Reupholstered bench seat

The transition from soft neutral family room to grey + brights is one step closer to completion.

Long overdue, the avocado corduroy bench cover (which I learned today that Scott has always hated) is gone.

before

after

The avocado has now been replaced with the same charcoal linen as is in the curtains (Ikea RITVA in gray). In fact, it is leftover fabric from the curtain project. This update took me less than one episode of Mad Men, leading me to wonder why, oh why, didn't I do it a long time ago? Like, maybe in November when I'd originally planned to?
 

before

after

Oh, wait, I know why it took me so long to get to this. It's because I needed two weeks of cold and snow to keep me inside working on house projects instead of out in the garage building furniture. So far, I've cleaned out and re-organized my pantry, cleaned out and actually cleaned my fridge, taken five bags of trash out of Callie's room, built the gallery ledges, AND washed and put away all of the clothes from our trip (usually unpacking is a never-ending chore for me). So, yeah, the weather's been crappy.

Speaking of which, here is one of the unlucky deer who was hanging out in my yard today getting attacked by a bird. The bird hopped from back to back as it made its way through the herd, pecking away at their ears, necks, backs, bottoms, and seemingly trying to eat them alive. Gross. The deer, just for the record, were not fans of the bird.

Back to the bench...the next step will be to throw together some bright, patterned pillows to liven up the wall of grey, black, and white. With more snow in the forecast (April 18th, December 18th, what's the difference), I've got high hopes for the pillows happening soon. It's exciting, I know, but please try to restrain yourselves.

For more on how I built and upholstered the bench, check out this post.

For the curtains, see this one.

Updated Gallery Wall

After painting our great room/kitchen/loft last fall, the dismantled gallery wall stayed dismantled until last weekend.

(The gallery wall back in 2010 when I first put it up.)

So, yeah. It only took me six and a half months to put it back together.

There may have been some humming and hawing. There may have been some indecision and some dragging of the feet.

But eventually I decided that I wanted to base the gallery wall on three ledges similar to these. I thought it probably wouldn't be enough space for all of the photos, but I gave myself enough room between the ledges (36" -- we used a yardstick to space the ledges) to hang a few frames in the leftover space.

I built my ledges using 1x3s for the back and 1x2s for the front and bottom, all joined using just glue and nails. Once they were joined, I cut off the ends of the ledges using my miter saw, to give me perfectly smooth ends. (Believe it or not, this is the first time I've noticed that 8' lumber isn't all exactly 8'.) All of the lumber is pre-primed finger-joint pine, painted in our white trim paint. To put them on the wall, I just drilled through the 1x3 on the back into the studs and attached the ledges to the wall using 2 1/2" deck screws. The lumber cost me about $30 -- not bad for three 8' ledges.

Next up? It's time to recover the gigantic bench under the gallery! The avocado green belongs to our old, muted color scheme. Now I'm deciding between using the same grey fabric that's in the striped curtains or going with something bright and fun. I'm leaning toward plain grey and adding fun, funky, colorful pillows. 

Provence Table

If you follow me on Pinterest, you may have noticed me pinning the Restoration Hardware Provence table and accompanying Ana White plans. I am not sure how this plan flew under my radar, but I'm totally in love with the look.

As soon as I saw it, I really wanted to dive right in and build one for myself. We've been eating at a 2'x3' table since before Christmas -- I sold our old table and haven't had a chance to build a new one. I'd like this design to be our next table but I really wanted a chance at a trial run before building my own.

This is why I'm SO happy to be working with Sweet Pea Interiors in Fountain. I knew that this table would sell easily in the shop, so I went ahead and built it as a test version.

And I LOVE it. Love, love, love it.

But, alas, it is too big for my dining room, so off to Sweet Pea it goes.

I made a few changes from Ana's plan in order to get closer to the Restoration Hardware look, and because I had several reclaimed 4x4 posts in my yard that I wanted to use.

