The Barn Workshop-DIY Series – Country Design Home

Feb 18, 2014

French Lavender Side Table-Ooh-la-la!!

Writer’s Note: I am excited to share that my little French Lavender Table Transformation was featured as an Editor’s Pick on BlogHer!! To view that post, click here:

As featured on BlogHer

Now, onto the transformation! With some pieces of old furniture, I choose the style and color of the makeover according to my needs. Some pieces tell me what they need to be. This little table needed to be the center of attention in a lovely lavender French boudoir.

We purchased it at auction and I could have chosen to paint it red or black or green, but Behr Lavender Lily seemed to be just the perfect, soft color for this delicate little beauty. Here is the how-I-did-it:

1. Cleaned and lightly sanded the entire piece. It was pretty dusty and dirty and topless-must have been a long, crazy trip from Paris!

2. The base coat of paint was quite adhered and sturdy other than a few chipped edges, so I just sanded them, added a primer for the top and simply painted over it. Look at the sculpted details here!

First 2 coats, Behr Lily Lavender.

So soft and pretty!

3. Added a glaze of Behr Ridge View paint mixed with Martha Stewart Glaze Effects to highlight all of the exquisite detail on the legs, drawer and back.

I mixed it together in a 4 to1 ratio (glaze to paint) then painted it on (working in small sections because it dries pretty quickly),

then wiped it off, leaving the glaze where I wanted it to remain as a highlight.

Allowed the piece to dry.

4. In the past, I have used waxed paper for my transfers, but this time I tried freezer paper instead.

The freezer paper is a little heavier and easier to work with than the waxed paper. There are two sides, a matte side and a shiny “plastic-coated” side.

You want to print the graphic (thanks, Graphics Fairy : ) on the shiny side, in reverse! In this case, I wanted to use a small graphic to decorate the center of the table top, so I would be able to place things on it without completely hiding the picture.

5. Once printed, allowed to dry for a short time. DO NOT TOUCH IT or it will smear. Lightly dampened the painted surface.

DO NOT OVER-DAMPEN

or the graphic will come out all smeary and then you have to wipe it off and repaint it and start over again. Ok, well, that happened to me. More than once. So DON’T DO THAT.

6. Gently and carefully placed the graphic straight down onto the surface, then affixed with painter’s tape to create a “hinge” at the top.

This allows you to check your progress without moving the graphic around and messing up the picture. WARNING: you only get one shot at this. If you attempt to moved the transfer around once it has touched the painted surface, you will need to start over. Ok, well that happened to me too. More than once. So DON’T DO THAT.

7. Once the transfer had successfully landed on my piece, I used a blunt object to rub the surface using firm pressure. I used the back of a spoon but I have seen others using credit cards (I prefer to use those at HomeGoods).

This takes a minute or so to complete the transfer. Just keep rubbing all over, and check periodically by lifting the corner and then placing back down in the exact same spot. Hence, the tape hinges. Removed the paper from the design once I was happy with the transfer. Allowed to dry.

8. Once the piece had dried, I applied a coat of Fidde’s Supreme Wax

to protect the entire piece and provide a nice, glowing finish. Wiped it on, buffed it off with a soft cloth.

9. Drilled the hole for the antique brass pull

and Ooh-la-la!

My new precious French Provincial side table is magnifique!? Oui? This technique is pretty fool-proof as long as you allow time to dry between steps and follow the transfer instructions. But, before you transform a piece, make sure you really look at it to decide what it needs to be. Have a Bon Mardi, everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, Color Class, Inspiration, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, The Barn Workshop-DIY Series · Tagged: Behr Lavender Paint, Behr Ridge View Paint, bobvila, French Lavender Side table, Martha Stewart Glaze Effects, printing french graphics with printer, refurbishing a small table, transferring french typography, transferring graphics onto wood table

Feb 8, 2014

LOVE-ingly Restored Hope Chest

By countrydesignhome · 7 Comments

Back when I was a little girl, hope chests were a thing.

