Welcome to Monday Everyone!

Here is a simple step by step tutorial on how to fix peeling wood veneer. 

This technique is best used for furniture you will be finishing with paint.

But first,a few things to consider...

Peeling veneer can become a big mess!

 So, always check any piece you are considering 

buying for loose or peeling veneer.

 If it looks like a lot is coming off, 

you may want to reconsider.

And,

On this piece, the peeling veneer was localized to the bottom trim which made it manageable. Since veneer was already coming off, I removed any more loose veneer.

 But word of caution, if the veneer is not already coming off, 

but it is just lifting up...do not pull up and remove, 

reapply with wood glue!

Step-by-Step

1. Here, I gently pulled up any more loose veneer from the already missing wood veneer patches.

2. For the repair, I used DAP Plastic Wood filler which is "a high performance wood filler that hardens to give a surface and body that looks and acts like wood".

3. Apply the DAP wearing rubber gloves and with a plastic knife for easy clean up. Spread the fill over bare areas leaving the now coated area raised so you can sand down to level later. I also used my gloved finger to press the wood fill into spots because sometimes during spreading the putty wants to pull away with knife. Using your finger to press into each spot helps it sticks.

4.After the wood filler has dried (approx. 1 hour but I usually five longer), sand it down with sander. Feel for smoothness as you do this to make sure the area is level.

5. After sanding the wood fill level with original veneer, the finish will feel smooth and unified. 

Look how nice this looks compared to image 1.

6. Because I want to paint and distress this piece (and some of the wood may peek through), I used a foam brush to apply Minwax stain and sealer to match the original dark finish.

7. Once the stain is dry, the area where the wood veneer had been missing is smooth and unified and ready to paint.

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Reclaimed Wood

I really love working with reclaimed wood. I found a few guys in Laguna that have a 

business, "True American Grain" traveling throughout the US and salvaging old wood from old barns and houses. They schlep it back home and farm it out.

I offered to make a sign using their wood and logo. 

Here's the wood:

 I believe he said he pulled this from a very old barn in TN. 

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Barn Wood Styled Favorite Places Mile Marker Sign

Wow, isnt it crazy that we are already more than a week into January of 2014! With the kids back in school, I sat down to post some new items to my Etsy store and I wanted to share a project.
Over the holidays, I had several requests to make signs for gifts. The fun thing about custom requests is that many times a they turn into one of my favorite items.
This sign is one of those favorites.
This particular sign was for my best friend Tamaras brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Tamara wanted me to create a mile marker sign that listed some of their favorite places. Favorite vacations spots, where they met, home towns...just really personal and special places.
She also wanted to keep it fun, distressed and sort of beachy.
One of the things I loved most about this sign was the paint finish. Using just a simple 2x4 foot plywood board cut to a 2x3 foot, I used an easy aging effect, with a white wash and a simple scoring to create a barn wood effect. This sign is going up in my Etsy shop but its easy to create yourself.

Heres the how-to:
Supplies :
2x3 foot plywood or scrap wood of your choice
aging solution
white paint
chip brushes
yard stick
ice pick tool
water color pencils
sharpie paint pen

Using the publishing layout on my computer, I listed the towns and their mileage. In this case, I chose a more casual and fun font called "Connie." I used letter spacing to widen each word to make them all stretch to fit the same width...keeping it with a subway sign layout style. I then printed it out on an old page protector to use with an overhead. 

Tip...for images I will only use once, I print out my layouts on left over school page protectors from my boys. It is cheaper than transparency paper but just dont smear it! Thats how I created this mural project.

The boards I select for signs are 2x4 feet which I usually have cut down to 2x3 at Home Depot. I also usually select the birch wood plywood which I find has a smoother finish than pine. This runs about $16+ dollars and I use the leftover scrap for small signs. ww.homedepot.com/p/Project-Panels-1-2-in-x-2-ft-x-4-ft-Birch-Plywood-154153/203504316#  

Tip...always view your wood sideways to check to make sure it is not warped.

To prep and age my wood boards, I always use a solution of vinegar and steel wool. Here is a link to my go to recipe at one of my favorite blogs, Country Design Style. I store it in an old jar. Just brush on and in hours the solution will give your wood an authentic aged looked.

Tip...as the solution ages the tint deepens...it looks good at all stages but if you want a

certain look you may want to consider this.

