More favorite projects!

 

This project is by far one of my favorites! 

 

I found this old door in the trash at a flea market.  So that means it was FREE!!!!

 

It was pretty dirty and needed some work but I had a vision for it!

 

 

 

 

 

I saw this door at a flea market over the summer.  They were asking $250.00!  I thought it was cool, but $250.00???

 

I knew I could do this myself for much less!

First thing I did was clean my door really well!  (and then cleaned it again!!) You can read about the entire project here:

 

http://myeverchanginghome.blogspot.com/2012/09/mirror-from-old-door.html

 

 

 

 

 



 

After the door was clean and the old window film was peeled and scraped off it was ready to be painted.  I decided to go with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Provence. 

 

 

Provence
Blue green shutters in the South of France are the inspiration for this colour. Set against walls of any of the whites. Provence needs light and bright fabrics with a Mediterranean and seaside feel. Other paint colours that work with Provence also need to have the same freshness and strength. Of course a cupboard painted Provence looks great against a wall of Old White.

 

 



 

After the paint dried I applied both Annie Sloan clear and dark wax. 

 

After a failed attempt of attaching a mirror to the front of the glass I decided to go with Krylon Looking Glass Spray.  I love this stuff!!

 

 

 

 

 

I put the door outside and spray several thin coats.  Letting each coat dry in between.  

Here is the finished mirror!  It fits perfect on that little wall!  It is so much fun to make things out of old finds!  Especially ones that you find in the trash!  :) 

 

 



Mirror from an old door....

 

I have mentioned before that my sister and I have the taken to  garbage picking!  :)  So far only at flea markets.  We have found cool things like an antique typewriter table, old windows, tables, and an old door.  I knew I wanted to create something with the antique door , I was just not sure what. It was pretty dirty too so I was not that anxious to get started on it.

 

I finally got out in the garage and cleaned the door really well!  I even used bleach on some parts because it WAS in the trash!!  It also had some of that filmy sticky stuff to make the glass obscure.  I had fun peeling that all off!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If and when we ever move I will miss this large open area in my kitchen.  It is where I do all my projects.  It is completely in the way of getting around the house, but it is the most open area we have!

 

 

I decided to paint the door with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Provence Blue.  I love this color.  The buffet I sold was this color so I wanted to have something else this blue.  I painted it with two coats and then waxed it with the clear wax.

 

I had the bright idea to get a full length mirror and attach it to the front glass to make a full (almost full) length mirror.  Only I could not find the exact size and the one mirror I did find would not stay attached.  I then remembered this mirror.....

 

 

This mirror was $250.00

 

So I decided to use my Krylon Looking Glass Spray and make my own mirror. It took about 5 thin coats of the looking glass spray.  I did this outside.

 

 

The glass had some imperfections because of its age.  I like that it makes the looking glass spray look even more vintage.

 

 

I really like how it turned out.  And it was FREE!!!!  Minus the $4.00 for the mirror I tried to attached to it originally.  Other than that the door was free, I had the paint, and I had the looking glass spray!  LOVE THAT!!!

Linking to The Shabby Nest.
&
www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com

 

New buffet!

 

Happy Friday!!

 

 

I have been in the process of slowly changing up our dining room.  We do not use this room much, but it is one of the first things you see when you walk in our front door.  It is right out there in the open! 

 

One of the things I changed out was the buffet. 

 

 

 

 

This was our first one. I had bought it at a furniture store and picked it out way to quick. I had never really liked it and ended up selling it on craigslist.

 

 

 

 

This was the second one. I actually loved this one.  I had found it at the flea market.  I painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Provence Blue.  The problem is I then found one I liked even more.  I was not sure which one to keep but ended up selling this one. 

 

This is the buffet that caught my eye. After negotiating a really good deal on this (after all I am a real estate broker, I love to negotiate! :)  I brought it home with me.

 

 

I was not sure which one to keep at first.  I loved the size and the lines of this one.  I decided to keep it.  I also decided not to paint it.

 



 

The only thing is I thought the wood was a little to striped looking for me.  The vendor said he had sanded it down and added some torch marks to give it the black marks on it.  (never heard of that technique and probably will never try it!)

 

I wanted it a little darker and abit more even.

 

 

After cleaning it up really good I got out my Old English Scratch Cover for dark woods.  This stuff is AMAZING!!!  You rub it on with a soft cloth and then buff it to a shine. This wood was not protected with anything so the Old English worked really well.

 

 

It darkened the wood perfectly.  After I buffed it I applied two coats of polyurethane to protect. 

 

 

 

The only damaged spots were on the sides. 

 

 

 

I had left over wood from another project so I had it cut down to fit both sides.  My husband was at work and I am not that handy with a saw, soooooo I brought it in to Home Depot where I had purchased the wood and they cut two pieces for me!!  :) I used liquid nails and attached both sides. 