The only company I was aware of that built them was Lane-they made cedar hope chests in different furniture styles as the trends changed, but the interiors remained the same. They were deep, cedar-lined chests where a girl could store her “betrothed” collection.

After all, hope chests were used to gather and store a young woman’s wedding dowry- you know, that whole love and marriage thing. The definition of a hope chest, according to Wikipedia: “A hope chest, dowry chest, cedar chest, or glory box is a chest used to collect items such as clothing and household linen, by unmarried young women in anticipation of married life” As a high school graduation gift, each girl in my school received a miniature hope chest-apparently our goal was to find a prince charming and get married.

Photo Courtesy of Allee Willis Museum Of Kitsch

The heck with that college stuff! How times have changed, fortunately. Fast forward a few decades, when I discovered this now un-used and un-loved, divorced-from-its-owner, Lane Mid-Century-Modern Style Hope Chest at our local Salvation Army.

It had definitely seen better days, and reeked of stale cigarette smoke. Back in the 50’s and 60’s, everyone smoked, so pretty much any vintage pieces from that time period will likely have that lovely Eau Du Lucky Strike Scent. “It’s Toasted” is an understatement…

Lucky Strike Poster via JVoyage Etsy

This piece took quite awhile to transform, as I pretty much had to prep every surface, both inside and out. Here is the how-I-did-it:

1.Removed top from base. The top was in the worst shape and needed a complete stripping and refinishing job.

The plan was to paint and glaze the base, but to refurbish the top back to its original glowing cherry finish. I used this Motsenbocker’s Gel Stripper (yet another water-based, green product for us DIY’ers : )According to the directions, you paint it on, wait 5-10 minutes then scrape off the old paint or varnish. Repeat if necessary.

It took three coats of this, then a damp sponging before it was completely cleaned and prepped for a new finish. But it was well worth the wait. The wood was absolutely stunning!

For the finish, I used General Finishes Water-Based Brown Mahogany Wood Stain

Painted it on with a sponge brush, wiped it off with a rag.

Two coats for the proper depth of color. Look at the richness of the color!

For the top coat, I used General Finishes Satin Poly-Acrylic Blend.. Three coats, with a light sanding with steel wool in between. The more I use them, the more I love these General Finishes Water-Based products. Easy application, much less odor, gorgeous durable finishes, dries fast, super easy to clean up and safer for the environment. Win,win! I also used this to paint any unsealed exterior wood to make sure the stale smoke scent was gone.

2. The base required a good cleaning and light sanding just to remove any loose particles and dust. I painted it with two coats of paint: Behr Ashwood

This is a very pale greenish taupe color, in keeping with the 50’s when avocado green was all the rage. I then added second, lighter coat of the Ashwood mixed with some Glidden Antique Beige. This is another “go-to” neutral I keep on hand to use as a base color or to mix with other colors. It is a soft, creamy beige with a hint of pink. Pretty.

To define the insides of the trim squares, I added a glaze of the slightly darker Behr Ashwood mixed with Martha Stewart Glaze Effect. You mix them together in a bowl, using a 5 to 1 ratio of glaze to paint. The more paint, the darker the glaze, so you can adjust it according to your needs.

Painted it just inside the squares

then wiped it off to the edges to just leave a hint of color behind to enhance the trim.

Then the entire base was finished with Fiddes & Son Superior Wax.

I find the simplest way to use this product is to brush or wipe it on, allow to dry for a few minutes. Then I take my little Black and Decker Mouse Sander (without the sand-paper!) and then buff it using a pad of folded soft fabric.

Quick and easy on the elbows and leaves a perfectly smooth finish.

3. The lining inside the drawer was some old rotted, smelly green felt. I just wet it down, then scraped it out.

In its place went some vintage ads and news articles

I affixed with Americana Deco-Page Matte Finish Gel.

