Farmhouse Cabinets

It's no secret: I love farmhouse cabinets. I have a whole pinterest board dedicated to gloriously chippy, rustic wooden farmhouse goodness. Recently, I was able to acquire several (in less than glorious finishes) for very reasonable prices. In other words, cheap. Cheap, because obviously, they need some lovin'. But they've got good bones! They are made like furniture is rarely made anymore. Thick, solid wood throughout. I thought it would be fun to do a post showing the "before's" and my plan for each one. I'll start with the biggest.

This one is huge! It's about 7' tall and 6' wide. it's all tongue and groove beadboard with a lovely old green paint. I picked it up really reasonably and there's *almost* always a catch to a good price. The catch with this one is, it was used in a factory and the inside is V.E.R.Y greasy. I'm still working on this one so to be determined how well it turns out.

Not much of the green paint is visible under the layers of grime but the inside shows it better. When I scrubbed the outside, the paint was so loose that most of it scrubbed off. I'm still undecided what I'm going to do on the outside. I thought I knew but when I started working on it, I became undecided. To borrow a line from Victoria Elizabeth Barnes. (if you're not reading her blog, you should be! She's a riot!) "I wandered off to examine bark in the forest of indecision." I LOVE that line! Maybe because I can relate. It's such a big project that I want to get it right the first time. So, I waffle.....

Next up is a cabinet that I plan to use for a bathroom vanity when we get around to remodeling the upstairs bathroom. I have been watching for something with the right lines and dimensions for a long time and one Sunday I spotted this one on a Facebook group. It had been listed for a few hours and someone had beat me to it. *insert very sad face here* It was perfect and I couldn't believe it couldn't be mine. I messaged the lady that sold it to see if she knew if the person who bought it was going to resell it or keep for themselves. She told me the guy was going to refinish it and make it an island for his kitchen. So, I gave up and figured I'd need to keep looking. The following Sunday after lunch, I was cruising Craigslist and gasped out loud. It was a listing for my cabinet! Long story shorter, the guy decided he didn't have time to refinish it and was just getting his money out of it. He had tacked on $15 for his gas to go get it but since he was closer to me than it originally was, I felt like it was a win all around. I messaged him right away and asked him if he could hold it for me until Monday (since we don't do business on the Lord's Day) and he agreed! I felt like this cabinet was meant to be mine. A lot of people will not do holds but I was so happy he did and the cabinet is now mine and has joined the line of cabinets awaiting a new life. :)

I know it doesn't look like much but I have high hopes for it. The sink will go in the left side and the potato bin will be a laundry chute. I'll just cut the bottom out and where this goes upstairs lines up with the laundry room so the boys can just toss their clothes into the bin and viola! They will end up in the laundry room. That's the plan, anyway. ;)

The 3rd 'before' cabinet I'm showing is one I had encouraged my mom to buy at an auction for a specific use in her house but after she got it home, she decided it was too much work and decided to resell it. I felt obligated to buy it from her. I have some ideas to make it awesome but it remains to be seen if my vision is feasible or not.

And my last cabinet is one I don't have a 'before' picture for, just the 'after'. (Albeit, not a very good one.) This cabinet is in my guest room which I also use for sewing and storage. I was looking for something kind of shallow and about 4' wide and with blind doors. I spied this one at an antique shop one day but the price was out of my range. I was going to leave without asking for a better price since it was significantly higher than I wanted to pay but something told me just before I left to ask the proprietress if she was firm on her price. I asked her and indicated which cabinet I was talking about. She walked over to it, studied it for a minute then named a price that was HALF of what was on the tag. Wha?! For that price, I couldn't turn it down. I had originally planned to use it the way it was but when I got it home, I decided the stain (paint?) was much too reddish to suit me so I stripped it and stained it with a brown stain. It's 2 different woods (not uncommon for old cabinets) so I used 2 different stains to try and minimize the different wood tones. It fits perfectly in the spot I bought it for and holds a TON of stuff.

It was cloudy the day I took this picture so I will include a better one when I do this room reveal. This was one of the biggest things I was waiting on before showing my whole guest room so I only have a few small things and then it's ready to show you. I can't wait! :)

And I can't end this post of farmhouse cabinets without showing you one my friend, Wendy, scored at the local thrift store last week. I think I squealed a little when she texted me this picture and said it was at the thrift store. Every time I look there, it's junk! She has great plans for this sweet little cabinet and I can't wait to see it made over. She does great work (and SHOULD have a blog to show the world her awesomeness) so I know it will be just the cutest! She gave me permission to share these pictures with you and maybe she'll let me share the 'after' when she gets it finished. ;)

Look at that beadboard front! And that hardware! Swoon! This will be so cute painted!

