Weathered Wood Crates

From the day we first moved into our adorable house, there's been one area that needed some attention. I knew that with a little Pinterest inspiration, this spot could be spectacular. This is by the side door that goes into the kitchen and we use it all the time. Hence, it is the easiest spot for Colin to leave his dirty work boots (thankfully he doesn't wear them in the house). We ended up leaving other shoes, a watering can, and a broom for a while too. Not exactly a welcoming sight for visitors or us. Here it is:

Our first idea was to find a storage bench but after looking around for a couple of months we realized that it would be hard to locate a bench for that small spot. I stumbled upon a blog and her shoe parking idea was perfect. This was inspiration I needed.

We went to an antique show a few of weekends ago and I found some old crates there. I decided $30 for one crappy antique crate was a little ridiculous especially when I needed two or three. I had seen several ideas on Pinterest using crates from craft stores so I decided that was the way to go. I ended up spending under $25 for three crates by using a couple coupons. We had just about everything we needed for a new method of "staining" I wanted to try so the whole project cost under $30. Which was a lot better than spending almost $100 for old crates and I figure these will last longer anyway. But, these unfinished wooden crates weren't exactly doing it for me.

I've never worked with stain before so I looked around Pinterest and see if there was any other way to make the crates look antique. I found this tutorial showing how to use tea and a steel wool/vinegar mixture. I'll give a brief overview of what I did but check out that tutorial for more detailed instructions. I used two old jars and filled the first 3/4 full with White Vinegar and half of a steel wool dish scrubber. I read that this should sit for at least 24  hours but mine ended up sitting for about 2 days. I made a pitcher of tea and used the 3 used tea bags in the other jar (it may work better to use black tea but I used what I had). This ended up sitting for about 2 days also.

I was a little nervous about whether this would work but decided to give it a shot. The far right picture in the collage shows how the steel wool looked after sitting several hours in the vinegar. You can see that it has already started turning a darker color. After my concoctions sat for a couple of days, I ventured out in the heat of July to start my project. I laid out several paper bags and packaging papers on our patio area and used an old towel so I could get comfy. Oh, and rocks to keep the paper from flying up are optional but very helpful. :)

I sanded down the crate a little bit before I started. Colin was smart and picked up that little paint container at Lowes and it made the project so much easier! It would have been impossible to get my paint brush down in those tiny jars. So, make sure you either have a wide mouthed jar or a container to pour the mixture into.

The tea gets painted on first and will just make the crate look wet and a tad bit darker. Here's a picture comparing the crate painted with tea next to an unfinished crate. Side note, I ended up running out of tea after my first crate. I just had Colin fill the jar up again and let it sit for a while. This seemed to work fine but you may want to use more than 3 tea bags and more water if you have a large amount of wood to stain.

You should try to let the tea dry for about 30 minutes but it was hot and I'm impatient and only waited a couple of minutes. Next, I painted on the steel wool/vinegar mixture. Here's the coolest part! Almost immediately it starts making the wood look much darker and distressed. I know there's a scientific reason with something about the acid and blah blah blah but I'll just say it's magic.

The color will continue to get darker and look more distressed. The fun thing about this project is I found the messier I painted, the better looking the crate! Another thing I noticed was that pieces of wood on the crate would take the stain differently and the colors would vary from light to very dark and some reddish! We never figured that out so if you have some insight, please share. They definitely don't look perfect and uniform but I really wanted them to look like I randomly found these crates and they were well loved already. 

The picture above shows the three crates in the different stages to show how the color changes. In clockwise order, it goes from unfinished to tea stained and then with the completed steel wool/vinegar. The first crate that was finished didn't stay as dark as it looked here and they all ended up about the same color. Here are some shots of the almost finished pieces (they still needed to finish drying). Yes, I am that crazy neighbor laying on the ground taking pictures of crates.

