my favorite Rustoleum x2 high gloss black paint. I must say, it is a beauty to behold now and a great recycled object!

The Latest Line-up

With the Super Bowl over, we have a new line-up. This was the scene in my carport not too long ago.

These are the yet another grouping in the endless parade of doors in this house. In the interior of the house alone, we have 12 doors that have had to be refinished. (Nope, that's not including the various cabinet doors.)

If you don't recall, check out this to see exactly what is involved in getting the doors into hanging shape. After hours of sanding, de-gooking and painting, we finally have closet doors hanging up in the last two rooms of the house. Yes!!! This means that I can join the hoards of others who stuff closets full and then shut the doors to hide it. Oh wait, no knobs on the doors means I probably shouldn't shut them yet... Hmmmm

Elphaba Takes A Seat...

I was lucky enough this summer to spend a long weekend in Florida with my mom visiting her brother, Brian and his wife, Judy. For those of you following along and playing the game, yes, that is my aunt and uncle. It was a GREAT weekend! My aunt is one of the two best shoppers I know. (The other best shopper I know is my other aunt, Gail. Gonga-deal is a legit word in my family.)

As soon as I could feel my tush again, 17 hours is a long time to sit folks as we drove cross country, we headed out to scour Ocala for deals. The first place we went was a local church thrift store. After looking around, checking all the deals and heading for the door, my gut told me stop, and look again. There in amongst the 60's & 70's gems was something very similar to this beauty.


However, you have to imagine it in blue gray velour because yours truly didn't take a "before" picture. Still to this day, I can't think of a good use of this fabric. Anyone?? Anyone? Nope, not hearing a thing. Now, while you're imagining it in velour, go grab a can of paint, spray paint, in bright green, the brighter the better. Step 2, spray the entire chair. Seriously, go spray. Done spraying? Now, check out the pics.


See, I'm not lying. Notice the original color where we popped off the front covers on the edges of the arms. And, yes, it was spray paint. The texture of the painted fabric was much, much rougher than the original color. Ouch. What I want to know is where in the world did it come into their mind that they should spray paint a chair??? Seriously?!? That's the first thing that comes into your mind when you see a blue chair and you want to change the color?!? Anywho...

Okay, I've digressed. Those of you who follow me know this isn't an odd thing. Back to the beginning. The title to this post is Elphaba Takes a Seat. Who is Elphaba you ask? She is witch that was born green and uncomfortable with herself. The exact opposite of her best friend, Glenda. You might have heard part of her story in the tale of The Wizard of Oz. You can learn more about her from her own story, Wicked. Because of my chair's green skin, Aunt Judy named my chair Elphaba and it stuck. It fits her somehow even though she is no longer green, hint, hint.

Now, back to my version of Wicked. Design Intervention is a pro at recovering and reupholstery and gave me the courage to try it on my own. I stopped by a supplier in Houston and picked up some tools that I couldn't have done without. Kuddos too, to the awesome gentleman who helped me. When I explained that I was trying this for the first time, he reassured me and told me that I would be a pro in no time. While he was lying through his teeth, I appreciate the lie more than he'll ever know.

After hours cruising blogland, (this helped tons!) and building up massive amounts of courage, Marc, my dad, & I tackled the chair. Yup, I literally mean tackled. We pulled almost 5,000 staples, not kidding here, and then I took the fabric pieces and used them as patterns to carefully cut the new fabric. Once the new pieces were cut out of the same fabric I used for the Pottery Barn magic, we began the arduous task of putting it back together again.


Notice the brown stuff in the bottom of the pic and in the next one? That's wool or cotton (unknown by me) felting that is put over the wood pieces and springs to add comfort to the chair. Because we disturbed it, we laid it back down and then covered it with a new layer of fluff. It was impossible to get the felting smooth again without the new stuff. We had to staple down the felting, the new fluff and then the fabric. I have no idea how many staples we actually used to put it back together, but I'm betting it was over 1,000. If for some reason you decide to tackle a chair like this, get a pneumatic stapler. There is NO other way to do it. None! (Granted, it also helps to have an awesome uncle who loans you an air compressor on a 2 year/2,000 mile basis!)


I will say that putting the chair back together was infinitely easier than taking it apart in the first place. Definitely more gratifying. Now that it is done, the difference in my living room is huge. The chair now "fits" the room, instead of sticking out like a green thumb.


While I know pride is a sin, I am so proud of myself for charging in head on, after researching, and getting this entire started and finished. A couple of posts ago, I mentioned a table that I had refinished. It's now feeling right at home besides Elphaba.

Remember when I mentioned that my aunts and the term "gonga-deal?" Care to guess how much this beauty was?

She was labeled $15.

Luckily they were having a half-price sale to move out furniture, so she was only $7.50. Yes, you read that right, seven dollars and fifty cents. How's that for a gonga-deal?

Christmastime is coming!

