TRANSFORMED, from broken to beautiful
It’s an ordinary Tuesday. The day of the week that I’m most likely to share a home related post. Well, I’ve still got one for ya’ but I couldn’t help but share that there is something about this Tuesday that had me singing in the shower and dancing down the stairs to my computer.
Sometimes our prayers are answered quickly, sometimes we never see the answer in our lifetimes, and sometimes the prayers go on for a long, long time until suddenly…
…
“What do you want to do today honey buns?” Mr. OTN asked as we sat on the screened porch enjoying our morning coffee.
Okay . . . so he didn’t really call me “honey buns,” because we don’t talk to each other that way. Not insinuating that it’s a bad way to talk if that’s how you choose to show affection for your sweetie. Our endearments are a little less mushy and generic, like a simple “honey” or “sweetie” or “darling”.
Darling: That’s his name for me when he’s feeling particularly fond of me.
Anyhoo, it was a beautiful Spring day that was meant for a drive in the mountains. So we set off on an adventure, and in no time at all we came across a REAL gold mine!
…
Sometimes all we need is a little bit of a makeover to feel pretty. True for people and true for shabby little French chairs as well.
I thought it was about time to give you another look at some of the Old Things New projects I’ve been doing around my house.
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You know I love you right? Really I do, and I’m going to prove it today by sharing with you how to create a Pottery Barn finish on any piece of furniture in less than two hours! Yup! I transformed this scratched and dented thrift store trestle table by giving it the Pottery Barn look, and I’m going to tell you how you can do it yourself!
I was smitten the moment I saw this oak trestle table hidden among the other furniture in the back reaches of Habitat for Humanity. It was marked at $24. Yes, $24! As an older gentleman (near as old as me) loaded it into my car he exclaimed over and over what a great buy it was. I guess whoever marked the price on this was a youngsta’ who thought old meant outdated and not valuable. My oldish table-loading-friend and I knew better.
The top was in bad shape and that would have been an easy fix with a sander but I knew from the start that this one would be the perfect table for the Pottery Barn finish I’d been longing to try.
And those legs though!
This is my inspiration photo, a very expensive PB media cabinet!
So let’s get started:
I began with plain old black acrylic paint from the craft store, which I mixed with calcium carbonate (per measurements in my chalk paint recipe). Since the paint will be sanded heavily and smoothness is not an issue you could use any of the three recipes in that post.
After painting two quick coats and allowing the table to dry thoroughly I sanded back heavily with my electric sander.
After brushing off the paint dust I applied Annie Sloan dark wax which darkened not only the paint but the wood as well, causing this beautiful warm color to shine through.
Note: Lately I’ve been using Min Wax Finishing Wax mixed with a bit of Min Wax Wood Finish Stain to create my own less expensive dark wax. It isn’t as easy to spread as soft wax (unless you heat it up a bit which I’m not telling you you should do, but it is something I just might do), but I like the end result much better than soft wax. It buffs easier, dries to a harder finish, and doesn’t get streaky weird like soft wax can sometimes do.
Painting, waxing, and buffing in less than two hours. Super easy for a super look!
Do you want to see a few more pictures? I knew you would because you are so amazing and love to humor me.
What do you think? Do you like the PB finishes? Do you have a piece of furniture you might try this on? Remember, it took less than two hours!
Don’t forget to PIN me, and if you like my new look please share it with others!
We keep this table in our Seahawk/Bonus Room. Most of the time it’s set up as a library table but I can also open the leaves quite wide to create crafting or sewing space. A couple of people who have offered to buy it, even when I gave them a very pricey Pottery Barn price, but in the end I never could actually let it go.
Now while I do “heart” this sweet table of mine it isn’t near as much as I LOVE y’all! Thank you for being my friends, for letting me share my creative exploits with way too much ramble, and for allowing me to show you more pictures than you ever hoped to see.
Blessings dear friends,
I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:
TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, GiveMeGrace
Monday:
IShouldBeMoppingTheFloor, TheDedicatedHouse, Dwellings, ProjectInspired, InspireMeMonday, BetweenNapsOnThePorch, CelebrateYourStoryMaking Your Home Sing Mondays, The Beauty in His Grip What Joy is Mine/Monday Musings, Darling Downs Diaries, The Art of Homemaking,SmallWonder, LifeGivingLinkup, MomentsOfHope, Glimpses, SittingAmongFriends
Tuesday:
TalkOfTheTown, HomeStoriesAtoZ, AStrollThruLife, CoastalCharm, CozyLittleHouse, CedarHillFarmhouse, KatheWithAnE,TuesdaysAtOurHome, TheWinthropChronicles, Rich Faith Rising Unite Linky, Testimony Tuesday,Cheerleaders of Faith,Tell His Story, IntentionalTuesday
Wednesday:
SavvySouthernStyle, TheBlissfulBee, Posed Perfection, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesdays, ChristianBloggerLinkup, Whole Hearted Home, Mom’s Morning Coffee, Women with Intention, Coffee for Your Heart, MessyMarriage, ThreeWordWednesday
Thursday:
ShareYourStyle, ImpartingGrace, EmbracingChange, HaveADailyCupOfMrsOlson, MyRepurposedLife, ADelightsomeLife, KatherinesCorner, PrettyPreppyParty, The Deliberate Mom/Shine Blog Hop, I Choose Joy, Live Free Thursday, Thought Provoking Thursday, PartyAtMyPlace, 100HappyDays, SincerelyPaulas, ThankfulThursdays
Friday:
FrenchCountryCottage, TheCharmOfHome, RootedInThyme, TheDedicatedHouseAnythingBlueFriday, ShabbyliciousFriday, Sweet Inspiration, Faith’nFriends, Missional Women Faith Filled Fridays, Dance With Jesus
Saturday:
FunkyJunkInteriors, OneMoreTimeEvents, SaturdaySparks, TheInspirationGallery, Make My Saturday Sweet
“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.
I 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!
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