Gray Providence Bench

I think I posted three times last week, but we all knew I would never keep that up! 

I have busily been working on a batch of new signs which are going on display at Ruffles & Rust in Snohomish, on consignment.  I am so excited to have my work appear in an actual store, for the first time!  So cross your fingers for me…or if you’re in the area, drop in and rave about them, even if you don’t buy anything, OK??

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In my spare time, I have been working on a new bench for some of my favorite people (they commissioned a table, buffet, and coffee table previously).

This is Ana White’s Providence Bench, although this one has a top made from three 2x6’s rather than four 2x4’s, ala Shanty 2 Chic.

I was supposed to stain this bench gray…and what a disaster that turned out to be!  I have been a faithful Minwax fan, but there’s been a lot of talk in the blogosphere about Rustoleum stains, so I decided to try the “sunbleached” color. 

Can I just say….ugh!

Where the gray “took,” it was a lovely shade, but everywhere else the wood turned a very unflattering yellowish-orange shade.  I was not impressed.  Subsequent attempts to alter the color with additional coats of stain (first Rustoleum…then Minwax)  did not impress it in the least.

So I resorted to my old friend…paint.

While I left the some of the gray-stained wood showing, I dry-brushed white and gray paint in layers over the orange.  I finished up with a glaze of ebony stain (Minwax brand, for sure), and it highlighted all the carefully contrived distressing I allowed my 11-year-old boy to give to the bench (it was the highlight of his day, honestly).

I was nervous that the new owners might be disappointed in a painted finish rather than a stained one, but they don’t seem to be! 

Whew!

And you know what?  I think it looks pretty fabulous myself!

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Linking up here:

Domestically Speaking	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic	2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday	Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off Stone Gable
Beyond the Picket Fence	Someday Crafts
Knick of Time Mod Vintage Life	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect	Sawdust Throwdown
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	All Star Block Party A Little Knick Knack
The Scoop! Thrifty Décor Chick	{aka} design Coastal Charm

The Rustic X Coffee Table

I have to show off one of my latest building projects.  The wonderful family who bought this Farmhouse Table as well as the Buffet Table from me commissioned me to build a coffee table for them.   I used the Rustic X Coffee Table plan from Ana White.

They wanted the color of the coffee table to complement their dining table, but not be exactly the same.  So while I started out with the same custom mix, I gave it an extra coat of stain that was more heavily gray.

It always seems such a shame to sand and sand and sand a table to get it nice and smooth…and then beat the heck out of it with a hammer, chain screwdriver, pliers…anything to get the carefully manufactured “aged” look!

The original plan was for a 52-inch-long table, but I cut it down to 46 inches to suit this family.  That has got to be the best feature of build-your-own furniture—being able to customize the size for your space!
Oh, and I must tell you…building the X’s was tricky for me!  I think they turned out pretty well, but I will never try to fool you that they’re perfect by any stretch of the imagination!

It looks pretty good in my living room, don’t you think??

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This project has been featured at Elizabeth & Co. and My Repurposed Life.

 

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Linking up here:

Domestically Speaking	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic	2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday	Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off Stone Gable
Beyond the Picket Fence	Someday Crafts
Knick of Time Mod Vintage Life	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect	Sawdust Throwdown
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	All Star Block Party A Little Knick Knack
The Scoop! Thrifty Décor Chick	{aka} design Coastal Charm

No Whining!

I just finished a custom order for someone through my etsy shop.  She sent a photo of a cute chalkboard design she liked (at least I think it was a chalkboard), and I re-created it for her on canvas.

Love the sentiment…I’m thinking maybe I need to hang one in my sons’ room!

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Linking up here:

Domestically Speaking	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic	2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday	Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off Stone Gable
Beyond the Picket Fence	Someday Crafts
Knick of Time Mod Vintage Life	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	All Star Block Party A Little Knick Knack
The Scoop! Thrifty Décor Chick	{aka} design Coastal Charm

Buffet / Console Table

This wasn’t the project I’d originally planned on posting today, but the quote on my chalkboard made it appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day!

Being neither Irish nor Catholic, I will admit that I don’t see a lot of point in St. Patrick’s day…so that chalkboard is the extent of my St. Patrick’s day decorating!  But we may have something with cabbage in it for dinner.

The family that bought this Farmhouse Table commissioned me to make a buffet / console table for them as well.   I used Ana White’s Rustic X Console table plan, although without the X’s or the decorative hardware.

I also shortened the table down to 64”.  As the plan was written, it was almost the same length as I made the Farmhouse table, and we thought it would look better if they were a little different.

There is just something about this old-looking, scarred wood that captivates me, especially when paired with simple white dishes.

It looks great as a buffet, but I also think it would make a great behind-the-couch table, holding blankets and board games.

My daughter thought we ought to keep it! 

**That’s high praise from a teenager. **

 

This project has been featured at Beyond the Picket Fence and The DIY Show Off.

