Patio Potting Bench

     Thank goodness for cooler weather! I have been so excited to start on the outside of the house, but it has been way too hot. I just couldn't wait anymore for cooler temperatures when I did this project and I have been inside in the air conditioner every since!  We got exterior paint last weekend and are planning to start that project first week of November...... Yay! 

     This is maybe one of my favorite projects! Because I planned and built it by myself! Okay, besides the plumbing- my honey did that. And he helped me sand the countertop boards some just because it took forever and he is such a gentleman....(sigh).  I looked at a drawing from pinterest to get a general idea of how it should look. Then I got out my tape measure, pencil and graph paper and drew out the dimensions. I measured the height and length of the window behind it and decided how tall I wanted the counter and put those measurements in place in the drawing. Then, I just went to work. I used 2x4's for everything except the horizontal surfaces. 

     

The counter top is some recycled tongue and groove wood that we pulled out of my dad's house. It is very old and most of the boards are bowed. I had a hard time getting them screwed down in some places. I found some chalky spray paint in some really cool colors and I got a little carried away with it I guess... I couldn't decide which one I liked the most lol.  Cutting the hole for the sink was the hardest part.  I traced the bottom of the tub where I wanted it and used a jig saw to cut out the circle. Actually I started the hole with a drill and a large drill bit just so I could get the jig saw blade in. Getting the hole right for the tub was the hardest part. David and I both cut on it and wrestled with it and cut some more. Eventually it came together. 

     Cut a hole in the tub (also a bit of a pain in the a#&), hole for the hose and some screw in hooks and it was ready for the master plumber! The water is supplied from a water hose that originates just around the corner. I tried out a few different ones and eventually decided on a metal fitting with a 45 degree curve to point the sprayer down into the sink.  There is a sink on the other side of the wall behind the bench so we just tied the drain into that one, worked out great. 

Rustic Chic Master Bath

     Well, after the post about the wagon wheel chandelier David and I decided we would call this decor style "rustic chic" or even "rustic glam".....!!! Lots of repurposed things, vintage flare, wood, wrought or cast iron, grey tones and cool neutrals with a twist of teal, turquoise, bling, sparkle, and fabulous! Since we live in the country - I mean WAY out in the country - but we are not ranchers and we do not have horses or cows. Our style is rustic without the horse/cowboy theme. I'm not sure if someone else has already defined this term or if this term has already been claimed, but from now on this is what I am going to call it. Rustic chic. Yep, perfect. I am finally ready to post about a finished room! Both of the bathrooms are complete - even down to the caulking the trim.

This is the first wood grained stained concrete floor. I just finished doing the entire master bedroom, so I'll be posting about that soon! Here is the post on how I did this.

This is my bathroom! I love it! The vanity is the one I found on a local classifieds site and repainted. It was already repurposed into a bathroom vanity so it needed only paint. We did cut the legs off to make it more comfortable for me to reach - it was pretty tall for a cabinet.  I used a paint roller to roll orange peel texutre after I taped and floated the drywall. The walls are Valspar satin finish in dover grey.

The floor!!!! Was purely an experiment at first. I used Valspar semi transparent concrete stain in driftwood for the base color and emory for the grain color, then a gloss finish sealer for concrete floors.

I am in love with this door! We knew we would have to have a custom cut door for this shower because the entrance is so big. I kind of got a crazy idea to do a barn door style shower door. I asked around and looked on the web and couldn't find very much information about it, only pictures. So I called a local glass installer, Paul Holmes, and asked if he could do it. He said he had never done one, but would like to try it. So I purchased the hardware from amazon. It is just wood barn door style hardware. I think I paid about $135 for it. (the glass hardware is crazy expensive!) We took it to the installer so he could see where he would need to drill holes in the glass once he recieved it in the size we wanted. The handle is also for a wood barn door. We used 1/8 in tempered glass. I am very pleased with how it turned out. Eventually there will also be a sliding barn door into this bathroom as well as the master closet.

This shower is HUGE, y'all! It is 4 ft by 6 ft straight in from the door to the wall, then another 4ft by 8ft back to the left. Three shower heads - one handheld on an adjustable track. This one shares a valve with the rain head on the ceiling. Then a seperate fixed height shower head. Two drains, a bench (specific height built for me) and two built in cubby compartments. I like to just hang out in there sometimes. If you can't find me that's where I'll be.....

