Repurposing Old Doors

Last month I showed you the old door I found for our family room.

While I am perfectly happy with the unadulterated architectural element it brings to the room, some people have higher aspirations for their doors.

Here are some ideas I saw on Pinterest for repurposing old doors:

Use them to make an arbor.

I love this idea of putting your house numbers on one.

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Make a chalk board.



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Or how about a clock?

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Doors make great potting benches.

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Or space dividers -- this one is outside on a patio.

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A bookshelf.

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A headboard.

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And I just love this room.  The doors make a perfect divider and backdrop!

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Elegant,

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0r rustic --

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What's not to love about a great old door?!







Leaving a Mess Behind

I have furniture piling up in my living room. In my dining room. My garage and my basement.

One side of my living room.

And am I ready for Lucketts yet?  Heck no.

So what am I doing?  Heading out of town.

This trip back home wasn't planned for this month. I was going to go back in June. But I have a sick cousin whom I'm close to whose health is failing fast.  He's in home hospice, and I feel like now is the time to go see him.

So I'm taking off for a week and leaving this mess behind.
 

My latest completed project.

Luckily my husband doesn't mind maneuvering around furniture pieces while I'm gone and we don't use the living room much.

Another shot of the living room.

Will I get everything done?  We'll see. 

In the long run does it matter if I don't have everything done I want to do?  No.

It's times like this that pull you up short and remind you what is truly important. 

I know I won't be living like a hoarder forever.  But I won't get a second chance to say goodbye to someone I love.
 
When I get back I'll jump right back into painting mode. 
 
I have a post ready for next week, and I'll check in once I get back.  Have a great weekend you all!

Lucketts Blog Feature & Plodding Along

Yesterday I was excited to see that I was one of the vendors featured on the Lucketts blog.  Guess I can't back out now! (Just kidding!)

 

 

If you haven't heard, there will be a Hometalk meet-up at this year's Lucketts Market, featuring Donna from Funky Junk Interiors and Karen, aka The Graphics Fairy.  I hope I get a chance to swing by and check it out, but if you're in the area you really shouldn't miss it!

My living room (the Lucketts holding area) is filling up, and I'm focusing on getting as much done as I can this week, since I have to be out-of-town next week.

Right now I'm working on this dresser, which I hope to show you in a couple of days.

Its an old Eastlake style dresser that I found on Craigslist. Here's what the hardware looks like.

I have two other projects going at the same time, so I'd better get back to work!

Hope you all have a great week!

Two More Table Makeovers

Here's some more table talk.  I told you Tuesday that I've been knocking out tables for Lucketts.  Here are two more.

As you can see, I didn't take the time to style these photos -- I'm moving and grooving people!  I'm deep into painting mode, which I have to be if I want to get enough done for the Market.

Here's the before of the first table.

I sanded down the top to reveal the beautiful wood inlay.

Now, I'm not a talented enough furniture refinisher to be able to stain each of the inlays individually, and I didn't want to lose the differentiation of the sections.  So after sanding I just used Howard Restore-A-Finish in walnut on the top. It gave it a bit of color, but not so much that it covered up the inlays.

I painted the base in ASCP Old White and distressed it.

Wax and a pull from Hobby Lobby finished the piece.

I didn't get a before photo of this coffee table, but just imagine your basic 70's wood finish.

I painted the base and part of the top of the table in ASCP Old White.

The two squares on the top were done in ASCP Coco.

For this one I used a stencil that picked up on the square detail, and went well with the neoclassical look of the hardware, which I was keeping.

I used the stencil across the entire top of the table.

I lightly distressed the piece and sealed it with Ce Ce Caldwell's wax.

 

Now it's ready to join the pieces in my living room, aka "The Lucketts holding area!"

One of these days I'll have the house back in order ... but for now it's on to the next piece.  :)




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Elizabeth & Co.: Be Inspired

Painting Tables and Lucketts Market Anxiety

Furniture piling up in the living room ... check.  Painting from morning to night ... check.  Messy house where nothing else is getting done ... check. Nightmares about an empty booth ... check.

Ah yes, Lucketts anxiety has totally settled in!

Last year was my first year at Lucketts, and even though I busted my butt in the weeks leading up to it, I did not bring enough inventory.  By Sunday my booth looked pretty empty.

