A Regal Pair

I've been trying to get some spring rearranging done. I love to rearrange things to help motivate me to clean and dust. The shelves in our office/computer room are in need of a new look, so I emptied everything out. I've never posted about these, so I thought this would be a great time to do it. We made two of these handsome bookshelves from old doors cut in half. They flank each side of the leather love seat and our huge map on the wall.We made them mirror images of each other, with the doorknobs facing opposite the love seat. They're topped with big, chunky molding that's meant for the exterior of a home. They're tall and lean and the details are reminiscent of a castle turret. I love how they give such presence to the room.
Now, I'm off to find some wonderful items around my house to fill them up.

Blessed With Good Friends

It's such a blessing when you find a good friend! Someone who is always there to laugh and cry with, to listen as you vent your frustrations, who cheers you on, and inspires you to be a better person.
It's an extra special blessing when your husband finds a good friend in your friend's husband.
What kind of Christmas gift do you give to your friends to show your love and appreciation?
How about a personally designed, hand built entry table made from a door.The shelf on the bottom is specially designed to house the family's shoes when they take them off as they enter their home.Don't be too impressed with our gift. We delivered this table unfinished, unsanded, and with a gallon of paint. Minutes before the delivery I called my friend. I told her that I had started too many projects and asked if she would be willing to help me finish one. Without hesitation, and not even knowing how big the project might be, she replied, "I'd be happy to help you out!" That's what I call a good friend!

A Quick One

This little door shelf was our very first piece of door furniture---even though it was actually our second. We were in the middle of building our entertainment unit and things were going very slow. I was frustrated, so I brought out another old door, and various wood pieces. I told my husband that I needed a project with immediate gratification. I drew up a design plan and then left for a meeting. While I was gone, the sweet man I married started building. When I came home, a couple of hours later, the project was ready for me to paint. It was just what we needed. I had a project that I could work on while waiting for the completion of the entertainment unit, and since this project came together so quickly, it gave my hubby the excitement and confidence and to finish the next.
For years I used this piece in a corner of my kitchen to display antiques and other pretties. About a year ago I decided that I needed a change and the door shelf was moved to the basement. I walked past it last week and it caught my attention. It looked unloved and neglected. I knew, that with a little paint makeover, it could be a cherished piece again. So now it stands in it's glory, ready to live in my son's room (as soon as I paint the walls).

Let me tell you a little about it.
The back is an old door.
The legs are two stair balusters. The top piece was a part of a crib headboard
I found at the thrift store.We used fencing material to build the shelves.
It's rough and gives it a more rustic quality.
We added an old hinge above the door knob
to hide the hole left from a deadbolt. I painted it satin black,
then heavily distressed it with the sander.
I finished it off with a coat of maple stain.
I wanted it to look like it's been stored for years
out in grandpa's barn.
It's going to look great in my youngest son's room
and I won't have to worry about
the extra distressing it will get.

TA DA DA DAaaAaa!!!

I've been doing some changing and rearranging.

I moved the old cedar chest
from in front of the couch to behind.That way it hides the cord mess and
helps protect the couch from the sun
that streams through the windows.Moving the chest also makes room for
my newest project.I added a bit of aging with stain
to honor the pieces that make up this project.
Both the door and the balusters are
over one hundred years old.In my opinion, it's the bumps and scrapes
that you get in life that give you true character.
So, as a reminder,
I like to highlight those in my furniture pieces. It's also in the small details where true beauty is found.I think this one is a real beauty.Many of you want to know where I find my old doors.
I find them at thrift stores, on the roadside, and
at businesses that sell new doors
and haul off the old ones.

I want to give a special thanks to Sandy for this award:

and Wendy for this one:

Have a delightful weekend everyone!

I Want Another One

I liked this one so much that we built another one.This time the legs are spindles that we cut down to size.We built a box for stability and for looks.Now I just need better weather
so I can take it outside to paint.
(It's been raining and snowing here!)It will stay a creamy white.

It's sofa table height and will live in the family room.
It's going to replace this little guy,

who will likely find a new home
somewhere else in my house.

If you are interested in crafting for a good cause, check Trishia's blog and learn about the Butterfly Project from the Holocaust Museum Houston.

Ooooo La La!

Most people Spring clean. I Fall build. I don't know what it is about the Fall, but I suddenly get the urge to build items for my home. I'm not sure if it's the nesting instinct left over from having my last three children born in the Fall months. Or if it's the desire to have a nice home for the holidays. Or maybe, I no longer feel the need to work on outside projects, so I can devote my time and energy to the inside of my home. Whatever the reason, I have the urge to Fall build.
And so it was on Saturday.

I went into my garage and found an old door
that I bought months ago at a thrift store.(You see those french doors? I have plans for them too.
Won't they look great on a garden shed?
That project will have to wait until next Spring)

My trusty assistant (aka: hubby) cut the door in half,
leaving the vintage doorknob,
and reattaching the hinges.In the meantime, I sanded some metal legs
that we bought months ago
at that big blue box store that sells Swedish furniture.
The legs needed to be sanded
in preparation for their makeover.Then I primed them with a good primer.Next came a few coats of satin black.I sanded the door where there were chips and dings.