Ana's plan calls for 2x4s and pocket hole construction. I did use 2x4s for the top part of the frame (under the table top) and also for the V supports, but for the legs, stretcher, and end supports I went with 4x4s. If I'd had enough of them, I would have used 4x4s for the V, too.

Since you can't use pocket holes to join 4x4s together, I used my (new!) table saw to cut lap joints. I'm in love with the joints where the end supports meet the legs -- I love the hefty, farmhouse look of them.

For the table top, I used 1x6s cut down to 4.75" on my table saw. I really like ripping off the curved edges of framing lumber to use in table tops. It is a pain in the rear to work with framing lumber, but its got a great, rustic vibe. And, it's cheap. Bonus. Having said that, I think when it comes time to build my own table, I'll build it out of higher quality lumber -- lumber that is straight, precisely milled, and nicely planed. I don't mind spending that kind of money on a table for myself. I've offered the same option to clients, but the price always scares them off. I can't blame them -- it usually doubles what I have to charge for a dining room table.

For the finish, I primed the table base with dark brown primer and then painted it with flat paint that I custom mixed from leftovers in my garage. The top is oxidized with strong black tea, vinegar, and steel wool. I think this is the first time that I've oxidized in sub-freezing temperatures. It adds a whole new element of unpredictability to the process, one I'll avoid in the future if I'm working on a client piece. The two photos above are probably the most accurate in terms of color. The top came out much darker and blotchier than I've experienced before. I don't know what to attribute it to besides the cold. The wood stayed wet much longer than usual, which I guess gave the tannins more time to react with the oxidizing solution.

It's funny...I don't mind if something doesn't come out exactly as planned as long as I'm building it for myself. But when I'm building for someone else and it doesn't go as planned? It worries me and I end up pouring unending hours into the piece. Whew. Working for myself is much less stressful.

Square pedestal table -- a table of firsts

A friend recently requested a small square table for her kitchen. She wanted a small version of the farmhouse table, preferably using reclaimed wood. I didn't happen to have the right reclaimed wood on hand, but I did have leftovers from an earlier table -- in fact, all I had to buy to build this table was one 2x6, some bolts and screws, and finishing supplies.

Besides being built from what were essentially scraps in my garage (which is always an exercise in creativity), it was also a good test of my skills in creating a piece of furniture without a plan to follow. I used Ana White's Triple Pedestal table as inspiration for the pedestal, but spent a lot of time standing in my garage with the table pieces upside down, trying to figure out the best way to put it all together.

For me, that's a fun process.

But then, on the day I delivered the table, Ana posted plans for a square pedestal table, also inspired by the Triple Pedestal table. Those plans use only one leg for a center pedestal instead of a trestle like the one I built. Maybe next time...

This was also my first time using alcohol-based stain on a table (I've used it on chairs once before). I'll post a tutorial this week for working with it. I think it's easier than water-based but it doesn't stink like oil-based. For this table, I used Vermont Natural Coatings' Dark Walnut tint in isopropyl alcohol followed by Vermont Natural Coatings Heirloom Wipe-On PolyWhey in satin.

That wipe-on poly is the best sealer I've used yet. Not kidding. I'll do a post on it, too. Promise.

In addition to all the other firsts, this was my first time using hex bolts to attach a table top to the base. Actually, it was my first time using them for anything other than decoration (on the X Tables). For me, it's fun working on a project that stretches me, that forces me to learn something new.

What about you? Have you been learning anything new lately?

{backyard redo} Protecting our Outdoor Furniture

It seems that our backyard redo series has been interrupted by...well...winter. Bleh.

But even in the dregs of winter, there is still work that can be done to move things along.

Do you remember these chairs? The bright red tabouret chairs I bought after Thanksgiving? I know I told you they'd end up outside, but things move slowly sometimes around here, and so they're still inside.

They will go outside. Eventually.

But, the instructions that came with the chairs very clearly stated that they are not intended for outdoor use.

Ha. We'll see about that.

We live at high elevation (around 6500 feet, I think) and the sun here is intense. To keep it from fading the bright red paint on our chairs, I decided I should make some slipcovers to protect them.