To create a beachy white wash effect. I used some left over white paint thinned with water and applied vertically, leaving some open more "open" then others, revealing the weathered wood.

To create the barn wood effect. Measure increments even or uneven if you like, across the top and bottom.

Tip...I use a water color pencil so I can easily wipe away marks later. Looking back, I would have used a brown pencil just to add depth to the scoring. Who knows why I grabbed neon yellow??? Oh yes, Im lazy and it was probably closest.

Using your yard stick and pick, press down and score the wood. I did this several times, pressing hard, to get a nice deep grove.

Once you have your board painted and scored, transfer your image. I use a projector and traced letters with a black water color pencil.

I hand painted the letters and numbers in using a sharpie acrylic paint pen. I highly recommend these for letters...keeps it neat and so easy!!

Find beauty in your day! Debbie

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Friday, June 17, 2016

Reclaimed Wood Shelving

Hello!  I apologize for the lack of posts recently.  As the weather warms up and the days become sunny and beautiful, its hard for me to take the time to sit down in front of a computer.  Anyway, remember the shelving unit I built for my hubby out of salvaged barn wood?  My Restoration Hardware knock-off?  Well.....Ive always admired it, BUT, I built it for my hubby, so, it was for him to use for his collections, not mine.  

He recently found an awesome iron shelf with a big X in the back, very similar to this that he loved, with the exception being that the one he found was all metal.  And he was running out of room on the shelf I built for him.  So, being the wonderful, selfless man that he is, he gave the reclaimed shelf to me to use in our dining room.  Yay!!  I didnt waste any time putting my ironstone collection on it.  And the fun part is that it inspired me to completely redo our dining room, right down to the curtain rod.
 Heres the shelving unit....

What was even better was that he also found some large industrial castors to put on it for me.  When I first built it, there were smaller ones and I wanted larger ones to add a little bit more height to the shelf, but at the time, we couldnt find any.  He found these at our local metal scrap yard, for free. 

The large clock on the top of the shelf is vintage and was purchased at a yard sale, also by hubby.  I absolutely love it!

I will post about the dining room soon and also reveal my side/back porch redo for spring, hopefully before spring is over!  And I have several tutorials to post as well, if I could ever find the time!  Happy Monday everyone!

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Saturday, May 28, 2016

Reclaimed Wood Herringbone Pattern Ceiling Project!!!!

So I believe I mentioned a few weeks ago about wanting to try something different on our living room ceiling. Its vaulted and huge and so bare! I got a huge pile of 100 year-old reclaimed douglas fir.

This wood has so much character! I envisioned a wood that was distressed yet

smoothed over by coastal grays, whites and blues. Im redoing the room in grays witha  

charcoal-gray velvet on the couch, silver walls, silver travertine flooring in a Versailles pattern,

touches of yellow, teal, white,,,,,I can see it all in my head. But for now, all I have 

is the ceiling. I worked for two solid days.
What in the world was I thinking!! Houzz and Pinterest should be removed from the Internet!

***Please click on the individual picture to see the larger format**

I need a wide-angle lens. I just cant get the whole room in the shot! 

Heres what I started with:

 Over 300 square ft!  They were all stained and painted....one by one.....oy!  I used a weathered 

gray stain, sunbleached stain, and mixtures of white and gray milk paint  (REAL MILK PAINT CO. is my fave milk paint!!) 

Then each board was stripped of its "tongue"(it was fabricated for flooring) and cut in 3 lengths. 

 We measured off the center of the ceiling and snapped a chalk line. 

 From that point we found the 45 degree angle and started the first board. 

The boards were secured with Liquid Nails and a pneumatic nailer. 

(Lord help me if I ever get tired of this look!)

lovely armpit shot

We would check for our 45 angle to make sure we were on track. It is imperative that every 

board is cut identical when doing the herringbone. Make a jig on the table saw before cutting your boards. 

This is the part where the work came in. Thats 14 feet up! Mr Pretty stayed on the ladder, called out the measurement of each board, and I cut them and threw them up to him. Going up and down the ladder for each and every board would have been tortuous! Ditto for the boards that butted up against the boarder. I got really good at the chop saw and making miter cuts!! 

(BTW,,,each single row is 39 boards!! Um,,there were like 11 rows! Uh-huh...You can do the math!!

The pics dont do justice to the chandelier!! 