They all ended up being about the same color which is amazing after seeing how different they looked at different stages during the process. Needless to say, I'm a believe in the tea stain and steel wood/vinegar method now. And did I mention I hardly paid anything for the supplies? Just had to buy a paint brush and that paint container and the rest of the supplies were in my kitchen. Here's a before and after shot of the crates all set up and ready to go!

Now we have a cute little spot to park our shoes when we get home. I even have a place for my watering can and it doubles as decoration.  I still may work with the "decorations" on and around the crates. I'm thinking a neat welcome sign may look good? Or some other antique things? I'll keep you updated on what happens.

So, there you have it, the completed shoe storage area! I'm glad this little spot is checked off my list. Now to find some more wood to weather... :)

Celebrating Fathers and The Fourth!

Father's Day was our first get together we've had at our new house. It wasn't a huge party or anything, just my parents, sister and brother-in-law. We finally saw how perfect our house is for entertaining and I think our guests loved it too (although, being family they may be a little biased). I thought I'd share a few photos of the celebration! This was my favorite picture of the night:

We were able to use our massive amount of counter space for the first time. We loved getting to spread the food out and make a little buffet. Well, it wasn't a little buffet really. Colin grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and we had a spread of toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, onions, bacon). We also had corn on the cob, grapes, and french fries and my specialty for dessert, Funfetti cupcakes.

We know that we are the luckiest girls in the world to have such a great father. Of course, after Daddy got his present he was thinking he's the luckiest father in the world...

Yep, that's my dad. Only he would be silly and act like he's smoking with his new smoker. We've gotten to enjoy chicken wings and pork chops with his present. Can't wait to see what he cooks up next!! :)

Now, on with the next celebration! We spent all day with family and friends on July 4th and I can't think of a better way to celebrate. We are so grateful for the men and women (and their families) who serve or have served our country. Thank you so much for the sacrifices you make! Our house got a chance to be patriotic with our new flag. :)

We had my parents, sister and brother-in-law, and neighbors over for supper. The neighbors (Mr. Charles helped put up my beadboard) brought two sweet little newborns that they were fostering. So, we got to snuggle with them (the babies, not the neighbors) for a long time. 

Here is my patriotic display on the mantel for July 4th. I love using antiques as decorations and it's even better when I know the story behind the antique. The basket has a quilt made by my great grandma. Also, the little red iron on the left of the mantel was my great grandma's iron that she used for years then turned into a doorstop. Some of my favorite decorations came from her, so guests will find me telling personal stories about most of my antiques. The flag bunting is from Pottery Barn (snagged it on sale the day after July 4th, shhh). 

Here we are posing with our new flag and rockin' our red, white, and blue. We hope you all had a great Father's Day and Fourth of July!! :)

Kitchen Recondition

Finally, a post to show off the kitchen transformation! This kitchen has seen its fair share of updates. Check out the arrows showing everything that's been changed so far. New beadboard, paint, refinished hardwoods, countertops, sink, faucet, backsplash, outlets, knobs, and light. You can see the changes in the second picture.

We still have a few things to finish up. We changed out the brushed nickel knobs with some lovely oil-rubbed bronze ones. We did forget to change one knob, anyone see it? It was hidden and didn't make it in the count so we still need to upgrade that little guy. We also need to change out the brass hinges that are almost tarnished enough to look oil-rubbed bronze. 

Here's a before and after picture of the countertops (plus the photobombing cat). We chose solid surface countertops from Lowes. We went back and forth about getting granite but in the end we went with what seemed best for us. Lots more I could say about the decision making process but I won't bore you with the details.

We have these gorgeous hydrangeas in our backyard and I wanted to show them off with a close up of the countertops. The color is Slate by Allen + Roth and it has a brown base color with some black, white, tan and brown speckles. If you're in the market for new countertops, check out the sale options for great deals. That's what we did and saved quite a bit compared to the full price ones that were similar. Also, we didn't add the 3 inch countertop backsplash and were able to almost completely pay for the new tile backsplash to be installed with the money we saved. Finding a sweet Lowes guy who searches for every way to help you save is a great thing. :)

We decided to keep the original cabinets to save some money and they are still in good shape. One day we may decide to paint them but for now they are fine. My mom and I spent a couple hours cleaning them with Orange Glo and it really brought some life back to them. Oh, and the kitchen smelled great after. Check out that view from the sink. I love it!!