4. The drawer pulls were dark and tarnished, but they were solid brass. I just didn’t have the heart to paint them, as I had originally intended! So I soaked them in acetone (that’s nail polish remover, folks)

to remove the lacquer coating, scrubbed with some steel wool and then cleaned them with Brasso polish. Gorgeous and shiny again, they are shaped like little bows and now pop against the Ashwood paint.

5. The little brass feet on the bottom of the legs were also quite tarnished. For this I dipped the steel wool in some acetone and wiped until they were clean, then polished them as well.

(Note the heavy rubber gloves. Also note that I am not working in the basement, but in a well-ventilated dining room with the window open and the fan blowing. Which is better for my health, but let’s just say that my dining room is no longer suitable for dinner guests-takeout, anyone?)

6. Amazingly, the interior of the hope chest was in perfect condition, even down to the little key. You can see by the sign that this one was built in 1957, true Mid Century Modern style, and comes with a $500 moth damage guarantee! I wonder if that is still in play…

So now, the little Mid-Century Hope Chest that looked like this

looks like this-not bad for 50 years old!

If you are interested, you will find it at the Vintage Thymes Monthly Market today,

awaiting some love-struck young bride-to-be to fall in love with it and bring it home to start her dowry-which nowadays is more likely to include an MBA and a 401K than a linen tablecloth and lingerie. But it would make a great storage chest or console table as well! Since this is LOVE post #7, and it is actually day 8, I will be sharing another project later on today. In the meantime, have a hopefully fun-filled weekend, everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, The Barn Workshop-DIY Series · Tagged: Behr Paint, bobvila, Cedar Chest Refinished, General Finishes, how to refinish cherry furniture, Lane Hope Chest, Martha Stewart, Mid Century Modern Chest, Mid Century Modern Furniture

Feb 7, 2014

LIVE, LOVE, JUNK @ Vintage Thymes Market

By countrydesignhome · Leave a Comment

This is post #6-sorry I am running late but I spent yesterday running back and forth to Norwood to set up my booth at the Vintage Thymes Monthly Market! This month’s market is all about LOVE. From the lovely vintage hot chocolate stand,

to the transformed vintage tin ceiling panel turned LOVE sign

and even an “Over You” Voodoo Doll or two-so funny!

There are gorgeous painted pillows and button pillows…

and more LOVE pillows-each one unique, just like our LOVE (ew, too corny?)

And signs, lots of signs! One of my favorite James Taylor songs

and this sweet little tray would make the perfect gift for your favorite Valentine.

These are some of the prettiest mason jars I have seen yet-gotta PIN those to my A-Mason Jar Collection.

A harbinger of spring things to come-happy, happy daffodills: )

In my booth you will find the Antiqued Mirror (hmmm, it looks pretty nice on that commode, maybe it won’t sell and I can redecorate a room around it…)

and this mid-century-modern Lane Hope Chest that I just refinished. DIY blog to follow.

My sweet little lavender table- remember the before?

So this is the after. In a nod to Pantone’s color of the year, Radiant Orchid, I added my own touches of lavenders.

Every time I walk through the market prior to opening day, I am always blown away by the talent and creativity of the collective artisans who share this space.

And I have been so happy and proud to be a part of such an amazing group. But, alas, this LIVE, LOVE, JUNK market will be my final one at Vintage Thymes. You see, Coach and I are really, really tired (we are kind of old…) of lugging furniture and packing and sorting and tagging and oh, did I say, lugging furniture back and forth. This was yesterday’s mileage: A collective 3.5 hours of driving.

And you won’t believe what the inside of my poor car looks like : ( Not sure what we are going to do with the barn full of stuff I have waiting to be transformed. Hoping to find a venue a little bit closer to home sometime soon. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be heading back down to Vintage Thymes the second weekend of every month to FIND WHAT YOU LOVE AND LOVE WHAT YOU FIND-love that sign!!

