My Creative Blog [Search results for The Barn] 

When I last posted about our carriage barn our contractors were just starting to frame out for the windows here. They also had to add new studs since the old ones weren't sixteen inches on center and carpenter ants and water had taken a toll on two sides of the building. Then it was a simple matter of sheathing so they could start to button this place up for winter.

Our contractors waited until all the other windows had been framed out before they would cut and frame for the half round window as their small way of torturing me. I'll admit I became a bit of a pest about framing out for that window but I just wanted to see! Just look how that half window is the crowning touch on the upper wall!

Inside looking out, look at that view looking out among the forest, it's like our own personal tree house! And the half round window fits perfectly up among the eave. It sits right on the main beam and goes right up to the rafters, it pays to measure!

Back side of the carriage barn and our contractor Rich who thought he was running the job site but lets be realistic as to who was running this job'lol, yes we butted heads a few times. You see that concrete slope along the bottom edge that was to direct the water away from the barn. They encased the sills under there as well. This barrier stops all water from leaking into the downstairs part of the barn. They placed drainage everywhere behind the barn since the mountain slopes down towards our barn. You see that opening behind Richs' back....

That would be this opening where a pair of French doors are going. This was where the original barn doors were located and leads out to this....

An old logging road that goes up into the forest, this whole back area used to be open pasture land and you can see from the size of the trees they aren't all that old. It has stonewalls on either side but as you can see there on the right part of the stonewall has been shoved about by the shifting of the mountain. Look how straight that left wall is, amazing they could do that over 200 years ago.

The other end of our barn facing out onto our backyard and as you can see our contractors have really made a mess of our yard, it goes clear around the house! The bottom half is where mister mans' workshop is located.

Looking out on the end shown above. The annex is located on the left over where the window is leaning against the wall.

Look at the view from that end looking out onto our backyard and forest. We're really very blessed to be surrounded by so much natural beauty.

The window above also faces out to our old barn area in the backyard, here you can see the entire foundation that the barn used to sit upon. Unfortunately the animal barn was struck by lightening at the turn of the 20^th century and burned to the ground. We plan on having that area cleaned up and graded for gardens.

After they sheathed that end and as you can see mister man is building another granite stonewall for his shop. That hanging wood frame is the frame for a window. This end had a lot of carpenter ant damage, similar to termites but the stone will stop those ants since they won't climb and can't penetrate stone.

Our carriage barn all sheathed and ready for the windows, two sets of barn doors need to be built for the lower front of the barn and then clapboard and it'll be set for winter. I can't wait to show you in my next post how the windows look!

I told you in my last post about our barn that the carnage wasn't over and just look at what our contractors did! Can you imagine my face when I walked outside and saw our barn hanging by a thread? It was necessary in order to fix the water problem since water and wood don't mix. I know it's a little dark but if you look inside under the barn you'll see that our foundation for the barn is made from stacked boulders. It won't fall since it goes back into the earth twelve feet! The foundation for our home is like that too in our basement and it's stunning! Isn't the barn pretty nestled in the forest?

The earth came up on the sides of the barn and was rotting the wood so in order to stop that little problem we decide to use something that would never rot from water'stone! Both end walls will be built up out of antique granite block to the second floor crossbeams. Since this is the granite state and our home foundation is all granite we weren't going outside of what is normal for our home.

That would be the husband laying the footers for the walls, he's very handy to have about. No he isn't a mason by trade but used to do it once upon a time in another life. You would think I would be married to the hulk since those cement blocks weigh 67 pounds apiece. Good thing he didn't get mouthy with me since he's already standing six feet under'.;)

Up go the granite blocks, those only weigh 18 pounds apiece and he's doing a double wall, one inside the barn, and one outside. The cement and one or two of the granite blocks will be buried once the earth is graded on the outside. The rebar in the middle helps to stabilize the walls.

Mister man had to hand cut those thick solid granite blocks to fit snugly around the boulders. Everything had to be precisely measured so when he reached the beam he wouldn't have to cut any blocks or end up with any gaps. It's amazing how he worked it all out but he has a saying: prior preparation prevents piss poor performance and trust me he did his prep work.

A corner that wraps around to the front or face of the barn, that corner will support one barn door when finished.

This is the end of the barn you can see from the street and as you're coming up our drive.

Look at that, to the left of the picture, see that support beam hanging out in thin air'another water incident that will soon be taken care of and look, the wall is up to the beam!

Mister man finally got smart and hired our contractors' 18-year-old son to labor for him and the kid didn't whine once'.now that's amazing!

You can see from the inside how the block wall came right up to the crossbeam. Look right there in the very middle, you can see how the blocks were fitted right into the boulder wall. Oh and that yellow tubing you see snaking through several of my pictures....yeah, that would be the propane for my stove and oven. Imagine how exhilarated I was to see people cutting and sawing around it?

One wall up now to get mister man to clean up this colossal mess! Yes, this whole mess is just from the husband not to forget that the contractors were here working and making messes of their own!

Not only did everyone have messes working on the driveway but they took over my front yard as well!

And then more trucks arrived with more deliveries. The excavator thought it a good idea to park his bobcat on top of the husbands' stone dust. To top it off the cement guy thought the stone dust was a great place to wash leftover cement into, do you know how that stuff sets up'it's concrete! Trust me ladies this sort of work is not for the weak of heart to live around!
Stay tuned for next week when we feature'.oh yeah more mess!

When I last left you mister man was finishing up the front granite stonewall. While he was busy our contractors were busy straightening our barn. As you can see the original floor had to be removed since the joists weren't close enough together and it made straightening the barn out that much easier. The sills were all rotted since they weren't pressure treated, they were 220 years old and once again water was a problem so the barn had a definite lean backwards.

New floor joists going in the middle to give the contractors somewhere to stand inside. Everything had to be beefed up and brought up to code.

This picture you're looking out the other end of the barn and you can see the barn boards have been removed to make way for the other granite stonewall mister man will be building on the lower half. That granite wall will be one long wall in mister man's workroom.

Mister man's workroom with the floors removed, it was a dark and dank little place and was used as a chicken coop at one time. We know this from items we found buried under the floor. Look how cool the floor joists are, whole tree trunks, those are being left in place since no rot.

Plywood was placed down on the new floor joists so the guys could have their equipment inside in case of rain. They've only done the middle of the floor up to this point, the cross boards were placed to keep people from accidentally walking off into space.

If you look at the beam just above the cross boards you can see steel cables running along it, these cables were used to slowly bring the barn back into an upright straight position before placing the new sills. Since they had to bring the whole barn forward a total of eight inches, which is actually a lot, and it's attached to our home it had to be done slowly over several days.

The beams on our barn were attached to each other just by sliding them together in notches. In order to make sure they never split apart again each corner where the beams met were reinforced with thick metal plates.

After straightening out our barn then the window framing went in and as you can see the new insulated windows are longer/larger then the old windows. Look, mister man cleaned up most of his mess in front but that cement mixer needs to go, unfortunately he felt the need to purchase that silly thing!

