3 near finishes

Had a good week but couldn't quite finish the three projects I had going.  Best and first is the kitchen island cart. This was a kit I got from Wayfair at a  great price on Black Friday.  I prepainted all the parts before I assembled it. I just love it and all went smoothly until I tried to secure the top and couldn't. 

The back side has the drop leaf.  I plan on keeping my kitchen aid mixer, bread machine, food processor and blender in here along with smaller electrical items. for the kitchen. So just stopped until I have help. It needs someone adjusting at both ends at the same time. Remember my goal is to fill this house with color, color, color.

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So just stopped until I have help.  Then I moved on the console table on the entry wall.  It too was a win.  The metal supports and tiled top gave a whimsical touch and I even used old shutters for the ends.  Looks great but it needs another shelf so I had to stop until I could bring another piece of wood from the barn.. Cost was just the shelf supports.
Not only do I see this as storage for mail, keys, gloves, sunglasses etc.  but also storage for dog grooming supplies, games and playing cards, etc.  .  It is only 12" deep but 5' long.

 Then I tackled the old shutters to fill the gaping hole in that wall.... They come within 1/4" of a perfect fit and I need to trim the edge of one shutter.  I have to set up the table saw in the garage to do that but I just ran out of time and energy.  Next time ...a quick finish then.. Cost - $0

If you look closely at this picture of when we had a booth at flower shows, you will see part of one of these vinyl shutters behind DH's left shoulder.  They were part of the backdrop for our booths and have been languishing in the barn for 20 years.  Great to put them to a final use.

Now I' m moving on to the door to that bonus room and I did get it primed before I had to go home to the farm.


And I had to add a box under the old trunk but by golly Morris has a grand view of the neighborhood as it all passes by his perch and he loves it.  I think I will put a sign in the window that says  " If Morris is watching, give him a wave!!!"

The barn and Amazon - what a combo

Morris has his bench at the farm where he can see out the window and watch the birds . He keeps trying  to look out the window at the new house so one of my objectives today was to find something I could  put a cushion on  so he could see out the window in the new house.

I had to go out to the barn anyway to look for wood and I found this old trunk   in pretty bad shape. It is quite large and very heavy.  I had to pry the lock to even get in into it.  It was lined with paper that was a little yucky but under the paper the wood was fine. It is made of wood covered with metal that was quite rusty in spots. So with some steel wool, elbow grease, and bleach I should be able to make a perch for Morris with it. I believe it is an old metal military foot locker... probably from WWII.  I have no idea how long it has been in the barn or how it got there. But I really need it about 4 in higher so I went on Amazon and found some wooden legs for it.    It will fill the bill until we actually move in February and it's free.....free is good.

 

  And I liked the look of this piece on Pinterest  that had iron work on it  and filed it away.  I do have a piece of old wrought iron fencing that I could use but if you put the iron in the front you can't have a shelf and if you put the iron in the back you can't see it. Since this has to have storage value I have to have the shelf.  So I thought if I could find some decorative iron metal legs and some decorative metal shelf supports  I think I can come close to that look.  I love the old boards on top but I love my tiled board more.  So I once again went searching on Amazon.

 

The nice thing about Amazon is that they show you what other people bought or things that are similar and I always find things just about the same  but cheaper which appeals to my thrifty nature.  First I had just looked at one shelf support for $30 t and then I found four for the same price and then four for $15. I spent a little more than $30 for four legs and four supports and I think it's going to work.

I'm still cleaning the tiled board and I found some old boards for the ends and the shelf.  I may even be able to work in a shutter or two.  When it is all done it will definitely be a OOAK entry piece...

 

Many irons in the fire!!!!

I'm not all that keen on the open concept that is so popular now. In every home makeover show they knock down the wall between the kitchen and the main living area... In earlier days only the wealthy had separate dining rooms and everyone else just ate in their kitchen. Then when people became more affluent they had separate dining rooms like the wealthy.

 

 Now everyone wants to eat in the kitchen again. Personally I like having my eating area separated from my kitchen when I have company. Maybe it's only me but when I am doing serious cooking I make a big mess and I'm glad to sit someplace where my guests can't see the kitchen.  In the new house when you walk in the front door you have a clear sight line to the kitchen counter. I'm going to try to break this line of sight with a divider of some kind using all my stained glass I gathered together.