The sanding uncovered a few layers of paint.When the legs were dry,
we screwed them onto the door.

And voila! A beautiful desk was born! Don't those legs give it a French flair?It looks a bit like a grown up version of the tray
from my previous post.
I'm enjoying the combination of cream and black lately.
This beauty is going to find it's way
into the master bedroom.
I think I'm feeling a bedroom makeover coming on!

Table of Contents

Look at this lovely little table!

Can you guess what it's made from?Does the hole in the bottom corner give it away?For years it served as a short, four panel door
in someone's home.
It still has the original weathered stain.
I just stained it's top to match.
Don't you think it's a-door-able?

One of My Favorites

This is my favorite area in our kitchen. When we moved in, this corner housed a built in desk, with cabinets above. It took a few years for me to get brave enough to tear it all out (which, of course, I did while my husband was at work). When I took it out I had to learn how to do major sheet rock repair and how to tile the floor---and do it well enough to match the existing tile. I think that's one reason I like this corner. It was my schooling. Tackling it gave me the confidence to tackle many other home improvement projects.

The other reason that this is my favorite corner
would be this cabinet.

It took about two years to convince my husband that we could build it, even though we had already built a couple of other projects. I think that the wait actually made it all the better, because I was able to gather all the right items to re-purpose. I love the details we put into this cabinet, including the rope molding and the bead board backing. I love the finish I chose for it. I painted and distressed it and then I gave it a good waxing to protect the paint.

Now, I've got a test for you. . .

How many items were re-purposed
to make this cabinet?

One Last A-door-nment

After an entire week of posting bits and pieces of my backyard patio, you would think that I would finally show the finished project. That was the plan. However, my plans tend to change and include some additions. I decide to do "just one more thing." I had a contractor call it the "since you was up" syndrome---you know how when you get off the couch and someone says, "since you was up, can you do that too?"
On Saturday I was doing some rearranging and decided that I needed one more outdoor surface to decorate, but it also had to be functional. I went into the garage to look at my inventory. I came out with an old door (doesn't everyone have an inventory of old doors?), pre-painted stair balusters, leftover crown moulding, and a few pieces of lumber. Then I enlisted the help of my husband, who fortunately, was very willing to cooperate. He's such a good man!

We made a frame and attached the balusters.
We cut down the door to the right size
and nailed it onto the frame work.
We nailed the crown molding on flat against the frame.
I painted and distressed the door and molding.
And this is the finished project:
A tall sofa table/sideboard.
I promise that tomorrow I'll be ready
to show the finished porch project. . .maybe.

Outdoor Dining

Who doesn't enjoy eating outdoors in the summertime? It's one of those Norman Rockwell type memories---the happy family sitting around the picnic table, while dad, sporting an apron and chefs hat, stands proudly at the grill. Mom is smiling as she brings out the tray of condiments and delicious homemade salads. . .
That's not really the picture you'll see at my home. It's more like dad calling mom, who is shopping at the grocery store buying store made salads and other last minute picnic items. She answers the phone and hears, "Honey, pick up some more hot dogs, I just set the brats and burgers on fire and now all we have to eat is charcoaled meat."

Oh well, at least we built a great picnic table for those occasions. It's nice and big, measuring seven and half feet by three and a half. We covered the wood with galvanized sheet metal so that it's weather proof, although my husband jokes that in the noon day sun you can cook an egg on it while you're getting a suntan (that problem is easily solved with a table cloth).
Ahhhh, Summertime memories!

My Love of Doors Has Crept Outdoors!

One of the great things about a door is that you can close it to hide whatever unwanted site may be lurking on the other side. That's exactly what my outdoor doors do. The farthest door leads to our vegetable garden. I enjoy the yummy tomatoes our garden produces and I especially like the gourds, pumpkins and other decorative items it so willingly grows for me. However, our garden would never win a beauty contest, the prize for most supportive maybe, but not for beauty. The door hides it's flaws and gives the illusion of beauty.

The doors that need a fresh coat of paint (yes, it's on my list of things to do) help to hide a swing set. My kids are getting older, and some have moved away, but when we took a family vote about getting rid of the swings, they all voted to have them stay. Yeah, I've learned my lesson. Next time I'm not putting it to a vote! But in the meantime, the kids can still enjoy the swing set and I don't have to see it from my kitchen window. I have recently discovered only one problem with these doors, however. For some reason my eleven year old son had no clue that the glass could actually break. That's what he told me when I walked outside to discover the source of the crashing sound. Luckily the overgrown rose bush hides the broken glass. Now if I can just figure out how to hide the other flaws and weeds in my yard. . .