Just look how big that window is going to be, yes the whole wall! Can you imagine how I felt seeing that? I was jumping all over the place with excitement! The half round window is going right above the big window the light will be amazing!!!

Since the frame is so big the contractors had to place some cross framing to hold it in place until the window was installed.

Here's an inside look at the annex just off the carriage barn where I'll store pillows and textiles and aside from being striped to the bones it hasn't been touched yet. Sort of looks lonely to me.

And once again we have another pile of dirt but this time out back I was surrounded by piles of mess everywhere.

This small mountain of dirt is out the back of the barn where they had to dig out in order to place the new sills. Trust me it reached a point where I didn't think I would ever have a clean house again since this job started in late summer and I wanted windows open. It's New Hampshire and here we don't need air conditioning 99% of the time so windows are open. Our entire home was surrounded by some kind of mess and this wasn't going over well with me.
Stay tuned for next week for an amazing transformation!

I would also like to thank Ursula over at Aged and Gilded for the wonderful limited edition candle from Seda France. I won her Valentine Day giveaway and I wish you could smell these candles of tuberose, clove, white floral and spice, they're out of this world!!! Tuberose is also my favorite flower so I was thrilled to have won these votives. Thank you so very much Ursula!

I have to tell you I love that wall of windows, its like being up in the treetops! Now that the windows are in they need to be framed out and I for one was wondering how they did curves since wood doesn't come rounded. I don't know about you but I was hugely fascinated by how they did this process.

Before the half round window went in they made a template on plywood by simply laying the window down and drawing a line around it. Then they cut and screwed pieces of wood around the inside of the template. Next it was a simple matter of cutting thin long lengths of wood, the thin wood bends, and they glued and nail each piece together.

They just kept adding layers until the desired frame thickness was achieved.

Then sanded the whole frame and filled in tiny holes with epoxy glue that really sealed the whole thing together.

Since our barn doors on the outside needed arched framing our contractors took over part of the barn for this building process while the annex was being insulated with spray foam. (Look out that big window, see the tree tops!)

You can see one arched frame for the half round window standing up in the annex along with its template. See how big they are compared to the door? This picture was taken after the annex was insulated with spray foam, you don't insulate inside walls. You can also see some of the plasterboard going up on the ceiling between the rafters. No insulation needed there since we raised the roof and insulated on the outside.

See how nice the framing came out and you can't even tell it was made out of several lengths of wood rather then one.

One of the changes mister man and I decided on was the staircase leading up into the barn. Originally it was going to be all wood but since mister man had a bit of antique granite stone left from building the two end walls (and lets be honest he can't help himself) he thought a stonewall staircase would look amazing. Unfortunately that meant deep digging for the footers since stone is too heavy for a simple sonatube.

It was a little hairy having a small excavator in the lower part of the barn under the floor joists, there were only mere inches above it to move and every once in a while the whole barn was rattled from the slight bumps from the excavator. It would have been infinitely easier had mister man decided the staircase sooner but there you go! Because the mountain we live on has a natural water aqueduct the hole the excavator dug wanted to fill with water so we had our very own mini moat in the lower part of the barn.

We were going to need the dirt the excavator removed to fill the hole back in after mister man built the footers so it was placed on the other side of the barn. See that back wall of boulders, the entire back of the barn sits on the wall and it extends about twelve feet out into the back under the soil so no fear of that puppy ever coming down. Our entire home sits on a foundation of boulders.

Speaking of puppy, Dylan couldn't help himself and climbed up on the mountain of dirt. It was cool, he likes heights for some reason, and lets be realistic, he's a dog, it's DIRT! Look at that happy face!

So while mister man went to work on the footers for the staircase and the barn was being insulated it was now my turn to head off and do some wheeling and dealing, time to see about purchasing the antique flooring! Up next the stonewall staircase, wait until you see!

It was very exciting the day the windows started to go on the barn and just as I had hoped our contractors started on the end facing the road. That big window arrived in one piece and weighing in at 600 pounds it expands almost from beam to beam, big window! It had to be jacked up with six guys to lift it in place and with the guys all standing on something that's only 22 inches wide holding something taller then them, trust me it was scary to watch. One little slip from anyone and the whole thing would have been rubbish on the ground. Of course my contractor didn't put in the half round window next since that would have made me happy, it was a love/hate relationship'lol.

The back of the barn, you see that weather strip of copper and it looks like there are two overhangs off the roof, it's because there are two overhangs the original roof and the new. When it came time for the guys to frame out the inside of the barn we noticed there wasn't going to be enough room for even spray foam insulation between the rafters without hiding the rafters and we wanted to keep the rafters exposed since they're so beautiful. So instead of insulting on the inside they insulated on the out. Meaning they ripped the shingles off the roof and basically built a roof on top of a roof so they could get enough insulation up. Shame I don't have any pictures of that step because it was something to see.
The roof was change number one. We tried hard to stay with our original plan since changes can be very costly. This change was a weeks worth of labor for three guys and a new roof on the barn....get the idea?

Opposite end from the big window, this is the other side in the backyard. The window below is mister man's workshop and second completed granite wall. Do you have any idea how hard I work to get our lawn that green and lush? No respect from the men I tell ya!

The front of our home, the barn is an ell off our home. The Annex is located to the left, you can see one small original window there.

Voile, finally the half round window went up! Talk about torture waiting!

An inside look, just look at that lush view!

Opposite end from the wall of windows.

Our contractors also started framing out the annex, the room right off the barn, and placing two small walls that had been torn out but then I noticed something....you see that door, it leads into mister mans office and when you come through it you see the French doors. Or I should say door since with that new small wall there it was going to block off the view to the outside.

But quick work with a saw to cut that wall down worked!
To give you a little height perspective that door is 7'1', homes don't have codes for door heights, see how much higher the ceiling is? The barn floor sits lower then the annex floor and the ceiling is way higher. Headroom will not be a problem!

Voile, looking outside!

French doors finally in place. The wood frame sticking up in the middle there is blocking off the opening for the staircase so nobody took a fall since it was still a big open hole.

At last our contractors took pity on me and started the clapboard on that end. I came home and was coming up the drive when I had to stop and stare since I didn't know it was going up that day'perfection! At this point of our renovation it was starting to get cold out with winter fast approaching and we had painters coming to paint the outside so the guys were racing to get the clapboard up. Wait until you see what's coming next!
Next, the details!

While the upstairs of the barn was being spray insulated the downstairs was fast coming along. One of those things was the staircase that mister man felt the need to change in the design, something else that cost more money! Even though mister man was building the stonewalls and he was using leftover granite blocks it still cost extra to have half the lower barn dug out as seen here.

While these pictures don't look like much yet it will. The staircase is 42' wide and goes up and takes a 90-degree angle.

Here you can start to see the walls coming together with cement and granite blocks. The cement blocks will be hidden under the treads so no sense in wasting expensive antique granite blocks.