Check back to see what becomes of these farmhouse diamonds in the rough. 

From the farmhouse, 

French Farmhouse Headboard Bench

This is a project I just completed for our school's benefit auction  this month.

I had a french provincial style headboard and footboard that had been languishing in my shop for at least 3 years. I bought them at a garage sale for $5 with the intention of making a bench but when I got them home and realized the footboard was much too low to make the seat, I became discouraged and that's why it sat so long. 

Obviously, I had already started building when I remembered to take a 'before' shot.
Here you can see how the posts were originally.

Headboard before

I tossed  around different ideas but nothing seemed feasible. Until one day I had the idea to put the seat where it should be and divide the open space for baskets. Because the footboard has the corner posts that extend up, I realized this was probably my best option. Once the idea was hatched, I decided to find baskets before I started the build so I could make the openings exactly the size I needed. You know, make it look intentional. ;) I found these baskets at Ikea. Because it was a 'design-as-you-go' project with a lot of 'fiddle factor', I don't plan to give a tutorial. There are already a lot of headboard bench tutorials online. I'm just sharing to maybe spark ideas for anyone who has a similar problem with a too-short foot board. Following are a few progress shots so you can kinda get the idea how it's built.

One problem I spent way too much time trying to resolve was this foot. Half the ball had broken off and unfortunately, I no longer had the piece that fit it. I didn't want to leave it like it was so my first idea was to make a clay mold of the opposite side. After letting my mold dry a day or so, I used clay to make a new piece. Another day to let that dry only to discover, the 'curl' went the wrong way. DUH! Because I used the opposite side, the curl was a reverse of what I needed. :( So, next, I took a mold of the curl on the top of the same post. Double DUH! Same problem because it is upside down. When I placed it on the bottom, the curl still went the wrong way. By this time, I was getting pretty frustrated. I had 'wasted' a half a week waiting on clay to dry and still couldn't use it. So I began to brainstorm for other ideas. I went to Hobby Lobby and found a wooden toadstool in the unfinished wood section. In the first picture of the collage below, I had already cut off the stem section and shaped it with my sander in preparation for the 'ball' part. For the ball, I cut off the top of the toadstool and glued and nailed it in place. As you can see, there were still some gaps but nothing a little vinyl spackling couldn't take care of. It doesn't match the other foot and that bothers me a little bit. My perfectionist husband told me I was being too much of a perfectionist so I decided to 'let it go'. :) It does look better than it did and isn't very noticeable unless you're looking for it so it is what it is.

Most of the wood used to build it came from my scrap pile. I did have to buy some bead board for the ends and some quarter round (used double on the front to make half-round on the top edge). The seat cushion was a different story. Even with a 50% off coupon from JoAnn, that stuff is expensive! I used the 3 inch (I'd have like about a 2.5 inch but they don't make it) and wrapped it with batting. The front corners needed notched out for the front legs. A tip for those who don't know: Cut foam with an electric knife. It works like a charm! The floral fabric came from Hobby Lobby and the ticking stripe is from Etsy. Most of the ticking available in-store is an ecru color and I needed as white as I could to match the floral fabric. I found this real vintage ticking that is pretty close to white. It's not perfect but it looks good to me.

Sorry for the poor quality cell phone pictures. :/ I was in too big a hurry to get out my big camera.

For the paint, I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Napoleonic Blue. It's been awhile since I've used the ASCP and I'd forgotten how easy it is to work with. It went on beautifully with very minimal brush strokes. It's expensive but it does have beautiful coverage. For the white highlights, I used the small cans of white chalk paint from Hobby Lobby. To seal the paint, I used Rustoleum's Ultimate Polyurethane in Matte. I purchased mine at Lowes but it's also available on Amazon.

(affiliate)

I feel it will be a more durable finish without the upkeep that wax requires. As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, this is going to be auctioned at our school's benefit auction so I wanted it to be as carefree as possible for it's new owner. Reviews I read also said it will not yellow like other polyurethanes do. With the paint being dark, I wasn't necessarily worried about that but just thought I'd mention it for someone who might be wondering. 

Thanks for reading! ~Rachel

Linking to:

Link Party Palooza on TT&J

Party Junk on Funky Junk Interiors

Dresser Repurposed to Bathroom Vanity

Here is a quick post with before and afters of a project I finished up this week.