I would love to claim that I have been super productive today and have just now finished all of the projects I'm going to post about this weekend, but that would be a lie. Let's be honest here. I've spent most of my day picking after decorating for Christmas, finding my desk again and trying to sleep since I didn't last night (killer allergies had me coughing from 3-6 am! It could be worse, I could feel bad as well.) I do have big news about projects though. Yay!! No, I didn't finish all of these projects today or even this week, but I am super excited to share them with you. And without any further delay...

A couple of years ago, my brother and then future-sister in law went to Florida and picked up some furniture from my aunt and uncle. The table was one of the pieces that came back. It sat in my mother's house and then mine in this condition:


An okay table, but not really my taste. I know, I know, it's some type of wood and a girl should never paint it. Well, if painting real wood pains you, stop reading now and look away, people, look away!!!

After cruising the blogging world for a while, I realized that they were right. Paint is just paint and can usually easily and cheaply be changed. So, I bite the bullet and picked up a can of:Yup, that's right, Aqua paint! So, after a quick drying (love that feature) spray of paint, I realized that I wasn't that brave. So, I grabbed the "glaze" ie watered down brown paint from the living room and master and rubbed it all over the piece. Voila! Perfection, at least in my eyes. I love it now and am so glad that I braved it. Eventually I want to cut down a piece of mirror to replace the marble piece in the top. Don't worry rock hounds, I have another use for the marble. It's not going far!


In a post or two, I'll show you it's new home and neighbor. It's currently tied for my favorite place in my house.

As Promised...

As mentioned in my last post, here is my much more interesting, at least I think so, post.

When I purchased this house more than a year ago, many people thought I was crazy. Okay, maybe crazy is too simple a word. How about completely off my rocker and needed to be committed?? Yeah, that's closer to the truth. I can't say that I disagree with them, so I can't really complain.

On the surface I look like a typical girl, but never judge a book by its cover. Remodeling/tools/getting in over my head is in my blood. If you have my last name, tools are in your hand from birth on, generations back on both sides of the family. My father and his brothers rewired their home growing up every time their parents went out of town. I believe the story goes that G'ma drew the line after the speakers appeared in the bathroom. Not to worry, same story on mom's side. Is it any wonder that I managed to wrangle a new intern? Check him out organizing my wrenches after helping me install a cabinet door.



His favorite helping time is anything involving power tools. (I know you're shocked and amazed by this.) I'm seeing tools in his future...




Now, onto showing off my hard work. I know, not as interesting or nearly as cute as Z-Man, but I need some gratification too. ;)

Remember a couple of posts ago when I showed off my stripping skills? After hanging out precariously balanced in my kitchen for a while, one of the doors is completely refinished and the another is 1/3 of the way through. The painting process isn't hard, but it is annoying. Each side of the door requires 3 coats with sanding in between coats. Being patient enough to wait while the paint dries is where I fail miserably. (never would have guessed, huh?) I usually manage to repair my messes, but don't look too close at my finishes when you come over.



My house guests have been requesting a door for their bedroom for a while now. (I know, I know, I'm a bad hostess. Whoops.) So, trying to make amends, I painted the door and proudly waited for it to be hung. Recall that phrase "Pride goeth before a fall" or something like that? Yeah, during installation from the hallway I hear, "Either the door is 3 inches too narrow or the door jam is 3 inches too wide." Say what?? Sure enough in my haste, I painted the wrong door. Yeah, I know every door needs to be painted, but I was trying to do a good thing. I would just like it to go one record...

Anywho, the guest bedroom door is now on the pictured above, so hopefully it will be ready to be hung soon. Until then, I get to walk past my "new" linen closet door. It really makes that end of the hallway look much, much better.



While I had the paint out for the guestroom/closet door I FINALLY finished the built-in doors in the living room. Now that they are up, I really, really like the look. It gives your eye someplace to rest on the wall o'storage. (that's my Irish side coming out)


Like the sparkle? One of my favorite finishes ever has to be Mercury Glass. Old, new, silver, gold, copper, I love it all. To add to the shine of my accents on the shelves, I decided to indulge my fave again and used Anthropologie knobs again. I can't find anything I love as much for the price, so I'm sticking with a winner.


So, what do you think of my new Intern and our work? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Answers to the Questions...

After my last post, I had several comments posted questioning my choice of finish for the doors. Several people were certain that I meant to say "stain" instead of "paint." Let me assure you, I really did mean paint.

1980's orangey oak and I really, really don't get along. Don't get me wrong, I love wood, just not most of the popular finishes for furniture and trim. I love the dark look of mahogany and ipe wood, and plan on having dark wood floors throughout my entire house, eventually. (Most likely after I win the lottery.) However trim, doors included, is a completely different animal. I love the clean look of white trim. It makes wall colors look better, accent colors truer and appears more up to date.