The brick you see in the middle of the wall won't show either but since mister man had cement blocks and granite blocks in that one pass he had to make the granite as wide as the cement to keep things even. All kinds of tricks! You can see here that as you start up the stairs they face out the back of the French doors.

Mister man allowing a rare picture of himself but he worked his tail off to finish the walls in two days time. This picture was snapped after spending a fourteen-hour day up to his knickers in cement and stone. He usually looks so much better but someone was tired!

The next morning after having an acid bath to wash all the stone dust off the walls. The cement block area under the stairs will be storage.

The stairs are actually going to be wood since building the rises and treads out of stone would have meant building the underneath as a solid structure. It would have been heavy and not cost efficient. See how the treads will hide the cement block and you'll be left with just the pretty antique block showing'love it!

Above view looking down the staircase.

While the staircase walls were being built our contractors were busy finishing up the rest of the downstairs that included mister man's workshop and the main barn area. This is a view of mister man's workshop, remember how dark and dank the place was, look below'.

Not a very welcoming room huh?

Here's a view of the barn floor where we decided to make it pretty. Since the back wall is stone boulders, one sidewall was granite block, we decided the floor should reflect all the stone. Very easy to do by tossing small stones in on the wet cement to give it texture.

If you look at the top of the picture you see what looks like two small rooms. The one on the left is storage under the staircase, the other holds all the heating units for the radiant floor heat upstairs.

Close up of what the finished floor looks like....

That raised back cement step just in front of the boulder wall is actually a French drain since water could still tickle down through the ground and out the boulder wall but so far no water so our contractors have done their job! As you can see the whole barn is really starting to take shape.
Up next, buttoning her up!

This project is an oldie, but a goodie. We realized that we never posted about the amazing coffee table that Monica made for our first Nate Show, and that we now have listed for sale in our Etsy shop. We like to call this little beauty, our Barn meets Beach Coffee Table.

Luckily for us, my father-in-law supplies us with amazing barn wood from his barn in PA. but don't worry! We'll show you how to recreate that look if you don't happen to have piles of reclaimed wood laying around. Stop what you're thinking right now! We are NOT crazy, you just never know when a project might call for wood. Ha!

Are you ready for the DIY trick that makes this project sooooo easy? The base of our table is made of two adirondack tables! No extra assembly required, which, let's face it, is exactly what we like about this project! I bought ours for $12 each from Home Depot during an after-season sale (right now they're $29, but if you wait, they'll come down!), and had them laying around in my garage for when inspiration hit. (You should have seen the hoarding going on in our garages, just in case we needed something to impress Nate! )

We started by priming just the legs of the tables (you won't see the table tops once the barnwood top goes on) with Rustoleum's Ultra Cover in Gray.

We love the color of the primer so much that we often use it alone (true story: I have four frames in my basement that are painted with this primer!), but this table was going in my nautical/cottage style basement, so we went with a Valspar Spraypaint in Navy.

While the paint was curing, we got started on building our table top. We laid our wood down so we could move it around until we figured out the perfect arrangement. Isn't barn wood gorgeous?! Confession: the actual table top in the picture above was already assembled when my dad-in-law found it in his barn! All Monica had to do was place it on top of the adirondack tables she painted. How's that for good luck?! But since then, we've made them to sell, and follow this method for a very close match.

We measured 44 inches long and 33 inches wide, made marks, and cut the wood with a circular saw (you can use a chop saw, if you have one).

You may have noticed that our table has beautiful blue tones, and we can't take any credit for it because only years and the elements can create that, but we can fake that look pretty darn well, if you ask us.

So here's the break-down: We used a very dry brush to paint Benjamin Moore's Beach Glass on the wood. The key here is not to cover up all of the wood, just brush it on randomly. We are not aiming for perfect coverage here! Then, we wiped on Valspar's Translucent Color Glaze in Mocha, focusing on the cracks, bumps and holes in the wood. Let it sit for a few minutes and then wipe it away. Sand down any thick paint spots and then brush on one coat of a water-based polyurethane. We recommend water-based because it seals the wood (so a glass with condensation left on it won't ruin it!) and because it doesn't alter the color of the wood. Oh yeah, do the same treatment on the edges too, because they'll be visible!

Ta-da!

Just to prove it to you, here's the faux-barnwood next to the real thing:

Pretty close, wouldn't you say? We wanted it to look a bit more polished, but if you want a more rustic look, you can sand it down even more to reveal the wood beneath.
To build the support frame underneath, we took four 1x2's and cut them to size. The two end pieces were 33 inches, and the long sides were approximately 40 inches (make sure the ends butt up against each other.) Lay the boards face down and then place your support pieces along the edges and nail into place. Grab a friend to help with this because you want all the edges to be aligned, and the boards to stay in place.

We also added two bigger boards in the center as an extra support, and so it rests evenly on the adirondack tables.

Once the top is done, flip it over and place it squarely on top of the adirondack tables. If you want, you can screw the adirondack tables into the barnwood top, but we skipped this step! I loved being able to switch things up if I want, or create open space if I need it by folding up the adirondack tables and hiding the top!: ) This beaut is now residing in my basement and I couldn't love it any more than I do!

We're hoping this table inspires you to bring a little barn wood into your homes!

Linking up to: TT&J, Sundae Scoop, Sunday Showcase, Saturday Night Special, Show & Tell Saturday,

When we bought our house, there were several outbuildings scattered throughout the property. There was the old sheep barn that was collapsing in beyond repair, there was an aluminum shed, a quirky wood shed, a pole barn, the barn with the guest quarters, and the sauna (pictured above).
The old sheep barn, the aluminum shed and the quirky wood shed all got hauled away to the rebuild it center. The rest we kept, including the sauna.

I'll give you a quick tour. It's a small two room sauna that reminds me of the old rustic camps I use to visit in Maine.

I can tell you that Hubby was beyond thrilled when he discovered this building on our first tour of the property and imagined sitting in here after a long day of skiing. The above room is the changing room and has lots of old vintage towel racks, old hooks, a little vanity and benches to sit on.

Even Lucy was excited about the sauna. Here she is taking in the ambiance of the old steam room. Aren't the benches classic? And see the old shower faucet hanging from the cross beam?

But Hubby's dream came to a screeching halt when the house inspector warned us that the above water tank was a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. In other words, don't use the sauna in its current incarnation — ever.
Hubby had ideas to update the system but when we realized that all of the wood in the steam room had been coated with urethane, we knew we'd have to reside the whole interior as to not get high on toxic fumes. The charred wall was also a deterrent — obviously the barrel stove was a fire hazard.
So it sat.

