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The DIY thread.

Necromancer

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Janie

Janie

Posted
Posted

Another craigslist find. I have long wanted to replace the table in the breakfast nook. Our previous one was black and just not all that. I found this one which I loved, even though it looked like this:

 

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Picture266-1.jpg

 

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Picture267-1.jpg

The gal said her and her husband bought it brand new 10 years ago and judging by the tables appearance, she had never cleaned it. It was extremely gross. There was a layer of grime around the table and one of the chairs had a split (see the dark brown tape around the leg?).

 

After:

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Picture298-1.jpg

 

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Janie

Janie

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm looking for some suggestions on my next project.

 

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Picture253-1.jpg

 

I found this handsome piece at a yard sale for $10! It's pretty big (an old entertainment unit). I was originally thinking of painting it two shades of blue but I kind of like the idea of staining it. It has a number of good scratches in it.

 

Thoughts?

Edited by Janie
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Mara

Mara

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (Janie @ Mar 22 2010, 12:09 PM)
I'm looking for some suggestions on my next project.

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Picture253-1.jpg

I found this handsome piece at a yard sale for $10! It's pretty big (an old entertainment unit). I was originally thinking of painting it two shades of blue but I kind of like the idea of staining it. It has a number of good scratches in it.

Thoughts?

That wood is too nice to paint. It might look good with a nice ebony stain.

How deep are the scratches? You can sand out a lot of damage. Wood filler is very forgiving and easy to work with. It takes stain very well as a rule, though, which is why I suggested a darker color.

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Janie

Janie

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (Mara @ Mar 22 2010, 10:43 AM)
QUOTE (Janie @ Mar 22 2010, 12:09 PM)
I'm looking for some suggestions on my next project.

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Picture253-1.jpg

I found this handsome piece at a yard sale for $10! It's pretty big (an old entertainment unit). I was originally thinking of painting it two shades of blue but I kind of like the idea of staining it. It has a number of good scratches in it.

Thoughts?

That wood is too nice to paint. It might look good with a nice ebony stain.

How deep are the scratches? You can sand out a lot of damage. Wood filler is very forgiving and easy to work with. It takes stain very well as a rule, though, which is why I suggested a darker color.

I loved that suggestion Mara! I just got back from Home Depot (they must think I'm a crazy painting project lady... which I suppose... anyway) and picked up some black stain. I'm planning on tackling this project today or tomorrow so will post updated pics soon.

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blonde77th

blonde77th

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (Janie @ Mar 22 2010, 03:37 PM)
QUOTE (Mara @ Mar 22 2010, 10:43 AM)
QUOTE (Janie @ Mar 22 2010, 12:09 PM)
I'm looking for some suggestions on my next project.

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Picture253-1.jpg

I found this handsome piece at a yard sale for $10! It's pretty big (an old entertainment unit). I was originally thinking of painting it two shades of blue but I kind of like the idea of staining it. It has a number of good scratches in it.

Thoughts?

That wood is too nice to paint. It might look good with a nice ebony stain.

How deep are the scratches? You can sand out a lot of damage. Wood filler is very forgiving and easy to work with. It takes stain very well as a rule, though, which is why I suggested a darker color.

I loved that suggestion Mara! I just got back from Home Depot (they must think I'm a crazy painting project lady... which I suppose... anyway) and picked up some black stain. I'm planning on tackling this project today or tomorrow so will post updated pics soon.

That is Beautiful can't see what you do to it biggrin.gif

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Janie

Janie

Posted
Posted

I'll have to take a picture of that cabinet to show you how it turned out.

 

In the meantime, I have a few questions about exactly how I should tackle my next project:

 

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Picture528-1.jpg

 

I LOVE this chair. I only paid $15 for it on, you guessed it, craigslist. It is an antique Victorian nursing chair in great condition except it needs a good cleaning and it's missing the left arm rest. I took it to a woodworking shop the other day and was quoted $200 to replace just the arm rest. Now, I love the piece but I don't have a personal attachment to it. I don't know if I love it for $200. BUT! What is your opinion? Cough up the dough anyway because the chair is so nice and was a total steal at $15? Do I take the arms off completely and reupholster the entire chair, making it look as if it had no arms to begin with? Try to find an old chair on the cheap that has an armrest I could replace both armrests with??

