Old Things New

TRANSFORMED, from broken to beautiful

Navigation

DIY Mini Garden Conservatory

by 82 Comments

“What is that thing out in the woods?,” my brother-in-law asked quizzically. When I explained to him that it was a mini conservatory made of old windows I could tell by the look on his face that he was thinking, “Ohhh-KAY!”

Y’ALL! Not everyone gets us, we diggers in old trash. I know y’all are with me on this. Why else would you read a blog like mine? The thrill-of-the-hunt-to-find-the-perfect-parts-that-will-come-together-into-one-grand-creation-of-our-own-making.

SIGH . . . Life is GOOD!

Quite awhile back I did a post showing pictures of garden houses (LINK HERE) and shared my dream of having one of my own. Back then there wasn’t a single place in our yard to add such a dream. HOWEVER, now that we are in a house with a larger yard and much of it natural woods, I found myself dreaming once again.

Dreaming and searching online for Mini Garden Conservatories. I found several on Pinterest which you can check out on my Garden Houses Board.

The following is a simple tutorial showing how Mr. OTN and I put our own Mini Conservatory together:

We began with six windows found on Craigslist. Four for each of the sides and two to make the peak of the roof.

Mr. OTN jumped right into the project (I think he enjoyed the fame of being written about in my Recaning a Vintage Chair post) and used a drill and screwdriver to attach L-brackets to three corners of the structure.

Next was the peak of the roof.

We knew we wanted a flat section on the top for attaching decorative trims so he screwed a 2×4 down into the edges of the top and added brackets on both ends to stabilize the roof.

The bottom edges of the roof windows fit down perfectly into the tops of the base windows so all Mr. OTN had to do was add screws to secure them. The door was added next and Mr. OTN shaved off a bit of the top corners with his mitre saw so the door wood swing smoothly under the roof.

We used old hardware that came with the windows as a door latch.

Mini Conservatory 009I wanted a tin strip over the top of the roof and after measuring I used metal snippers to cut the trim from a piece of dryer vent.

You can see here that I took my hammer to it to make it look like hammered metal. This was just the beginning. By the time I got through with my hammer and a metal chain it looked really grand!

I decided to cut a piece of wood to cover the end brackets and give my house a more finished look. This is the template I created for the wood before cutting it with the table saw. Yes, I get to use the dangerous tools!

I could hardly wait until it was all put together to begin painting. NOTE: It was a waste of time to tape everything before painting. I have a pretty steady hand and I found that I could paint and wipe away excess much faster than I could tape. Besides, this is an outdoor project so who really cares if the paint is a little sloppy? Live and learn.The best part was trimming out my creation. I had leftover metal trim from my Outdoor Herb Shelf project.

I found an inexpensive cross at Hobby Lobby and added some plastic crystals for a little sun catching bling.

I found an old trivet at Habitat for Humanity and since it was dark like the trim I rubbed a little gold paint over it to make it stand out.

I’ve had this crystal doorknob in my spare parts box for awhile now so I was delighted to be able to use it on this project. The well patina’d doorknob plate was a cheap brass one that I also found in my spare parts box and aged with salt and vinegar. Poifect!

The decorative accent on top is two plant hooks screwed down into the wood and metal.

I wanted to elevate my Mini Conservatory so was extremely happy to find an old coffee table at Goodwill that I painted with the same outdoor paint that I used on the windows. Aren’t the legs good looking?

Finally I was able to add a bit of color with beautiful plants.

This little boy and his dog were sitting in the woods behind our house so I gave him a new place to observe the garden.

The broken pedestal piece was also out in the woods and it now serves as a stand for my plants.

I like adding a little interest to the woods behind my house . . .

. . . and the view from my screened porch makes me smile. Silly old lady that I am.

Blessings friends,

Please don’t forget to PIN me!

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:

TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, GiveMeGrace

Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

A Tale of 3 Sisters & Limed Oak Wall Sconces

by 30 Comments

Three sisters from the same parents. How could we all be so dissimilar while at the same time so alike? How could remembrances of our childhoods be so different? I guess, given the age spread, it isn’t all that surprising.

Sister #1 lived through the lean times.

Sister #2 was there when they were “movin’ on up!”

Sister #3, well, everyone said that she was just plain spoiled though that simply isn’t true!