Here is a close up of the backsplash aka the"splashback." We had nice lady come by to give us a welcome packet and she said she loved our splashback. She had a very thick southern accent so imagine that combined with the flip-flopped word. Bless her heart. ;) Anyway, we love our splashback backsplash and are very happy with the choice of travertine tiles and the mosaic tile border. By the way, see that awesome cutting board? My super talented Papa made it. :)

I had to share a close up of this amazing faucet. It's kind of the mom to the little guy in our half bath that I love so much. 

We decided to make a new outdoor kitchen area with the old countertops and sink. Just kidding! We wanted to save some money and get rid of them ourselves. Truth be told, I think Colin just wanted to rip them out. It did prove to be more of a project than we thought. Thanks Uncle Brad for coming over late one night to help carry this monster out. I was happy to be the door holder instead of the assistant in the demolition and removal. :)

So, what do you think? Everything is coming along! I'll add some more pictures of my kitchen decorations when everything is finished. Still have more unpacking to do (it's never ending!) but I will slowly but surely add more pictures of the progress. 

Bye Bye Burgundy...Hello Beautiful Bathroom Countertops!

Another item on our to-do list was replacing the bathroom countertops. The upstairs bathroom had a burgundy color laminate countertop and I knew that would have to be changed. Check out the before shot of the outdated culprit. Phew...that thing was screaming for some help.

We went with cultured marble for our new countertops. This may be the most drastic before and after of the whole renovation process. We still have a few small things left with this bathroom but it's basically done!

Oh, and by the way, this bathroom is also known as Riley's bathroom.We have his litter box hidden in here and his food stays here too. He decided to crash my little photo session and be the model. This is his first appearance on the blog so now you all know that we have an adorable kitty living in our nest. So, guests beware, if you stay with us you will have to share this bathroom (and I may ask you to clean the litter box, hehe).

The master bathroom countertops weren't bad but since we wanted to change one bathroom we decided to change all of the bathrooms. We chose the same color cultured marble as the upstairs (Riley's) bathroom.

This isn't as drastic of a change as the burgundy but it looks much nicer with the recessed sinks and rounded edges. Not to mention, those recessed sinks are sooo much easier to keep clean. 

Here is the before and after shot of the half bathroom. Again, there wasn't anything terrible about these old countertops but we decided to change them out for something nicer. We went with a cultured granite instead of the marble. 

This is my favorite. I love that color granite and the oil rubbed bronze water pump faucet. This picture really doesn't do it justice. I try to find excuses to go in this bathroom just to look at this cute little faucet. Here, let me give you a close up picture so you can see for yourself.

See what I mean? It's adorable and fun to use. I also picked out a cool light fixture to fit in with the farmhouse feel. Once we get a new mirror up and find the right decorations, this little bathroom may be the cutest spot in the house! :)

Get Ready to be "Floor"ed.

A last minute addition to our to-do list was refinishing the hardwoods in the kitchen. We originally thought they looked fine but after seeing the beadboard and new paint we decided they may need some TLC. So, even though it pushed our move in date back we decided it should be added to the list.

The hardwoods used to be almost the same color as the kitchen cabinets so we wanted to choose a stain to differentiate the two. Please disregard how rough the kitchen looks in the after and just focus on the floors. :)

After the hardwoods were refinished we were able to have the carpets installed! Woohoo! The house had been carpet-less for over a month. Now we have beautiful, clean, and extremely soft new carpet. We can also walk around barefoot without fear of dying from the exposed tack strip.