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Janie

Janie

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (Janie @ Apr 7 2010, 11:29 AM)
I'll have to take a picture of that cabinet to show you how it turned out.

In the meantime, I have a few questions about exactly how I should tackle my next project:

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Picture528-1.jpg

I LOVE this chair. I only paid $15 for it on, you guessed it, craigslist. It is an antique Victorian nursing chair in great condition except it needs a good cleaning and it's missing the left arm rest. I took it to a woodworking shop the other day and was quoted $200 to replace just the arm rest. Now, I love the piece but I don't have a personal attachment to it. I don't know if I love it for $200. BUT! What is your opinion? Cough up the dough anyway because the chair is so nice and was a total steal at $15? Do I take the arms off completely and reupholster the entire chair, making it look as if it had no arms to begin with? Try to find an old chair on the cheap that has an armrest I could replace both armrests with??

Nobody? sad.gif

 

Ok, well, I made an executive decision to remove all armposts and recover the entire chair, making it look as if it never had arms.

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Janie

Janie

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (blonde77th @ Mar 22 2010, 03:01 PM)
QUOTE (Janie @ Mar 22 2010, 03:37 PM)
QUOTE (Mara @ Mar 22 2010, 10:43 AM)
QUOTE (Janie @ Mar 22 2010, 12:09 PM)
I'm looking for some suggestions on my next project.

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Picture253-1.jpg

I found this handsome piece at a yard sale for $10! It's pretty big (an old entertainment unit). I was originally thinking of painting it two shades of blue but I kind of like the idea of staining it. It has a number of good scratches in it.

Thoughts?

That wood is too nice to paint. It might look good with a nice ebony stain.

How deep are the scratches? You can sand out a lot of damage. Wood filler is very forgiving and easy to work with. It takes stain very well as a rule, though, which is why I suggested a darker color.

I loved that suggestion Mara! I just got back from Home Depot (they must think I'm a crazy painting project lady... which I suppose... anyway) and picked up some black stain. I'm planning on tackling this project today or tomorrow so will post updated pics soon.

That is Beautiful can't see what you do to it biggrin.gif

The grand unveiling (if anyone is even still reading this thread, I feel like I'm the only one sad.gif ):

 

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Chestafter-1.jpg

 

With refurbishing, I've learned most of what I know on the fly. From this piece, I've learned that when wood has a protective coating on it, stain won't adhere. I would have had to sand the entire piece down with a professional sander, which I wasn't willing to do primarily because, I really liked the actual look of the piece. I gussied it up with a coat of wood conditioner, replaced the door hinges and gave it new door/drawer pulls.

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rushlady23

rushlady23

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (Janie @ Apr 8 2010, 08:52 PM)
QUOTE (rushlady23 @ Apr 8 2010, 05:49 PM)
Very nice!  yes.gif  Did you flip the doors over on purpose?

I didn't even notice that I did that!!

 

rofl3.gif

laugh.gif It still looks good!

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Janie

Janie

Posted
Posted

Another work in progress:

 

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Cedarr1-1.jpg

 

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Cedar2-1.jpg

 

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Cedar3-1.jpg

 

I just picked this up. It was a little pricey I thought considering the damage but I think overall it's a good piece. It's a cedar chest (and has the most amazingly nice smell). It's long and the width is decent but is lacking on height. I'm thinking of attaching some short square-ish legs to give it some height. The top has a significant amount of damage and is a little too intricate for my taste so I'm thinking of attaching a cushioned bench to the top (will give it additional height as well). I'll probably paint it (again, because of the damage) to match the room. I will keep the copper plates and clean them up. Right now, you can't even tell they're copper. I don't think they've ever been cleaned! Also, the decorative molding around the base needs to be replaced. I bet originally, this cedar chest was gorgeous.