Antique marble topped dresser repurposed to a bathroom vanity.

This was the only before picture I could find. Not awful but in need of a little lovin'.
(Please pardon the messy shop. It's cleaned up now. ;) )
The center drawer was broken. 2 of the pulls were broken and the finish was very tired.

After. I have no good way to show it with the faucet but I will include a picture of the faucet. (I LOVE it!)

My plan of action included fixing the broken drawer, shortening the middle drawer and modifying the top long drawer to accommodate a drain pipe, and paint. I used MMS milk paint in Ironstone and waxed with clear wax to seal and dark wax to bring out the lovely details. Since the center top drawer never had a pull (I suppose you were supposed to open it with the key but I don't have it.) and 2 of the other ones were broken, I found 3 similar and a bit smaller pulls for the top row of drawers. DH helped me drill a hole in the marble top to accommodate the sink drain. We used a diamond hole saw and water. Drilling very slowly made for a nice clean cut. It's now for sale here: FOR SALE

A few more shots:

Linking to:

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

from the farmhouse,

MMS Inspired Hand-painted Empire Buffet~Trash to Treasure

 Yesterday, one year ago, my sister-in-law texted me as I was working in our one rental house. She had seen something out for garbage pick up that she thought I might want. Since I was not in the area, she conned her hubby (my hubby's brother) to help her load it and get it to her garage. It was an antique empire style buffet.

To fully appreciate what it looks like now, you need to see what I started with.

When my DH and I went to pick it up, he and his brother tried hard to discourage me from taking it home. But, if you've been around on the blog any length of time, you know I love a makeover challenge.

We brought it home and it sat. And sat. And DH threatened to burn it because it was occasionally in his way and he couldn't see the vision. :) This fall, I finally started in. At first glance, it didn't look too bad but upon closer inspection, it was really rough. It was covered with dirt. It has veneer that was badly chipping and peeling. The top was splintered and in pretty bad shape.

The first thing I did was use DH's air compressor and take the first layer of dirt off. Then I got the garden hose and a scrub brush and scrubbed it down. After I let it dry, I made a plan of attack. The top was too far gone so I tossed it. Where the veneer was loose, I scraped it off. Then I filled in with Bondo (yep, the car body stuff) and wood putty. After sanding it down and cleaning it again, I painted it with MMS milk paint in Shutter Gray.

This particular buffet was rather plainly styled and I felt it needed some 'fancying up'. Using this buffet for my inspiration, I sketched a design for the doors and drawers. I then traced it off and using white craft paint, I painted it on. Finally, I finished it with MMS white wax. For a top, I found thick slabs of pine at Menards. It was too big so DH cut it down to size using Uncle's fancy saws. I wanted to keep it light to match the soft, light look of the body. I also wanted to minimize the yellowness of the pine. I used Minwax Early American stain which is a nice brown without being too dark. I did one coat of stain and then 2 coats of MMS furniture wax (after the stain was dry). I painted the interior white and lined the drawers with scrapbook paper. The bottom of the bottom drawer was really sagging and splintered so I replaced it. I finished the buffet off with new knobs from Hobby Lobby and now it awaits a new home.

And a side by side:

Linking to:

Furniture Feature Friday
Party Junk
The Party Bunch
Vintage Inspiration Party

From the Farmhouse,

Powder Room Vanity {Repurposed Sewing Cabinet}

Last summer when I was garage saling, I saw a sewing machine and cabinet for sale. I didn't want the machine so I asked the lady if she would sell just the cabinet. She was eager to get rid of things and promptly said "yes, $3". I said "sold"! It was small and kind of loose in the 'joints' but it had such great lines that I knew it was destined for better things than a burn pile.

I got a little carried away and started into the project before I remembered to take a picture.
It was extremely hot the week I was working on this so I brought inside, thus the icky pictures.
Here I had taken the top off and glued and clamped it to sturdy it back up.

It sat in my garage for about a year until several weeks ago when I was cleaning out the garage and getting things ready for a garage sale at my friend's house. I decided it would make a sweet little vanity for a powder room or small bathroom. Having just used the MMS milk paint on the buffet with reasonable success, I was anxious to try another piece. I had used all my linen color on the buffet and all I had was ironstone. I painted it on and it was much whiter than I wanted but I went ahead and did my 3 coats and scraped it where the paint chipped up. Then I wiped the piece down with a soft cloth that was soaked with Minwax stain. (I forget which color, but any color will work. I would stick with the browner colors.) That 'aged' it nicely with the stain settling in the grooves and crevices. I wiped it down with a clean, soft cloth and let it dry. Finally, I waxed it with Annie Sloan soft wax (because that's what I have on hand).