 

That old tiled shelf from the barn I hauled over the other day is going to work just fine near the entry area when I figure out how I'm going to add a shelf.  At least it is the right length and depth.   And the shutters that I was going to use in the big open hole in the bonus room wall  are also going to work nicely just as well.  They are just 1/2" from being a perfect fit... lucky me. I salvaged the shutters from a display unit we used when we did a booth at shows. I love to be able to repurpose something I already have.   So things are going along quite well on all projects. I really wanted a door on that bonus room but the opening is 36" wide and such a big door would be awkward.  I originally wanted to bring the bathroom door from farm but it is only 30" wide and using it requires some extensive framing.  So I have settled on using a bi-fold closet door and will paint on it....maybe a farm landscape with sheep!!!  It will be delivered next week.  Hopefully by then the kitchen island will be done.

 

 I finished  painting the drawer fronts of the island today and I'm happy with all the little bees. Since painting is difficult now I have to settle for a more rustic (folk art) look to my work. The end of painting on the kitchen island is in sight and I will soon be able to assemble all the parts.  It has turned into a much larger project than I envisioned....which  seems to be the norm as I get older. 

 

And today when I put up a white mirror in the bathroom the counter did not seem as gray. It actually looks more steely blue. After it was up I realize I put it at a comfortable height for me....5'1" so a really tall person is going to have to stoop to see themselves because I am not changing it.  "short person revenge".  I still haven't got the border up in the bathroom as I'm a little nervous about being there by myself on a ladder. I'm waiting for someone to come and hold the ends of the wet border for me and hand me what I need so I don't have to climb up and down so many times...... 

I have really done nothing in the one room that will be my workroom as I am waiting for the internet to be installed in there.  I did assemble two storage cabinets except for the doors as they are easier to move without the doors.  I have started to bring some stuff over but it is still in baskets in the closet.  CenturyLink has made two appointments to install the internet and did not show up for either.  So any real progress in that room is on hold for now.

Not my home without a sampler

Anyone following this blog over the years has seen my collection of samplers show up in photo after photo.  Most were stitched in the 60s and 70s and have moved from house to house over the years.  I have given most away and this fall sent one to GD Leigha and gave two more to DIL this last visit.






They were hung here and there as I did not have a wall large enough for all of them   in the farm house but I do have a lovely large wall in the new house.












So last week I took them all down and cleaned them and made any necessary repairs to the backing,  Then I loaded all my favorites  in laundry baskets and spent the day rehanging them.

I always start organized when I do this and lay them all out on the floor like I would like them on the wall.  But as always, after the 3rd or 4th one goes up the plan goes awry but somehow it works out in the end.

Years ago I learned the best thing to hang them on with the least amount of damage to the wall are sewing machine needles.  They are strong and if you need to move them the hole is almost invisible.  And it does takes several tries on some of them.

















 It to almost three hours and they still need a bit of straightening and tweaking but they are up. Most of the time was spent getting up and down the ladder.   But this is the last time I'll move them and they're an important part of what makes a house "my" home.  I did also get another wedding ring quilt up on the living room window this time. Today I am off to get some additional base cabinets and start looking at possibilities for new countertops.  This will be my biggest splurge.

Going gypsy chic!!!

 I can't believe I didn't blog a picture of my little drop leaf table when I finished it about a year ago but have searched photo files and blog to no avail....   I had some problems with using the tiny stencils but since I was going for an "well-used" look, it really didn't  matter. "Well-used" is my go-to-look for everything now that the vision is such a huge problem.   I posted a photo of the top but not the legs when I finished.


I didn't really have a plan and made it up as I went along.  It is very light weight and easy to move about when I have to vacuum.  Mostly DH has his reading material and wine on it but it is small enough that it doesn't get out of hand.

I started with this small drop leaf table from the barn which had seen better days.  I did have to modify some hardware from Amazon to work with the leaves on  such a small table.

And my basic color palette was rust, sage, and mustard and I was really happy with it....so happy
that it is the basic palette I am using for the new house and many items have been ordered ... storage cabinet, bathroom cabinet, kitchen island cart, etc. and they will all follow this palette and have decorative painting on them. They all have to be assembled so I will do most of the painting before I put them together.  It will be at least 2 months before we can actually move so there will be time to do a lot of fun stuff.

I have always been in love with gypsy wagons and now this is my last chance to go "gypsy chic"

But mine will have a lot more white included.  I want lots and lots of patterns and color but enough white for light... Now doesn't this sound like fun.