So hurry on over to Vintage Thymes- we open at 9! Hope you have a “find what you love” kind of Friday, everyone! XOXOXO Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, The Barn Workshop-DIY Series · Tagged: Country Design Home Vintage Thymes, Junk, Live, LOVE, Vintage Market, vintage shop in Norwood, Vintage Thymes, Vintege Thymes Monthly Market

Feb 1, 2014

Vintage LOVE Sign

By countrydesignhome · 9 Comments

In this month of openly-proclaimed all things LOVE, I am celebrating by posting a new LOVE sign or picture each day until February 14th, Valentine’s Day. Some will be images and ideas I have found on the web that I would love to share, some are my own creations, like this reclaimed wood plank with LOVE letters spelled out in shutter slats and the “O” from an old mason jar top. Hope you love it!

I created this using a reclaimed wooden plank, some paint, glue, reclaimed vintage shutter slats and an old mason jar lid. Here is the “how-I-did-it”:Painted two coats of Annie Sloan French Linen chalk paint. This is my go-to neutral that I use for so many projects!

Stenciled the background with Behr Gulf Winds

in an all-over stencil pattern to give the piece a “wallpaper” effect.

The blue I chose matched closely to the hue of the mason jar top. Isn’t it just the soothingest color?

Once the paint was dry, I sanded everything to distress the top and edges

and then added a coat of Fidde’s Paste Wax to give the board a glowing effect.

Cut the shutter slats into the letters necessary to spell out LOVE-without the “o”.

Coach initially cut them with the chop saw, but I discovered that these are easily cut with just a razor box cutter. They are pretty old and brittle, so it didn’t take much effort at all.

I glued the letters to the board with Gorilla Glue. Just as an FYI, their label was one of the few I looked at during my freak-out session while writing “The Dangers of DIY” that says their product is non-toxic and has no harmful chemicals or odors.

High five, Gorilla Glue!

Just painted the glue on the back of each piece, placed them into position and then weighted them down with some books and cans of paint and left overnight to ensure the proper bonding.

Add the “O”. Hot glue worked well for this.

Just glued all around the edges, pressed it down onto the board to complete the sign.

To hang it, I used a couple of tiny rings and some wire. The board was quite thin, so most of the screws and nail hangers I had were too long.

This worked great because the sign is very light and won’t stretch out the wire. So this is the before:

And this is now: Do you LOVE it?!?

If you have a LOVELY craft, idea or recipe to share, please send it to me @ countrydesignhome@gmail.com and I will add you to my LOVE collection. Hope you have a lovely Saturday! Susan

Filed Under: The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, The Barn Workshop-DIY Series, Views From My Back Porch · Tagged: Annie Sloane French Linen Chalk Paint, Behr Paint, bobvila, LOVE, painted LOVE sign, painted valentines day sign, rustic wood LOVE sign, Valentines Day sign, Valentines Sign, vintage love sign

Jan 30, 2014

Antiqued Mirror on the Wall

By countrydesignhome · 8 Comments

Who’s the fairest (and most rustic, vintage and gorgeous!) of them all? This mirror was another “throw-away” Coach found “somewhere”. I don’t ask anymore. It’s like a magic cupboard-I need something, I open up the barn door and voila! Instant DIY subject! Today’s project was this old, dirty, chipping and peeling dark brown mahogany mirror. Despite it’s sorry, drab exterior in dire need of some TLC, the actual structure itself was totally solid and quite heavy, I might add. I transformed it from this in a few simple, easy steps.

Here is the How-I-Did-It: 1. Cleaned the mirror and frame thoroughly with heavy duty cleanser. The mirror is not in perfect condition, but that’s fine by me. Adds to the charm, and it stills reflects the light, which is most important. Lightly sanded the frame just to remove any loose particles of old varnish.

2. Primed with Gripper by Glidden. LOVE this stuff. Seals in stains, odors, evens the color and preps the wood to accept the topcoat.

