A Door I Adore

 

I’ve been deep in the throes of home renovation for the past year.  We are doing it on a budget and I have been fortunate enough to have someone who has been in the renovation business for 30+ years who is willing to squeeze me in when there are lulls in his regular business for a much better rate.  Works for me and works for him.  It takes some planning and patience but that’s OK.

 

One of our our latest projects was replacing the old hollow core doors with solid wood.  I intended to replace them with vintage doors but that only happened with 2 of the doors – the rest were bought new.  That’s just how it worked out. 

 

So…..

This crappy old hollow core door to the attic went from this….

 

 

This is what it looked like mid-way through the process….

 

Broken glass, yucky paint, not pretty.

The original hardware did not align with the existing hardware so we had to make some adjustments.  We had to close up the old hardware cut-outs to make new ones that aligned.  We filled the space with a chunk of wood and then used auto body filler (one brand is Bondo).  This stuff dries quickly and is a dream to sand.

I decided to replace the glass with two panes of plexiglass with a piece of lace curtain in between.

Love it!

 

I was also blessed to receive 8 sets of 1940’s crystal door knobs from a friend as a Christmas gift.  They have a story behind them.  Her father was building a house in the 1940’s and midway during the construction the house burned down so they were never used.  She kept the knobs for all these years and when she knew what I had planned, she surprised me with this gift.  A very special gift from a very special friend.   Thank you Betsy!

Nature’s Bounty

I am an outdoor lover.  I love walking in the woods and swimming in the ocean.  I probably should have been born with fur… or gills.  I especially love the crisp fall air.  So, last weekend, I headed out to a local pond.  Snips in hand and look what I found….

 

Makes me think of that old song … “.......and I said to myself, what a wonderful world”. 

Really.  Take a look around.  Mother Nature knows what she is doing!   How blessed are we?

P.S.  The ‘snow’ in the vase is epsom salts.  Such a thrifty project!   More on the frame in my next post.  This is it's 3rd life!

Summer Eye Candy – Container Gardening

Pinterest is one of my favorite places to spend a rainy afternoon.  I can get lost for hours at a time.    Since Summer is officially upon us, I thought I would share some out the summer lovelies from my Pin boards.   (You can click on the images to visit the original source.)

Some of my favorite flowers are Spring bulbs.  I love how these look in the galvanized pots.

You don’t need a piece of land to have a garden.  Container gardening can be beautiful.   Love the kettle!

You can even have a shabby garden.

If you live in an apartment, you can even garden UP!

An old door garden.

Now this one won’t fit on your deck or balcony but it’s still awesome!

Cheating with Martha - Room Divider Redo

On my thrifting adventures one of the things that I am always on the look out for is pretty fabric.   It can be sheets, shams, curtains, whatever.  Sheets work especially well because they’ re usually wider than most fabrics. 

It was on one such adventure that I met up with Martha.  Yes, Stewart.


I found this beautiful pair of curtains with a buttery yellow  background and cabbage roses from the Martha Stewart collection.   I didn’t have a plan for it then but it was definitely coming home with me.   Then inspiration hit.   An old room divider needed attention.  (Ooops.  Forgot to take a ‘Before” of the divider.)

This is where the benefit of recycling fabric comes in.    There is always at least one hemmed edge that can be used.  I sewed a seam on one end and used Velcro to create a pocket for the dowel to go through.  It might be cheating but it sure saves time.   A hem, seam and Velcro on the other end.


Recycling fabrics is a “good thing”.
This is furniture....'ish, right?   At the risk of being banished, I'm linking up for Furniture Feature Friday and Sunday Showcase.

Sunday Showcase

 

Road Trip to Maine - The Cutest Shop - Ever!

A few weeks ago my husband and I decided we needed a change of scenery and so we took a little jaunt.  We are lucky enough to live in an area that is central to all New England states.  We can be in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and even Cape Code in about an hour.   Vermont and Maine are about an hour and a half.  Eenie, meenie, miney……Maine it is!

First on the agenda was a drive to Lake Sebago.  My husband had been up to a friend’s lake house a few times and we thought it would make for a nice drive.  

Once we got off of I-95 we meandered along and that’s when I had an Ikea moment….. “Stop the car! Stop the car!”.   The cutest little shop was calling out to me.  “My Sister’s Garage”.  It’s little house with two floors of awesome stuff!  Look at the walls and ceiling!.

How pretty!

And it’s not just about shabby……

It really was one of those “Ohhh!” and “Awww!”  kind of shops.  I loved it and definitely plan to get back there.  If you are interested, they are on Facebook – located in Windham ME.

Bigger Isn't Better–OOK Picture Hangers

This post is less about what I did and more about what I found.  So no “before” just an “after” pic.

I painted this huge chalkboard over a month ago and it has been sitting in my garage ever since.


It’s big and heavy and I was worried about hanging it on the drywall in the shop for fear that it would come crashing down.   I finally decided that I was being silly.  First of all, it wasn’t going to sell sitting in the garage and, secondly, I was getting tired of moving it around when I worked on other projects! 

So off to the hardware store I went.    Looking for industrial sized picture hanging ‘equipment’.  Bigger is better, right?  

Since I prefer the local mom & pop stores that's where I headed.  I was greeted by a very helpful guy when I arrived.  I told him what I was looking for.   Already knowing in my head that what I needed were some big honkin’ wall plugs,  screws, etc…..a drill, hammer….    He suggested that I try these.

He told me that they are much easier to use and only require a hammer to install.  They hold up to 100 lbs.  No drilling for wall plugs, etc.  I was hesitant but he seemed to know what he was talking about.   Well let’s just say that it pays to ask questions.    I had the chalkboard hanging on the wall in less than a minute.

Lessons learned?   Use the local stores whenever possible.   Ask questions.  (That’s what they’re there for.)  I might still be standing in the aisle of the big box store with a blank look on my face.