Here it is after painting, aging, and waxing.

Since the original top had a hole cut in it where the sewing machine mounted, I needed to come up with a different top. Enter Uncle with the woodworking shop. He had some thick oak boards that he wasn't going to use so he kindly planed, cut, glued, and sanded them into a solid oak butcher block. I stained it with Minwax stain and waxed it with soft wax. I then fastened it and cut holes for a vessel sink and faucet that I had on hand.

I had bought this faucet several years ago and never ended up using it for what I planned.
The sink was an ebay purchase. I got it awhile back with this project in mind.

I found these cute ring pulls at Menards and thought they looked like they belonged on this piece. Here is a close up of the chipping and crackling on the front. I love how this paint has a mind of it's own. It just does this by itself.

Lovely oak top

And finally, the whole piece in all it's beauty.

It didn't sell at the garage sale but I'm not really sad. I love it so much that I'm seriously considering putting it in my master bathroom. DH has given his approval.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Linking to:

Beneath My Heart's Best DIY Projects of July
Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk Interiors' Party Junk
Knick of Time Interiors' Knick of Time Tuesday

From the Farmhouse

MMS Milk Painted Buffet {and some tips}

Hellooooo!? Anybody out there?

It has been so long since I've posted on here that you've probably all given up on me. Unless you follow me on facebook. Then you have an idea what I've been up to.

A few weeks ago, I decided the garage had been a catch-all for too long. It was getting cleaned out! Risking life and limb, I waded in. Tossing junk, unearthing projects, and organizing tools. I think we can actually park 2 cars now if we need to. :)

I had a goal to refinish/repurpose two of the bigger projects I had uncovered by this weekend because one of my friends was having a garage sale. She had invited me to put things on it. I realize, these were not really garage sale pieces or prices but publicity is good, right? As it turns out, I did not sell either piece but I did have a couple people take my number so who knows, I might sell them yet.

Anyway, this post is to show before and after of the one piece; an antique oak buffet.

BEFORE

 The piece was mostly sturdy but had some rough areas. The left front leg had obviously sat in water for quite awhile. It had rotten away and made the buffet sit un-level. The veneer on the top was bubbling and peeling in places.

Peeling veneer on the top

The top also had a gap at the back where the top used to fit down into. Using my heat gun, I stripped the veneer off the top. I then sanded it well and glued an oak board on the back where the gap was. When the glue was dry, I filled the holes and imperfections with a stainable wood filler and stained the whole top with Minwax Special Walnut.

To fix the rotten leg problem, I cut the front legs off level with the bottom of the buffet and added feet from Lowes. They were about an inch or so shorter than the other feet had been so I cut off the back feet to match the height. Now it sits level again. :)

For the buffet 'body', I gave it a good washing and a Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint treatment and coated it with clear wax.

Here is what I learned about MMS Milk Paint:

• Mix it thicker than the suggested ratio. I did a 1:1 ratio
• Even mixing it thicker, you will likely need more than 2 coats to cover a dark piece with light paint.
• Your project will look awful for the first coat or two; don't give up!

I ended up doing 4 coats. The first coat I mixed the recommended 1 part paint to 1 1/2 parts water. It went on very runny and when it dried it just looked like a light wash. I went back online and began reading what I did wrong. On one blog I found where the blogger recommended mixing a 1 to 1 ratio if painting a light color over dark. For the second and subsequent coats that's what I did and it went on a lot better. The coverage still isn't all that great and I did 4 coats until I was happy with the coverage. I noticed in places where the paint kinda pooled (like crevices) the paint dried crackly. It didn't chip necessarily but it just got an old crackly look. After the second coat (which is what most people stop with), I had zero chipping and very minimal coverage. I was very discouraged, thinking all the hype about this paint was just that; hype. I decided to do at least one more coat. Low and behold, after that coat dried, it began to chip a little and crackle. The coverage still wasn't what I wanted so I did a fourth coat before scraping it to peel off the chips. I finished it with clear wax.

Since the inside was pretty dark and nasty, I decided to paint it an line the bottom surfaces with wallpaper that looks like old newspaper. I also added new hardware from Hobby Lobby.

So there it is. I hope to show you the second MMS milk paint project soon. Stay tuned. ;)

Linking to:

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

Funky Junk Interior's Party Junk

From the Farmhouse