3. Painted with one coat of Glidden Antique Beige

that I added my “chalk-like-paint” mixture to. It is a nice, soft, matte finish that accepts glazes and waxes very well. That recipe here:

4. Added the unfinished medallion to the top for detail.

I purchased this one at Michaels for a couple of bucks. Just glued it on with Gorilla Glue . You have to brush it on, then weight it down

and wait until it’s dry to ensure a good solid bond. Then I painted it with the same Glidden top coat and allowed to dry.

5. Lightly sanded the whole mirror frame and detail to expose some of the dark wood beneath.

6. Painted on this Antique Wax in Scrub Pine from General Finishes. I like this one because you don’t have to work it in with a rag. You literally paint it on!

Brushed it on with a foam brush, then wiped off with a rag, leaving the dark wax in places to enhance all of the crevices and lines and detail.

It leaves some color, but it also adds a nice matte finish to the entire piece. Allowed to dry.

7. Scraped off the excess paint and stain insdie the frame of the mirror. Cleaned the mirror.

8. Here is the finished closeup of my antiqued mirror. I love it, but what do you think? Should I have left it alone or did I give this piece some love? (BTW, if anyone knows the trick to photographing mirrors without me being in the shot, I would love to hear it!!!)

This is a very simple DIY project, it just takes some time and a little patience to allow each layer to dry before adding the next. If you are thinking of trying this process, test it out on a sample piece of wood before taking on a big, detailed mirror or frame. But remember, it’s supposed to look old and messy, so perfection is not an option! Sometimes a little messy is a good thing… Hope you have a reflective Thursday, everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, My Little Red House, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, The Barn Workshop-DIY Series · Tagged: Antiqued Painted Mirror, bobvila, Country Design Antique Mirror, General Finishes Wax, Glidden Antique Beige Paint, Glidden Gripper, Michaels Crafts, Painted Mirror

Jan 14, 2014

Vintage Butcher Block Table

By countrydesignhome · 7 Comments

Yet another DIY project to share. This butcher block table was actually in two pieces-the bottom had been kicking around the barn loft for the past 15-20 years, and the top was a throw-away Coach picked up over the summer at a yard sale.

The bottom looked like this:

The top looked like this:

And now the whole piece looks like this!

I started with the base, painting it in my favorite dark charcoal gray home-made chalk-like paint.

You can find that recipe here. Then I sanded down the edges, added a glaze finish with Martha Stewart Antique Glaze mixed with Madagascar Mocha Couture Paint.

The glazing technique is so simple: Mix the glaze and paint together, paint it on your piece,

then wipe it off where you don’t want it.

Allowed the entire base to dry. Finished with a coat of Fidde’s Soft Wax, which gives it a nice glowing finish.

The top required a bit more elbow grease and some heavy implements.

I wanted to rough it up just a bit to give it a more “antiqued” appearance, but since there will be food prep on it, I didn’t want it to be so rustic as to have holes in it where food could get caught!

Used a chain, a hammer and a screwdriver and just banged it around a bit. (I wonder why my hands are so cracked and bleeding…) Since I wanted this to be a food safe butcher block top, but also wanted a shade or two darker, I attempted a technique I had found online: staining with brewed coffee grounds.

Really didn’t work out too well, but it smelled great! The butcher block top is finished with Howard Butcher Block Conditioner. This is a product that I picked up at Home Depot -its FDA food safe-perfect!

To secure the top to the base, I used some old black iron decorative brackets Coach got from somewhere…(seems to be a recurrent theme, right? I tell him what I need, he finds it.)

The brackets were a little too black and “new-looking”, even though they are pretty old, so I sprayed them with Rustoleum Gray gloss paint,

but that was a bit too shiny, so I resprayed them with Rustoelum soft flat iron black spray paint.

to complement the antiqued gray base color. I found that the simplest way to attach the top to the base was to place it on top, measured the four corners to ensure they were evenly spaced,

marked the holes with a sharpie, (apologies for the blurry pic-too much leftover coffee, perhaps?)

then drilled starter holes for the screws,

flipped the top upside down and secured the brackets to the underside of the top.