Aside from the personal aesthetics, there is one logical reason. Almost all of the doorways in my home open onto the same hallway. It is a small, dark hallway and having seven doors of a darker color would further darken the hallway, instead, the white doors will help to reflect light. (It's in the plans to add can lights to the hallway, but the doors are free and I have the paint but the lights cost money.)

I also had the questions why in the world I would go to all the work of removing the original finish and then painting the surface. Remember, my motto with this house is to do it right the first time and NEVER, I repeat, NEVER do this again! Doing it right the first time means that I have to completely remove the old NASTY finish (recall the heavy smokers with questionable hygiene that used to live here?) to make sure that the new latex paint adheres well. Yes, it takes way more time and a lot of effort in the lower back, but the finished product is well worth it.

Bow Chicca Wow-Wow!

Can anyone guess what I'm up to this weekend?? Yup, that's right, I'm stripping!! Now, before you poke your mental eyes out, relax I'm stripping doors, not clothes! Trust me, this is not nearly as easy as the infomercials would lead you to believe. On the commercials they show you painting the gel onto the wood, scrapping up the gunk and leaving a completely clean and ready to paint door. HA.

Want the real story? (You might as well say yes, because you're getting it anyway!) I have a product that I love called Green Strip. I've touted this product before and I still love it. The bad news is that our local Home Depot closed it out and I'm almost done with the bottles I have, but I still have several doors to go. Anywho, you spray it evenly over the whole surface, taking care to get all of the grooves in the panels. After spraying the weeds and vines trying to take over your yard, you discover that the poly is lifting nicely and your timing is perfect to scrap.


To save money and the Earth, I'm refinishing all of the solid wood doors from in the house. Instead of a simple plain door, all of the doors in my house are a six panel design. Pretty to look at, a PAIN to refinish. Why you ask?? Because each panel has a ton of grooves that need to be cleaned of the old poly.


After the doors have the bulk of the yuck removed, you have to these fabulous little pieces left over that seem to migrate to the grooves. All the grooves! This is where a small pick, ask your favorite dentist, and a tiny flat head screwdriver come in handy. (Hint: Make sure the width of the flat head is the same as the depth of the grooves, your life will be much easier!)


Once the door is booger free, step back and admire your hard work and pop a couple Advil because your back and your fingers are killing you!


Think we're done yet? Nope, now it's time to sand the entire thing. Another hint, use a sanding sponge. It makes getting those grooves (grrr) all the easier. Once the whole thing is sanded, grab that pick and hit those grooves again and knock all of the sanding dust and debris out. Finally, wipe the surface down at least 2 times with a damp cloth.


Now, you are finally ready to start the painting process. Hmm, anyone still wondering why I stalled so long on getting started on this project???

Cleaning up the light

My latest efforts/energies have been concentrated on my craft room/office. I love to craft and have a severe addiction to purchasing craft items. (Don't worry, I've curbed my addiction until I use up some of my stash.) The main problem becomes when I try to organize these items. The storage I had was good, don't get me wrong. It just wasn't organized right. The switch of a bookcase, along with some kitchen containers gave me a TON more working surface and easy access to items. The big issue I'm having now is trouble storing my Cricut carts. I've cruised blogdom, but still can't find the exact storage idea that I love. I'm sure it's out there, but...

Anyway, here are some before and after pics of my crafting area. It's not the most interesting/creative work I've done, but I'm thrilled with it!!

Office Before

Office After

If you look closely, you'll notice that I have a lamp to provide extra task lighting. This lamp didn't always look this way. It was pretty boring and didn't really match my tastes. (It was a freebie borrowed/stolen from my brother's room. Hey, he moved out and left it behind!!!) Anyway, here it is in it's before state. Pretty boring eh?

After a spray with my favorite Krylon color Celery and a bit of cricut-ing, my lamp fits in much, much better!


I couldn't find an exact color paper I wanted for my flowers, so I spray painted one of the pages celery and painted the other sheet with the wall color. After hitting them with Glimmer Mist and adding some ribbon accents, I had the perfect flower for my lamp.

Jumped on the Bandwagon

Yup, I did it. I've officially jumped on the latest bandwagon crazy of blogdom. Which craze is that you say? Ahh, the cheese dome turned cloche one!

Check out the House of Hepworth's Version

These things are all over the internet and easy to customize to match your decor. Mix an old cheese dome with a pretty candlestick, add some spray paint and glue and Voila! You have a perfect display unit for whatever room you want!

And the total price for your custom display unit? CHEAP!! My cheese dome was $2.99 and the candlestick was a whopping $.99, both found at Goodwill. I had the spray paint left over from my lamps, so that was incidental. After using E-6000 to attach the candlestick, I primed the unit with spray primer and then add my new favorite color spray paint. (celery by Krylon) After letting it dry thoroughly, I replaced the glass top and then there it sat on my coffee table. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but where in the world was I going to put it? Hmmmm... After moving it around several places, I found the perfect spot on my buffet/dresser that sits in my living room. Here it is decorated for Christmas. Not too shabby for under $5!