Back on the horse...

... err back in the garage, especially with this nice fall weather!


I want to get this thing done, so I can use it in my kitchen until I find the right hutch.  Having my utensil trays full of silverware on my kitchen table is juuuust not the look I was going for after all.

Here's what we're gonna' do:

-We're taking out that mirror [Holy 90's]

-I am going to add some beadboard wallpaper to the back, painted in a cream/sand color

-The glass shelves we may replace with wood, again painted in that cream/sand color, unless once the rest is painted the glass is not too heinous.

I have some nice cream wallpaper with a pattern of french sayings and fleur de lis that I'll paper the inside of the bottom with.  That will really clean up the inside, and is easier in my mind than painting the inside.

Can you see it?

Update:

So it turns out the mirrored back was actually 3 pieces of mirror.  I now have 2 long mirrors, and 7 more years back luck.  Buuuuut what else is new?

With 2 more days of work on this monster here is what it looks like now:

detail of some distressing

This was yesterday after I went a little nuts with the sander

And here it is today after another coat of black, and priming the inside with Kilz.

I am hoping tomorrow is warmer so I can finish up the black, and start the sand/cream inside.

What have I done?

So, I sold my kitchen hutch yesterday.  I'm thrilled someone likes it, and happy to have the cash.

But I miss it!  Look at this blank hole in my kitchen!!!

I had no idea how much that thing 'made' my kitchen.
Let the hunt begin.

The Butlers Pantry

We do not have a huge kitchen.  It certainly beats the small galley we had in the 'old house', and I am no gourmet, so it's fine for us.  When we built the house, keeping in mind our kitchen was a bit smaller than those you see on the market, or on those renovations shows, we added the Butlers Pantry.  It was also in keeping with our desire for this house to appear to be an older house.

As does happen with housebuilding we reached a point where our wallet was saying ouch, and some things were coming in way, WAY over budget [$20k well, anyone?] so we started cutting things out.  The cabinets in the butler pantry were on that 'we'll do it someday' list.

Now I am glad it worked out that way.  I wrote in a previous blog about the Architectural Salvage place where we bought a majority of the items in our house, Green Demolitions.  In building this house searching for bargain finish items is a habit I've not been able to shake even though it's mostly finished.

So one day while checking Green Demo I spotted these cabinets, called to get measurements, and bought them sight unseen [ok I obviously saw a pic, but not a detailed one].

When we went to get them hubby was worried they were not what I was expecting, I looked at them and was ecstatic that they were beyond my expectations!  They are custom made, solid pine with the most amazing details.

Here are pics of the install:

I put up beadboard wallpaper on the wall as a backsplash and painted it to match.  Then we bought some  crown molding to finish them off:

See the little turn peg under the glass door?  

Each door has one of those, and a groove where they pass over to age the cabinets.

The the right of the cabinets is an Ikea wardrobe we use as a closet.  *Someday* I will have a freezer right there, and a pantry closet, so the closet can be a closet like it was supposed to be, not a pantry like my builder decided it should be.  Apparently, in his mind, blueprints are merely a suggestion.

And then came the accessorizing, even though, yes the cabinets still need leveling, and a toekick and the ceiling needs to be repainted:

What a great place to display Grandma C's china pieces

Stallion ad from 1805

Miscellaneous equestrian art

WEEEEEEEE!  Why do horseman enjoy a 'crash and burn' so much?

Are you sitting down?  The cabinets, including the granite counter, were under $400.

They were finished with a pickling finish [you can get an idea of the finish if you look at the back of the inside of the uppers].  I covered that with the dove grey paint, and I had to putty some holes, and of course we added the crown molding, some trim, and the beadboard wallpaper [a roll of which goes a Loooooooong way].  I would guess all totaled, we came in well under $500.

SEE why I love Green Demo???

It's been SO LONG!

What a couple of weeks it's been!

I had that head cold, sinus thing that was going around, and then had to get out of bed to help with the First Annual Charity HorseShow for Equine Rescue Resource, the rescue for whom I do all this furniture.

The show was a smashing success, with the perfect turnout of competitors and enthusiasts, and the incredible work of volunteers that made for an incredibly fun day.