One thing we had in common were two parents who cared a lot about appearances and looking their best. I once heard my dad referred to as “Dapper Dan” and my mom almost always wore a dress and heels, even into her 80’s when she struggled to remain steady on her feet. There she was, my mom and her walker, heading down to dine and dressed to the nines!

In addition to dress, my mom was a collector of things that made the home I grew up in a place of beauty. When you tour my home you’ll see some of her treasures on display.

So here’s the deal with the three sisters. Our parents taught us strive to look our best too but we pull ourselves together in very different ways:

Sister #1: Traditional style, think Ralph Laurenish. Her look is fairly casual and she loves color. Red is her go-to color.

Sister #2: Elegant style in the vein of Jackie O! She loves to dress up in designer clothes and rocks it in black and white.

Sister #3: Rustic Glam style - Pretty much a jeans girl but she likes to dress her jeans up with pretty tops and layers of jewelry. Blues and greens are her favorite colors - to match her eyes.

Now, can you tell me which sister I am? A lot of times the way we dress our homes is a reflection of the way we dress ourselves. Take a look at a few components of my dining room below to see if this gives you a hint of who I am.

Crystal chandelier

Antique oil painting

Traditional damask wallpaper

Painted and distressed china cabinet

A shabby ruffled tablecloth

Vintage frame turned chalkboard

As I pulled this dining room together with the oriental rug, the chandy, the buffet, the hutch, the wallpaper, and all of the other elements of the room it began to feel . . . FANCY. Too fancy for me (not too fancy for my husband because he loves fancy)! So to make it feel more ME . . . you guessed it, I’m the more rustic glam of the three sisters . . . I added a few rustic elements to the room.

One of these elements was the two oak cabinet doors that I had hanging around in my garage. I thought they would be the perfect foil for the fancy-schmancy crystal wall sconces that I intended to hang on either side of the oil painting. This is the process I used for liming the doors:

  1. I stripped the doors with a product called Citristrip. This is a product that can be used indoors. It is as easy as painting on, waiting for it to go to work, and scraping it off with a plastic putty knife.
  2. After stripping the doors I allowed them to dry thoroughly and went over each one with a medium grit sanding block to make sure they were ready to accept the wax.
  3. Finally, I applied Briwax Liming Wax which was as simple as rubbing it into the wood and removing the excess with a lint-free rag.

Can you see how these two doors tone down the elegance of the crystal sconces and the room a little bit? Now we can have a fancy dinner and still act like our quirky, funny, crazy selves.

Along with the crazy fun friends we seem to be drawn to.

This is the first time I’ve used liming wax and I love how it settles into the grain of the wood. That’s the key by the way. Liming wax works best with open grained hardwoods such as oak and ash.

I’ve added links below to the products I used on this job in case you are interested in purchasing any of them. As my statement says at the top of the page, any purchases through links on this blog help us keep the lights on here at Old Things New but do not cost you any more than buying directing through Amazon.

I do hope you enjoyed my little guessing game though y’all probably had me figured out from the get-go! Next up on the blog I will be sharing a tutorial for the Ruffled Linen-Look Tablecloth that I made for my dining room table.

Blessings until we meet again 😉

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:

TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, NiftyThriftyThings, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays,

Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:

Southern Gardens Tour, Part 2

by 9 Comments

A little looky-looing always does my heart good. How about you? This is Part Two of my Southern Gardens Tour (thanks to the Greenville Council of Garden Clubs) in Greenville, South Carolina. For Part One you can link back HERE and for Part Three link HERE Let’s begin!

A Garden of Whimsy

Country French Colonial

Can you see why I loved this garden tour? It just kept getting better and better. Of these two gardens which did you like the best? The Whimsical Garden or the French Country Garden? The first garden represents more the garden in our old lake house, which I SO enjoyed adding whimsical elements to from year-to-year. The second garden is more of the look I’m going for in our Southern Colonial, a much more traditional home. I have one more home to show you, from the inside out. This was where I took most of my pictures though so it will have a post of it’s very own. Be sure to come on back y’all for a tour of a wonderful historic home and garden in Greenville, SC.

Blessings,

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:
UnderTheTableAndDreaming, TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive,
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:

Drop Leaf Table Turned Potting Bench Tutorial

by 39 Comments

“I’m your favorite kid, right mom?”

I smile in amusement.

“Come on, admit it. You know I’m your favorite.”

The question my youngest daughter used to love to pressure me to answer . . . and maybe . . . even as an adult . . . still does from time-to-time.