Until one day a couple of winters ago, we put my old treadmill in the changing area and started using the space as a workout room. And that's when we decided that the building would serve us much better as a home gym than a sauna.
Let me just say that we're not gym people. We know this because we bought gym memberships a year ago this month and pretty much never went. This was mostly due to the inconvenience of driving into town all the time. When we did go, all we used were the treadmill (which I had at home) and the elliptical machine (which we just bought).
So instead of renewing our very costly gym membership, we've decided to use the funds to create a home gym, conveniently located within walking distance from the house. We'll be tearing out the wall in the middle in order to create a large one room space so that both the treadmill and the elliptical machine will fit side by side. These will go where the steam benches are now.
We'll insulate the vaulted ceiling, perhaps add a sink since there's already an existing water line, and paint everything white. We have some extra tongue and groove flooring left over from the porch, which we'll use to cover up the concrete floor. We'll paint the floors historic gray as they already have primer on them. We also plan to replace the plywood door with the old french exterior door we removed from the main house.
So that's the plan but I can't say for sure when the cosmetic stuff will happen! But I'll keep you posted!
AFTER PHOTOS HERE!

I took the long way into town this morning. I set off by driving down our dirt road and into the valley we look out upon. Winding through hills, past farms and pastures, I came upon this sweet old barn.
I love how the barn sits tucked away behind the orchard. It makes the barn all the more alluring.
After walking under the canopy of green to the end of the orchard row, I reached the barn. Standing there under the bright morning sun, I suddenly felt like I was someplace I shouldn't be — perhaps because, ahem, I was trespassing. So I didn't stay long.

Walking back to my car, my flip flops crunched through the dry summer grass while my head swirled with the magic of the barn. It made me feel like a kid again, having just discovered a secret new hide-out.
P.S. I've updated my blog template (hope you like it!). There have been a few kinks to sort out which have kept me busy but nevertheless, I'm excited about the new layout!

Monica and I both went to the Dublin Fire Co. annual flea market last week (went the same day, but not together. Boo!) This was the first flea market I had been to where I was actually looking for items to repurpose. I had a couple of things in mind that I wanted, but also found a few other things that just begged to come home with me. I went with my mom, and she is a great person to go with because she, like me, can see potential in anything! (It's one of the perks of being an eternal optimist).

I got this awesome Pier 1 vase/urn for $5 (regularly $30) and it now graces my mantel.

One of the other things I purchased was an old workbench/sawhorse thingy. This was a little bit of a risk for me- I had an idea of where I would put it, but wasn't sure it would work out. But for $20, I knew I could use it somewhere!

That little beauty fit perfectly in my entryway! I had been wanting something to make that space a little more welcoming (and I little less"go away"-like, as Monica says), and this fit the bill. I can't get enough of the color, either.

Good, sturdy legs, huh?

This large pitcher caught my eye on the first table I went to. It was very country-looking with it's red and white checker pattern (sorry, no before pictures, but trust me, it's much better this way), but a little Rustoleum Painter's Touch spray paint in glossy white took care of that. I filled it with pussy willows from a local garden center and now it looks like it was meant to sit on that bench all along, and I just led it home.

Over on the other side I stacked a few books and an old lantern of my grandmothers. I love having a few of her things in my home as a way to remember her. That cute little plant is from Ikea and the mug was from a friend. (Thanks, Lindsey S. It's getting good use!)

(The view from the hallway upstairs.) On a side note, the pictures have made me hate the color of paint on our walls in the entry even more than I already did. When we moved into this house, the walls were peach. Like literally peach. We said goodbye to those as soon as we could, but lo and behold, the color I picked to replace it has a pink undertone, as well. Definitely the color of swine. (Melissa, at the Inspired Room, dealt with an entire house of swine, and I realized that this is the PERFECT description of my color). Blech! It will be a nice, non-swine, beige soon. Add that to the never-ending to-do list for my hubs. Poor guy.

Some of you may be wondering about the frame hanging above the new bench vignette. My hubs and I made this out of reclaimed barn wood (my father-in-law has a treasure trove of barn wood in his barn. Go figure.: ) Kevin cut the picture holes (is that the right word?) and then mounted another board to the back that I painted black, so that I could attach the pictures to it. I then painted the entire frame black, then painted it again in a brick red color with a thick bristle brush and minimal paint so that it looked a bit distressed. Finally, I added the phrase that I bought from Uppercase Living to it. I am so in love with this frame, it's not even funny.

Speaking of reclaimed barn wood, I have two big pieces ready to be made into frames (one holds four pictures, and the other holds one picture). If you're interested in purchasing one, send me an email to let me know. You can totally customize the color and phrase. This piece never fails to get lots of"wows", so if you want one in your home, give a holla!

What are some of your favorite flea market treasures?
Happy Monday,

I used to sit up in our dusty dirty barn and dream of making it come alive. I would marvel at the handmade spikes holding all the rafters in place on the ridgepole that runs down the center forming the roofline. If you look at the picture, the very top beam on the left edge, you can still see some of the original bark on the tree that was used for the rafter.

What our barn needed to brighten it up was light and I had an idea. You see that vent at the very peak of the roof, that sits above a main beam. I knew we wouldn't need that vent for ventilation once the barn was renovated so I climbed up on a ladder and did a little measuring '. I measured from the inside, to high on the outside for my taste.

A look from the inside where that vent used to be, that upper hole. That's the end that looks down our driveway and people can see it from the road. It's also the end where mister man built the first granite stone wall underneath the support beam from my last post. I knew after measuring a half round window would be perfect up there so armed with measurements mister man and I started our search for a window.

And Voile, after a couple of years we found exactly what we were looking for and the perfect size. This half round window came out of a now defunct bank but there was only one problem, the window had single panes and would never pass code. So off it went to a window restorer and he simply cut the mullions in half, placed insulated glass in and made mullions to match for the other side. A boatload of money later and some else's hard work and we have our window that will pass code! An antique/vintage window for our antique carriage barn.
What do you think of our window? Trust me the money we spent on the window and having it restored cost us less then buying a new window and this works perfectly. Wait until you see it installed!
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I've been enjoying this fantasy that we've just bought our house and everything is just as it is now....crisp, clean and ready to decorate! In this fantasy world, it is as if the era of pea green carpeting and faux wood paneling never existed...
So my fantasy goes like this....Hubby and I pull up to a lovely country house that's in our price range! Wow, huh? We're instantly in love as we can see that the house has been well-taken care of. We walk up to the front door and as I step in, I begin to glide through the each room seeing nothing I don't like.
When I make my way to the living room, my eyes light up and as I turn, Hubby takes me in his arms (suddenly I have my wedding dress on) and we begin to dance, giddy with laughter as we know that we have finally found exactly what we're looking for in our new home. We pause only for a moment, with bright beaming smiles, and say to our realtor without any doubt or hesitation, "we'll take it!"
Nothing in this fantasy had anything to do with what really happened, especially the part about the doubt and hesitation. But I'm enjoying every minuteof my fantasy as I stare into this empty room, dreaming of how I'm going to decorate! It feels like such a luxury!
So let me take you through the room...

This is the perspective you get when coming from the kitchen. The french door next to the picture window will eventually take you to a balcony, which we'll build this spring. The original 'deck' was torn down when they put in the new Marvin windows. The door you see through the entryway, goes to the wraparound porch....this is our formal entry into the house.

