October 23, 2011

Monday Make-Over

Monday Make-Over
on Sunday
I have a full day ahead of me tomorrow. Hubby is 2 hours north today, plotting out where to set up his deer blind and camp site for the opening of deer season in a couple weeks. So, I decided it was a good time to get my blog post done. 
I got my antique market windsor chair done and I love love love it!!!!! It turned out just as I pictured. It is so well made and authentic but was shiny finish, dark dark stain, and the painted floral design on the back were all tragic.


I sanded it all down to bare wood, mostly with my orbital sander on the lowest setting and some bits by hand.

Next I painted it with a little sample size jar of valspar paint from Lowes. They have tiny little 7.2 oz jars of base paint which can be mixed to any of their paint colors for just $2.99. After sitting in my poolhouse with approx 12 different shades of aqua I decided on a color called Evening Stroll.
Once painted I sanded it all down again, leaving just enough paint in just the perfect places. Then I added a simple little white stencil across the back and sanded that down too.


Next step - I rag stained over it all with minwax's Special Walnut oil based stain. I gave it 24 hours for the stain to dry and then gave it a water based satin clear finish (Repco).


We also got our free Craig's List cupola placed on the roof this week. I just love a cupola!!! One of my favorite historic home tours ever was the Cupola House in Edenton North Carolina. Gorgeous! And don't ya know the diningroom was all painted in aqua?

cupola house

Of coarse my cupola isn't that big or that beautiful (and neither is my house). But it was free, LOL.
And here is my cupola - finally off the driveway and placed on it's new home.

From the front -




And from the back yard -




Now if only I can find a free weathervane by next summer. Probably not going to happen though.  ;o)

Now I need a make-over on my computer. Somehow my picture file is no longer working. I thought I had lost all of my saved photo's (probably 1/2 are saved on a memory stick). I did find them. Somehow they've been moved to epson print studio. Beats me how all this happened. Even new pics are being loaded there. Guess it's a trip to the computer doctor to see if they can get my photo program restored. System restore did naught. So if you are wondering why I have some pictures un-edited here today, that would be the reason. If it's not one thing it's another when it comes to computers.

3 comments:

TheCrankyCrow said...

You get me every time on your re-do's Miss Mary....Gotta say you're my re-do guru. I wouldn't have given you didley for that chair in it's before state (although Mr. Bean did make it look awful cute even so....) - and now I WANT that chair!!! Is coveting really a sin??? ;o) Awesome job!!! And your cupola...oh your wonderful, amazing, GORGEOUS cupola!! I LOVE it!!! Why was I thinking it was going on the pool house? Did you like have to cut into the roof of your house to do that??? Ahhh...in any event, it's captivating and transforms everything magically....Wishing you a wonderful week ahead....Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin

Mary said...

You just screw on some brackets to the roof and set the cupola down over the brackets. Then attach the cupola to them. Wha-la! This is the very large FREE FREE FREE cupola from Craigs List. Had I paid for it, it would have windows instead of vents. ;o) I did purchase a cute little cupola with windows which went on the poolhouse. How lucky am I? DH thought I was nutty when I bought that chair, LOL. But, really, it is so well made and the lines of it are a perfect reproduction piece. But, that finish was as tacky as the rest of the 70's, LOL.

My Colonial Home said...

Love the style of chair and great re-do.

Goodness for a minute there I thought that was your home and I was getting extremely envious lady! Your cupola looks wonderful...wish ours was this tall - ours is about half this height.

Karen