Shabby Prairie Chic Remodel

I know you all have been waiting for this post, 

so there are a few more photos than normal.....

but SO worth a few extra minutes of your time, 

I promise!  

You're going to want to savor each and every one.

:)

So, I'll wait while you go grab your second cup of java

(or depending on the time of day....a glass of wine)...

*  ~  *  ~  *  ~  *  ~  *

Ok.

Put your feet up.
Take a sip,
and think back to these Pottery Barn curtains from my last post.

(Not the pretty lavender floral ones on the left.

The plain linen ones to the right.)

They were temporary replacements for the ugly, plastic accordion thingamajig I dismantled last winter 

that originally served as the door to our guest room closet.

Welllllllllll........after once again being awestruck and inspired and totally in love with ANOTHER creative idea from my friend Tausha,

I copied her.

Yes.

(head hanging low)

I did.....

(head hanging even lower)

again.

Seriously, I can't help myself.

In my own defense, it seems that every time I turn around, she's creating vignettes in her beautiful home that make my heart pound and that little voice in my head say,

"I NEED to do that!"

(I'm assuming that you all have a little voice in your head, too?

Please don't tell me I'm alone in this.)

So, I'm giving all the credit to her.

(And saving a bit for my husband, too,

since he did most of the labor on our little project.

*wink*)

After scrounging through scrap wood planks in the loft in our barn and throwing them down to the main floor,

we gathered them up, 

and marched them down to The Husband's workshop.

Yes, that wood is sitting on our second rustic prairie table (read about it here) we just built that I need to paint and stain yet.  It will probably end up in my booth at Doster Emporium.

He got busy measuring and cutting...

and gluing...

and nailing...

(Now....don't get ahead of the story here.  Stay with me.)

he began to create my vision.

I was beyond happy.

Raring to go with my magic paint brush. 

Ready to make it all shabby chic and pretty...and barn-y.

After a coat of primer, two coats of flat latex paint,

and 12 hours of both of asking each other,

"Do you think they're dry yet....?",

we lugged my vision upstairs.

Here is what you see upon entering the guest room.

Mmmmmmm.....yeah.

I'm liking it a whole lot.

Before we continue, 

go back up to the first photo and take another peek at it to refresh your memory.

I'll wait here for you...

*

*

*

*

*

♥

*

*

*

*

*

Ready???

OK.

This is what you see NOW when you turn around.

Oh, yeah, baby!!

Are you squealing with glee?

Better than a plastic door or linen curtains, wouldn't you agree?

(Sorry. Didn't mean to Dr. Seuss it.)

Because this is such a tiny little room,

we had to get somewhat creative as far as hanging these barn doors.

We couldn't use the heavy, duty barn door trolley rails that I really wanted.

So, we installed two simple by-pass closet door track systems purchased at Home Depot

for about $15 each.

By the way, I had a distinct moment of pure genius while standing in Home Depot 

(which I totally embraced, took advantage of, and bragged about all day long to The Husband

which resulted in numerous eye-rolling episodes).

I grabbed four large galvanized hinges,

had The Husband cut off the hinge part,

and screwed the remaining part at the top of the doors to give the illusion they were hanging from a barn door rail.

Yep, I can see you nodding your head and thinking,

"Genius idea!"

(And because I'm still in the bragging mode,

I give you my permission to steal my brilliant idea and use it for your own.)

We couldn't attach the door handles together in the center like I wanted, either,

because of the by-pass system.

So we installed them on each side instead.

I dug around in the basement and came up with a couple of old, black handles,

and swiped them with silver Rub-N-Buff

giving them a galvanized look.

A watercolor farm landscape my dad painted decades ago was pinned to the wall above

the dresser to complete the barn-like feel.

A second dream catcher was hung by the large one above the bed.

Lumber:  free

Two By-Pass Track Systems:  $30

Four galvanized hinges:  $20

Hard working husband:  free
Cost of my vision:  priceless

I think I'll be sleeping in here tonight.