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Linking up here:

Domestically Speaking	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic	2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday	Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off
Beyond the Picket Fence	Someday Crafts
Knick of Time	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect	Sawdust Throwdown
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	All Star Block Party A Little Knick Knack
The Scoop! Thrifty Décor Chick	{aka} design Coastal Charm

Office Progress: The Desk!

I am being so good!  I am posting another office update in less than three weeks’ time!

When last I left you, this is what we were living with in our “office”…

…and we lived with it for a few weeks, waiting for our desk to be completed.

And for a reminder, this was the inspiration photo for our desk:

Houzz Real Life Offices

Oh, it was a happy day when the first pieces arrived!  Due to some scratched paint, it took a while for everything to be delivered.  This piece is the right-side base cabinet.  You can see the decorative venting material on the left side that lets our computer breathe.

Next a beautiful 6-foot maple desk top was installed…

We used a temporary cleat to hold the bridge up…

That was my idea, and I’m very proud of it 

It’s coming together!

Ta-da!

Oh, it’s so pretty.  Even with wires and all (it took another day or so to drill the cord grommets we needed in the desk top).

I love how the bridge is slightly shallower than the shelves on either side.  It gives an interesting depth, but it was murder to cut the crown molding!  Glad I wasn’t the one doing it!

And I stood back and looked at the blue…the yellow…the white….

…and I didn’t like it.

Originally the back of the bookshelves was supposed to be the same light blue as is on the walls, but I chickened out after living with the light blue for a few weeks, and had them painted all white.  I just wasn’t feelin’ the love.

My younger sister was over the night after it was installed, and I made her help me “decorate” the shelves for a couple of hours a little while to see if I would like it better….

…and it helped, but not enough.  (No, I didn’t want to drive a nail in my newly painted wall…we were “just playing” with a few things.) 

I finally decided:  something about the blue, the yellow, and the white…reminded me of a baby’s room.

 Not the look I was hoping for.

What’s a girl to do??

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Nothing a little MORE paint can’t fix!

Ahh…much better!

…to be continued…

(please forgive the cell phone pictures!  I’ll do better…later)

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Desk unit built by Wilson’s Custom Carpentry, serving the Seattle area.

Office Progress: Paint, Trim, and Light!

It’s been a very long time since I’ve updated you on the office project (you can see the previous posts here and here).

In case you need a reminder, here’s what I started with:

Ugh.

I chose a palette of colors…

…and settled on a trim height for some board and batten…

 

…and away I went!

The first thing to do was to paint the beige ceiling SW Creamy.  Then the top two-thirds (or so) of the wall got painted SW Bee’s Wax, and the bottom was painted SW Dover White.  Why Dover White?  Because that’s the trim color used all through the house, and the previous owners left gallons of it behind! 

That big patch on the far wall is what color the whole room used to be—ceiling and all.  I like the color fine, I am just in the mood for something brighter here in gray Seattle!  This yellow is actually a bit of a leap for me, but my daughter talked me in to it.

Next I put up a 3-inch MDF chair rail, topped by a 2-inch piece of MDF that sticks out horizontally from the wall, creating a nice little ledge.

I was ridiculously proud of myself for figuring out the angles on this funny little wall!

Next I glued a piece of cove base over the seam to finish it off.   I didn’t use glue on any of the other trim work, as I didn’t want to wreck the walls if I ever want to remove the board-and-batten.  But this cove base is too fragile for brads, so it was Liquid Nails (and painter’s tape) to the rescue!

I was annoyed that the battens protruded farther from the wall than the baseboards did.  I didn’t think it would bother me…but it did.

My solution was to sand down the sharp edge into a more gradual curve.  After caulking and painting it, I don’t notice it anymore.

I also hired an electrician to come install a light box in this room.  It was set up so a light switch controlled the top outlets in the room, but I was craving LIGHT!  Have I mentioned it’s kind of dark here??

Yes, I took a picture of the hole…it made me very happy!

The fixture I put up myself—that saved me about $40.  It is just an inexpensive light I ordered through Amazon.  I really wanted the cool orb light from Ballard Designs, but it wasn’t in the budget!

I have two holes in the ceiling that were necessary to run the wiring for the new light.  It’s been about a month, and I still haven’t patched them!  If you come into my office…please don’t look up!

But isn’t the new molding pretty??

Is anyone wondering what happened to the blue portion of the color palette?  Well, I had great plans for it.  It was supposed to be an accent color behind the under-construction desk, and I got this far with it…

The tan will be hidden by the desk. 

Oooh…I’m not really sure I’m crazy about this.  I’m going to be patient, though, and reserve judgment until I see it with the desk…

       

So…lots of progress, but still room for improvement! 

Another table

I feel as if I have been running a mile and a minute lately!  I’ve made some serious progress on our latest office project, but I’ve also been building more!

When I sold my first Farmhouse table, I actually had two other inquiries in the wings.  I ended up making another table for each of the interested parties!  Here is the second one in it’s new home.  The new owner refinished these chairs herself, and she wants to buy a pair of upholstered chairs for the ends of the table.

I like the custom-mixed stain color I used on this table much more than the first one. 

It almost didn’t get to leave!