 

 

Here it is after one coat of stain.

 

 



after

before

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this buffet.  I am so happy I decided on this one!!

 

A few more changes in the dining room and it will be done.  (I think.....)

 

 



Antique Buffet!

Beautiful antique buffet for sale!  This was by far one of my favorite finds! 

This piece works perfect as of course a buffet.  It would also work great as a tv cabinet or an entry way table.  Lots of storage space!

This piece is painted in Annie Sloan Provence.  It is finished with both clear and dark wax.

The top was left the natural wood.

$200.00

Thank you for looking!

Sorry this buffet has sold-more to come!!!

White linen bench project!

  I had been looking for a bench to put in front of the window in our master bedroom.  I knew exactly what I wanted.  White, linen, simple.   I found quite a few.

I love these benches from Ballard Designs. $549.00

Or this one from my favorite Pottery Barn.  $499.00

This cute one is from Z Gallerie:  $399.00

This one I found at Wisteria.  $400.00             

This simple bench is from William Sonoma-$850.00


I love all these benches!!!  BUT I did not want to spend alot.  I started looking for a less expensive bench I could re do.  I found this little zebra bench at Kirklands. It was on clearance for $49.00.  I did not bother putting it together since I was getting right to work on it!

The first thing I did was paint the legs.  I used Annie Sloans Chalk Paint in Old White.  I then mixed a few drops of Annie Sloans Provence in with the clear wax and applied a coat of that. I followed up with a coat of the dark wax. 

Now for material.  I knew I wanted white linen.  I was SO EXCITED when I realized I had some laying around that was perfect!

I had bought these curtains from IKEA for my bathroom.  I wanted  white linen curtains on the windows. I could not find that in a valance.  These are the Ritva curtains from IKEA and they are $24.99 for 2 panels.  It is a great linen material!

Since I can't sew, I brought the two panels to a little sewing shop near my house and had these made.  I think he charged me around $10.00.  And I was left with a lot of left over material.  PERFECT for my bench!!!!

I missed a few pictures of me actually recovering the bench. I get on a roll sometime and just GO!  I did remove the zebra fabric first since it would show through the white fabric.  I then used my staple gun and attached the fabric.  I followed up with some left over nail heads I had.  I love that look and it is so easy to do!  I attached my white painted legs and here it is.......

The little throw pillows are from Pier 1.

Here is one of the legs close up.  I love the Provence Annie Sloan Chalk Paint color.  It is a beautiful blue.  Mixed in with the clear wax it gives just a hint of blue.  PRETTY!!

I love this bench.  It is absolutely what I had wanted for that space.  Here is a break down on what it cost me to make it:

Zebra bench:  $49.00
Annie Sloan Chalk Paint: FREE already had on hand
Material: FREE-extra fabric just laying around!
Nail Head Trim: FREE had left over from another project
Total: $49.00.

So I saved a couple hundred at least making this bench myself.  LOVE THAT!!!  :)

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!!

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint........I love it!

I had been looking for quite some time for the perfect piece to replace this buffet.  Nothing was wrong with the buffet, I just wanted something that had some more character.  I sold this piece on craigslist and went on a hunt.

I knew exactly what I wanted which made it even harder to find. I scoured many antiques stores and flea markets and did not see what I was looking for. Then one day My sister and I had spent many hours at the flea market and again I did not find what I was looking for.  We were heading out and decided to take one more quick look and there I saw it!  This beautiful buffet!!  I knew this was the one!! 

I had other plans for this little beauty.  I wanted to paint it blue.  The wood is absolutely perfect, but I also knew I did not want a solid wood piece in that space.

In comes Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I was so excited to try the color Provence.  It was exactly the color I had in mind when I pictured my new buffet.

One of the things I love about this paint is I can do it anywhere.  It does not have an odor and does not drip so I can paint in the middle of my kitchen!  There is also no sanding or priming so there is little mess.

I used the paint brush from Annie Sloan to paint this piece.  It was only a few dollars and it washes well and can be reused many times.

I removed the hardware before I painted but decided to clean it up and use it again.  It looked like it belonged there, which it did!

Another thing I love about this paint is it dries so quick!  I forgot to take pictures of this next step.  It is the wax.  I used the large Annie Sloan wax brush and went over the painted areas with the clear wax.  After it dried I took a soft cloth and buffed it.  I then added some dark wax to give it some more depth.  I really like the dark wax! 

 I decided not to paint the top.  I used alittle Old English on it and it looked perfect!

Here it is when completed.  :)

It is exactly what I wanted for that space.  The buffet was $90.00 and the chalk paint was about $35.00.  I have used the Provence color on several other pieces and I still have half a can left.  It goes a long way so the $35.00 is well worth it!  


                   Thanks for looking!  Enjoy your Sunday!