Luckily, these chairs stack easily, as many as four high. I've got eight chairs so I only need two covers to protect them. The chairs won't be covered all the time, but probably from November through April all eight of them will wear their covers, and during the summer I imagine that at least four of them will be covered most of the time since we won't be hosting parties every night of the week.

At least that's not the plan.

To keep the chairs covered, I headed to Lowe's and bought a 12ft x 9ft canvas drop cloth. It was bigger than I needed, but it was a better value than the small drop cloths. I know I'll use the leftover fabric to make covers for the backyard furniture I'll be building (like maybe a table to go with these chairs?) but using a cloth this big was a bit unwieldy. I think next time I'll sacrifice a few bucks and buy a couple of smaller cloths.

Also, I bought the heaviest cloth (10oz) in order to get the best protection from the elements.

Would a fabric made for outdoor use probably hold up longer? Like Sunbrella fabric, with UV protection built in? Yeah, probably. But have you looked at the prices on it?

The drop cloth I bought cost about $27. For that much Sunbrella fabric I'd probably have spent a good $100. So drop cloth it was.

The first thing I did was wash the drop cloth in hot water to maximize shrinkage. Once it was good and dry, I draped it over my stack of chairs and started pinning.

It took a bit of trial and error to get the pinning right. That might be because my only experience with slipcovers comes from watching Trading Spaces (faithfully) about ten years ago. But I think all that time I put in with Hildy and Laurie and Paige must have paid off, because for a first try these covers actually came out okay.

Meaning, they fit. And probably won't blow away when the wind kicks up. I'll count that as success.

I pinned the sides first using the factory edges of the drop cloths, then I pinned the tops. Once I was happy with the shape, I trimmed off the excess and then sewed up the seams. After that, I put the slipcovers on inside out and folded up the hem.

I pressed the crease for the hem before trimming off the excess fabric and turning the hem under (this is how my mom taught me to hem curtains and it works like a charm). I actually only had to hem the back of the cover -- when I pinned it all together, I used the factory hem for the front, making sure it was parallel (or almost parallel) to the floor as I pinned.

Once the hem was stitched, I pressed out a couple of seams. (Not all of them because, really? It's going to sit outside in the snow.) Then I flipped the cover right side out, and tried it on the chairs.

Much to my surprise, it fit! Those of you who follow me on Facebook already know this, though...I couldn't help but post a status update about rocking my first slipcover. I'm not even sure you can call it a slipcover, actually.

This stack of chairs is now sitting out on our new (unusable because it's too dang cold) patio. I'm so looking forward to spring summer when we can finish up out there. In the meantime, I'll keep finding ways to make progress, even if it's just pinning the furniture I'm going to build so that maybe by July I'll have a place to drink a beer in the sun.

Ahhhh...summer.

psst...for more about our backyard redo, check out these posts.

Little grey side tables

They're kind of like your favorite little black dress, only more fun.

Little grey side tables finished in CeCe Caldwell's Pittsburgh Gray paint and clear wax.

I wish I had before photos. What is wrong with me? Laziness? They were so hideous. For more on their before, check out this post.

Now they're done! The center panel of fabric is super cute, covered by a 16x20 pane of 1/8" glass and trimmed out in 1/4"x 2" wood painted to match the tables.

I don't think I told you this...my original vision for these tables was to turn them into little ottomans. But after I got the center panels upholstered with foam underneath I wasn't happy with the result, so I took the tables apart and kind of started over.

I also considered using burlap for the fabric in the center. It probably would have made selling them easier, but the fabric that's in there now is so unique and textural, I just couldn't pass it up.

It's funny how a simple Goodwill purchase like these tables can take on a life of its own.

These two tables will be for sale at the Sweet Pea Boutique in Fountain, beginning at their grand opening on January 26th!

