How To Make Pantry Doors Into Rustic Shutters

I’ve mentioned before that I am constant looking for good junk on the side of the road when I’m out driving around town. I have to admit that the road I work on has been an awesome source of trash finds! I’ve gotten wooden spools, cabinet doors and one day found what I thought was shutters but ended up being this folding pantry door that was a little busted at the bottom. I always ask the company first but typically if they’re out by the dumpster, they are fair game!

When I picked up this folding pantry door last April, I really had no idea what I was going to do with it or where I was going to use it but knew it had potential. I’ve been in the process of decorating the new house but I’m struggling because all of the walls are so much larger and the ceilings are much higher than our old house so everything I have appears so much smaller! You can kind of see what I mean in this picture from Christmas.

I was brainstorming and got the idea to separate the pantry doors and use them as shutters on each side of our console table. I actually liked the unfinished wood look they already had but decided to go ahead and try to make them look old and rustic to match the table and brighten up that wall.

Supplies Needed:

• Wooden Pantry Doors or Shutters (Roadside find – FREE)
• Stain (use whatever you already have)
• Paint Brushes
• Paint (picked up a mis-tint at Lowes for $4 thinking I may need more paint than I did but hindsight could have used something I already had. The Lowes sample size would be plenty!)

There are SO many techniques use to make shutters and other items look old and weathered but here is how I did mine.

Step 1: Roughly Stain Them.

Have you ever not washed a brush soon enough and it gets a little hard and rough and you think its not worth keeping? Well DO! That’s what I used for this and it worked perfectly!! Obviously a good paint brush will work as well.  I already had some Dark Walnut stain and so I just used it and rough stained the shutter with no rhyme or reason. I just wanted to give the wood different variations that will peak through underneath the paint that will go on top. Let this fully dry.

 

Step 2: Spray paint the inside edges of the “shutter” panes

My friend Jennifer from Repurposed Vintage Design gave me the tip to use spray paint to get the edges of the shutter so I quickly sprayed the inside edges and didn’t worry about full coverage or missing a spot. This made my life so much easier and I’m so thankful I didn’t skip this step!

Step 3: Paint the Doors

I used what I would call a “dry brush” technique. Using a good paint brush (not a stiff one like I used above) I applied just the tip of my brush into the paint and brushed along the direction of the shutter panes. I focused on each pane at a time for the most part. Some panes had fuller coverage and some less but that’s what made this so great. I knew I was going to distress it so I let the paint brush naturally give it that weathered look.

This picture shows you how little paint I used. This is what was left after painting both shutters.

Step 4: Distress the Edges

Because I had used such a small amount of paint and did this outside in the sun, I was able to go ahead and distress the first door after I finished painting the second. You may need more drying time before doing this step. I already had a good rough paint job on the shutter so it didn’t require too much distressing. I used steel wool but you could use a sanding block or palm sander or whatever distressing tool you prefer. I just roughly rubbed down most of the outside edges and the edges on the pane. Keeping it random and on the places it would naturally age/distress.

That is it! These worked perfectly for this space and added the perfect wall filler for the total cost of $4 (paint only – which like I said, I could have used something I had already).

 

And here is your daily dose of my Mason, who thinks he needs to be in EVERY picture! 

I had some people ask so I figured I’d provide the sources for all of the items shown.

• Barn Door – DIY Posted Here
• Cotton Wreath – DIY Posted Here.
• Console Table – Wayfair
• Brown side table – Home Goods. This is where we are hiding the cable box, dvd player, cords, etc. – seriously..this little guy will save marriages 😉
• All blue and white ceramics were thrift store/garage sale finds
• Galvanized Lantern – Target
• Galvanized Bucket below – Home Goods
• Decorative Balls – Kirklands
• Green Ceramic candle holder – Target
• Frame – Local Florist/Gift Shop
• Count Your Blessing Sign – Kirklands

 

Can You Really Paint Upholstery?

