DIY PROJECT: Sprucing up an Entryway Chest

Hi!  Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend.  We sure did!  We enjoyed the warm weather - Saturday hit 81 degrees!  While I enjoyed the warm weather, I actually wasn't ready for hot temperatures, so soon.  I really love the 60-70 degree weather in the Spring before Summer weather kicks in.  It was so nice to be outside, enjoying the day.  My husband spent time cleaning up the garden, wiping down the front porch and uncovering our adirondack chairs.  I'm on the hunt for new planters for our porch, since our old ones rotted out.  Stay tuned for that.

Today, I wanted to share with you a DIY project I worked on last weekend.  It was a simple little project that I have been meaning to tackle but didn't have the time until recently.  Lately, I'm all about freshening up the look in our home.

I took a two drawer chest we have in our entryway and painted the drawer fronts in a glossy white (Benjamin Moore, Chantilly Lace).  The chest was purchased from Overstock a few years ago (no longer available).  While this piece is not something I plan to have for many years to come (the quality is not the greatest), I wanted to change the look of it.  I also added new home accessories to the space.

I forgot to take a before picture but the chest was one color, in the dark wood.  The handles were black which I changed into a silver antique finish.

Before:  Black hardware.  I added an adhesive to the hardware before applying a wax metallic finish (in silver and gold).

After:

Changing the accessories really compliments the new look of this chest.

Loving my vintage Westmoreland Milk Glass Ivy Ball vase, purchased from my sister at Design by Occasion, Etsy shop.  

The taller, white vase was purchased at IKEA.  And, the silver bowl was purchased at Target (Nate Berkus) a couple of years ago.

West Elm marble cleat box.

 

Luxury candle purchased at HomeGoods.  It smells amazing and is packaged in a the cutest, quilted white box.

The next project for this space, hopefully, will be to repaint the entrance area. 

Xo,

DIY: CREATING A BARN WOOD LOOK

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend.  It's been a little hectic for me, these past few weeks; especially the past few days.  But, a good-hectic one.  The barn wedding I've been preparing for and designing was this weekend and now over.  I can't wait to share with you the details and my experience on it, soon.

Today, I wanted to share with you one of the projects I worked on for the barn wedding.  I created a faux barn wood look to a simple pine chest.  The "thank you" chest was used as a place to put the wedding cards, received from guests.  It was a fun project that's easy to follow.

It started with a plain, pine box - full of potential.  

Here's the pine box:

The bride-to-be gave me full control to come up with something that would be special for her wedding day.

The vision I had for this box started with inspiration from their wedding venue - The barn!  Specifically, the silos and their old, weathered-gray finish.  

Here's my inspiration:

Since, the inside of the barn is all wood (light and dark times), I wanted to add a nice contrast. And, what better way than to bring the look of the outside, indoors. Take a look at the after shots.

To create this look (or similar look), I followed a step-by-step tutorial, thanks to The House of Smiths.  The beauty of this project is, you can create your own unique look.  No two looks are the same.  I skipped the optional step (creating a distressed look).  Just remember:  you are in total control of this project; adding layers to create a faux barn wood look. 

Here are some of the products you'll need:

I used a tinted paint by Olympic (purchased at Lowes).  The color is "Weathered Barnwood".  The first step, before applying the stain is to make sure your piece has been sanded for  a smooth finish.  This particular piece didn't require much sanding.   

Once you have sanded and cleaned (free of any sanding dust), apply the stain. You'll want to give it a coat or two.

Here's what it looks like after applying the stain.

Allow the stain to dry.  I waited about 30 minutes to dry.

The next step is to use a latex primer paint (no picture).  I used what we had in our house (primer by Benjamin Moore).  Using a foam brush, dip and remove any access paint.  You're lightly dry brushing over the weathered barn wood stain.  And, don't worry if you happen to get too much in one spot.  You can sand it later.  You'll begin to see the look you want to create when dry brushing.  This dried pretty quickly, since it doesn't require a heavy coat.

After the primer, use some gray flat paint.  I had plenty of gray paints but didn't want to experiment on this chest so I used what House of Smiths suggested.  As with the primer, you are literally dry brushing the gray flat paint.  

The next step is to use that same gray paint and add a dollop of black craft paint (see picture below).  I used VERY little and dry brushed it on card board first to see how it came out.  Since this chest was for a wedding, I did not want to screw this up.  Then I applied it sparingly on the chest, making sure it had that weathered look I was trying to achieve.

Here's a closeup shot:

If you need to sand over areas that were painted too thick, you can lightly sand over that area to thin it out.  

The final step is to take your weathered barn wood stain and apply a thin coat to the whole surface.  Here's the end result:

I love the way it turned out! I impressed myself.

 Here's the finished look, after decorating it for the wedding.

This was such a fun project!  I can't wait to try it on a piece of furniture.  

Thanks again to House of Smiths for the tutorial and inspiration!

xo,

DIY HOME PROJECT: RESTORING AN OUTDOOR TABLE

Last year we purchased a console table for our patio outside.  I wanted something that could stay outdoors and that we could place extra items that took up room on the patio dining table.  So, I found a table from Grandin Road, called the Yorkshire Table.  It came in weathered black and an ivory color.  While I wasn't fond of the black (our outside dining table has a bronze finish), we purchased it anyway because it blended better than the cream and it was the right price point. 
Here's a picture from their website:

After the summer, we neglected to put a cover on it and then old man winter hit, like no other.  To sum it up, the table received an even more, weathered look (lol).  So much so, that by Spring, the carpenter bees were inspecting the table.

This DIY seemed like an easy fix (thanks to my hubby).  My projects turn into "his" projects.

I decided to help and stripped the wood.  It wasn't working so well for me.  Not sure if it was because the day I did it, was a hot day.  It dried the stripping liquid right away.  I'll also add, this was the day I locked myself out of the house. It was just me and the table waiting in the hot sun until help came. 

This baby needs to be sanded.  Ummm, hon . . . I need help.

Mr. D disassembled the table to get into the cracks and crevices when sanding; priming and painting.  

Table is primed and ready to be painted.

We chose Rust-oleum paint in a Metallic Oil Rubbed Bronze (purchased at Home Depot)

 

Here's the finished products (two coats later):

 

 

 

 

Here's a close up shot; it's a deep bronze with pretty metallic speckles

 

 

So happy with the results and thankful to Mr. D for completing yet another home project.  We will definitely purchase a cover this fall to protect it.

 

xo,