Around the House!

Thought I would share a few home decor projects I made in the garage last month!

First up is a large 3' x 5' frame I made for one of my daughter's friends.

She wanted to frame some coffee sacks from Rohs Street Cafe here in Cincinnati!

The first picture is the inspiration photo she sent me:

This is the frame I built out of some old,oak shelves I had in the garage:

And here is the frame in her house!!

What a great idea and it looks perfect over her mantel.

Next up is something else I made from the old,oak shelves -a tray - looks pretty on my coffee table!

 

And the last thing I made was a tray centerpiece for my dining room table.

I thought I could change out the items in it for the different seasons.

It is also made from some of the old, oak shelves and it matches my dining table!

That's all for now - thanks for stopping by!

I was featured!!!

Two of my projects were featured recently on two wonderful blogs called Better After and Knock Off Décor.   I am so excited :)  Check out the blogs by clicking on the names above, they feature great projects from all over "blog world"!

New Farmhouse Bench

I made a Farmhouse Bench for my bedroom this week.

I wanted a taller than normal (18" is normal, mine is 21") bench for the bottom of my bed!

 I plan to make a matching headboard one of these days!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I painted the frame with  one coat of Benjamin Moore Pikes Peak Gray and then sanded it to expose some of the wood.

I then rubbed on a light coat of Minwax Oil Based Early American Stain.

The top and shelf have two coats of the Early American stain.

Everything is finished with two coats of Minwax Polycrylic. 

Here are some close ups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Thanks for stopping by!

A Desk Transformed

A friend brought me this desk last week that needed a little update! 

The desk is very solid but the finish and hardware were showing their age.

 

 

 

After removing all the hardware, I cleaned the desk, lightly sanded and applied 2 coats of Zinsser B-I-N Shellac Base Primer.

I lightly sanded again and applied 2 coats of Sherwin Williams Pro Classic Semi-Glass Paint in Extra White.

I used a combination of foam roller and brush to apply the paint.

The top of the desk is formica ( I think) with a mahogany look trimmed in wood.  I sanded and stained the wood and finished it with Minwax Polycrylic.

The new hardware is antique bronze and was purchased at Lowes.

 I love how it turned out!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Lake House

My family and I spent an awesome week at the new Lake House a few weeks ago.
My sister and brother-in-law did a wonderful job designing the house for comfort and fun
when the whole gang is there - we really broke it in!!!
We had between 8 and 12 people in and out all week.

 

So here is a small tour - mainly of the rooms that the furniture I made is in:

 

Front of the house with the 4 Adirondack chairs I made.  My brother-in-law really wanted 4 colors, while my sister and I would have been more conservative.
He was right - I love how they came out.

That is my nephew's wife in the picture - she painted the blue and yellow chair!
 

 

 

 

 

Love the front door they choose!

 

 

Foyer

 

 

 

The dining room is to the left as you walk in.  Barb and Stu helped me design the table based on a table they saw in Napa Valley.
It is 90" x 48" and can seat 8 - 12!  There are more pictures of the table here.

 

My sister and brother-in-law!
 

 

I also made this cute bench that can be used with the table for extra seating.

 

 

Just beyond the dining room is the beautiful kitchen and beyond that an awesome screened in porch.

 

 

The living room is on the other side of the kitchen.
I made a large wood top for the metal coffee table in this room but it isn't in this picture.
It will be perfect for playing games by the fire on a cold winter day :)

 

 

Upstairs there are three bedrooms.
I made the queen platform beds for two of the rooms and painted the furniture in the twin bed room.
We made the platform beds high so that large suitcases could easily slide under.
For more on how I built those look here.

 

 

 

 And just around the corner from their house we have this!   I love Lake Michigan!

 

 

 I had so much fun building things for the house! 

 

Thanks for stopping by!