Our living room and breakfast area is all one big space and I’ve decided to use the “breakfast area” as a sitting area instead. I would like to do a small round table with two upholstered decorative chairs.  The only problem with this is that all the chairs I like are about $200-$300 a piece which isn’t in the budget.  So naturally, I’ve been on the lookout for some used chairs that I can transform to be what I really want. I have zero experience in upholstering and little interest in trying so I’ve been reading up a lot on painting upholstered furniture. YES – it’s really a thing! I’m super intrigued by this method and wanted to do as much research as possible to make sure this is setting me up for success.

I asked my Instagram followers to get some feedback and had several people interested in doing this project as well so I figured I’d share all the tips and feedback that I got!

theshabbybride Yep! It works great! I used bbfrosch and seal with wax. It feels like soft leather–especially over time. It’s amazing!

plentyplace I’ve done it, too. As long as you use the additive then sand & seal it…it’s beautiful & only slightly stiff.

frommyfrontporchtoyours They feel soft and are not crunchy!

Jillykay You have to water the paint down a lot… I didn’t at first and it’s a little crunchy on the seat of the chair

Ewisabeff What I did was use a spray bottle to wet the fabric and added a little bit of water to the paint to prevent the crunchiness. Then I used Annie Sloan clear wax to help soften the paint and to seal. It worked out great!

Bekapoe Add textile medium to the paint instead of water. You can get it at Hobby Lobby. Mine was was still pretty crunchy but I did it on crushed velvet so that was probably why. It still looks pretty!

Navyblueangl51 You need to dampen the fabric with a little water. I just used a spray bottle. Material feels suede like. It looks great.

Plentyplace As long as you used the additive then sand & seal it, it’s beautiful and only slightly stiff.

Isn’t it great to see so many people saying it works! I am anxious to find me some chairs and give this a try!

 

I also did a roundup of some great tutorials I found on this type of project! I love reading tutorials from different places to learn as many tips and tricks as possible!

http://www.11magnolialane.com/2013/09/09/tutorial-how-to-paint-upholstery-fabric-and-completely-transform-a-chair/

http://www.11magnolialane.com/2014/04/03/followup-on-my-painted-chair-tutorial-your-questions-and-my-answers/

http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/2014/09/painted-fabric-on-furniture-tutorial.html

 

http://www.frommyfrontporchtoyours.com/2014/09/painting-fabric-with-chalk-paint.html

http://www.littlehouseinthebigd.com/2012/10/painting-furniture-fabric-yep-furniture.html

DIY Tile Tray

You may remember the DIY Tile Tray that I guest blogged over at Landelu here. If not, I’m going to show you exactly how I made this easy and gorgeous tray and how simple it really was!

I really love trays and can’t get enough of them! There are so many sizes, materials, textures that you can use for food or to decorate with. Several months ago I picked up an unfinished wood square tray at a local thrift store that needed some love but had so much potential. I had plans to paint and distress it but when I found those awesome blue and white tiles for my coasters it gave me an idea, why not tile the bottom of my thrift store tray so it will match all my blue and white ceramics.

I should preface this and say that I have ZERO tiling or grouting experience but I figured this was a good project to give it a try! If I mess it up, I lose a tray, not a floor or wall.

Supplies Needed:

• Wooden Tray
• Tiles
• Glue
• Grout

Here is how to make them:

Step 1: Prep Tray

Paint or stain tray to your desired color. I spray painted my wooden tray with a flat white paint and primer that I had in my collection of paint.

Step 2: Purchase Desired Tiles

While I was ordering the tiles for the coasters  online from Fine Crafts & Imports, I noticed these blue and white tiles that made a pattern when used together and thought they would work perfectly for my tray. Fine Crafts & Imports has a great selection of Talavera Mexican tiles, especially for my fellow blue and white lovers!

Another thing to keep in mind is the size of your tray. My tray was 13″x13” which worked out perfectly for the 4″x4″ tiles. I knew I could order 9 tiles and have just enough room for the grout. You’ll want to do the math and figure out how many tiles and what size tiles work best for the tray you’re using.

