Repurposing An Old Folding Screen

Last week I finished this project! A friend was throwing out this folding screen, and I had to swoop in and save it. I didn't know exactly what I'd use it for, but an idea occurred to me after I got the screen home. We didn't have much lighting in our living room, and I really wasn't that happy with the decor around our tv before (it was unbalanced and just kind of an afterthought). I thought, well I could use these as sort of architectural pieces on the wall.. and then I thought I need to do some sconces instead so we can actually see at night..... and then the two ideas kind of combined as I tossed and turned with insomnia one night. That's when I get most of my thinking done. 

This is how the screens looked before hand. This is the back side, the front side has an intricate scrolling gold flower/dragon design carved into it. 

I first did a thin coat of Annie Sloan cocoa. The secret to this paint is LAYERING! Using several colors and working your brush every which way will give you tons of interest and texture.

Once the first layer was dry, I added a few stokes of French Linen. 

added in some Paris Gray....

and then added a Graphite wash over top.  I like to mix this color with water to almost like a stain consistency. You can do a wash over top of natural wood even and wipe it away- to give you a weathered/reclaimed wood look. It's amazing! 

I then added in pure white lighten it up some....

and more French Linen...

At the end, I sealed it with Annie Sloan dark wax. It brought out all of the colors and depth. Love this stuff! You can see how the layering of different colors and all the brush work really gives it that aged wood appearance. These were FLAT BLACK panels. Crazy right?

I unscrewed each panel so that there were 3 separate panels and painted every side well. Sealed those. 

I then attached the swing arm sconces and hung the panels on the wall. Voila! 

I like that they anchor the tv and the boat paddles and give symmetry. I'm all about symmetry. 

The room just feels so much more put together now. 

And now we can see at night! Much better! 

The third panel is going to live at one of my client's houses. Yay! 

Do you have any DIY plans this weekend? 

Picket Fence Progress: Part 2

Well, last week the guys rolled up their sleeves and went to town on the picket fence. I am shocked at how much they got done! Between digging post holes, finding the property lines, and figuring out the layout of the fence itself, it was a job. I assume it was anyways, I just supervised. I'm pretty good at that role. 

Since we live in Savannah and the dirt here is basically sand, the post holes were relatively easy to dig, or so I am told. However, the old post hole diggers bit the dust towards the tail end of the project, and a new set was a must. I can't imagine if the ground and soil were harder what kind of a beating it would have taken. Yikes! In any event, the holes were dug in no time. 

I think the hardest thing, or most tedious anyways, was actually screwing in each picket. Having a corner lot and a wild toddler means the fence had to be pretty expansive, expensive?, which means a lot of pickets. I think their knees were aching after day 3. I was sure to make them hot lunches each day, I'm not a slave driver...

I opted to have the posts show between each section rather than have the pickets nailed across the fronts like you see on  most picket fences. 

This meant more work for the men because they had to use brackets on the sides of each post to hold the top and bottom rails in place.  I think the end result is worth it for a polished and sturdy look. 

Each post is 4x4 and each one is capped. 

After running out of pickets, and most likely steam, there's still a couple of things left to be done. Hubs wants to extend the fence along the side of the house to meet the back yard fence. This way we can be certain the wild toddler won't escape easily. Not that I would EVER let her play in the yard alone. I'm way too crazy helicopter mom for that. To complete this, they have to add I believe two six more 8 ft sections. 

The front gate also has yet to be constructed. There will be two gates swinging opposite directions at the end of the driveway. This way I can close them shut when said wild toddler is riding her bike or doing sidewalk chalk. 

And just for fun, this is where we started back in August.

Once the construction is done and the fence has had a chance to cure, paint happens! Can't wait! And of course, I can't wait for spring landscaping. I'm sure my husband is rolling his eyes at this point. 

Embracing What's Old

I shared our guest room/nursery's most recent updates here. I'm back today with another new feature in the room. 

Our house is circa 1953. Also the year my mom was born (sorry for the out, Mom!). So, naturally, she has some old features. The house that is, my Mom still looks good (wink). 