This is looking towards the fireplace from a corner that no one will ever stand in, but I thought I'd give every perspective. Entry is where the hall tree stands.

If I pan left a bit more, you'll see the coat closet to the left and to the left of that, the hallway where the den, guest bedroom and downstairs bathroom are located.
So this is what I've come up with so far...

....the main layout. The couch will face the fireplace and the two chairs will flank each side of the fireplace. I love the coziness that this layout will offer and I know that there will be many hours spent snuggled in front of the fire.

Here's the new couch we've ordered....accompanied by two of the above chair! We went with a couch with more modern lines to contrast a little with the more traditional lines of the coffee table. The coffee table (you can see here ) is an antique pedestal with rounded feet and oval top, which will compliment the round lines in the chair.

Here are the fabrics we chose....the sofa fabric is a beautiful velvet (so luxurious) and the chair fabric, which goes really well with the tarragon velvet, is linen- esque (the photo doesn't really show the chair fabric very well). And due to the furniture store's amazing sale — I made sure that I picked out the highest grade of fabric — of course I did!
I've also been considering a tall narrow table to put behind the couch. I'd put two table lamps on each end to illuminate the room. I was thinking of something a little modern, made of mostly glass so that it doesn't feel too heavy. I think this would be the best option as end tables wouldn't work well with the tuxedo-style (high arms) couch.
Also, we'll order a 9x12 natural fiber rug, perhaps this one from Pottery Barn, to go in front of fireplace. All the furniture fits on the 9x12 size. I'll accent the rest of the room with antique rugs I already have.

I'll put an antique rug in front of the french door. This door will eventually lead to a balcony. There's about a seven foot drop outside the door right now. The balcony will have wide center stairs going down into the yard. It will be big enough to put a couple of rocking chairs or a small table and chairs for an extra place to eat or drink.

Our existing dining cabinet, that I'll be stealing from our dining room (photo below), will be relocated to the above wall. Instead of holding dining odds and ends, it will be transformed into a secretary that will be a place for beloved books, unframed art, special momentos, etc. I'll be stealing this cabinet from the dining room because we've decided to add two more windows on the wall where the cabinet is now. But I'll go into the dining room plans later.
Here's the cabinet we'll be stealing for the living room. Hopefully, someday I'll find a narrower dining cabinet to replace it.

On that small wall to the right of the kitchen entry, I've been considering a temporary bookshelf. Lauren at Pure Style Home inspired me when she put one in her house, on a similar sized wall, and it looks fabulous — like everything else she does. And I say 'temporary' because as you can see in the next photo, I have plans for Hubby (wink, wink Hubby), to build a built-in bookcase (love the look of those — I have a gazillion inspiration photos of them) on that huge wall.

We're waiting to begin this project until after we get rid of that floor furnace. It's the one 'functional' thing in the house we have yet to figure out. But whatever we decide to do, that floor furnace grate will eventually go....and hello bookcase. ; )
So odds and ends still left to find are: some sconces for above the mantle (any suggestions?), a 9x12 natural fiber rug, perhaps a white bookcase, a tall modern table and...
Any other inspiring ideas? I would love your feedback! Just love it!
*Also, I've made another friend over at High Street Market.... Kelly has the most amazing Etsy shop with so many beautiful treasures. I was eyeing the pair of marble table lamps, an antique oval mirror and a lovely pewter pitcher....and it's all so reasonably priced! How fun is that!

Remember when Monica and I used to be obsessed with all things barnwood? Well, we're going way back in the archives for this post because we never shared how Monica made these DIY Barnwood Shelves last summer!

Monica and I sort of had a love affair with barn wood, and maybe that's because we have an endless supply (my father-in-law has a barn)! We've put it to good use in our homes. You probably remember some of these projects?

#1 Barnwood Artwork #2 Wooden Memo Board #3 Barn Meets Beach Coffee Table #4 Striped Shore Frame This project could not be any easier, but the affect is so charming and so beach-cottagey. All you need are brackets (ours are from Lowes), screws and a piece of barn wood!

Monica originally made this shelf for our very first Nate Berkus show challenge, and they've held up amazingly well! Just cut your board to size using a chop saw, make marks on the wall where you want the brackets to go (after leveling, of course!), and screw them into the wall and then into the board.

See? I told you it was a piece of cake! But wait! You don't have barnwood laying around your garage? We've got you covered! We figured out how to recreate that beautiful aged barn wood look with paint, glaze and a sanding block. We shared this technique once before, but it's so awesome that we thought we should share it again! Here's what you'll need to do:

We used a very dry brush to paint Benjamin Moore's Beach Glass on the wood. The key here is not to cover up all of the wood, just brush it on randomly. We are not aiming for perfect coverage here! Then, we wiped on Valspar's Translucent Color Glaze in Mocha, focusing on the cracks, bumps and holes in the wood. Let it sit for a few minutes and then wipe it away. Sand down any thick paint spots and then brush on one coat of a water-based polyurethane. We recommend water-based because it seals the wood and because it doesn't alter the color of the wood. Just to prove it to you, take a look at our fake barn wood next to the real thing:

Pretty close, wouldn't you say? We wanted it to look a bit more solid colored, but if you want a more rustic look, you can sand it down even more to reveal the wood beneath. So, now you have no excuse not to bring some barn wood- real or not!-into your homes!

Design fads come and go, but we're pretty sure that barnwood has something timeless about it, and you'll always find at least some of it in our homes. Linking up to: Tutorials & Tips

Let me tell you, it is so bizarre to actually have a post about something I did at my own house these days. The last little project we tackled was our front porch makeover and I was so inspired by that, that I decided to add some backyard appeal to my deck. There are many issues with this deck, but let's just start with this one little area:

First of all that window is in desperate need of love and attention. Secondly, there is absolutely no style to this area of the deck and thirdly, man, that deck needs power washing! Even though I knew I couldn't squeeze in power-washing, I had some pretty cute ideas to spruce this spot up and make at least one area of the deck look nice! Feast your eyes on this area now…

This is a two-step project: the shutters and the window box. I'll break each one down for you. Neither of them are difficult- you should be able to do this in only one day! Here's what you need:
For shutters: (6) 1x4 pine boards Liquid Nails (8) 4 inch decking screws (8) 1.25 inch nails Chop saw 3M Wood Filler 3M Sandblaster Bare Surfaces Sanding pad Exterior Paint
For Window Box: (1) 1x10 board (3) terra cotta pots ScotchBlue Painters Tape Drill Jigsaw (2) wooden brackets Spraypaint Exterior paint 3M Sandblaster Bare Surfaces Sanding Pad ScotchBlue™ Non-Slip Dropcloth

DIY Window Shutters Ok, let's start with those pretty shutters, shall we? I already mentioned that I bought six pine 1x4 boards. This should be enough for the vertical slats and the short horizontal cross pieces for your shutters, but check your measurements before you buy these in case your window size is different from mine.

1. Measure the height of your window and make sure to include any trim or framework around it. My shutters are the same exact height of the window- no more and no less.

