Writings On The Wall

Nothing we do is simple.  We always have a project going on.  A simple visit to the home improvement store for nails turned into a decision to order granite counter tops and redo the kitchen.  Mind you we were in the midst of building a pergola outside.  So not only do we always have a project going on, usally we have two or three!

So counter tops ordered, I try to convince my husband to let me paint our cabinets.  I love the look of black distressed furniture, see previous post, the Rolling Stones sing about painting it black, so I worked on getting him on my side. 
I have mentioned it on and off for three years.  So when he started to bend I took advantage of the situation and started to paint.  It was when the first cabinet was started that I stopped and looked at just how many cabinets I had and just how much of a project this would be.



Then comes the distressing, why did I get the project half way finished before I remembered, I had the right tools for the job!  I started with a piece of sand paper and elbow grease, then I saw the mouse!  Much easier!  Just distress or sand the edges that would wear naturally.


After the sanding you can leave as is, or add a layer of poly to protect.  Here is the secret, adding something with a little color will really enhance the look and add to the distressed area. My secret recipe is a poly/stain mix that makes it a one stop process.  For just the right color we chose Red Mahogony.  It was the perfect choice!

You're going to get dirty and actually that is the the fun of it, here is a self portrait to show, you got to wear some grubbies.  I chose to "keep it rural"
So the process continues and pictures really don't do it justice, but I will keep you posted when the job is totally done.  As I looked at it tonight thinking it will be nice to have a project done, I was secretly thinking what we could do next!

I found a great shelf in Country Sampler this month so  I told my dad it would be a great birthday gift idea.  He can be quite handy so I left the rest up to him.  He worked his magic and here is the finished results!

It's just what the room needed.  I need to call the dining room the dad room since he also made my dining room table and the dough bowl that is on the table.  The dining room table was an old workbench that he reworked and made a new top for.  I said I wanted something that the pilgrims could eat at and this was perfect!




Almost all of my furniture has come from second hand and antique stores. I like to paint it black and distress it.  Here are some of my  other favorite pieces.


Thanks for taking a tour of some of my favorite things!