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Mara

Mara

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (Janie @ Apr 8 2010, 08:46 PM)
QUOTE (blonde77th @ Mar 22 2010, 03:01 PM)
QUOTE (Janie @ Mar 22 2010, 03:37 PM)
QUOTE (Mara @ Mar 22 2010, 10:43 AM)
QUOTE (Janie @ Mar 22 2010, 12:09 PM)
I'm looking for some suggestions on my next project.

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Picture253-1.jpg

I found this handsome piece at a yard sale for $10! It's pretty big (an old entertainment unit). I was originally thinking of painting it two shades of blue but I kind of like the idea of staining it. It has a number of good scratches in it.

Thoughts?

That wood is too nice to paint. It might look good with a nice ebony stain.

How deep are the scratches? You can sand out a lot of damage. Wood filler is very forgiving and easy to work with. It takes stain very well as a rule, though, which is why I suggested a darker color.

I loved that suggestion Mara! I just got back from Home Depot (they must think I'm a crazy painting project lady... which I suppose... anyway) and picked up some black stain. I'm planning on tackling this project today or tomorrow so will post updated pics soon.

That is Beautiful can't see what you do to it biggrin.gif

The grand unveiling (if anyone is even still reading this thread, I feel like I'm the only one sad.gif ):

 

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/Chestafter-1.jpg

 

With refurbishing, I've learned most of what I know on the fly. From this piece, I've learned that when wood has a protective coating on it, stain won't adhere. I would have had to sand the entire piece down with a professional sander, which I wasn't willing to do primarily because, I really liked the actual look of the piece. I gussied it up with a coat of wood conditioner, replaced the door hinges and gave it new door/drawer pulls.

It looks great! Oh yeah, sanding is key to re-staining. If you have the sander it's not bad (I sort of permanently borrowed my dad's belt sander), but then you have to sand in all of those little carved details, because it's quite noticeable if you don't. And oh my gosh - the dust. Even with a mask you are still blowing wads of sawdust out of your nose for days!

 

So I don't blame you for not going that route! I've never done anything that large and detailed with all of those little crevices and bevels. You did an awesome job on it - good idea to reverse the doors.

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Janie

Janie

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Posted

A while back I was asking about how feasible it was to install my own wood fence. It seemed sort of like it should be easy. The other day I was watching Holmes on Homes (I love this show) and he had to put in a fence... long story short, I don't think I want to tackle this myself! I hate dealing with contractors though.

 

Makes me second guess if I want to tile the bathroom floor myself. Who in their mind puts wall-to-wall carpet in a bathroom?

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Khan

Khan

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (Janie @ Apr 9 2010, 08:14 AM)
A while back I was asking about how feasible it was to install my own wood fence. It seemed sort of like it should be easy. The other day I was watching Holmes on Homes (I love this show) and he had to put in a fence... long story short, I don't think I want to tackle this myself! I hate dealing with contractors though.

Makes me second guess if I want to tile the bathroom floor myself. Who in their mind puts wall-to-wall carpet in a bathroom?

You're one handy chick..I like it.

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Mara

Mara

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (Janie @ Apr 9 2010, 09:14 AM)
A while back I was asking about how feasible it was to install my own wood fence. It seemed sort of like it should be easy. The other day I was watching Holmes on Homes (I love this show) and he had to put in a fence... long story short, I don't think I want to tackle this myself! I hate dealing with contractors though.

Makes me second guess if I want to tile the bathroom floor myself. Who in their mind puts wall-to-wall carpet in a bathroom?

Wall-to-wall carpet in the bathroom would be fine in an all-female household.

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Janie

Janie

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (RushNut @ Apr 9 2010, 06:24 AM)
QUOTE (Janie @ Apr 9 2010, 08:14 AM)
A while back I was asking about how feasible it was to install my own wood fence. It seemed sort of like it should be easy. The other day I was watching Holmes on Homes (I love this show) and he had to put in a fence... long story short, I don't think I want to tackle this myself! I hate dealing with contractors though.

