armoire

A few months ago I got a group email from a friend who was trying to find a new home for a TV cabinet their family didn't want anymore. I immediately thought my daughter would like it. (Remember she and her family just moved to Michigan). She gave me the go-ahead to claim it for her.

And then she decided that she really didn't think she could use it.

I didn't think I wanted it, because, you know, we are getting rid of stuff, not accumulating stuff. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized this cabinet could be just what we need to replace the cheap, open bookshelves we have had forever. (Not that there is anything wrong with cheap, open bookshelves. Ours were just looking super worn and sad. And very old.)

Once we got it home I realized this was going to be perfect!

Our friend made this while he was in high school. It is oak and heavy and really well constructed. 

Holy cow. We had him autograph the back - He may be famous some day. 

Such a great armoire!

I have always wanted an old armoire. They are so versatile and full charm.

This thing is deep. Remember when TVs were huge and you needed a big furniture to fit them? Luckily, I didn't want to use it for a big old TV.

But, it needed just a little tiny bit of help to make this a little more "us".

First up - a layer of paint. 

The stained oak with brass handles was very popular and such a great look for the 80s and 90s. I probably would have loved it then, too. But I want to make it look like it's been around a lot longer than that.

After one coat.

And the second coat.

See the edge of the bookshelf on the left there? Sorry I didn't take a full on photo. You will just have to believe me that they are a wreck.

Looks so different already! I just love painted furniture.

And, now it's a different color.

I got this great color at Lowe's. I tried to get a sample photo of it, but I could not figure out how to get just a photo of the color. 

But you can see it is a muted blue-gray color that I thought would be pretty terrific. And it is.

I wanted it to look like it's been painted several time over the years. So that is why I did the two coats of white first, and then the two coats of the blue-gray. I could have gotten really crazy and done even more, but I was getting a little too anxious to put this thing to work.

I actually made this color into chalk paint, following this tutorial.

Chalk paint finish is very matte, which means it has no shine at all. In fact, it almost looks powdery. It is such a cool finish for something that you are trying to make worn and loved. And it distresses really well. If you want to sand the edges and scuff something up a little to make it looked a little bit aged, this is a great paint for that. Straight latex paint sometimes peels instead of sanding off in a more natural looking way.

Can you see that edge there? See the white paint peeking out a little? Just what I wanted.

Another great thing about distressing a piece, besides the awesome patina you can get, is that you don't have to worry about future scuffs and scratches. Any natural wear just adds to the charm!

Got the doors and drawer fronts all painted up, too.

(Another accidental shot of the book shelves that will soon be in a garage sale.)

I dropped this door while prepping it. See the little crack at the joint? The door is put together so well that it didn't even loosen, but it did add a little character when the paint cracked. So glad I don't have to freak out about that imperfection. In fact, I like how that happened.

When using chalk paint, a wax rub is a great idea to get a protective coat. This wax is clear, but there are darker ones that looks like a light stain that also add a cool subtle, antique-y look.

But here's how the clear looks. Just brings out the color a little, kind of like when a plain rock looks a little fancier when it gets wet.

You just swirl the wax around with a rag, and then buff it with a soft cloth. Piece of cake.

The one on the left is waxed. See the difference? It's nice and subtle. 

You can see how the light reflects off the waxed finish. The wax makes it look done.

Hero cut a board for one more shelf. Clearly not the same caliber of wood - oak versus particle board.  But since I am painting it and putting it behind closed doors, it works just fine for us.

Something else that really helps in creating a different look is new hardware. I found these awesome knobs at Hobby Lobby - 50% off, of course.

(I kept the same hinges - just painted right over them. No big deal.)

All done. I love it! 

Looks really different now

And it holds a ton. I got everything in plus a little more. 

We love it.

Thanks Matt and Stacie.

bathroom update

The bathroom is on the list for a renovation, but not until maybe next summer. We have a few other projects up our sleeves to get on before it is this room's turn.

We may or may not have started with something that looked like this:

Actually this photo is after some clean-up. 

Then we took it to this point:

Which was much more live-able. But we still had a long way to go.

I'm sure you have seen these 1950's bathrooms before - There are a lot of them still around. They are built like tanks and usually all one color. We certainly cannot fault the quality of the materials used, just the overabundant use of blue.

So while we are dreaming of the day when we can really start a complete bathroom overhaul (Besides all the blue, we are starting to see a few problems that are not going to go away on their own), we have to be patient.

So hard.

Hero and I came up with a few things that we could do in the meantime that we could do to get rid of a few things that make us crazy make our bathroom work a little better for us.

(And the reason we started thinking about these few updates is that we bought new, desperately needed towels. It is very strange how projects get started around here.)

1 - Get rid of the useless towel bar. We actually used to have a row of six hooks right under the window (See the leftover holes?) But when there were towels hanging there, it was a little tricky to find the toilet paper. We ditched the hooks (moved those to Colin and Liam's room for them to hang their towels on. They always took their towels in their rooms anyway. Now they can hang it up instead of leaving it somewhere else in there room.)

2 - Lose the extended counter top. It is such a funky set-up! It has a cut out over the toilet to access the tank, which is better than not having the access, but so weird. 

Anyway, we don't like it.

3 - Ditch the soap dish.

4 - And it's evil twin, the toothbrush holder that would not fit any toothbrush made today.

5 - And while we are at it, that back splash is getting the heave-ho as well. I just don't understand how a four inch strip is supposed to protect anything. And that would be one less blue thing.

Hero started with the towel bar. Gentle, gentle....

Nice!

Oooh. Not so good. But really, at this point, we would rather have a hole in the wall that that towel bar.

But I know Hero has a plan for this.

Next up - The soap dish.

I think Hero really likes demolition.

That turned out great!

See that little "m" on the back? Another original "Murphy" product!

And the toothbrush holder vacancy.

Good place for these.

Hero loves this awesome reciprocating saw. Any chance he gets to give it some action, he takes it.

He just cut that strange jutting-out piece of counter right off.

And pry off the back splash.

Doesn't it look better already?

Maybe not quite done yet.

Great thing about these industrial strength tiles is that they can handle some tough scraping.

This is one of those super-duty scrapers we got for taking care of our stairs. They make the job so much easier! I cleaned all the industrial strength glue and caulk off while Hero harvested a few blue tiles from underneath the sink. That guy is a genius.

Cleaning out the industrial strength glue and grout to prep for the transformation.

Harvesting industrial wall tile stuck on the wall for the last 56 years with industrial strength glue and grout does not always result in a perfectly intact tile. Rats. But so.much.better than a useless toothbrush holder.

Hero just filled in the gaps with caulk and it blends in pretty good. 

Um, and after it is cleaned up a little bit, it will be even better.

Sealing that pesky edge between counter and wall should do the trick in keeping things sealed up. And it makes it look a ton better.

See? You can hardly tell where the new harvested industrial tile is. It just blends right in.

Nothing hanging uselessly off the wall, getting in the way, gathering dust.

And here is where we ended up. 

Hero filled the little holes leftover from the towel bar with pieces of harvested tile. Smart!

From this:

To this:

Not completely revamped. Not radically different. But enough revamped and different that it feels sooooo much better.

Still just as blue though.