2. Cut wood to size using a chop saw. My hubs tried out these Digital Worktunes Hearing Protectors from 3M and was in love. He's such a music guy and the fact that he could listen to his mp3 player while working made the fact that I was making him work after a 12 hour car ride home from vacation a little more bearable.: ) Oh yeah, my boards were 36 3/4 long, but again, measure your window first! I liked the look of three boards across, so I measured the width of those three boards to determine the width of my cross piece. It ended up being 10.5 inches, so he cut those too.

Looking pretty good so far!

3. Attach the three vertical boards together by running liquid nails along the sides. Clamp together and let dry.
4. Measure the distance of the cross pieces from the top and bottom. I liked the look of 4 inches, so we made a mark on each side.

5. Put liquid nails on the back of your cross piece and attach to boards. Clamp and let dry.

6. Because we didn't want to see any pesky nails, we decided to nail the cross piece in from the back. Once your liquid nails has dried enough, you should be able to easily flip it over and hammer in a few nails to make the entire shutter secure.

7. Paint them your desired color. We painted the shutters the same color that we used on the shutters on the front of the house. (Sorry no picture of this! It was getting dark and we were being dive bombed by beetles. Gross.)
8. Hang shutters on either side of the window with 4 inch decking screws. Fill in screws with wood filler, sand and touch up with paint. Voila! Cute new shutters that were super easy to build!

DIY Window Box I'm not sure that you can technically call this a window box, since, um, there is no box. But it has the look of a window box without having to build one and lets you play with some pretty terra cotta pots!
1. Measure the width of your window to determine the length of your 1x10 board. I actually had this piece of barn wood laying around in my garage…go figure!; ) Cut using a chop saw. \

2. Evenly space your pots on the board and place an"x" through the hole in each pot. Then, double-check your marks with a tape measure to be sure they're evenly spaced.

3. Figure out the diameter of the area under the lip of the pot (that way the pot will sit in the hole but not fall through). Divide that number by two (oops! Did I forget to mention there was math involved?) and make marks that distance all the way around the center point. For example, the diameter of my pot under the lip was five inches, so I divided by two and got 2.5 inches. Each mark is exactly 2.5 inches away from the center point. Got it?

4. Using a large drill bit, drill a hole at the center point. Make it large enough so that the jigsaw blade will be able to fit in there. Cut out the entire circle with the jigsaw. Repeat on the other holes.

5. For the pots, I went with a two-tone look. First I sprayed two of the pots with a terracotta red (I know, ironic. Why not just keep it the terra cotta color, you ask? It wasn't perfect. So there.) The other pot, I sprayed a really light aqua blue. Let dry completely.

6. Then I taped off the bottom of the pots using the ScotchBlue™ Painter's Tape. I had such good luck with it on my front porch that I knew it would do the trick! I sprayed the lip of each pot in the opposite color and let dry. I peeled the tape off and was thrilled with the result! What's nice about this tape is that it didn't pull any of the spray paint off of the pot even though it has been sticky hot here!

7. Paint the shelf and brackets the same color as the shutters. Attach brackets to the siding and then screw the board right into the brackets on the top. Add your pots and flowers and you're done!
Now, for the gratuitous beauty shots. C'mon, if you look this good, you're allowed to show it off.: )

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I'm super thrilled with these two projects and how they cheered up this sad deck. What do you think?

This post is a collaboration with ScotchBlue™ Painter's Tape, but all words and opinions are my own

I've already shared my undying love for reclaimed barnwood with you (see my barnwood artwork here and my huge barnwood frame here and our striped shore frame here), but it's about to get even more sappy. Are you ready? I adore reclaimed barn wood. I can't seem to get enough of it. It adds such character and warmth to a room or a project and, luckily for me, I have access to loads of it because my father-in-law has a barn just filled with the gorgeous stuff! That leads me to this project (and I promise I am going somewhere with all this rambling…)

This was my basement space before Monica went all Nate Berkus on it and transformed it into an awesome. comfortable, totally liveable room. As soon as I heard about the Nate Berkus Show, the wheels started turning. We thought that we were going to redesign a room in our own homes, so after I woke up from my shock-induced coma, I started thinking about how I wanted the space to look, and what projects I should attempt before we did the taping. That's where the bench comes in. I decided I wanted to build that my hubs should build a big corner bench across from the bar that would make for a great hangout spot. As you might have noticed, I roughly taped out what I thought would look good (the blue tape lines are in the bottom left hand corner of the pic), and then we made more detailed measurements.

First, we painted the entire space and got rid of the rust/orange color. Then, my hubs had his dad come out to help and together the three of us decided that the one side would be 10 feet long, 22 inches deep, and 20 inches high, and the other side would be 8 feet long with the same depth and height. (It's a BIG bench!)

So, they went about framing out the bench, making sure it had a ton of support. If we had had more time, (let's say more than 5 days! Nate likes to keep you hopping, you know?) I would have liked to incorporate some kind of storage into the bench, but alas, it was not to be. And wait, what's that on the bench? I was so impatient that I threw a couple of pillows my mom had made for me on it before anything was nailed down! I just couldn't wait!

Now we're getting to the fun stuff…I picked a few planks of barn wood out for the top of the bench- the stuff you would see when sitting on it. They started nailing it down, which included a lot of brute force and grunting (from the guys, not my poor mother-in-law who somehow got sucked into helping with this project while I happily took pictures).

Just look at all that gorgeousness! It certainly makes my heart skip a beat.

This piece especially is super cool. It's an old plank of wood that says Air Force and"handle with care", so I imagine it has some great history attached to it. I love that the pieces have some interest to them.

Finally, my hubs added drywall, painted the bench the same color as the walls, added moulding to the bottom of the bench, and sealed it with a water-based polyurethane. And now, it looks like this:

Ha! Gotcha! Did you really think I would should an AFTER picture before The Nate Show airs? Not on your life! But I can tell you this, the bench itself is absolutely beautiful and Monica worked some design magic with the stuff in Nate's Crate to make it even better.
Only 2 days until the BIG REVEAL!

Oh yeah, one more thing: to find out when The Nate Show airs in your area, click here.

We're super excited (and honored) to be a part of Knocktoberfest 2013, the brainchild of the incredible Lindsay from Makely. Knocktoberfest is basically a blog event that features 25 awesome bloggers"knocking off" some of their favorite products. You know we love knock offs- duh, it's the name of our TV show!: ) If you're stopping over from Funky Junk Interiors, welcome! We're thrilled you're here. Donna is so cool, isn't she? And such a hard act to follow, but we're going to give it our best shot!

My entryway was in desperate need of a stylish, but functional table. Here's what I came up with!

It was inspired by this Pottery Barn Griffin Console Table that is…wait for it…$1099!! It's made of steel and a reclaimed wood slab, which is why it's mucho moolah, but I got the same look using wood I had on hand from other projects! I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

I used (4) 1x2 pieces of pine, (1) 2x12x12, dark walnut stain, gray paint and Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint. Pottery Barn is generous enough to share the measurements for their table (thanks PB!), so we just tweaked them to fit the wood we had.

