Before and After - A chair

Good morning everyone !

Sorry about not having up IWLTW yesterday - the fewer posts have officially begun LOL

But I DO have a small makeover for you

Behind those shutter doors is the den - the doors have not been installed yet so it takes a little resourcefulness to get them to stand up ...............

As I struggled to get them in position and put the furniture against them, I hear a tapping on the other side of them

John says - in a very patient low voice - I need to go to the bathroom
Suzan says - Can't you wait a minute?  I just have to take a few photos
John says - in a very loud impatient voice -  NO I CAN'T - WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU  DOING LOCKING ME AND SODA BEHIND THE DOORS LIKE THIS?
Suzan says - Just one little minute?
John says - NO - I NEED TO GO.............NOW

So before the incredible Hulk smashed everything to smithereens - I moved the chair out of the way - and the stool and the trees and opened up ONE door - which should be plenty of space really - and watched him sidle out the door holding his stomach in.

John says - IT'S LIKE LIVING IN AN ASYLUM
John says - REALLY - ASK YOUR BLOGGERS IF THEY PUT THEIR HUSBANDS THROUGH THIS
John says - LEAVE IT OPEN - I'M GOING BACK IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
as Soda scampered past him - looking very relieved to have escaped.
I love it when he acts all aggressive and manly like.

It really is like an insane asylum here - Nurse Ratched at your service :)
But it's a loony bin for furniture painters so I'm ok living in it.

This is one of the chairs from the Dining Room set I recently purchased - kind of a test run..................

Nothing wrong with it at all if you love wood and even the fabric was nice really ( and impeccably clean )

But I had this piece of fabric on hand - and you know how it is...................

One thing leads to another and before you know it you have a chair covered in black and white buffalo check !

I'm in love with it - doesn't it look Parisen?  I HAVE to find a way to keep this set - and sell ours - no matter what the Incredible Hulk says.....................and if the truth be known he loves it - I just have to find a way to make him love it more than ours.

It would just be so perfect for the dining room - the colors blending with the kitchen and all

I have to work on him over the holidays !!!

John says -  It looks delicious

Which is a very weird way to describe a chair - but I think it means he loves it as much as Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding - which is immensely.  So I may just be half way there....................

Such little effort goes a long way in transforming a piece of furniture !
( it takes a lot more effort to change a human being's mind )

Have a wonderful day everyone
Much love,
Me


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DIY Faux Fireplace

Or 101 things to use fence planks for.......................

We have a ton of wood here because of all the renovations - and though some of it was bought for different projects - they didn't happen and so I decided:

Suzan says - Do you think we could build a faux fireplace for the bedroom?
John says - No - the room's small enough
Suzan says - How much room does a little fireplace take up?
John says - I KEEP telling you I'm NOT a damned carpenter -
Suzan says - We once made one for every room ( to cover radiators - they turned out brilliant - does anyone else remember past projects with sadness that they weren't blogging then? )
John says - That was different
Suzan says - We have all kinds of wood here - we'll make it a weekend project - c'mon - it'll be soooo nice.
John says - We already have 2 fireplaces in the house - we don't need 3

But he soon saw the error in his ways - when I explained at supper time that we'd already had breakfast and lunch and we didn't NEED a third meal.

WARNING !
We are not carpenters as John so eloquently put it -
This is a faux fire place for dummies - seriously - D.U.M.M.I.E.S.

Counter sunk holes?  Fuggedaboudit
Hidden screw holes?  Ya gotta be kiddin' me
Perfectly measured wood?  Overrated

Truly, a ten year old could make this one ( which is right around our skill level )

First we cut the 3 main pieces of wood ( make sure you have a WHITE furry blanket to work on that you later spill stain on................)

We simply attached the three pieces using brackets...................

Suzan stands over him and says - Please make sure you get the brackets straight
John says - Why?  What does it matter?
John says - Are you going to get dressed today?

Suzan says - Maybe - maybe not - these are my " work " pajamas
John says - I hate them
John says - Can you go blog somebody while I'm working?

I think they look very Christmas-y myself.
Okay - here's the 3 pieces bracketed together

At this point you could call it a day - do a little magic on it with moldings and such and just have a mantel you can attach directly to the wall  ( which was my original plan )

But I decided I wanted to box it in...............so there was actual depth to it -
Here comes the fence planks again ( you must be so sick of seeing fence plank projects by now - but I promise you they are no officially finished lol )

We cut out the niches to allow it to fit flush against the wall - the larger one for the baseboard - the smaller one for the quarter round

and then we attached it with carpenters glue and nails -

This is what it looks like from the back - pretty rudimentary to say the least

But when you turn it around, it's starting to look like a fireplace !!!

And so far it's been 2 steps -
Bracketing the 3 main pieces of wood together................
And attaching 4 fence planks to box it in.

Now we're ready to dress it up and at this point it becomes more a personal taste job - we put picture molding around the " legs " in 2 sections -
These hide the places where the fence and the planks of wood meet..................
There's also a thicker chunk inbetween the two....................
A fence plank was cut down to size and an applique applied to it in the center.
Again using carpenter glue and nails

Then I took at least 20 photos of the small Christmas tree plants I bought from Ikea -
Seriously - when I went to grab the photos for this post - they were right smack in the middle of this sequence - talk about a blogger with A.D.D. - I need to be medicated I think

Okay back to the fireplace -
Next I framed out the fence plank in the middle with the same picture molding - making it look more like a raised panel

and the same on the legs ( I can't think of what else to call the side pieces !!! )

And at this point it was ready to be stained or painted or bleached or whatever you prefer !

It's not completely finished yet - the footings on the bottom have been a source of a nightmare or 2 for us but they'll get done - as soon as we're speaking to each other again :)
Those medallions in the top part of the frame?  Not attached yet.
Oh and we haven't finished the mantel on top either - I have the wood - I just haven't painted it yet - so for now you get to see an almost finished faux fire place - because I've delayed this post long enough now !

I painted it with Paris Grey and the trim is done in a white wash of Pure White ( Annie Sloan Chalk Paint )
A very light hand was used - almost dry brushing it - to keep it looking old and antqiued

And here it is in the bedroom

With a third mantel to decorate for Christmas lol

And even if it's a DIY for Dummies - ( and it really is ) this dumb blonde is happy to be this far along in the project !

We had most of the supplies on hand - but even if you had to purchase the wood it would cost ( roughly )

Plank of wood - cut to size - 20.00
4 Fence planks - 12.00
Moldings - 10.00
Appliques - 10.00
Plank of wood for mantel - 10.00
Working alongside your better half and getting 2 days of the silent treatment because of mitered corners gone wrong?
PRICELESS !!!

And approximately 60.00 :)

Suzan says - I'd LOVE to make a small one for the guest room
Suzan says - John?
Suzan says - JOHN?
John says - Good-night Suz- anne....................

Update - To see how I created a faux marble mantel you can click HERE

Have a wonderful day everyone !
Much love,
Me

Looking for inspiration?
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