Step 3: Arrange and Glue the Tiles

Arrange your tiles on your tray. You can use spacers here if they’re needed but I only had one interior tile so I decided it wasn’t necessary. If you had a larger tray, you may want to consider spacers to keep the tiles evenly spaced. I used Gorilla Glue for this project but you can use any industrial grade glue that you may have around the house. Follow the instructions of the glue used and glue each tile in the desired location. Once they are all glued in place, set something heavy on them and let the tiles set and dry. I used catalogs and a canister of flour and let mine sit and dry overnight.

Step 4: Grout in-between the tiles

I didn’t have any grout on hand so I picked up this small thing of white grout at Home Depot for about $5. Do any prep work necessary for the grout by following the instructions on the grout container (mine required me to add water and stir). Spread the grout in all the cracks of the tile and don’t forget the sides of the tile next to the tray. I didn’t have a “grout float” or any special tool for grouting and didn’t see a reason to purchase one so I just used a paint stirrer and my fingers (which I actually found easier).

 

Step 5: Smooth and Clean grout

Using my finger I just smoothed the grout lines to make sure the grout was smooth and without bumps. To clean it I used a wash cloth and gently wiped off the grout on the tile. I had to wash my rag frequently and clean off layers about 6 times before I got all of the grout off the tiles. If you accidentally remove some grout where it’s needed, just fill it back in and clean the tile area around it again. Once the tiles were clean and the grout was smooth you just set it aside and let it dry!

That’s all, this project was very simple and fun a fun way to give tiling a try! I plan to use this tray for decorative uses only but if I wanted to use it for food I would use a grout sealer first to protect the white grout.

DIY Shipping Tube to Galvanized Vase

One of my best friends is expecting and we threw her a Baby-Q this weekend that went great! I wanted to share with you one of the decorative items that I used that was FREE! My goal is always to throw a cute shower and spend the smallest amount of money. We wanted to spend most of our budget on the food and drinks!

I had these flowers I had gotten recently on clearance at Target and I wanted to be able to use those somewhere but I needed a tall and skinny vase. None of the hostesses had one so I was planning to purchase a galvanized vase for them similar to this one.

I was at work and they were throwing away these cardboard shipping tubes that I decided to take home and see what I could do with them. I used spray paint that I already had on hand and figured if it didn’t turn out, there was no loss!

(I honestly didn’t think to take pictures of each step because they were so simple that I didn’t think it was worth sharing on my blog, so I apologize)

Steps to turn a Shipping Tube into a Galvanized Vase

I used Krylon Smoke Gray Spray Paint and painted until the tube was solid gray.

Then I took my Krylon Sterling Silver paint that I had and standing further from the tube than I normally would I did light bursts at random. I wanted the speckled galvanize look so i didn’t spray in one area more than once. If I got too much silver in one area, I went back with the smoke gray and did the same distant bursts to add back the dimension.

After it was dry, I traced the tube on a piece of thin cardboard I had. I cut it out and hot glued it to the bottom of the tube to give the vase a bottom.

THAT IS ALL! IT’S REALLY THAT EASY! 

When we were taking down the decorations I had several people mention they just assumed it was part of my friends everyday home decor. Nobody could believe I just used spray paint on a shipping tube. Like I mentioned above, I wasn’t planning to share this but I had such a good response that I figured someone else might could do something like this for FREE home or party decor.

This method will work on any item so it’s not limited to a shipping tube. I also did it on a wooden initial to use at the party as well and from far away it does look galvanized!

I’ll be posting the rest of the party decor soon!

DIY Chalkpaint & Waxed Side Table

I have some pretty exciting news to share, we’re less than 2 months from closing on our new house!!! We are SO excited!! We have brick and drywall and they started painting this weekend. It’s all coming together so perfectly. On the flip side, time is ticking I have many, many projects I hope to finish by closing day which means I better get started!