Placing the very last piece!!! OMGthankyouJesusImdone!!

These are temporary furnishings!!!

4-2-13Getting ready for some silver travertine flooring!Got the floor finished in the past few days! Versaille pattern. Man oh man, that is some work!Still have to grout.....I hate grouting.

To see what the room finally looks like all done.....see HERE

Linking up at these great parties:

Restore Interiors - Restored it Wednesday

Kammys Korner - Trash to Treasure TuesdaysTuesday....PJH Designs

Domestically Speaking - The Power of Paint Party

The Shabby Creek Cottage - Transformation Thursday

Miss Mustardseed - Furniture Feature Friday

Redoux - Friday Link Up Party

Homespun Happenings - Rustic Restorations Weekend

Funky Junk Interiors - Saturday Night Special

1929 Charmer - Sundays Best Party

Knick of Time Interiors - Knick of Time Tuesday

Elizabeth and Co., My uncommon Slice of Suburbia,

Savvy Southern Style. Weds, Beyond the Picket Fence, PJH Designs

From my Front Porch to Yours,  

Between Naps on the Porch

                                                   The Dedicated House, Redoux

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Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Reclaimed Wood Herringbone Ceiling room finally has furniture!!

So those of you who recall the reclaimed wood herringbone

 ceiling  project  (HERE)

that we did a few months ago, FINALLY can see the whole room with my

reupholstered furniture! 

Only took 7 weeks to get my stuff back!!

 I seriously need to get a pro-photographer. The pictures look so flat! 

 But this will have to do for now.

I'm not keeping the white chair in the corner. I will look for something different. 

But the Ikat fabric chair is one of my re-dos!! 

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Thursday, April 21, 2016

The Top 20 Ways to Repair Restore Wood

Problems with wood.

 I know you all have had them. 

For all of us that love to find an old discarded dresser and turn it into something beautiful, or for all of us that just want to revive a favorite piece of furniture,

 there will always be, problems with wood. 

Maybe its peeling veneer or maybe a table leg that your pet decided looked like a bone. Whatever it is, just as you begin your restyling project, suddenly you wonder....

CAN I fix this?

HOW do I fix this?

WHERE can I get some answers?!

Well, I know where you can find answers to ALL your wood problems and even better...

ALL of your home repair and design questions.

At 

Hometalk.

randomly picking out "random colored boards

(click above to see all the tips on Hometalk)

If you have a home or just love DIY and design,
you must stop by Hometalk and sign up for a free account.
 Believe me, it is as much fun as Pinterest. Well...actually more! Like Pinterest, you get to post your favorite DIY projects, repair ideas and inspirational photos to boards you customize,
but... it is more of a community.
At Hometalk, you can comment and ask questions about other peoples projects you like, you can post your own favorite projects or just ask the community for help with a problem.
How great is it to have an expert carpenter or a really creative blogger
 to ask directly for advice?
Really great.

So, back to those wood problems.

 Well, I was lucky enough to be asked to curate a board (above!) for Hometalk about
 "How to Repair and Restore Wood" and I was so thrilled!
 I had so much fun delving into Hometalk and clipping to all my boards. For the Repair and Restore Wood board, I focused on compiling all the best advice on Hometalk to solve all those seriously annoying wood problems you may encounter.
Like how to fix those legs your dog chewed:

From Porta Verde Studio.

Or, revive that favorite old wood with just a stain from vinegar, tea and steel wool.... yum!

From Country Design Style.

Learn all these great ideas and more
at
Hometalk.
Have fun clipping!
Debbie

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SPRAY PAINTING A WOODEN CHAIR turquoise wood chair

I wanted to donate this solid little guy to a charity auction event that was coming up,

but the description of eligible bachelors had to have fabric seats.

So he stayed with me.

 

SWHI - single white

with some hygiene issues

I gave him a good shower, a scrub behind the ears, and worked out some of the rough spots.

I mixed a fun color of turquoise using chalk paint and sprayed him.

There was no creaking or groaning from this guy

because of the metal rods that had been built into the frame work.

The next step to this mini makeover was to sand back some of the paint

layers to expose the thick white enamel paint underneath.

The more I worked at it the more wood I liked showing thru.

Minwax paste finishing wax was used to give him baby soft skin.

My rugged little chair is the perfect addition to my back room,
and thats how you spray paint a wooden chair turquoise.
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