WINDOW FRAME MAKEOVER!

I bought about 5 of these HUGE window frames from someone on Craigslist who used them to display ornaments at the Christmas Show!

They have been sitting at my mom's house waiting for me to think of something to do with them!

After having a conversation with someone about decorating their mantel for christmas, I thought of these!  She has a huge stone fireplace and needed some decorating ideas! She needed something BIG that would stand out.  I immediately thought that THIS would be perfect!  After deciding on the color, I got to work!

I scraped and sanded a lot of the old paint off.  I didn't completely get it all off since I wanted an old, distressed look.  I wanted you to be able to see that there was some paint underneath.  The original latch was still in place as well as a sash on one side!  

There were some glass panes missing but I thought that just added to the character of this piece!

I used a antique white paint by Valspar and applied 2 coats.  After that dried, I went to work with sanding edges and corners.  I even scraped some of the paint back off in random areas.  This really gave it special touch!

To give it an even more distressed, old look, I used some glaze to fill in areas of scrapes and dents in the wood.  Glazing also catches in the corners and any grooves there are!  I love using this stuff.  You can get this at your local paint store.  I bought my mine at Lowes, and just choose the brown I wanted.  Basically, it's just watered down paint, which I might have to try and make myself next!  All you have to do is paint the glaze on, then using a clean, dry cloth, wipe off. Be careful not to wipe off completely in the corners or any of the places you want it to stick.  The glaze with "stain" the paint a little and give it a great look!

Valspar Signature
Tintable Glaze

I let the glaze sit for 24 hours then coated it with Polycrylic.

(I always have this on hand!)

The finished product after cleaning the glass, and decorating it up a little! I might just have to make one of these for me!!!

Salvation Army Rescue

I am so excited about my rescue from Salvation Army!!  I got this steal for only $40!  It was actually a real pretty piece as is, but the top needed a little help and the hardware had to go!  My intention all along was to paint it, but I had to figure out where in the house this would go because that would determine the color.  I didn't want to do black because I've already done that a few times and I wanted to try something different.  I wanted to try Annie Sloan's chalk paint since I've heard so many great things about it.  NO SANDING, NO PRIMING!!  That had me sold on trying it! 

I found a vendor that sold the good stuff and decided on my color.  I'm keeping this piece in my office where the walls are brown.  I have a rug that's brown with blue, gray swirls in it so I wanted a bluish color for the project! I chose the Duck Egg blue and bought both the clear and dark wax.  

           

THE BEFORE...

2 COATS OF DUCK EGG CHALK PAINT

SIDE VIEW- love the beadboard and scrolls on the side! 

As you may recall from the original photo, the two doors on the front have tin on them.  The paint just went right on and covered it beautifully!  No worries there.  This stuff sticks to ANYTHING!

The paint dries really fast, making this paint even better! 

I applied the clear wax in sections, using a clean, lint free cloth.  Apply in circles, just like waxing a car.  Once you do a small section, go back and buff the area.  That produces the nice sheen look!  It does take a while to do this step and you will get a arm, shoulder, and upper back workout as you do it!  BONUS!  

Apply the clear wax first then once that dries (24 hours later)  apply the dark wax.  The clear wax underneath makes the dark wax more workable.  Apply the dark wax in small sections as well, paying close attention to the little imperfections and dents in the wood.  The dark wax will make those areas more visible making it look more aged!  I love that!  I applied with dark wax with a small paint brush and just brushed it into the corners and across the surface. I used a little more in the corners to make it stand out. Using a clean, lint free cloth, wipe off the excess.   

If you have applied too much dark wax and it won't come off easily, use a little of the clear wax to "erase" it.  I did this on some of the flat surfaces like the top and fronts of the drawers.  I would recommend paying more attention to the corners and barely brushing across the flat surfaces.  You will brush the dark wax on then kind of spread it out with the cloth,  leaving more or less depending on the look you want!