Christmas fun with CeCe Caldwell's Paint

 

Inspired by this pin, on Monday I painted the Joy sign you see above. I'd been working with CeCe Caldwell's mineral-based paint on a table and was getting frustrated because the top wasn't coming out exactly how I wanted it -- there is definitely a learning curve to CeCe's paint when you're transitioning from conventional latex paint. So instead of driving myself crazy with the table top, I took my frustration out on something I knew I wanted heavily distressed...and I looove how it turned out! (Eventually I got the table right, too! More on that next week.)

Here is what I did to make the sign:

1. Lightly sand the surface of the wood. I used reclaimed dark-stained plywood from an old closet shelf.
2. Slap the Omaha Ochre CeCe Caldwell paint onto the board. I literally slapped, smooshed, and dragged it on to leave the surface far from smooth. I did this on purpose, so that when I waxed it at the end with dark wax, the wax would have crevices to stick to and add more depth and age.
3. Slap on a second coat. In retrospect, I could have gone without the second coat probably.
4. Lightly sand (with 320 grit) the dry paint to give me a surface smooth enough to take the letters.
5. For the fifth step, I should have distressed with a sponge and then sealed the Omaha Ochre paint. I'll explain why later. If I were to do it over again, I'd use my favorite PolyWhey sealer to seal the distressed paint.
6. Using a pencil and a 1x3 board to loosely measure my letters, I outlined the letters.
7. Fill in the letters using CeCe Caldwell's Traverse City Cherry paint. Again, I slapped it on and smooshed it around.
8. Once it was dry, I lightly sanded again. Here's where I got into some trouble. Sanding mixed the red into the ochre paint and then I had to be super nitpicky about rubbing down the ochre paint with a sponge to get the red out of the cracks and crevices. If I'd sealed the ochre first, this wouldn't have been an issue.
9. Distress with a sponge -- CeCe's paint is like unsealed drywall compound; it comes off with a damp sponge until you seal it, then it becomes impervious like conventional paint.
10. Seal with PolyWhey.
11. Wax with brown wax and then "clean up" extra brown wax using clear wax, which takes off and disperses colored wax.
12. Wax plywood edges with brown wax.
13. Buff the heck out of the whole thing with a soft, dry rag.

Here are a couple of close ups so you can see how the dark wax sits in the grooves made when I mooshed the paint around.

 In addition to the Joy sign, I made this Noel sign.

These two signs took almost no paint -- you could easily buy two small CeCe paint containers and do this project plus several others before running out.

I had originally planned to sell the Noel sign, but I'm pretty crazy about it sitting out by my front door with my Craigslist antique sled. So...who knows. It may be in my family for years to come. The Joy sign is at my friend Emily's house -- the first in a series of a few pieces I'll be making for her to repay a barter for some sweet Frye boots she gave me.

I'm pretty sure I got the good end of that deal -- an awesome pair of boots and a chance to go crazy with wood and paint. What's not to like about that?

Seeing red

I think I may have mentioned on Facebook last week that I went a little chair-crazy.

After painting the house grey, I was ready for some color. Specifically, some bright and shiny color. And, since we're in the middle of re-doing our backyard (more to come on that later in the week) and had no furniture to go out there, AND since Black Friday/Cyber Monday were upon us, it seemed like destiny.

It was time for new chairs.

As if I needed confirmation, our old leather parsons chairs sold on Craigslist in about 27 seconds. Within five minutes of the old chairs getting picked up from my house, the UPS man dropped off the new beauties pictured below.

So, as you can tell, it was obviously meant to be.

Of the 16 chairs I bought (you read that right, and yes, there are only four butts in our family), only 10 have arrived thus far. We've got eight of the ones you see in these photos, plus two red director's chairs like these. The red director's chairs will be perfect for chilling outside.

The other six chairs are on their way here via Greyhound.

I know. I'm full of surprises today. Did you know that you can have eBay and Etsy purchases shipped via Greyhound?  I didn't. It's way cheaper than the usual shipping methods.

Anyway, the other six chairs (the ones coming on the bus) are old school chairs. Not old-school, as in old-fashioned. Although...they are that too. They're actually Heywood Wakefield chairs that were used in schools starting in the 50's. They are industrial and funky but not worth much so I've got a fun revival in store for them. A revival which will involve the color red. Once they're finished, the school chairs will hang out inside the house -- four at the table, one at my desk, and one at my sewing nook. These other lovely ladies will go out to the patio. 

