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Monday, May 2, 2016

Front Porch Project



Custom Built Entry Hutch





This is one of my favorite projects!
My cousin gave me an old horse barn door a while back and I held on to it until I knew what to do with it. Then one day I came across 2 pillars at an estate sale and the idea came to me to somehow build a hutch with the door and the pillars. 

So I first attached the door in between the pillars using L brackets. Next I built the top by doing what made sense to me. I attached a 2 x 4 to the back at the height I wanted the top to be. Then I laid the whole piece down with the front facing up. I made a rectangle attaching 2 x 4's to the sides and the front using wood screws. After I got the top rectangle made I repeated this process on the bottom. Then I attached more 2 x 4's as legs to support the top. 

Before moving to the next step I lifted the whole piece up. To create the bottom shelf I added more 2 x 4's on top of the rectangle. To create the table top I added 2 larger pieces of 1 x 2's. I finished it off by adding wood trim and paint. 

I am not a carpenter but I sure think I am! I really had no idea how I was going to put this all together but somehow with the help of L brackets and screws it all came together and it is quite sturdy. 
You don't have to know how to do something in order to do it, just go for it and when you get stuck watch a YouTube video or ask for a little help. That's my motto!

After I got it painted I liked it for the fall because it matched my fall wreath but this spring I didn't like how the colors looked with the brick, so Deanna (my sister-in-law) showed me a new product of gel stain by General Finishes.


I'm not much of a gel stain fan, but after using it to re-stain my coffee table I decided to try it over painted wood. I figured if it didn't work I would just replace the wood on the top. 

To my amazement it really turned out looking like stained wood. I just wiped a large amount on with a rag, dragging the rag from right to left until I got the desired look.

 

This metal door mounted on the top of the hutch is from an old oven Russ found at a garage sale for $3!!!!!

I managed to attach it using hooks, I screwed 3 into the wood, then placed the door within the hooks and added the 4th hook by using E6000 glue. It's not going anywhere, I'm not sure what I would do if I needed to remove it...





 I found this adorable metal table at a garage sale, thank you Dena! The white bucket came from an estate sale the same weekend we worked on this project. I added other items I've collected over the years including an antique porcelain insulator from New York, thank you Lisa, and a black pump thank you Mom! 

 Since watching Joanna Gaines on the Fixer Upper paint just about every brick house they redo, I'm just about ready to do the same to my house. 

I am not one of those people who think " O you should never do that "... if it isn't the right shape, color, or style I am willing to redo it any way necessary to make it look just right.

I never liked our brick color but I picked an accent color that gave enough contrast and interest to this space. My front door is a mixture of colors. I used a turquoise base color then white washed it and added touches of gold paint to the edges.

I decided to paint the inside of the barn door the same base color as the front door and keep the metal table the same color it was when I bought it. I love how it all goes together.

These are a couple of homes I'm looking at for inspiration... 


This one is from the Fixer Upper Labeled--The Chicken House



This next one is from Beneath my heart.net


I love the light main color with a pop of color as an accent. 

Thank you for stopping by to view my front porch project. I hope you find something here to inspire you with yours....

Antique Alley and Magnolia Market trip


In April my sister-in-law and fellow project buddy came to Texas for a visit. We took her to Antique Alley for some much needed, well junk...
 If you have never been I highly recommend going. It's a LOOOONG garage sale along Hwy 4 outside of Cleburne, TX. Numerous dealers pile up in various fields along the road.

Click on the link for more details.
 http://antiquealleytexas.com/


This is me styling in my rain boats, they are the BEST shoes ever if you are going to do a lot of walking. I can't say that enough. My feet weren't even sore after walking ALL DAY....


This is Russ enjoying his seat in the back listening to his favorite tunes. He enjoys going junk'in with me but his purpose is to find a gem he can sell on ebay which he usually does.... 


Here is Deanna waiting for me to catch up....I don't know where she gets her energy, she can outlast me any day....

I  found a few great things. It looks like they are kitty approved...


I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my treasures yet but that just means another project for the future.


After spending the day here we spent the night in Waco to visit Magnolia Market the next day.


I was very excited to see their new Garden center. It's wasn't open yet but the yard sure looked complete.








They have Goats there too!!!







What a great weekend. After getting back home Deanna helped me do many projects at home. We re-stained my coffee table, replaced the front door hardware, repaired a crack in my walls and ceiling, cleaned on my attic and garage, and gave my front porch hutch a makeover. Those were just my projects, on top of all that she made a sign and decoupaged a case she bought at Antique Alley.

Wow I'm tired just typing all of that....

Thanks Again Deanna! I couldn't have done it all without you.