Slipped the top back onto the base and secured it with screws. For the embellishments, I added this cool, rustic, vintage, winged front piece to be used as a towel or utensil hanger.

I am told it was the handle to an old wood planer. These side pieces

are old window lock parts.

Perfect for hanging a pot or pan with an “s” hook. Old wooden rulers are kind of a thing right now, so I added one from “A.J. Wilkinson, The Oldest Hardware Company in Boston” across the front (perfect for measuring out dough!) and secured it with some rustic corner brackets to give it industrial “old general store” kind of vibe. Then I rubbed that with the Howard Butcher Block Conditioning to finish it.

Done and ready for some butchering, or pie-making, or whatever. But it won’t be in my kitchen, or my daughter’s (sorry, Kate-I promise I will make you another one), because it was sold this past weekend at the Vintage Thymes Monthly Market-yay! And, if you are in the market for an old wooden ruler, drop me a line. Since I mentioned to Coach that I needed a few, he’s been on the lookout, and now I have an immeasurable amount to choose from!

Have a “block-buster” Tuesday everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, The Barn Workshop-DIY Series · Tagged: butcher block table vintage, country design butcher block table, country design table, country style butcher block, Home Depot, Howard Butcher Block Conditioning, Martha Stewart Antique Glaze, Paint Couture, retro butcher block, vintage butcher block table

Nov 13, 2012

Wrapping It Up!

By countrydesignhome · 50 Comments

Last year Coach and I converted our deck into a screened-in porch, which was simply awesome. No more buggy nights, or rainy afternoons when we couldn’t use the deck for anything other than furniture storage!

Since we had decorated it with quite a few pieces of antique wicker, I decided to “shrink-wrap” it to prevent any winter weather from ruining our newest addition. We used thin plastic sheeting and some lathing strips and tacked it up all the way around. Functional, not very pretty and it wasn’t very transparent, it flapped in the wind (which drove me crazy!) and the plastic kept ripping away from the lathing. Uggh. So this year I decided to get a more permanent wrap, something we could re-use each season. I went online to purchase a custom porch weather-proofing system, only to find the prices @ $1500.00 and up, to be a bit exhorbitant. Sooo, this past weekend’s project was weather-proofing the porch, country design home style! With this how-to video on You Tube as my guide, we began the laborious task of wrapping it up!

The supplies: 20 gauge clear vinyl (heavy enough to withstand the winds and rain, clear to let in the light) and 2″ white Duck Tape

Dritz 7/16″ steel grommets

5/16″ screw-eye hooks.

I measured each section, determining the placement for the grommets. Cut the vinyl, then wrapped the edges with the tape on both sides for extra stability, overlapping in the corners where the grommets will be installed.

Some sections had to be taped together, since the width of the vinyl is only 54″. That proved to be the most difficult part of this project, as the unrolled edges were a bit curled. You just have to smooth it as you go.

Mark the center holes for the grommets, cut out the circles and then hammer the grommet into place (this pounding away with a hammer activity is fun for anyone wanting to vent some anger or angst : ).

Hanging the large panels requires 2 people to make it level and install the screw-eyes.

The finished project : )

Hard, painstaking work, this easily took 20+ hours. The cost? All of the materials, with the exception of the screw-eyes ($5.19/50 @ Home Depot), were purchased at Joann’s using 60% coupons, of course! So the vinyl that normally would have been $7.99/yard became $3.20/yard and in total we will probably use 25 yards-so $80 + tax. The grommets, screws and tape totalled approximately $70, so the grand total (aside from the band-aids, the Motrin and a trip to the nail salon to repair that damage) comes to $150+ tax- one tenth of what the online estimate was! It wasn’t easy, but it looks great, the sun shines through year round AND we don’t have to pack away all of our deck/patio furniture-it just stays in place! And now we will have another functional space for the holidays- as long as you wear your winter coat and mittens : ) And remember, always measure 3X…cut once!! Susan