But for now I'm totally enjoying them inside the house.

I had some serious concerns that these chairs would feel too cold. They are, after all, metal and my house is usually about 65 degrees. They are a bit chilly for the first few seconds, but after that they warm up nicely. And, actually, they're surprisingly comfortable. I can sit in the one at my desk and get sucked into Pinterest for hours at a time, just like I did in my cushy leather parson's chair of yore. And for Scott, whose back sometimes aches when he sits in a chair that is too soft, these are just right. 

The only person in the family who is unhappy about these chairs, actually, is Callie. Callie, our seven year old, doesn't like change. But, she LOVES bright colors and shiny things, so I thought she'd be into these chairs. To my surprise, when she came home from school and saw them in the kitchen she burst into tears. 

I know. It's crazy that she even thinks her unsolicited decorating opinion matters outside of her own room, but for some reason she does. She doesn't like the chairs because they're metal. I don't know why -- that is the only explanation she'd give me. For the first few days she refused to sit in them while we ate, but she did give in last night and sit at the table with us. I guess they're growing on her. Or she's tired of standing while she eats.

So, now, the 411 on these chairs. I settled on these because they were the cheapest. Period. They're not locally made, they're not antiques, they're not supposed to last for a million and one years. But they were only $169 for four chairs and no shipping charges. And their reviews were very positive. Go Overstock. Overstock calls them Tabouret Stacking Chairs.

Others I looked into were the Tolix chairs at Pottery Barn ($269 each), the Marais A chairs from Industry West ($145 each), the Emeco 111 Navy Chair ($260 each), and the Goodform Navy Chair (price varies).

I also searched Craigslist for something similar. I almost lucked out and bought nine Toledo drafting chairs for only $20/each from someone who obviously had NO idea what he was selling, but I was too slow. I even offered to pay over the asking price, but he'd already promised them to someone else. Someone who only paid the asking price! I pined over those chairs for about two weeks (I may have moped around a bit and then even cleaned my house in reaction to losing them) before I bought the Tabouret chairs. I know, they're completely different from the Toledo chairs but I just needed something...bright. And happy.

So for now, these shiny red chairs are brightening my days. When they make their way outside (I have to build them a table first) you'll be the first to know. And when my old school chairs arrive and begin to undergo their revival, you'll hear about that too. And then when I have a party and invite the entire city because I've obviously got seats for everyone...well, I just might keep all the chairs to myself, actually.

Brand new kitchen faucet...and saving water, too?

American Classic Modern Satin Nickel Spiral Pull-down
Kitchen Faucet purchased on Overstock

A few weeks ago, our old kitchen faucet died.

It had been in our house since the 2nd incarnation of our kitchen (we're now on number 3). Here's what it looked like the first day it was installed, back in 2006.

Sorry it's not the best shot. I'm sure you can understand that in 2006, I didn't think I'd be blogging, much less writing about a kitchen faucet.

But I think you get the idea -- it was a slightly above builder-grade faucet from Home Depot. And it was okay. Never great, but it was good enough to make a re-appearance when we really remodeled our kitchen. Here it was in our current kitchen:

 

Again, not a great photo but I actually have an excuse. Scott pulled the faucet out and started replacing it while I was putting the kids to bed at 8:30 at night. Who does that? And then, at 8:50 we realized we needed a longer supply hose and he had to run to Lowe's before the 9pm closing time. He didn't make it. So we went without water in the kitchen for a day. Not really much of a hardship, actually. But the not having a before photo? That's kind of a bummer. Anyway...

I'd been thinking about replacing the faucet for a while now, so when it was handled a bit too roughly and then wouldn't turn off, I knew it wasn't worth fixing. Scott got it back up and running (loosely) for a few day, just long enough to receive our new faucet. It wouldn't have lasted much longer.

