Puttering

This photo has nothing to do with the rest of the post, I just couldn't resist the picture (or the pun).

Say hello to my little friend

This post is actually about puttering.  That's what I call it when I'm doing a little of this, a little of that around the house or yard: puttering.  So here are a little of this, a little of that about my recent projects.

First up, a  "recent" furniture redo.  I actually did this months ago, but forgot to take after pictures and post about it.  This is one of my Grandma's china cabinets.  She had several; this was the biggest and most ungainly, so least likely to find a new home within the family.   But I thought it would fit in pretty well in my dining room with a little makeover.

Before:  Those handles are the big 80's hair of furniture.

I chose Fusion Mineral Paint because it wears well and requires little prep (that's always a bonus for me).  Also, I just wanted to try it.  I've done furniture projects with milk paint and chalk paint, both store bought and homemade, so I guess trying different paints is kinda my thing.  I liked this paint; it was a bit pricey but easy to use and to clean up, plus no VOC so I was able to paint this piece in the house.  I've already bought a new color to use on another project (coming soon!)

I thought I was going to go with something colorful for the interior, but when I saw this (Christmas!) wrapping paper I changed my mind.  The glass on the right side was broken, so Craig took the unbroken left side to a glazier so they could cut a matching replacement.  I replaced the ornate knobs and pulls with simpler ones.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out, and because my sideboard pieces were black it feels very cohesive.  Best of all, it is another piece from the original house that gets incorporated into the new one (and it is filled with dishes from both mine and Craig's family).

Close up of the wrapping paper lining.

Puttering on...

Instead of helping Craig build a fence weekend before last, I was putting my love of wine to good use.  I can't take credit for the idea but I can certainly take credit for the corks!  Add a piece of old plywood and an old wooden handle that I scrounged from the barn and voila: a seed planting tool.  I immediately put it to use starting radish, garlic and sunflower seeds in the newly-fenced garden.

Perfectly spaced indentations - just drop the seeds in and tamp the dirt down.

My last piece was from last weekend, and it was another chance to try a new product.  We've had this lovely little table for many years and it really needed some TLC.  I'd been putting it off because stripping and refinishing it would be so much work.  Then I read that you can apply Danish Oil to restore a finish and decided to give it a try. 

Before 

It needed some love all over, but the top was the real problem area.

Now, the instructions recommended starting with a bare surface, but I had read on the internet (so it must be true!) that you could go over an existing finish to even out scuffs and discolorations.  I decided to only sand the top down because it was in the worst shape.  If the rest of the table didn't turn out well I'd just have to bite the bullet and sand it all down anyway.  I'm happy to say it worked out beautifully.  After sanding the top down, I applied 4 coats of the Danish Oil (in a dark walnut shade), waiting about 30 minutes between each coat.  Basically you just keep applying it until the wood quits absorbing it.  I only did one coat on the rest of the table.  Then I let it dry for a couple of days before applying a coat of wax to the top only.  The wax is overkill because the oil is protection enough, but I'd like to keep that top looking nice for a good long time!

After

Feeling the love!

Before and After

I'm calling the Danish Oil an unqualified success, and I'll definitely try it again for some future puttering around.  

Have you tried any cool painting/staining products or techniques?  I'm always looking for a new project - let me know!  

Barn Makeover

Nothing can boost your self-esteem more than feeling like you look good. You put on clothes that you really love, your hair falls into place just right and the next thing you know you're walking with your head held a little higher and you've got a spring in your step. It's pretty much the same for barns...I guess.

Our Ugly Duckling story starts out with our subject looking quite rustic and not very weather-resistant.

The barn siding was just old wood that I would have loved to have reclaimed.

Now THAT'S rustic!!!

I must admit that the look of the barn, with the old wood and its gaps gave it a certain charm, but charm won't keep the wind and rain out. Even one of the technicians for the local phone/cable company saw the barn and asked me to keep it just the way it is (was). Of course, he doesn't have to store tools and work in there.

So the makeover began by just adding some pre-primed siding. I'd already put up one sheet before the electricity was run into the barn. I would have liked to have reclaimed the old wood for something, but... The barn was not built to current building standards where your studs are spaced at 16" centers (or even 24"). Some were 19, some were 26, so I need the old wood to have something to screw my siding to when there was no stud or structure to hold it.

Greenhouse side (facing house) is done.
Sheet #1 goes on the font.

The front of the barn was covered with asphalt shingles to keep the rain/wind from coming through the gaps. Neta had scraped off the right side a few months back and I did the left side recently. Once we had that out of the way, it was time to move to the front.

Sheet #2 and the door cutout.
You can also see the door frame is now back to its original height and is taller than the old doors.

We also needed to build new doors. The original door frame (before the more recent doors) was much taller, so they'd nailed in a piece of framing to match the shorter doors. I removed that and went back to the taller (7 1/2 feet) frame and built new doors to match.

Door #1 and the third sheet of siding (before door cut-out).

The doors are just simple 2x4 framed doors, but to add a degree of difficulty, I tried to make sure that the grooves of the siding on the doors matched up to the siding that was on the barn.

I got the doors lined up pretty close with the rest of the siding.

With both doors built and hung, I added some trim pieces (Neta gets credit for priming them) along the hinge side. There will be more trim to come to complete the look.

The top and bottom trim pieces added, along with the 4th sheet of siding.

With the bottom of the barn front and the doors done, it was time to tackle the top angles. I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of the cuts I made on the top angles. I measured the width of where the pieces would go and the height at each side, then put my marks on the siding, drew a line between them and cut it freehand with the circular saw.

First half done!

I don't want to brag, but if my father could have seen me draw the lines he might have shaken his head at my crude measuring and line drawing. But if he saw those cuts I made without the help of a square or a guide it would have brought tears to his eyes.

Sidenote: I'd recently bought a new saw blade for cutting the plastic panels for the greenhouse. I'd tried to use it on some plywood I had and couldn't cut a straight line to save my life. It looked like I was drunk when I cut the plywood. I replaced that blade with my old one for this siding. My lines were almost laser-like. But enough bragging...

All siding is complete.

I'm still going to add some trim to the left corner and maybe along the edge of the angled pieces up next to the roof. The right corner will have to wait as we've got to clean out that side of the barn of firewood and other items before we put siding on that side and around back.

We also plan to paint the barn a typical "barn red" color. Not sure when that will be, but with the siding pre-primed we've got plenty of time.

So our "ugly duckling" maybe hasn't become a "swan" (yet), but it certainly is quite the transformation. I'm sure it's self-esteem is much higher.  And it's still rustic on the inside and will stay that way...though quite a bit cleaner than before.