A Well Schooled Table

My favorite time of year is fall. With fall comes the beginning of school. I like school. I like everything related to school. I like school supplies. One of my favorite birthday gifts from my boys was a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils. My love of school led me to earn two college degrees in education, a bachelors degree in early childhood education and I stopped just short of getting my masters degree in special education. I taught special education until I retired to be a stay at home mom. One day, when my children no longer need me to be a SAHM, I want to go back to school. So it's no surprise that one of my favorite pieces of furniture, that we didn't build ourselves, is an old school table. This table is six feet long. I painted it an unusual shade of green, antiqued it, and I left all of the holes and dents and dings from years of students. I did remove all of the old wads of gum underneath though---you can take authenticity only so far. If you look carefully, at the end of the table, you can see the holes left from where the pencil sharpener sat.

This table was originally a hall table in our basement. But I liked it so much that I gave it a more prominent place in my living room. One day my mom asked, "Do you really think it goes there?" I nodded my head yes. Sure it's a different color than anything else in the room, and the style is different too. But it makes me happy and so it will stay, no matter what anyone says about it. Besides, I think it's a good thing to mix things up a little when it comes to the design of your home. I think your home should reflect you and your personality. And if you love something, it shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks.
Do you have a piece of furniture in your home that seems a little out of place to others, but you love it and display it proudly?

Window Storage

One of the first rooms that I began to demo was the half bath/laundry room. Originally there was a large cabinet with sink. The drawers on the cabinet would fall out every time you opened them, the woodwork was dark and the whole thing overwhelmed the room. I choose to replace it with a pedestal sink. I love pedestal sinks! They open up a small area because they don't take too much floor space and,in my opinion, they ooze with style and class. However, there was two drawbacks to my decision: 1- I would have to tile the floor where the cabinet was, and 2- I would need a place to store all of the necessities that are required in a bathroom.
Tiling the floor was easy. I had already taught myself how when I did my first cabinet tear out in the kitchen. We were fortunate enough to have boxes of left over tile when we bought the house. It's tricky to match someone else's tile job, especially when they did it the old fashioned way using mesh screen instead of cement board. The advantage is that I now know two techniques for tiling. A girl can never have too much home improvement knowledge!
To solve the lack of storage, we built this cute little cabinet using an old window as the door. I painted and distressed it so that it has the look of something that you'd find in a great-great-grandmother's home. As you can see, it fits perfectly next to the sink and is just the right size for holding bathroom essentials.

A Sofa Table That's So Good

This little table sits behind the sofa in our family room (I moved it out to take the picture). It wasn't a very complicated build. The legs are stair balusters turned upside down. The top is strips of old reclaimed wood and the skirting is upside down baseboard. It's a light weight table that's just the right size and height.

Chic Sink

When we moved into our home, the laundry room housed a big industrial cast-iron sink on a metal stand. Now I know that many women would be thrilled to have a big ol' sink in their laundry room, and honestly, I can appreciate the industrial look, but this thing was hideous!!! It would be great out in a garage for washing automotive parts and greasy hands (we actually saved it with that in mind) but, I wanted my laundry room to look nice, not like an auto shop. I've been known to make unpleasant looking things look good, but even if I put a gorgeous skirt on this sink to hide the metal legs, it would still look like a really ugly cross-dresser. So there was only one alternative---Remove and Replace!
We found a nice, little but deep, stainless steel sink still in it's original cabinet at the thrift store. There was only one problem. When we placed the cabinet next to the tall washer and dryer it looked like a shrimp in a sea of whales. So I began to dream up a design. I was inspired by the look of old, thick butcher block tables. We had the leftover table top from this project, so we only needed to buy a small amount of wood. I had two used stair newel posts, in my supply of "stuff", that we turned upside-down for the front legs. We added a decorative piece to the front. I painted, glazed, and polyed. And now we have a sink that's original, pretty (can you call a sink pretty?) and it holds it's own next to the tall washer and dryer.

A Table A-door-ned

I know, I know, your rolling your eyes and wondering just how many versions of the word "adore" I can use as a pun to describe my furniture made from doors! You're also probably wondering what this table has to do with a door. Actually it has to do with TWO doors.
I wanted a square table, but I couldn't justify the price especially when we already had a perfectly good, boy-proof table. So I began the plan of building one; we could use the legs from our old table, cut and rebuild the frame and then all we would need to purchase would be the wood for the top. However, after pricing wood I thought that even that brilliant idea was too costly. I put the idea in the back of my mind, where many of my ideas reside, until the day my hubby and I were shopping at a thrift store. I saw some brand new solid doors and declared, "Here's our table!" Of course my husband thought I was nuts, and so did everyone who heard me, but then he caught up with my racing brain and agreed it was a great way to accomplish my plan.
We purchased two doors, cut off the sides to eliminate the hinge and doorknob holes, cut each down to size, then we glued and affixed the two together. We added molding to the edges, then I stained and painted. The chairs remain in the original finish because I kind of like the juxtaposition (I always wanted to use that word) of the light chairs with the dark table. I may decide one day to change that, but not any time soon.
I love my table, and I'm happy that I didn't spend a lot of money because it has now sustained some injuries as a result of my youngest son carving into it while doing his homework. But even that adds to the story of the a-door-ned square table.