Fabric Love!

 

My love for fabric started in high school when I took sewing in ‘home ec’ (I know – I’m dating myself!).  It’s not only the colors and patterns but the feel.  A piece of lace may look beautiful but when I touch it, if it’s ‘crunchy’, it just won’t cut it.  It needs to be soft and supple.

That brings me to my latest project.

I was thinking about throwing this out because it was rather sad looking but decided that since it was such a small project, I’d give it a whirl.   It’s a useful piece because the top opens an I keep slippers and flip flops in it.

First I painted it white (no pics) and then I went fabric hunting.

Success!  Only $6.98 a yard on the clearance table!  The pattern is called ‘Latika’ by Echo.  It’s nice and soft and has some weight to it.

Now the white paint wasn’t working.  So I dry brushed over the white with gray.

I think we all know the power of paint.  We can transform just about anything!

 

With about a 1/2 hour of effort, I’m glad I didn’t get rid of it.   It’s a keeper!

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!