Would you believe our house in Atlanta had walk-in closets in EVERY bedroom? So, moving to this Savannah cottage has forced us to get creative (and donate lots). I've never liked the closet doors. They just feel totally dated (60+ years, to be exact)  and well, cheap.

The best advice I can give if you find yourself in a similar situation with a similar budget, embrace it. I'm a firm believer in mixing the old with the new in every room. By doing so you'll achieve a collected look rather than a catalog sterile feel.  Whether it be mixing antique furniture with new accessories, new furniture with vintage oil paintings, or aged brass lamps with fresh funky patterned wallpaper, the balance of old and new is sure to give your space big personality and a timeless style. 

My plan of attack in embracing these old doors? Make them look even older. Chalk paint to the rescue. In order for the old doors to live in their skin, I wanted the old bumps and wrinkles to come through. Rather than leaving them stark white with a smooth surface, why not allow for them to be cracked and aging? Perfect way to bring in more texture to this space as well. 

I'll probably do more sanding and throw on another paint color in a few days once this dries completely. The colors are Annie Sloan duck egg blue and paris gray. Savannah locals, you can get all of your Annie Sloan products from Lily Bay downtown. They are very helpful and will guide you on your chalk paint journey. 

Another look at the before. 

And one last after. A little paint and sand paper will get you places! 

Working with what you have does not always mean settling for less. 

Have you embraced anything old in your home lately?

Linking to Savvy Southern Style for Kim's Wow Us Wednesdays party! 

Reading & Toy Bench

More things getting crossed off my nursery to-do list! I guess it is safe to say that I'm in nesting mode now. I'm so excited to see our little girl's room come together. I imagine it will be covered in crayon marks, chocolate stains, and juice box spills before we realize the time even passed, but it still thrills me to put it all together for her. 

I ordered a bench from... yes, Amazon... and it came last weekend. It's a simple white bench with three cubbies. Hubby went out of town this past weekend, so I got to work putting this bad boy together. Power tools, what! It took me about an hour to get it put together correctly. The directions were pretty good, but it came with a bajillion pieces of hardware. I found myself staring at each piece trying to unlock the magic code. 

 I used Pottery Barn baskets to fill the cubbies. But, it wasn't quite done yet. I really wanted the top to be upholstered. I had fabric leftover from the bean bag I had made (which should be coming in this week!) and thought I'd try Pinterest to see if the smart people on the web knew how to make a no-sew cushion. Oh, they do. There's only 10,000 posts on the subject. I didn't rummage through all 10,000, but I found one that sounded great. The words "hot glue gun" appeared on the items needed, and I knew we were made for each other. All I did was cut a piece of 2" foam to the right size, wrapped it like a Christmas package with batting, then wrapped that with my fabric.... using hot glue. Uh huh. 

A monkey could do it, really. A monkey.

It's not a professional job. If you flip the cushion over, you would see the rough edges and gift wrap resemblance. But who cares?

I think it makes the wood bench feel much cozier.

My three fabrics at play- Waverly Cross Section in Honeydew, Waverly Pebble in Caribe, and Richloom Isis in Seaglass. I tried to pick fabrics that could be used at any stage and weren't necessarily childish. Hopefully everything can be used in a big girl room, too. You know, until she tells me her favorite colors are pink and purple and demands it to be so.

Close up of the cushion. I'm in love with the Waverly Pebble fabric... can't wait to see the bean bag!!

The baskets and white pillow are from Pottery Barn (Savannah Utility Baskets and Jute Braid Linen Pillow in Ivory).  I look forward to filling those baskets with books and toys for the little sweetie. I picture many story times had in this little spot in the future. Will she like Disney, Winnie the Pooh, Dr. Seuss, Sesame Street? Will she love the classics like Goodnight Moon, Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear Brown Bear? 

Will she want to spend more time with blocks and Legos? 

Will she be a true dress-up diva and just want to pose for mommy's camera on her bench?

To say that I can't wait to find out is a complete understatement. 