I want to open up my eyes in the morning to THIS.

(Hope The Husband's okay with that....)

And now I'm thinking that a set of those sweet, rustic doors would look pretty nice in here ~
our master bedroom
where I can wake up to them every single morning.

Just a set on the left side....?
Or replace all of the mirrored doors...?

Hmmmm....

the wheels are turning on how to coerce The Husband into going along with THIS new idea.

~ Blessings...and sweet dreams ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar.

Coffee Table Make-Over

Remember this beautiful coffee table in my living room?

The Husband made it for me.
He crafted it from an vintage nine-paned door.

I fell in love with it when he first unveiled it to me on that beautiful Christmas morning

hmmmmm....

about 15 years ago.

With my recent obsession

(one of many)

with farmhouse planked top tables,

I wanted to transform this one a bit to satisfy that recent new obsession.

I scrounged around in the barn for some old wood planks...

and came up empty handed.

None of them were the right type
or
didn't have bat poop all over them.

Drat!

So, the next time I took a trip to the big city, 

I made a stop at Home Depot,

chose the cheapest piece of pine board they had,

fluttered my mascaraed eyelashes at a young man with an orange apron on ~

(Gee...I hope he worked there...

I only flutter my eyelashes at people I want something from, you know)

and asked if he would cut the board down for me.

He was utterly besotted with my fluttering politely said he would,

and off I scampered with my piney scented planks.

Wanting them to look a little old and worn,

I laid them out in the basement and sanded the edges until they were uneven and rounded.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to stain or paint them.

I ended up deciding to stain them knowing that I could always paint over it.
The next question was with what color?

I had Minwax Golden Oak, Special Walnut, and Pecan on hand.

 I tried each of them on some scrap pieces of pine first
and laid them on the coffee table.

 

 The walnut was too dark and the golden oak too yellowy.

Decision was  ~~ Minwax Express Color in Pecan.

It was the perfect warm, light brown with a gray undertone.

I used a foam brush, kind of like a sponge, to spread this thick liquid on,

rubbing and scrubbing it into the grain.

After letting it dry overnight, I hauled a couple pieces upstairs, laid them on the table,

turned and walked out of the room, 

and then turned back around to look at the table.

[Yes, I do this quite often when rearranging furniture, working on projects, and painting furniture.  I want the "first impressions" feeling.]

I didn't like it.

It looked like a hole in the middle of the living room.
The pretty pecan color just wasn't going to work all by itself.

I wanted it touched with white.

Back downstairs they went,

out came out the Benjamin Moore "Ivory Tusk"

(which is the color on the rest of furniture in the house)

and I spread the creamy whiteness on.

Now, I love my BM paint.  Always have. Always will. It goes on like pudding.

It's thick and rich and almost looks edible because of it's similarity in consistency to yogurt.

But distressing this latex paint is nothing like distressing chalk paint or milk paint.

I had forgotten that after working with chalk paint for so long.

Duh.

After the planks had dried over night, I got out my handy dandy little palm sander

and started sanding.

I happily sanded

and sanded

and sanded

and sanded.

I switched hands and began to mutter things under my breath as I sanded

and sanded

and sanded

and sanded.

AGH!

But slowwwwwwly the planks began to look old and loved.

I hauled them back upstairs and laid them out side by side.

I had to put the glass back on because the boards aren't screwed to the table yet
which will be done from beneath with The Husband's help.

Then, I walked out of the room,

 turned around,
looked at the table

and...

fell in love all over again.


I loved that the boards gave the table substance and uniformity.
Not being able to see through the glass panes, gave the room a calmer,
less busy look.

So, of course,
I spent the better part of an hour creating vignettes on this planked loveliness.
:)

 

Yeah...
I'm loving it.


~ Blessings ~

Linking to the Linky Parties on the lower right of my sidebar!