I started by measuring the lengths of wood that I needed.

We ended up cutting (4) pieces at 36 inches for the vertical legs, (4) at 48 inches for the horizontal pieces and (6) at 6 inches for the cross pieces. Side note: I love the chop saw. That's all.

Once we had all of our pieces cut, we made two boxes by attaching the vertical pieces to the horizontal pieces with the drill.

Then we attached the boxes with the 6 inch cross pieces at the bottom, in the middle (we measured halfway up the vertical pieces) and the top.

Then, using my trusty oil-rubbed bronze spray paint, I sprayed the legs of the table. The wood really sucked up the paint, so I had to do several light coats before I got the coverage I wanted.

After I attached the wood plank to the top of my base (we screwed up from the underside), I stained it with Rustoleum Dark Walnut stain. It wasn't exactly the color I was looking for so I watered down some gray paint and brushed that on and then wiped it off to get what I wanted.

I put it in it's place of honor by the front door and dressed it up a bit. Doesn't it look cute- and by cute, I mean super stylish?

Even though I didn't use real steel- sadly I don't have much time for welding- I think the legs look a lot like real metal!

And ok, I'll share one last picture since you've begged me.

Man, I just love knocking off cool stuff for way less money! If you love knock offs like we do, check out our TV Show"Knock It Off" You can watch full episodes online!

And, make sure you check out all of the awesome projects on the Knocktoberfest page, but before you do that, head over to visit Jackie from Teal and Lime to see what she came up with. And a huge thanks to Lindsay for including us!!

After 14 years of waiting for my ugly kitchen to give out our renovation of it is finally complete! The blinds are hung, decoration in place and everything is new and clean. It wasn't without some tears, the husbands not mine, think cost, but it was a hard fought battle and I wouldn't go back for anything. The dust left a bit to be desired along with the noise and I don't mind saying the shock of seeing my kitchen gutted down to dirt took my breath away!

My wish list was mostly met, wish list, but with a room only 16' x 14', six openings with doors and windows, and a wood stove that had to stay for warmth my grandeur ideas of clean open spaces was bumped off immediately. But that's OK I was happy to work within my limitations.
Those aren't the same cabinets just the same simple shaker style. We thought we would be able to keep the old cabinets since they were nice but when our contractors started taking them down they completely fell apart. Nice fronts but the rest were cheaply put together obviously to save on cost along the way.

Before

After
With such a small kitchen we wanted to keep everything simple so as not to overwhelm the space such as using clear pendent lights so the eye travels through. We went with the wolf stove /sub zero refrigerator package because we liked that the refrigerator is in the same line as the cabinets, it doesn't bump out into the room by a couple of inches like most refrigerators. This is where the husbands' tears came into play since showrooms don't place price tags on these appliances for a reason!
While I would have preferred an antique tiered console/table as my kitchen island I hate seeing microwave ovens and all the things that go with cooking out in the open let alone they get dusty. This island is perfect to hide all those things and gives me more working counter space.

We went with soapstone tile since it's durable enough for an eighty pound bouncing golden retriever. The slightest scratch is simply sanded out with a piece of fine sandpaper but so far that hasn't been needed. Laying the floor tiles in a long straight stretch helped to make the room look more elongated to the eye. The floor couldn't be sealed since it changes the color from shades of gray to black but it cleans up beautifully. We put radiant heat underneath that I love but the dog, not so much!

Before

After
Since our kitchen has the lowest ceiling in our home of 8' 2' we wanted to make the room seem taller. We did that by playing with perspectives and tricking the eye into thinking the ceiling was higher so we played with the different height of cabinets to make the room seem more expansive. We were able to do that because the refrigerator was so tall, the sink window sash goes right to the ceiling and the small pantry on the other end is tall. We had to keep the same configuration because of all the openings but hey it works.

I absolutely love my new bridge faucet from American Standard here since it reaches into the middle of the sink unlike the one that originally came with this kitchen and it has a sprayer!

Before

After
Our kitchen really came down to the use of materials to give it a new look. Since we had enough of the black soapstone, used on the counters, we used a slab for the hearth under the wood stove. We pile wood in an antique copper bin during the winter and used to ding the old walls so we thought it would be a great idea to pull the flooring tiles up on the lower part of the wall around the wood stove giving it a European flavor. That's a 16th century Italian wine vessel hanging over in that corner that I purchased from Michael Trapp here. I love green and tried to use touches of it throughout our kitchen.

After table and chairs
Gone are the antique table and chairs and in its place a small more solid table from restoration hardware that unfortunately they no longer sell. This table was actually sold as a hall table and is only 30' in diameter, plenty of room for two people to have dinner. The chairs from pottery barn here were kept open to let light pass through. Thankfully gone are the fabric roman shades from the windows and in their place custom made bamboo blinds from Smith and Noble here that are much easier to keep clean.

Before

After
I love this dishwasher from Fisher Paykel that has two drawers! It simply makes sense for us since we're a two people family, dog bowls don't go in there. I don't like dirty dishes hanging about for a week and since the drawers run independently from one another that is no longer an issue.
I've added a few antique pieces, a cappuccino machine and voile, new kitchen! Gone is the clutter and somebody else's design ideas. Absolutely everything in our kitchen is new right down to the wood stove. After all these years I've made my kitchen my own and the ride has been so worth it!

Hello world! Welcome to our blog! We're pretty darn excited you're here. So, hang out a while and get to know us; we hope you'll like what you see and come back and visit us often!

Did you get a good night's sleep? Because, we were pretty wound up for some reason… hmm, what could it have been?? Oh, right… today we finally get to reveal our Nate Show projects and you get to see our TV debut!
Weekend Warrior Room Reveals As you know, Nate pulled a fast one on us and did the old switcheroo. Jess turned my empty dining room into an amazing space (that I love) and I took Jess' basement from"basementy" to a comfy, coastal hangout (that she says is perfect for her style!)

As you know, Nate gave us some pretty random items to work with, but we were up for the challenge. Here are a few of the projects that you might have seen on the show!
Monica’s Farmhouse Table Remix This table wasn't made during the 48 hours of taping, but we worked like crazy to get it done before the show. This is really Eric's masterpiece, and I couldn't appreciate his hard work any more than I do (ok, enough mush! Geesh, this is a public blog!) Click HERE for the complete table post.

Jessica's Barnwood Coffee Table I made this using Adirondack tables and reclaimed barnwood. We have a slight obsession with barnwood, so you can check out some of our other barnwood projects HERE and HERE.

Monica's Barnwood Art Jessica made this piece of art during the show and man-alive is it awesome. It's the kind of piece where people walk in and go,"Oh wow! That's incredible!" Then I proudly tell them that my bestie made it and I mention that Nate Berkus said he wanted it! Click HERE to read our post on how this beauty was made

Jessica's Beach-Cottage Shelves I made these using… you guessed it… Barnwood! The combination of the wood and the accessories just screams Nantucket. I was thrilled that Jess liked them.