This is one good before and after picture of the master bedroom to show the difference. You can tell the carpet was worn out before and needed to be replaced. I've spent the past couple nights relaxing on the new carpet while Colin ripped out the old countertops and it's very comfy!

Next up in the before and after shots we have the master bathroom floors. We didn't want carpet in the sink area and wanted the same flooring to go all the way to the shower. We thought carpet in that area might get too wet and linoleum would be easier to clean.

The before picture was taken the day we closed so it had the old paint color. Oh, and the after gives a little sneak peek of the new countertops that I promised to share. I'm waiting on the plumber to install the new faucets so you can get your moneys worth with the before and after pictures. :)

The guest bathroom has the same flooring as the master bathroom so I'll skip that and go straight to something new and exciting. The half bath got a major update from the original early 90's flooring. The original was yellowing and tearing away from the wall. 

We decided to help ease this little bathroom into the 21st century with some pretty hardwoods. Not real hardwoods but maybe I fooled you for a second there? Honestly, I think it looks just as good as the real thing. This linoleum was a relatively inexpensive update and completely changed the feel of this bathroom (and the laundry room attached to it). 

So, what do you think? Some pretty major changes, right? Well, just wait because the new bathroom countertops and faucets are coming soon. Followed closely by the new kitchen countertops and backsplash. Oh, and did I mention we have already started moving stuff in? We are hoping to be mostly moved in this weekend! :)

To-Do List Progress: What's Done and Still to Come

It's been almost two weeks since I've posted anything and I didn't want y'all to think I was holding out on you or had decided not to share anymore. So, here's a quick look at my updated list:

1. Beadboard in the kitchen and living room (see it here)
2. New paint everywhere: walls, trim, closets (see it here)
3. Install a security system
4. New bathroom countertops (this reveal is coming soon)
5. Kitchen hardwood floors refinished (starts tomorrow and should be finished Friday)
6. New carpet and bathroom floors (should all be done this Saturday)
7. New kitchen countertops installed the end of next week
8. New backsplash installed soon after the kitchen countertops

There you have it, four of the eight major projects are done! Six of the eight should be done by the end of this week! Oh, how I love marking things off my list. 

Everyone keeps asking when we will be moving in and I hadn't been able to give a good answer. Now I can finally say in about one week! It's been over a month since we closed so I'm very excited about seeing everything come together! I wish y'all could have seen the house before we started making changes. It's going to be like a new house and I can't wait to get settled in! :)

New Paint: Transforming Crazy Color to Cottage Chic

The second thing on our to-do list was to have everything inside repainted. I mean everything, the walls, trim, closets, it was all begging for a facelift. 

The previous owners had several bold color choices (blue in the master bedroom, yellow in the half bath, and two different greens in the kitchen/hallway). They had it decorated really cute with fun patterns and colors. We really didn't notice the paint colors the first time we walked through. I actually didn't mind the blue in the bedroom and the yellow in the bathroom but since all the rooms connected it was kind of a color explosion. Needless to say, we were wanting to tone everything down with nice welcoming neutrals and maybe in the future add more colors. Also, check out how the kitchen and hallway used to look with the chair rail and two different green colors. See why I'm in love with the beadboard?!?

The kitchen is painted Sprout and it ended up being a lighter green than we expected. It looks even lighter in this picture than it does in person. We realized that the little paint sample seems to change once it's put over a large area. But, it's starting to grow on me and I'm glad we decided to paint it a different color from the rest of the house.

Everything else is painted Barcelona Beige and I'm really happy with how it looks. Again, the picture doesn't really show how it looks in person. It's a very good neutral and it gives all the rooms a clean and cohesive look. All the trim and beadboard are painted Greek Villa and it looks great. The trim looked pretty yellow before so just picking a whiter color made it look brand new.

Oh, and here's a before and after picture like I promised. The before picture makes me like our paint choice even more. It was a little old fashioned and too minty before. What do you think? I know I'm a little biased but I think the new paint has transformed the crazy color to cottage chic. :)