These shelves are opposite the vanity. I stained them with rustoleum stain in ebony mixed with minwax weathered oak. The boards are just rough cut cedar from the local hardware store. We used just ripped down 1 by 2 scrap wood for the supports since this will be more decorative than heavy storage.






A Little Something I Did This Weekend

This little darling here! I bet it took me two weeks of intense searching and 10 minutes of work to put this together and it may be one of my favorite things so far. The wagon wheel light fixture was already hanging in the dinning area when we bought the house, but without bulb covers and covered in dust. I thought about painting it, color washing it or just taking it down. The blue mason jars were a Christmas gift from my amazing mother in love. I tried them without the burlap and it just seemed to be missing something. I found the burlap garland on Etsy and I looked into making them myself, but I decided I have enough projects right now and for less than $20 they were definitely worth it!




I added some adorable burlap roses and chandelier crystals hanging from twine to give it some rustic GLAM!

Sneak Peak!!!

Sadly, I don't have any finished rooms to show you yet....:(  But, we are really close to being done with the master bathroom. I am so excited about it I cant wait until it's done to show it off! I finished taping and floating the drywall last night and will be able to texure the ceiling and walls today and paint tomorrow! Yay! Then grout the shower, then paint the floor... Its so close I can almost touch it. Shipp and David will be starting on the kitchen backsplash and the butcherblock countertops this week! Hopefully I will be able to spend Sunday hanging pictures in the hall and the girls' room. (no work on Saturday, we will be at the CHRIS STAPLETON CONCERT!!!!!) Then I can paint the girls' bathroom floor, I am dying to use the stencil I got for it! Lots of  'after' pictures to come!

 

 

 

 

Oh! The vanity! It needs polyurythane then it will be ready to put the sink back in and instal. I had a terrible time painting this one. The cherry wood kept bleeding through the white paint. I thought we were going to have a pink vanity there for a little while. I had to put on a thick coat of poly (after 3 coats of white chalk paint did not show any improvements) then paint it again and glaze after that. But it turned out great!

 

 

 

 AND, I found some dinning room chairs! They are really pretty and only $60 for all four! I am thinking cream chalk paint and dark wax on the wood and chalk paint and clear wax on the upholstry, maybe in different colors..... I am hoping to find two more captain dinning chairs for the ends.

Junkin' Fun!

My quest for wrought iron decor was triumphant! I love little gift/antique stores you stumble upon that just overflow with amazing treasures. I have found a place for all of the pieces I got and have incorporated the things I already had. I LOVE how the living room is looking so far. I still need to find things for the mantel, but there are lots of amazing junk days and antique stores to explore! My sister and I had so much fun shopping that we decided to make it an every month event. Here is how it is looking so far.

Next post: The teal color washed wall! 

Bathroom Vanity

 

This dresser has seen many many miles with the Owens family. It has been moved all over Texas all of my life and a lot of my dad's as well. I have always loved it and I am excited to give it a new home in the Crookes house! Here is the transformation:

 

before



during

 I used chalk paint and antiquing glaze

 

 

and several coats of polyurethane on top

 

 



Old Window Repurpose

The first picture is my first window project. Old wood windows from my parent's house repurposed into wall decor. This was a Christmas present for my sister. Had it not been for that I would have reconsidered this project.... I need a cricut! It's doable, but tedious. I printed the words from a Word document in large font, one word per page. Then taped it to under side of window. I used a paint pen, fine tip, to trace the letters. And traced again. And again. The used acrylic paint to touch up and fill in the letters. I found a wood cross at Hobby Lobby and traced the outline into the front, then painted it with acrylic paint. This part I kind of ad lib-ed. The first  cross I scrapped off and repainted. Then the next day I added to it and ended up redoing it again. It took a little experimenting to get result I wanted. Then I sanded the frame and used Valspar Antiquing wax to add the brown effect, and the knobs are from hobby lobby. I'm not very artistic, so it was a very grueling learning process lol. My sister loved it and my sister in law wanted one so I did one for her also. The second one was easier, but it was still a lot of work. (That's the second image) I decided to do her frame darker so I used a darker turquoise color and painted black chalk paint over it. I left if outside in the carport to dry and the next morning the dew caused all of my paint on the glass to run..... I had to scrape it off and start over. I wanted to cry! I went with a totally different design for the next one (the third image). Most all of the third one is printed from Google images and traced the same way as the first window I did. The dandelion and music staff and notes I did free hand. I enjoyed that, actually.  And my sister in law loved it. After my mother in law saw them she got me a cricut for Christmas! Yay! Next ones will be much faster.