Monica's IKEA Hack Sideboard Jess blew me away with this one! This table was originally a bar-height, square table from IKEA. With the help of her trusty husband and a saw, it was transformed into an adorable two-tiered addition to my room.

Jessica's Bench This is another project that was created pre-taping and we need to give a huge shout out to Kevin and his dad for doing the handywork on this one. There were many late nights spent in both of our homes getting projects ready for the show's taping. Click HERE to see how this piece came to life.

Jessica's Faux Built-Ins I didn't have the time, materials, or know-how to make custom built-ins for the weird nook in Jess' basement. So… I got a little creative with the storage units Nate gave us and voila… faux built-ins! To achieve this look in your home, you just need to be sure to get some super-strong mounting brackets (I also recommend a handsome assistant, but I guess that's optional. Sorry, my hubs is taken!)

Phew, that was a lot of projects in 48 hours… and now I'll mention that 48 hours in TV land is very different than the real world. Between interviews, mic checks, and all that jazz, I think we had about 12 hours to work and that was between 7PM and 7AM! Let's just say, we were beyond exhausted when everything was said and done, but we'd do it again in an instant!

And now the elephant in the room… the awkward kiss. If you'd like to try this at home here's how you do it… When a famous celebrity leans in to give you a side-cheek kiss trick him by going the wrong direction, then hesitate, pause, act like you're going for the lips, and then finish it off with an incredibly awkward little air kiss. This method works every time and will give you a story to tell for ages.

So, thanks so much for supporting us in this crazy, amazing, stupendous,"are you kidding me, is this really happening" event! Be sure to leave us a comment and let us know what you thought of the show (and don't worry, we have thick skin!) Check back tomorrow for a special annoucement and… we might even include a few pictures from the VIP anyone we could get to come over Episode Viewing Party we're having tonight!

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We thought today would be the PERFECT day for us to announce the launch of our Etsy shop,"The Barn". We've had several requests for custom signs and art pieces, so here you go! Take a peek at the stuff we've created and shop until your heart's content!

The Barn

Click here to see our"Shop the Barn" page and here to go straight to our Etsy shop. Enjoy, and please, let us know what you think!
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Ever since I saw the cover of the February issue of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine with this image I have been coveting those pedestals and urns. Unfortunately they're antiques and already sold from a shop that no longer exists. I've searched everywhere for affordable antique pedestals but they're usually over a thousand dollars and new ones somehow never look the way I want them to'...what to do?

WHAT TO DO, why show the magazine to mister man of course because he could build those pedestals easily. I mean how tough could they be to make, they're just a couple of pieces of wood banged together, some decorative trim and voile, wife happy right?

If there's one thing mister man is it's accommodating and he likes building stuff so he said no problem. He took a look around to see what he had on hand to make them with, of course this is where I had the problem'not spending any money to buy nice new clean wood? You see that dirty piece of wood he's working on and the one leaning up against the table saw, when he said he was using it for my pedestals I had a moments hesitation. Those dirty 2x4's were used for the cement forms for the footers of the barn stone walls and he used that wood as a straight edge when building the stone walls, haven't they've done enough duty already? I was a tad panicked!

I tried to say something but he said not to panic and I guess when someone else is doing you a favor you shouldn't question'yeah right! But it's all good he was only using that dirty wood for the center forms and nobody would ever see it.

He even had some nice clean 100 plus year old antique pine wood for the face, it was a rejected piece of pine from our antique flooring going in the upstairs part of the barn. It was rejected for the floor because it had a very large knot and split in it but mister man had no problems with it. Kind of nice that the things that went into renovating our antique barn was also going into my pedestals.

He even had cut nails that look antique since the round new kind wouldn't look right. The only thing he had to buy were the two different trims for the top and bottom and those only cost $24 all total. The heck with thousand dollar pedestals mine just cost $24 bucks and twelve hours of mister man's time! He even made them to the height and size I wanted'what a guy huh? (Yes I'm sucking up here!)

So what do you think? They came out exactly like the picture minus the beautiful gray stain but now it's my turn to add those touches since I never ever let mister man paint anything. He hates to paint/stain and he's really bad at it, it's always good to know ones strengths.

Some beautiful antique urns courtesy of Brimfield, the lichen was free!

I've ordered some dried moss to place in the urns and I think we're almost set, just have to stain those puppies but it has been raining here for a solid week! Mister man is definitely a keeper huh? He's always making me things from pictures, love it! So what do you think of my new/old pedestals?
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This weekend Jess and I got up bright and early on Saturday morning to attend a barn sale. We weren't 100% sure what to expect (the details were limited) and on the way we were laughing at the possibility of us walking it and it being all farm equipment! Thankfully it wasn't! The sale was inside and out of this cool, old barn

There were plenty of random things, but also tons of furniture, mirrors, and stuff that was right up our alley!

I REALLY wanted to buy this piece for my dining room, but it's a corner unit that wouldn't fit. I was bummed!

Jess almost bought this mantle to turn into a headboard, but I kind of talked her out of it!

We both loved this cool sign!

I spotted and scored this awesome"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall…" style mirror for $5.00!

DIY Chalkboard Mirror Have I mentioned I'm impulsive?? By Saturday afternoon I was ready to start working on my mirror project! I make my poor husband take all kinds of dorky pictures of me holding things… He accidentally got himself in this picture (don't tell him I used it on the blog!)

Here's the mirror before… Jess is in a gold phase, and liked it gold, but me… not so much…

I went to Lowes and after staring at the spraypaint choices for an eternity, I decided that blue will now be my kitchen accent color. A worker actually made a comment about how long it took me to choose.: )

Did the blue in the above picture worry you?? It just looks crazy bright in the pic, in reality, it's a really great, dark blue! Love it! If you're doing this project with a mirror, I recommend spraypainting right over the mirror as well. It acts like a primer for the chalkboard paint.

See the little cobwebs?? I clearly didn't take the time to prep the mirror. Thankfully, they wiped right off. Impulsive remember?

Next, it was time to paint the mirror surface with chalkboard paint. You can get it by the quart at any Lowes or Home Depot.

Rather than using my real painting brushes, I opted for some art brushes because I was going to freehand the edges.

It is just me or do other people like taking pictures of open cans of paint? I always think they look so cool!

Thankfully, the mirror had an easy edge to follow and I was able to get my lines nice and crisp (perfectionist tendencies!)

The chalkboard paint went on really evenly and only required one coat.

And of course I hung it before it was dry! Ahhh I love it so much!

We decided we'd use it for a countdown for this kids for now. Eventually, I'll need some kind of quote that makes me seem way cooler than I am.

Here's where it's hanging in my house…It's on a small wall area between the kitchen and living room. And look, I've been using my Key Hooks and you can see them in this picture!

So, do you have any cool frames or broken mirrors that you can make into a cool chalkboard? What do you think of my Mirror, Mirror on the Wall turned Chalkboard?

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