I was placed at the Auction Table, where I was just amazed at the array of items people donated
-Hay
-handmade soaps
-Breyer Horses
-A chance to get a custom art work
-Vet services
-A Handmade wooden saddle stand
-Pilgrim statuettes

And of course yours truly had to have items there as well.  I planned to sell the dog bed there, and not only did I sell it, but to a lady who has had just the most harrowing year this year with her horse.  To think that something that I made put a smile on her face, is just the ultimate compliment!

I also, as I ran out of the house at 6:30 that morning, started grabbing anything that wasn't nailed down to sell.  Including the cow pictures from my kitchen wall.

They're back because though I got oodles of compliments on them, no one bit.

I have meant for so long to print the other Fair pictures I took this year, and I think I'll hurry and get those ordered and framed to sell at the next show

Our Fearless leader, in the midst of all that she had on her plate in the last weeks, actually stopped in one of the less savory towns in our county when she spotted a table in a garbage heap she thought I could use to make into a dog bed.  It is SO PERFECT!!!

Can you see it?

And look at the detail....

I'm adding some feet, some finials [after I cut off those feetlets that were covered in a brass thingamabob], paint [of course] and bedding....

Here's the question, what color?  I'm seeing a shabby chic distressed off white simple 4 poster.  

But then to do some color combination that would highlight and play off that greek key design would be cute.  

It could also become a canopy bed.

As always your ideas are welcome.

NEXT!!

So I've been searching Craigslist for a new project- something that sorely needs a makeover, but also something uber cheap, cause I have not sold much in the last month.  I wanted something in which to display more of those boxes and boxes of my grandmothers china in.  I found this baby last weekend, drove an hour to pick 'er up, and started right in.  

Of course, before I took before pictures.  I always forget before pictures in my excitement to dig in!

Previous projects I've worked on as the urge struck me.  Most times I'm so driven to see my vision materialize that I spend a lot of time on it and forget to keep track.  I also decided, upon seeing just how much room she takes up in my garage, that she is WAY too big for the Dining room, so just like *that* she's a resale project.   Apparently I can see a 'distance' to a fence on horseback, but eyeballing a furniture item and figuring just how much room I have in a room?  Not so much.

Base before-ish [I sanded before remembering to take pictures]

Top, true 'before'

During, a coat of primer and a coat of red applied:

A coat of black, or two

Dry brushing on some more red

Ok so where was I?  Oh yes, I am at day 3 of dry brushing on red... Thursday it had too much red showing, yesterday not enough.  My goal is to be done with it Sunday.

This is only the second thing I've done black, and I was sold on the idea from the minute I saw it... and now am wavering.  What do you think?  Would it have been better to go Antique white on it?

Places to go, People to see

Sassy Sites Blog Hop

Check it out!  Lots of great Blogs to read, as well as inspiration and friends to be found!


Ok I have to add this inspiring idea.  Remember my dresser dog bed?  Well what about these adorable Drawer beds?  INSPIRED!
The Decorative Paintbrush, drawer-full-of-possibilities

LOVE IT!


I'll also leave you for the weekend with the link to Green Demolition:
Green Demo

If you are in Norwalk CT area, Northeastern Pa area, or Northwestern NJ area they have a location and amazing deals near you!

Pssst, I have a secret to share

http://greendemolitions.com/


This place is a treasure trove and since I already got all the items I need for my house, and we're broke... I can share.  :D


Green Demo takes items from housing remodels, and offers a tax deduction to those donating the items- so if you are ripping something out, donate it!


Then they sell the item- so if you are remodeling or redecorating- check them out.
I bet they have what you want and probably in an upgrade at builder grade price!  
In fact some items are brand spanking new like the Viking stoves.  Yes I said Viking Stoves!


And the $ they get for the items is used to support rehab!  
See why it's a great idea?




Items we got from Green Demo for our house:

Master Bathroom vanity.  Yes, I swooned when I saw it.

It is 8'8" long and I was sure there was no way we could get it into the house... then they told me the cabinet is 3 pieces.  I don't know if I have ever whipped out the Visa that fast before or since!  It came with the counter, undermount Kohler sinks, and the faucets.

Recently I took off the knobs and added new ones from Hobby Lobby that were more in keeping with the feel of the house/bathroom

Before, nice, but not my style...

... after.  Perfect!

