repurposed pool stick holder

This has been one of my most favorite repurposed treasures, mostly because if has sentimental value to it, plus it is totally functional. This is an old pool stick holder that belonged to my grandfather, he used to love pool. He would build pool tables in his spare time, and could beat you blind folded!

I was lucky enough to "inherit it" and after having it for awhile I thought why not use it for a coat rack?  I painted it black and got some great hooks from Anthropologie that I put in at the top. We even put a couple in lower for the kids so they could hang up their back  packs and jackets.

My coat rack has become quite a conversational piece, most people don't realize what it is at first glance, until they notice the holes at the bottom where the pool sticks would go.
 It reminds me of my grandfather every time I walk by it and brings back such fond memories!

I've posted this over at French Country Cottage's linky party, at Liz Marie  and  Jennifer Rizzo, with a lot of other creative people.

ASCP and mahogany

I have usually had great success with all my projects using ASCP, but this one not so much- I wanted to change the look of my rocking chair, new paint, fabric- done!

I knew the rocker was mahogany and I have painted over mahogany before with oil paint and had no problems (I know we really shouldn't paint over mahogany, but....) This time it didn't work so well using chalk paint. I am not quite sure why, but even with 2-3 coats, using ASCP in the old white, the reddish finish of the mahogany started coming through and it is now somewhat pink. Another strange thing it almost starting crackling a bit.

The beauty of the paint is that you really don't have any prep involved, as many as you know. Now with the rocking chair I did wipe it off and very lightly sanded, but I may have missed something here with this one. Curious if those of you who have used ASCP have experienced the same thing with mahogany? Any suggestions on how I could have done anything different? But I still think it is a great improvement over what it looked like. I used  red and white grain sack fabric and have it sitting out on my front porch.

 I'm up for painting and changing most anything, sometimes they come with unpredictable surprises, but it's great to reuse what we have and still feel like you've just gotten a brand new piece!

check out some other great ideas over at The Shabby Nest where I've shared this post on her frugal Friday's

fleur de lis

I have been carrying around this huge piece of wood for years - one of those rare architectural finds I was so happy to come across. Years ago I found it at this great antique store, which was filled to the brim with stuff. I had dig through everything just to see what was what. The piece came out of an old barn that was being torn down. It is heavy and it must weigh at least 50lbs, but I somehow convinced my very loving husband to hang it up for me over the weekend. He did it very securely so it would not fall on any one's head and kill them! Not a very easy task.

When I got it, it was just a very dark wood color and I thought it would look great painted so the fleur de lis pattern would stand out better. So I painted it teal and haven't touched it up since. You may recognize it, I've used it on my blog and on other images over the last few years as a kind of logo. It is amazing to see the pictures and how different it looks when you see it on a wall and not just cropped down as an "image".

We hung it  in our sitting room that is just off of our kitchen. We have an old window in the kitchen that looks out into the room and it has made such a difference seeing it out there now hung up. Because it is such a great size, it makes a big presence in the room. I love old architectural pieces, they are really a great find that have such a great history behind them.

My chair reborn in grain sack fabric!

These chairs were my inspiration for my very outdated, in great need of a "face lift" chair.

This is the chair below with a slipcover that I had someone make years ago, very sad! It was a Waverly fabric that I would be happy to never see again, so I was elated to take it off!(I did a previous post on debating what to do with the chair and happy to now show the final pictures!)

Here is the chair without the slipcover, love the blue velvet right?

Well I begged and begged my mother to please try to reupholster it or make a slipcover out of my new favorite, grain sack fabric. After some pleading, she did and I have to say she did an amazing job!!! I painted and lightly distressed the dark wood legs and arms with ASCP in old white, finally showing them off again. I can't take any more credit for the chair, she did all the rest.

I love it!! Looks like a completely new chair and I am in love with the fabric, it is heavier but has such a nice finish. Now maybe I can convince her to tackle my sofa??!

I've posted this on "Feathered Nest Fridays" on French Country Cottage, check out all the other great ideas she has posted on her Friday Linky party! And also over on Jennifer Rizzo's Friday party, and I just came across another great blog where I posted this as well, The Shabby Nest, so many creative people!!

making a bold first impression

This Old House

I have been debating what color to paint my front door- it is the first thing people notice when they come to your house, like a first impression and should make a statement. And of course some say that the color you paint your front door has some kind of meaning behind it. Can't we just slap on some paint that looks good without having it mean something? Now I really feel pressured!
Black is said to be powerful, blue is related to abundance, green is said to have balance, purple evokes energy, and red is supposedly welcoming. Whatever color one picks it should also look good with the rest of your house no matter what meaning it has.