Don’t we all want to be someone’s favorite? I know I do!

Only a mom can understand how there can be more than one favorite . . . or God.

Today I’m sharing the Drop Leaf Table Turned Potting Bench that I painted a couple of summers ago but never got around to sharing here with you. Of all of the furniture pieces I’ve painted I’d have to say that this shabby little potting bench is one of my favorites!

No, I don’t have a full “before” picture (my bad) but you all know what a drop leaf table looks like anyway, right? This was a fairly large one so I knew it would have plenty of work space as a potting bench. But enough talk already, let’s get started with the tutorial. If you want to skip the tutorial you can scroll right to the end for all the pretty pictures of my sweet potting bench!

I began by unscrewing the hinges from one of the leaves while leaving the other side of the hinge connected to the table. Then I used my saw to remove the brace that would no longer be needed to hold the leaf in the “up” position.

Next I reattached the hinges to the TOP of the table so the leaf would stand in a vertical position. This is front of the table . . .

. . . and this is the back (where the hinges used to be attached).

With a piece of scrap wood and some store bought legs I added a little shelf to my table, attaching it with screws.

Next was the addition of this old enamelware piece that I thought would make a great dry sink for potting.

After tracing the hole size I would need I drilled a few big holes to get my jigsaw started and went to work cutting. For any of you fine crafters of wood, you will notice that I am NOT! I like the construction part to be done quickly so I can get on with the painting. So the hole looks a bit ugly here but it will be okay once I put the dry sink in!

I worked on this project out on my deck overlooking the lake (this is the house where we used to live in Washington State) and found inspiration from the many colors of summer. I began with my base color . . .

. . . layered on a second color . . .

. . . and then a third!

. . . all to begin the process of sanding it back so the layers of color and bare wood would show through!

That’s Cozy lounging while I’m hard at work.

On to the stripes which I painted from samples of these lovely lakeside colors!

Taping, painting, drying, taping, painting, drying, . . . etc.

More sanding to distress my piece heavily and I was ready for the addition of lettering. A tutorial for transferring typography can be found right HERE.

Once all the painting was complete I chose to deepen my colors using an Early American colored wood stain . . .

. . . and after the recommended drying time I applied three coats of spar varnish so my potting bench would stand up to Pacific Northwest weather.

As you can see I added tool hangers using faucet valves. These were around $3-4 each from the hardware store but I’ve since found some antique valves which I have stashed for the next potting bench.

When I look at pictures of this little potting bench it makes me feel happy as it brings back fond memories of summer on the lake. I took this potting bench to the Queen Bee French Flea market where I ended up selling it to one of my very dearest friends!

By the way, the Queen Bee French Flea is coming up again this August.

Mark your calendars if you live in the area because IT. Is. Going. To. Be. Fantastic!

I hope my potting bench brought a smile to your face and reminded those of you still feelin’ the cold that Spring is right around the corner! Love you guys and I hope you know that you are ALL my favorites!

Blessings,

My Signature-001

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:
UnderTheTableAndDreaming, TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive,
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:

Farragoz Giveaway - And The Winner is . . .

by 3 Comments

Were you one of those lucky girls that was chosen first for games in P.E.? Or even second or third? Or twenty-second in a class of thirty? Insert Patti frowny face here because I was NOT. On the bright side, I wasn’t usually the last either, only second or third to the last. “Bashtiful Patti,” the neighbor man’s name for me, wasn’t very assertive so I was never a top pick for competitive sports. Now, if we’d had to choose teams for art class . . . well . . . I wouldn’t have been top pick for that team either but I would’ve been closer to the top for sure! Awww . . . the traumas of childhood.

Repurposed “Jonque”

That is probably what’s behind my wanting everyone to be a winner of the Farragoz Giveaway I’ve been running on my blog. I’ve learned so many things in this painting course that I can now apply to my furniture painting and repurposing of “jonque” (junk looks so much better in French) that I want everyone else who is a painter of stuff to have the chance to learn what I’ve learned. But there can only be one winner . . . THIS time!

So . . . drum roll please . . . Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr . . .

The winner of the Farragoz Painting Course is JUDY!

Congratulations Judy. Farragoz will be contacting you via email today to get you started.

Repurposed “jonque”

Now . . . since I want everyone to feel special do I have a consolation prize for the rest of you? Stay tuned for my next post.

Blessings,