 

Mudroom cabinets.  These are Wood Mode cabinets.  We can not normally afford WoodMode.

In the picture on the left is the cabinet that started out as my saddle cabinet.  The upper was to house 2 saddle racks for my saddles, shelves for helmets and bridle racks [yes, all that equipment for a horse I no longer ride].  The drawers held saddle pads and boots and other goodies... the bottom drawer actually held non-horsey items- my various throw entry rugs.

Since I no longer ride, I moved the horse equipment to the garage into an armoire I tricked out.... and we installed a hanging rod in the upper portion of this cabinet in the mudroom, for an instant closet.  The drawers now hold our various hats, mittens, gloves and other 'stuff'.

This set of cabinets, also in the Mudroom, I finished with a granite counter I also bought at GreenDemo.  If I remember correctly I got that 2' x 2' piece with beveled edge for $80.  Perfect for that spot where we keep keys, a charging station for cell phones,etc.  Leashes [yes plural] hang next to that cabinet.

The sides of the upper/lower cabinets were not 'finished' and I was hemming and hawing about what to do with them, when a friend suggested blackboard paint, so I painted both with that.  Now the upper is a message spot, and the lower directs people to leave their boots there.

The cabinets were an entire small kitchen, so I had enough to do my laundry room too.

The DEEP sink there is also from Green Demo.  Great for washing these stinky dogs.

[Yes the builder hung the hutch cabinet WAY too high originally over the sink]

Here's the laundry room more recently, with a bookcase that houses my grandmothers iron and other items.  This will someday be changed out with a pantry cabinet, in which I can store those mops/vacs you see there, as well.  Finally, from the pine Wood Mode cabinet uppers to the someday pantry cabinet, over the washer dryer, I want to install shelves, and then a counter over the w/d, once I get the frontload washer.   

My grandmother used this iron into the 1970s, heating it on her giant woodfired stove that she also continued to cook on.

Those canisters were in my grandmothers kitchen as well.  Alas they were a bit rusty when I found them in my dads barn, so for now they hold my washing powders.  On the top and bottom shelves, behind the curtains, are cleaning supplies.

On the other side of the room is a dresser that I use to store wrapping paper, my stash of wallpaper and other 'stuff'.  Someday I want that to be my project/craft center.  I want to get a new counter that run the entire length of that wall, and create a spot for me to sit and paint small things.  The wall above will be fit with peg board and shelves above that.  As you can see I also have one of those wooden drying racks where I can quickly place air dry only items as I pull them out of the washer.

As you can see, really long rolls of wrapping paper do not fit in the dresser.

Above the sink I painted a chalkboard, as I did with the end there over my dogs bed.

We never use this door, so the girls bed is right there in front of it.

This is the sink in the 1/2 bath.  It's a Vitra sink and came with the Jado faucets.

I knew neither of those names when I bought it, it was simply the right shape and cheap, cheap, cheap price.

I got 2 of the 3 toilets there too- all Kohler, all for less than the cheapest toilets at Home Depot.

I got several light fixtures there also.  The one above is over the garage doors.

These were bronze... some spray paint and they are awesome and look like wrought iron.  I think we got 6 of these [and we only used 4 of them] for $24.  I kid you not.  $6 for a can of spray paint, and Viola!

And the chandelier, closest in this pic, came from there.

The pendant you see behind it was a last minute, 'I gotta' find something to go there' find when the electricians installed the 2 pendant outlets in the ceiling with one of them too close to where that cabinet on the right was going in... meaning every time you opened that cabinet you would have dinged the pendant.  Annoying. So, instead of the 2 pendants I had, I had to go find one pendant.  We capped the other one that was too close to the cabinet... and yes it annoys me every time I look at it.

Here's the Butler Pantry I wrote a blog about, also from GreenDemo

during install...

... tricked out and almost finished.   We still need to repaint the ceiling where the paint/drywall came off with the paint tape [OY], level the lower cabinets and add toe kick trim, and then on the right add an upper cabinet over the freezer we installed, which will be to the ceiling and deep.  That cabinet, which will have to be custom made, will serve as storage for large, seldom used items.

I chose the grey paint for these cabinets from the granite counter, which is white, light grey, dark grey, with flecks of rust.

I love Green Demo and I know my house would not have half the upgraded items in it if I had not found them when I did.