Right now my front door is painted black and is in desperate need of a new paint job. I have been staring at doors when I have been walking and driving around trying to see what colors grace the front doors of my neighbors. I have noticed a few lately that have been pumpkin orange - love that.

This Old House

The orange looks great with the gray shingles but I don't think so much with my red brick home, so I have been thinking either a blue or green,.I would love to go bright and add a burst of green, like in the picture below.

This Old House

 But I think I am still stuck on blue. This has always been one of my favorite front doors

via House of Turquoise via Hiya Papaya

I love the Wythe Blue color that was painted on this front door above, but I had wanted to go just a little brighter. I came across this color a couple times, St. Lucia Teal.

via Turquoise Shed

So I decided to just go for it. As you can see, my door seems hidden and dark. It is a really pretty front door and it needs to be shown off.

These were my final choices, Wythe Blue, St. Lucia Teal and Stratton Blue- all Benjamin Moore. I realized after I had picked the St. Lucia Teal that it must have been meant to be. Those of you who saw my earlier post on my new light that will be going in my foyer, it is almost the exact color as St. Lucia Teal.

 Anyhow, this is my new door which I love- and you will see how nice it looks with my light sitting on the floor.

As for the light, yes, it is still not hung up. You know the saying measure twice, cut once? (in my case hang once) Well we had a minor problem when we went to go hang it and realized that it needs to be moved over so you don't hit your head on it when you walk down the steps- lesson learned.

When the light is hung up it will be a nice transition from the bright color of the teal door to have the color flow inside and there are also touches of the color in the rug in the foyer as well. The door now stands out and looks fun and bright when you see it from outside. With front doors they aren't a huge commitment to paint so why not try a bright bold color for fun.

HGTV

summer fun

I know that this doesn't have anything to do with houses, paint or design but I just thought I would share this picture of my son Finn. It has been a very hot summer here in the northeast and Finn decided he wanted to have some fun in the sprinkler. I grabbed my camera and thought I would take a few pictures of him while he was out trying to cool off. This one was my favorite as it captured that exact moment when he got that first blast of cool water, pure exhilaration, happiness and summer fun! I wish I could bottle up that moment and feeling he had at the time. Everytime I look at this picture it just makes me smile!

Repurposed candle holders

I am so excited about my new lights! Not sure if I should call them upcycling or repurposed? But anyway, I wanted to find something different to put up in my foyer and kitchen and really didn't see much that I liked, or if I did it cost a small fortune. I had seen one in Ballard Designs that I really liked but with everything that we have to do around here in our new "old" house I did not want to spend the money on it. Instead I used the light for my inspiration as I searched around from shop to shop. Below is the light from Ballard Designs, it is their greenhouse light, love it, but didn't love the price.

Ballard Designs

Then I found this in a great shop called, Cottage Home, near where I live. It was actually a candle holder that I thought would look great hanging in my foyer instead. (again, upcycling or repurposed?) 

So, I haven't gotten it up yet but couldn't wait to share how it looks.  I have a great lighting guy who took off the bottom part, which I now can still use to put candles in, and wired the top part for me. I am waiting on a medium sized version to put up at the top of the stairs in my landing so they match. It's a great size, about 20" tall and 12" across the bottom, hard to tell from the picture.

I am employing my father to come hang it up for me over the weekend- can't wait to have it up! I will post a picture when it's done.

I also wanted to find lights for my kitchen to replace the very "colonial" looking, punched tin light that is existing.  I found two of these beautiful candle holders at another local shop named Kaly, and will hopefully have the two of them hung as pendants in the kitchen, over our island (not as easy to hang in an old house with only one existing wire).  

I also have the two metal bases that came with these to use for candle holders as well, so I think all said and done- totally worth the investment of doing all three. And truthfully, I spent a third of the cost on my foyer light then the cost of the greenhouse chandelier from Ballard's. It's great to find unique pieces that inspire you to use for one of a kind pieces.

For other great ideas, go to Jennifer Rizzo's blog to see what creative ideas are on her Friday linky party, I've linked up with this post. Also on, Feathered Nest Friday, on French Country Cottage