When the old faucet busted, I found this new one on Overstock, which I'd actually eyed in the past but it had been sold out (and now is sold out again). Overstock has become my go-to source for plumbing fixtures. They usually have a decent selection at a good price, and I know from experience that their returns (even on plumbing fixtures) are zero hassle. At $118, the new faucet didn't break the bank, especially when compared to other spiral pull-down faucets.  I loved the traditional design of it (since most of the pull-downs I'd seen were very modern looking). What I loved most was the satin nickel finish. I knew from having a polished chrome finish on the old faucet, I definitely wanted satin.

And it is soooo much easier to keep clean. I am really, really happy with it.

But here's one thing I didn't know I was in for. The water pressure!

Seriously, the first time we turned it on, water splattered all over our kitchen. And, I don't know this for a fact so maybe take it with a grain of salt, but I think we're actually using less water.

Crazy, right?

Here is my logic on this one. At full pressure, the same amount of water comes through both the old faucet and the new one. The new one must have a super-powered aerator on it which is what gives it the crazy pressure (read more about aerators here). Because the new one gives us so much more power in the sink, we spend less time rinsing dishes and cleaning out the sink.

Less time rinsing using the same amount of water per second = less water used.

Am I right? Clearly, I am not an expert. But, when I started using this faucet and put all of the clues together, it seemed like we were probably using less water. And, when you live in the high desert, in a drought, something like taking 5 seconds to rinse a plate instead of 8 seconds really adds up. 

At worst, the faucet is using the same amount of water per second, but we're spending less time using it. At best, the aerator is a super-charged one that creates a more powerful stream while using less water, so we're using fewer gallons per second and spending less time with the faucet on. Sounds like a win-win to me.

What do you think? Am I on to something? Could replacing your faucet help you do dishes more efficiently and make your kitchen look better, too?

Weathered Farmhouse Table

I talked a bit about how this table was built in my post from last Wednesday, but if you want to build the same table you don't have to follow my "here's my cut list -- do your best" approach because sweet Ana White created updated Farmhouse Table plans using pocket hole construction!

Now you should have no problem building the table. This post is about how I got that beautiful weathered finish. I don't usually finish with oil-based stains -- I don't like how they make me feel (dry throat, headache, sometimes even nauseous). I don't like their clean up and disposal issues. I don't like their high VOC content. But when I saw a Minwax stain called "Weathered Oak," I had to take it home to try it. And it was exactly what I've been looking for. FYI: I also tried the Minwax "Classic Grey" which is in the color chart linked above. It looked more blue than grey and almost nothing like the color pictured on the can. I'm glad I tested it first!

Minwax "Weathered Oak" on the left, "Classic Grey" on the right.

Until a water-based stain manufacturer finds something that can compete with this finish, I'll be compromising my values (and cringing inside) and using this stain. 

I could have used my old standby, the oxidizing solution made from steel wool and vinegar, but I wanted more yellow to show through. The steel wool and vinegar trick would have been too dark for the look I was going for.

For this finish, I applied one coat of stain to the legs and two to the top and stretcher boards. The legs are reclaimed cedar (from old fence posts) and only needed a light coat to get the color I was looking for. The rest was new pine and needed more color.

Before staining, I gave the table top a coat of wood conditioner and then a light sanding. I didn't condition the stretcher boards because I was running out of conditioner -- can you see the difference? I was surprised how much blotchier the stretchers came out. I still love them (they're rustic and beautiful) but next time I'll use conditioner on the stretchers, too.

For the sealer, I used Polywhey in satin on the whole table. So far I've put two coats on the top and one on the legs and stretchers. I'll probably put another coat on the whole thing, just for added protection. I love the look of Polywhey on this finish -- when the undercoat is darker, satin Polywhey can get a little too glossy for my taste. But on a stain this light, the Polywhey has almost no shine. It's gorgeous -- much like a waxed finish but nearly bullet-proof.

Okay, maybe not bullet-proof, but kid proof, for sure.

Is this a finish that would work in your house? What do you think about the table? Is a design like this, that seats 4-6 people, something that would work for you?