Saturday

 

Sunday

I swore to myself that this year would be different, and I would start early sourcing and painting furniture for the Market so I wouldn't stress out.

And I did.  But this year I have a booth for Mr. P's Emporium in an antique mall. So things I had earmarked for Lucketts ended up at the booth to replace pieces that have sold.

Between things taking longer than anticipated and Mr. P's Emporium's new booth, I'm not nearly as far along as I should be.  Plus I'll be missing a week of working on things while I'm out-of-town at the end of the month.

So I'm busily painting my heart out!  After finishing the big dresser I showed you, I wanted to work on some smaller items, so the last few days I have been working on small tables.

I've been whipping these babies out and didn't even stop to take "before" photos, but here are a couple I've recently finished.

This set was painted in ASCP Paris Grey, with Old White on the drawer. 

The tables had a leather insert on the top, which I thought about keeping.  But the leather was marked and had cup rings I couldn't get out, so I painted it.

I detailed the top with Old White in the indents that were around the original leather, and lightly distressed the piece.

The original hardware was cleaned by soaking it in a mixture in ammonia and water (I trick I learned from Susan at Uniquely Yours ... Or Mine -- thanks Susan!)

The tables were finished with Ce Ce Caldwells wax.  Between the paint and the wax, you can't tell or feel what part of the top is the leather insert and what part is wood.

This little table was painted in ASCP Provence, including the drawer pull.

I lightly distressed it, then waxed the bottom part of the table.  The top I finished with Ce Ce Caldwells Satin finish, which I used for the first time.  I love how it gives it a nice, soft sheen.

I'm finishing up two more tables today, which I'll show you in a post later this week.  Then it's back to some big pieces.

There is a countdown clock on the Lucketts blog  that gives me heart palpitations whenever I look at it.  Today when I looked it said  31 days, 15 hours, 32 minutes and 23 seconds. 

(Why even look you ask?  It's kind of like scratching a mosquito bite.  You know you shouldn't, but you just can't help yourself!)

Back to painting!

Garden Eye Candy

One of the things I love about this month is how everything is brown one minute--then seemingly overnight perennials just pop up through the garden soil.

VintageRoseCollection.blogspot.com via Pinterest

Trees sprout green leaves, and flowering bushes are suddenly  full of buds getting ready to burst open.

TickingandToile.blogspot.com

I am dying to get out and get my hands in the dirt! 

TickingandToile.blogspot.com

But I'm swamped getting things ready for Lucketts, and keeping my booth stocked. 

If I don't focus on painting furniture, there is no way I'll be ready in time for the Spring Market. 

And while it's a good thing that big things are selling in my booth, I wasn't planning on having to restock it with furniture right now.

So I have to make due with day-dreaming about gardening.

CallMeMizu.tumblr.com via Pinterest

And what better way to do that than with beautiful pictures?

TickingandToile.blogspot.com

These gardens are lovelier than anything I'll ever have.

berengia.tumblr.com via Pinterest

But a girl can wish, can't she?

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Hope you enjoyed them too.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Roadside Find Makeover

Remember this chest of drawers?

I told you about it here.  I found it at the side of the road in my friend's neighborhood. 

Well here it is now.

I painted it in Annie Sloan Old White and did a wash treatment on the top with Ce Ce Caldwell Seattle Mist.

The chest of drawers was in good condition, but one of the pulls was broken.  So I substituted one from the drawer on the top, and replaced all the pulls on the top drawers with knobs.

I gave all the hardware the same paint treatment as the top of the dresser -- a coat of Old White, and a wash of Seattle Mist.

The entire piece was sanded to smooth it, and lightly distressed.

And I painted the inside and sides of the drawers with Seattle Mist.

The bedside table got the same treatment.

I love the scalloped detail in the shelf, so I painted it in straight Seattle Mist to make it stand out.

This baby's big and heavy.  I painted it white to lighten it up, and make it a bit more transitional. It's really well made, with dove tail drawer corners and fastenings in the back.

It's off to Mr. P's Emporium, where hopefully it will find a new home to give it some love.

I can see these in a white bedroom like this:

 

Pinterest

From rubbish to refreshed!


Sharing at:

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The Vintage Farmhouse: Creative Things
Green Willow Pond: What We Accomplished Wednesday
French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday
No Minimalist Here: Open House
Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday