Paint Job

After replacing some damaged carpet with a grey-toned remnant,

the blue hue in what we thought we meant to be a grey wall

was incompatible with it.  A trip to Sherman Williams paint store remedied

our dilemma.   My 90-year-old father-in-law and I went straight to work.

My wife is pleased with the new color.

Necessary Storage

This desk came to us - free!

It was missing one of the pieces between the two drawers on one side.

I constructed matching pieces to fill in the hole,

matched the stain,

and decided to leave the natural wood finish

 as opposed to our original plan

to paint it.

We also abandoned our original plan to sell it.

Wife placed it in one of our bathrooms 

where it functions well as a necessary storage piece.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

 Not sure what this piece was from or where we got it.

 I DO remember paying $1 for it..

 I removed the middle panel and will figure out a way to use it in another project.
Repairs were made and the piece sanded.

 The mirror for the opening has been purchased.

 And we decided to stain it dark rather than paint it.

My wife has a place in mind for this unique and rustic piece.

(I'll be rubbing a polyurethane finish on it after the stain has dried.)

Custom-Fit

 An extra table leaf + the base of an old patio table

spray painted black and attached to the top

with conduit clamps

 equals a table custom-fit to a space on our stairway landing.

(My wife wants to state for the record that she has "edited"

the display significantly since this photo was taken.)

Ready and Waiting

Ready and waiting.

Completely "reborn" for a specific purpose--

to provide a place for my father-in-law's small television

in the corner of our kitchen.....

The other shelves will be used to house games 

we frequently play at the table

and music books my wife uses at the keyboard 

which fits snugly beside the shelf unit.

I'm on to another interesting project!

Stay tuned.

Another Life

 This shelving unit is about to live yet ANOTHER "life"!

Most recently relegated to an obscure spot in an outbuilding,

it was brought indoors to be remodeled and used as a TV stand

(small TV in the dining area of our kitchen).

 It needed a little extra height, so my first task

was to fashion legs for it.

Here it stands, complete with a piece of trim above the legs -

barely visible in the photo.

A good sanding and paint job are all that remain

before it is put to use!

Creating Corner Guards

 When we couldn't find corner guards in our local lumber or big box stores

 and the price on the internet ranged between $30-$50,

 we decided to get creative.

I purchased 8' corner pieces of trim,

trimmed them to size,

and set to work (tedious, delicate work) forming caps from a scrap piece of trim I had.

I glued the caps to the top of the guard piece.

 The result was quite fine!

 A savings for sure.

New Life/Old Chairs

 New life for old chairs.

3 coats of homemade chalk paint,

sanding, wax & buff.

Progress

New drawer constructed, complete with grooves to match those on the door.

The center door also sports a glass panel now...

Trim pieces were applied to the bottom of each side

to cover some damage.

Celebrating the 4th

I celebrated the Fourth of July 2016 in the garage.

Cool and cloudy weather was just right

for beginning to fashion a replacement front for one of the small drawers 

and a "pull" for it as well.

I'll also repair the bottom of one of the sides that has some damage on it.

The top middle door is missing its glass...

Plans are currently to paint the piece when it's finished.

Project Completed

My wife approves!

Modification

 Adding legs to the "freebie".

 

Next?

Sanding & paint.

Porch Beautification

New paint job!

What a difference it made...

Road Kill

Our kind of "road kill".

Stay posted!

We can do SOMEthing with this...

Potting Bench

In process - Potting Bench

Using up old (many free) boards from my wood pile.

 I used the two "wings" from this salvaged piece of table leg
to make brackets for a shelf - also constructed from salvaged wood.

 

"The Right Intervention"

Really? Even the floor’s going to stay as it was in the garage?

Yes. Of course, it will be cleaned, but all of its grooves and irregularities will stay. I’m always really looking for the right intervention, the right gesture, that will change a room but not distort it. It’s important to me to preserve the history of a space, to leave something of the original quality intact.

This quote from a blog post I read recently expresses my philosophy in restoring wooden pieces. And this is the final view of one of them.It is scheduled to be picked up this evening, so I'll have more space in my garage for a new project!

Progress on the Dresser

What's Next?

 I planed this wood to get it ready for a project -

potting bench, perhaps? 

The plan is still "hatching"...

Meanwhile, we rescued this dresser to repair and refinish.

Finished

Mirror and (unintended) view of our living room - "as is".

Winter Project

 This mirror - a thrift store purchase...

 After gluing a few loose joints, I carved out a squared shape
to encompass the chip in the backside of the frame.

Then I created a patch to fill in the shape.

After the glue dries, it will be time to select a paint color.