two-tone tutorial

Hubby and I just finished this adorable country table for one of

our clients and we are thrilled with the way it turned out :)

When we got this, it was structurally in good shape, but had several

burn marks on both the table top and leaf. . .nothing that a good

electric sander can't take care of!

The chairs also had a great design. . .perfect for glazing :)

Our client wanted a deep turquoise with the top finished in dark walnut,

so we browsed through the color deck to find something that would

compliment the stain. . .

Using a 60 grit sand paper and our trusty orbital sander, we

were able to get down to the bare wood.

We also made sure to go back over it with a 100 grit to smooth it out.

One of our all time favorite finishes to use is Minwax Dark Walnut,

and can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowes.

Make sure the surface is dusted well, and brush on. . .

 With a clean cotton cloth (we cut up old t-shirts) simply wipe off. . .easy as pie!

When staining, do an entire section at a time. . .

Allow to dry at least 24 hours.

For the clear coat, we use both of these products, and get great results:

1. Brush on clear coat. . .after completely dry, sand lightly (sanding sponge) and dust off.

2. Follow step #1 again. . .if it's still not completely smooth, repeat this

step a third time.

3. Using the aerosol can in sweeping motions, spray on clear coat.

(you may want to practice this procedure on an old piece of wood first)

. . .and this is what you get

Here's one of the chairs before applying the glaze.

It's pretty just the way it is, but the glaze will deepen the color,

as well as bring it to life once it gets in the grooves. . .

Oooooh yes, that's what I wanted :)

Another shot of the table skirt before glazing. . .

A little distressing, a little glazing. . .



And there you have it. . .a beautifully stained, two-tone finish :)

Just like new. . .YUMMY!

You can learn more about our oil glazing tutorial here.

 

and...

 

If you want to see more tips, tricks, and ideas, click here to view all our other tutorials. :)

farmhouse restoration, part ll

You may recall this beautiful farmhouse we've been working on. . .

Last fall we refinished the exterior, which was a lot of fun :)

You can see the original transformation with loads of pictures here.

Anyways, here she is before. . .

Around the side of the house is a porch area, which looks more like the front

of the house to me. . .however, these houses were traditionally built with a

formal "front" door, a casual "side" door, and a "back" door. . .probably

for the dirty little rugrats that had been playing out in the fields all day :)

I love everything about this quaint little porch. . .except for the green

carpet, which was on our list of things to do.

While the guys were busy painting the garage, the girls and I decided to get to

work on the porch. . .little did we know that there was another layer of

the lovely carpet underneath! After much tugging, pulling, and squeals from

the occasional spider, we were able to get down to the original wood.

much better. . .

It's now ready for finishing :)

Just inside the porch door is the parlor. . .a tall narrow room, but very cozy :)

The initial idea for this room was to pull down the outdated wood paneling

and wallpaper, and hang bead board. . .however after realizing that the walls

were made of plaster, we decided it wasn't such a good idea since doing so

could do a lot of damage to the brittle plaster. . .

After discussing the situation with the homeowner, we decided to pull down the

wallpaper and texture the two outer walls. . .

We do have ladders, really. . .I promise!!

Here's a close up of the plaster walls with small chunks that had fallen out.

Needless to say, we were relieved with the decision NOT to tear out the paneling. . .

After removing the wallpaper, Todd got busy with the mud. . .

I LOVE the textured look. . .the inconsistent designs, and imperfect patterns.

. . .waiting to dry

Meanwhile, we got to work on the paneling. . .see the little area

that jogs out behind the red bench? That's a slender brick chimney, and

the homeowner wanted it exposed. . .good choice (her and I think very much alike ;)

Here you can see it peeking out :)

After pulling off the paneling, we found a quarter inch mortar layer

which we gently chiseled away at, revealing this beautiful soft colored brick. . .

LOVE it!!

I forgot to get an "after" shot,
which was really dumb, because it was my favorite part,
but next time we head up there I'll snap a picture of it.

Since we didn't dare remove the paneling, the next best option was
to paint it, so as to resemble a wood plank wall.

Here, we are applying a oil based primer, which will seal out any "bleeding" from

the paneling, as well as create a good bondable surface. . .

 before. . .

and after. . .

 

The paneled wall was finished in a soft antique white.

Wallpaper before. . .

. . .and after

We went with a neutral beige as an accent color, which allowed the

fun and cheerful red take center stage.

 Here's some of our restoration crew. . .

our oldest son and his darling wife to be :)

Our second son and his adorable gal. . .

 Todd and our third son working on the garage. . .

I'm behind the camera, which is a good place for me to be :)

Of course, we had to take an occasional stroll down the street to

visit the cattle and horses. . .this one was so friendly,

we wanted to take him home with us :)

Ahhhh. . .maybe someday :)

more shoppe items

We've been busy getting ready for the upcoming Farmers Market, and I decided

to play around with some different colors on our Farmhouse Signs.

Here is our "Pantry" sign in French Blue. . .



And in Cranberry Red. . .

I also decided to add a little color to our "Dairy" sign. . .

and. . .

We've also added a couple of Grain Sack Pillow Covers. . .

as well as. . .

The Farmer's Market starts June 2. . .come on out and visit if you're around!!