Nursery Happenings

I had one very productive weekend. I got into clean up mode and couldn't be stopped before the nursery closet was cleared out, gifts and outfits were organized, baseboards wiped down, and the room was dusted and vacuumed. I also made one heck of a Goodwill pile!

After my cleaning frenzy, I made plans to start on my to-do decorating list. I ran out to Hobby Lobby in search of an off-white or white curtain rod for the room. I didn't really want to give RH Baby & Child the 100 bucks they want for theirs.  So, I happily spent the 100 on gas driving around town (ha).  I didn't find anything at HL, but they do have all of their Christmas on display. CHRISTMAS! Woah. Then I ran to HomeGoods, where I didn't come out with a curtain rod, but I did find a cute basket clothes hamper.  My search continued on to Michaels, Bed Bath, Steinmart, Marshalls, and Target. Didn't see a thing. I got home and decided I would search on trusty Amazon. Found it! And only $11.99 at that. With free shipping. Oh, and ps, I ordered this on Saturday, it was delivered YESTERDAY. Even my husband was shocked. Now that is fast!

I also got to work on pillows and finished two.....and my dragonfly mobile came in from Baby Jives last week. I am so glad I decided to splurge on this!

Yesterday, I got a call that my glider and ottoman set were on the way to be delivered. Hubs let me know around 2:30 that they were in the nursery and looked good. I thought he might send me a picture, knowing how excited I was about the chair.  He didn't, so I asked. The whole time I was dying from suspense.

I waited.

and waited.

And waited....

Dying a little more each minute.....

Almost an hour later, I get an email from Hubs with the following pictures attached.

Glider still wrapped up.

And ottoman still in its box.

I just couldn't help but laugh. Is this not the typical male thing to do? Men. I guess in his mind I wanted the picture as proof that the two items had arrived... not that I wanted to see what they actually looked like. I was expecting more along these lines....

I love the chair. It's so comfy, and best of all it was so affordable and came within ONE WEEK of ordering it. Free shipping here, too. Thank you, Amazon Prime!

Finished Headboard

Saturday afternoon, I decided it was time to put on my big girl pants and get to finishing this mega headboard. If you've been reading along, you know I've been at this thing (or leaving it laying dormant) since last summer. That's almost a full year. How sad am I?! It was overwhelming choosing fabric and finding something that I knew I could live with for a long time. But I finally found fabric... so I didn't have any other excuses. 

I ordered extra fabric in case I wanted to use it for throw pillows or something else around the else. It's Robert Allen Linen in Natural and I love it. It's a very good weight for linen, I would definitely recommend it.

Yes, Mom, I did iron it first...

I got down with my electric carving knife and wrapped that sucker in fabric. This was the chaotic scene.. it's gotta get ugly before it gets pretty, right?

And after what felt like 3 years of nailing these boogers in, finally the nail heads are complete. 

This was not easy. I got really frustrated. I wanted to cry. I wanted to give up. I wanted to chalk it up to another Pinterest DIY FAIL.

I didn't.

Once it was complete, hubby got to work hanging these brackets. Good job, Hubs. 

And here she is, in the room. It's like she is talking to me "see Ash, I was so worth it". She's not perfect, but she was way cheaper than any number I could afford. And I love her. I'll be honest with you, this was not an easy-peasy project in my opinion. This will be my first and last headboard project. Ha! (Sorry, Mom, I didn't iron my bed skirt....love you, mean it.)

But, in the end it was well worth it. It just adds so much to my bedroom, I couldn't be happier.

A closeup of the nail head detail. Those things will haunt my nightmares for a while. I used 3.5 inches of foam to make this headboard super plush.

I really love the fabric! 

 I told my husband the headboard was going to be big and tall. When we got it on the wall, he said "woah, you weren't kidding". I wasn't kidding. I wanted something huge and not puny. This is a long and horizontal space, and the large stripes I painted makes it feel even longer... so I knew I needed something big and bulky. Something that had presence. Something that demanded my attention. 

And so, here she is. Size 77"x42".

Seeing this view at night makes me very happy! I'm glad I powered through it and finished. 

                                I only wish it weren't Monday and I could go back to bed.....