For me one of the most exciting things about building a house twice the size of our last house is filling it up! Unfortunately, we’re building a house so we don’t have money to go out and buy all new things and that wouldn’t be as fun anyways, right? 😉  I knew we needed some side tables for the living room and have been eyeing the side tables with queen anne legs and a drawer for a while. Every day I looked on local facebook garage sale sites and Craigslist for a set that were what I wanted for the right price. I finally found a set that were perfect, they were the exact style I wanted and they said they’d take $50 for the pair…SOLD! One of them was really scratched up on the top but I didn’t mind because I knew I was going to paint them.  Our couches are brown leather and the rug is darker colors so I wanted to do an antique white look to brighten up the room a bit. You may remember my mood board with some of the details, here.

I am going to be honest, this project intimidated me a bit. My only experience with painting and distressing furniture was this headboard I found on the side of the road but this is an entirely different ballpark. For the headboard I used normal wall paint and didn’t wax or finish it with anything.

These tables are going to be in the living room so they need to look good and need to be done correctly and need to be sealed for protection.  This was my first chalk paint/waxing furniture experience and I hate to say it but as many tutorials and videos you watch, you will never fully feel comfortable or confident  doing it until you just get in there and try it. So that’s what I did. I figure the worst that can happen is I hate it and I have to start over and paint over my first results.

Here is how I refinished the table:

For this project I decided to use the Americana Décor chalk paint from Home Depot. The reviews are decent and it’s significantly cheaper than other brands of chalk paint. I purchased the “Lace” color and although my experience with chalk paint is limited, I would not purchase this again in the lighter colors. Everyone brags about how great the coverage is for chalk paint but it took me 3-4 coats with this paint to fully cover this table. Ultimately I think it looks great but I was just disappointed in the coverage and would try another brand next time (when sticking to an antique white color, I hear the paint works awesome with darker colors).

 

Here is after one Coat:

Here is after 4 coats dried:

After the four coats and a couple days of drying time, I took my palm sander and lightly scuffed up some of the edges and areas of the table. I didn’t want it to be heavily distressed but I wanted a little bit of distressed character with this table. I mostly distressed only the edges and feet where they would naturally get scuffed over time.

For the waxing, I used Howard’s Wax in the Dark Oak. It was recommended by a local vendor, The Urban Cowgirl, who paints and refinishes furniture and I knew if it was good enough for her, it was good enough for me! The great thing about this wax is you get a large can of it for $13! That’s about half the price of most waxes and it comes in a larger container so I definitely recommend it!

After it was distressed I wiped it down really good and started waxing. I didn’t use any fancy brush, I just used an old sock of my husbands. That’s what was recommended to me and I’m all about being resourceful instead of buying an expensive brush! Tip that I will do next time: Wear rubber gloves under the sock to protect your fingers and nails from the wax 🙂

I just applied small amounts and kept rubbing it in trying to keep my strokes in the same direction most of the time and then at the end rubbing in circles. I’m not sure there is any wrong way to apply it. I rubbed the wax into the table really well where there wasn’t much left to remove. I used a small paint brush to get into the corners and areas my finger couldn’t reach. Once, I was happy with the wax coverage, I just left it out in the living room to admire and dry!

Overall, I’m very happy with the way these turned out. I spend about $40 total on this table with all the supplies and that is a great price for a nice side table. The process was easier than expected and other than the several coats of paint, it was very quick. I think I can knock out the other side table in one day now that I know what to expect! Believe me, if I can do it, so can you!

 

Here was my only complaint, that I’m choosing to live with at this time. When I used the palm sander, it created this “sprialy” pattern that was more noticeable when I applied the wax. I think for the next one, I will just use the sander where to distress and I will not use it any other areas to prevent that spiral pattern in the paint. You can kind of see the pattern it gave it in this picture below. It’s not super noticeable unless you’re up close and picking it apart like I am! 🙂

What do you guys think? Did I achieve the antique distressed look or does it just look dirty (as my husband says)?