 


After the dark wax had dried, ( a few hours) go back and buff all the surfaces with clean, dry cloth again, to make it a little shiny!  It will be beautiful.   

Now I have to find just the right hardware!!!
Happy Painting :-)

please feel free to comment with any questions you may have!  

I posted a link to Annie Sloan's website for a list of colors!
http://www.anniesloan.com/acatalog/paints.html

Guest Bathroom redo Part 1

Guest Bathroom Redo! 

This was one of the first projects I tackled when we moved into our new house!   I was so tired of looking at "builder grade" cabinets, mirrors, & countertops in the bathrooms.

So I had to do the easiest thing first... the cabinets! I had been experimenting with different kinds of paint.  I had previously used just regular latex paint, and now I wanted to try milk paint.  So out I went to get some black milk paint at a Woodcraft store in Matthews, NC.  

The paint went on pretty easily, had a flat finish, and left all the brush strokes.  Not to bad if you wanted that handpainted look, which I thought looked kind of old and vintage!  

                

I first sanded, primed, then painted 2 coats of black milk paint.  Then I had to distress all the corners and edges, to give it that aged look!  I focused a little more on the corners where it would normally be worn.  I didn't like the raw wood color coming through when I distressed, so I used a dark stain to those areas.  Now it looks great!  The last step was to clear coat the entire vanity.  I used Polycrylic satin finish to complete this look! 

Oh I almost forgot the most important part... I went to Target and bought a pack of these crystal knobs that make it look like a little antique cabinet and not just an ugly old plain vanity!

A Must have!

Stay tuned for the mirror redo...  I am working on that now and will post pics as soon as it complete! 

Wine Table!

How cute is this little wine table?!  Ok, you have to look beyond the gold

 trim on this thing!  I am planning to sand this puppy done and make it look completely 

different.  This cute piece has a small drawer, 2 solid shelves, and 2 wine racks that will hold 8 bottles.  I have this same exact piece in my dining room and I LOVE IT!  This one will be done in black, and it will be distressed!  Finished pictures will be posted soon!

a little black satin paint, distressing all the edges and WA-LA...

I did apply some dark stain to bare wood on the edges to darken it up a little. 

After completely dried, the entire piece got a coat of Polycrylic!

I love this piece and I am thrilled on how it went from real old and dingy to absolutley beautiful!

BEFORE

AFTER

I LOVE SPRAYPAINT

I love spraypainting the ugliness of all the brass in my house!  First to go was the towel rings and hooks in the master bathroom! They look fabulous.  After sanding them down, they were ready to be painted!  

  

Next up on my DIY list is all the ugly brass hinges and door knobs.  They look so much better and way more budget friendly! The door knobs were pretty easy.  The worst part is waiting for the paint to dry to put the knobs back on.  Once I did though, the transformation was incredible!  The hinges made a great impact also! I only took off one hinge off at a time on each door, so I wouldn't have to take down the doors.  I can't wait to get the whole house done!

               

And lastly, I couldn't stand looking at the brass/chrome combo light fixtures in the master bathroom.  I wish I had taken a before picture, so you could see what a dramatic transformation it was!  I didn't take down the fixtures, just removed all the glass globes and light bulbs, and taped up a bunch of newspaper around where I was spraypainting.  

These are not my favorite fixtures, but they are more tolerable now!  

My $7 can of spraypaint sure has gone a long way!  

( Oh I almost forgot... also painted the brass cabinets knobs in master bath and laundry room) 

old dark wood coffee table and end tables

I found these UGLY dark and beat up coffee table and end tables on craigslist!  They were a steal! They even had some awful floral design painted on each end of the coffee table.  I knew that I could make these beautiful!  They are solid wood with a great farmhouse look on the top! 

When I saw these tables, I thought...BLACK!!

        

Don't they look Awesome??

A couple coats of black paint, lightly distressed, then coated with polycrylic!