Makes me second guess if I want to tile the bathroom floor myself. Who in their mind puts wall-to-wall carpet in a bathroom?

You're one handy chick..I like it.

Thanks! It's fun for me to learn how to fix things, create things, see what I can come up with. It's extra satisfying because I'm a girl and no one expects a girl to do "guy" things. I'm still all girl though... I'll go to Home Depot in a skirt and elbow shove the big dudes out of the drill bit aisle. And I'll smell pretty too while I'm doing that!

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Mara

Mara

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (Janie @ Apr 9 2010, 09:35 AM)
QUOTE (RushNut @ Apr 9 2010, 06:24 AM)
QUOTE (Janie @ Apr 9 2010, 08:14 AM)
A while back I was asking about how feasible it was to install my own wood fence. It seemed sort of like it should be easy. The other day I was watching Holmes on Homes (I love this show) and he had to put in a fence... long story short, I don't think I want to tackle this myself! I hate dealing with contractors though.

Makes me second guess if I want to tile the bathroom floor myself. Who in their mind puts wall-to-wall carpet in a bathroom?

You're one handy chick..I like it.

Thanks! It's fun for me to learn how to fix things, create things, see what I can come up with. It's extra satisfying because I'm a girl and no one expects a girl to do "guy" things. I'm still all girl though... I'll go to Home Depot in a skirt and elbow shove the big dudes out of the drill bit aisle. And I'll smell pretty too while I'm doing that!

Not me. I am often mid-project when I make a Home Depot run.

Recently something tried to move into our attic from the outside - the gable vent was missing. So I made the HD trip and asked the guys, "hey, can you tell me where the prefab gable vents are?" Two of them escorted me to a display.

 

Me: "No, that's soffit vent. I need a gable vent."

Guys look at each other uneasily. Why is this girl asking a question they aren't sure of, in building materials, no less?

Me: "You know, the square thingies with the louvers?" (It makes them feel more manly if you use terminology like "thingy". Then they're more helpful).

 

The lights went on and all was fine - they had exactly what I needed. And whatever critter wanted to live in our attic has since found other digs.

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Janie

Janie

Posted
Posted

Latest project which I just finished and sold.

 

Got a set of four of these nasty ass chairs off craigslist for free. I sold them for $40 a piece. I put about $12 into them.

 

Before:

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/IckyChair-1.jpg

It's hard to tell from this pic but the chairs (vintage) were originally painted in a grayish brassy color. It was truly awful!

 

After:

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/NewChair-1.jpg

 

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rushlady23

rushlady23

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (Janie @ Apr 22 2010, 11:27 AM)
Latest project which I just finished and sold.

Got a set of four of these nasty ass chairs off craigslist for free. I sold them for $40 a piece. I put about $12 into them.

Before:
http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/IckyChair-1.jpg
It's hard to tell from this pic but the chairs (vintage) were originally painted in a grayish brassy color. It was truly awful!

After:
http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/NewChair-1.jpg

Nice job! You're quite the handy lady yes.gif

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Janie

Janie

Posted
Posted

QUOTE (rushlady23 @ Apr 22 2010, 05:43 PM)
QUOTE (Janie @ Apr 22 2010, 11:27 AM)
Latest project which I just finished and sold.

Got a set of four of these nasty ass chairs off craigslist for free. I sold them for $40 a piece. I put about $12 into them.

Before:
http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/IckyChair-1.jpg
It's hard to tell from this pic but the chairs (vintage) were originally painted in a grayish brassy color. It was truly awful!

After:
http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/NewChair-1.jpg

Nice job! You're quite the handy lady yes.gif

Thanks! I really enjoy this. I think I'm going to keep this as a hobby. I'll take some pieces off craigslist or thrift stores, fix them up and sell them.

 

As much as I loved these two pieces, I recently sold them for a lot more than what I paid for them:

 

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/ChairProject1B-1-1.jpg

 

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/LifesonPics/DIY4-1.jpg

 

I was a little sad to see the vanity bench go but I just couldn't make it work in my house.

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