Breakfast Nook

I really like the farmhouse style/JoAnna Gaines type kitchens. You know what I mean? Think wooden floors, white subway tile, farmhouse tables and lots of beadboard. But making a breakfast nook of our own was one thing that kept getting placed on the back burner. Probably because we're amateurs who have real day jobs and do not have ton of money to just toss around! But at a slow steady pace, Andrew & I have been working on transforming our house, and in a lot of ways we are getting closer to the "look" we like want… 

• The kitchen cabinets were painted white. Check. 
• We added breadboard to them. Check. 
• The dining room got board & batten. Check. 
• The fireplace got a facelift. Check. 
• Flooring is done. Check. 

It seemed that all we had remaining was to figure out how to make our nook bench. 

Well folks, we finally made it & here's how it all went down.

There are several ways to get the bench. Build it from scratch, turn an Ikea bookshelf on its side, use old church pews, etc. I decided we would make ours out of kitchen cabinets. {What can I say, I wanted the extra storage!} So I bought two builder-grade oak cabinets from Lowe's. For a long time, they just sat in our basement and we doubted if this was a project we would ever accomplish.  Then earlier this month, Andrew had a night where he was REALLY inspired, and he just started going to town on it. Turns out this one wasn't the headache we feared it would be. We had everything built in 2 nights, I took 3 days to paint it, and then all we had to do was order cushions & charrs for the other side of the farmhouse table.

We removed the baseboards and measured where we wanted the bench to be on the wall. Then we added a frame to the back {between the wall & cabinets} so the bench wouldn't be so narrow. Next Andrew devised a way to attach the bench to the wall using L-brackets cleverly hidden under the baseboards. He's a gem! The last part of construction was securing a large piece of plywood to the top with the air nailer & putting the beadboard on the sides to match the kitchen cabinetry. Things were looking good!

Then I painted. I used my old stand-by Valspar Bonding Primer. Things were now looking super good! The end was in sight! After everything dried, I caulked the cracks and we accessorized.

A sidenote about our "accessories"… The cushion is from Pottery Barn. Andrew found it online and we were jazzed because it had the same dimensions of our bench. Weirdly, the thing came and it was 2.5 inches narrower (is that a word?) than advertised. So PB sent me another just to be sure mine wasn't a defect… replacement cushion was wrong too. We decided to just keep it & added the board & batten to the back of our bench to compensate the missing inches. We're both in love with this detail now, so evidently it was all a blessing in disguise. Next fun challenge - the chairs are from Restoration Hardware, and we had to send several back because they kept arriving broken. So who even knows if they will be durable enough to stand the test of time. For now they look cute and hey, they were on sale. So whatta ya gonna do! 

So with the bench built, board and batten add-on, cushion/pillows, table/chairs in place…we are ready to use this bad boy! Icing on the cake will be to find a cool silver lantern to hang instead of the current light. We're in no rush. Thanks so much for checking in to see what's new with us. I've been a bad blogger. I would say you should check back soon for more frequent posts, but who are we kidding!

Keep creating out there, people!

Farmhouse Table

Here are a few photos of my latest project: 

refinishing an antique farmhouse table in 5 steps

(1) Here is the table as I bought it… a little rough & dry on top

(2) Using 220 grit paper, I lightly sanded the top surface + edges with the hand sander

(3) After wiping the dust off, I used an old cotton t-shirt to apply stain

(4) Here is a "during" photo - stain on the right, no stain on the left

(5) After the stain dried, I finished the project by applying 1 coat of polyurethane

Nook Look Book

Hey neighbors, welcome to Old Elm! This week I have a string of days off, so I am working on refinishing the top of a great farmhouse table. Andrew & I went to a few antique places recently, and we found this gem of a steal at the last place we stopped {Victory!} It's going to fit in really well with my plan for the kitchen...

As you know, we've been slowly but surely working on renovating our kitchen. Most of the big stuff is out of the way. And until we scrounge up enough courage to fork over the cash for new countertops…I've been dreaming of a breakfast nook. Here are a few of my favorite pins on the subject:

I love the idea of a cozy little laid-back spot where we'll enjoy weekend breakfasts with our kids someday. I've been devising a way for us to insert one into our kitchen. The area near the sliding glass door to our deck is the spot I have to work with. Previously, we had a little round table + chairs there that Andrew's grandma loaned us when we got the house. After considerable researching {Pinterest has a TON of ideas} we decided to build our nook from 2 kitchen cabinets I picked up at Lowe's for $99/each. It will be a straight bench that will match the rest of our kitchen & have the added bonus of storage! I plan on putting some of my larger weird items there…like the griddle, my cake/pie/casserole carriers. Because those things are so great and handy while you're using them...but when you aren't? #storageproblems

So back to the table… Here is what it looks like sitting in my garage:

Today I lightly sanded the top to remove some imperfections {not all, they give it good character!} then added some light stain.

I used the color "light walnut" by Varathane. It was hanging out in our basement, leftover from another project. Woo! I did 1 coat.

When the stain dries I plan on finishing up with a few coats of satin polyurethane to keep it durable and protect the finish.

I look forward to posting a finished photo of our very own breakfast nook someday!

The Hanging of the Corbels

The antique corbels have been hung. We used some dabs of wood glue and the air nailer to secure them in place. There was a small period of time where the nailer was malfunctioning and I was standing on a chair holding the corbel in place while the blood slowly drained out of my arm…but that temporary discomfort soon passed. Andrew quickly scanned the manual, corrected course, and we were able to step back & admire the finished product.
{Take a look}

You'll notice the light hanging in the left of those pictures. We do not like it. We want to replace it with a traditional black lantern. It can't be too large or hang down too low or it will bonk people on the head. We've yet to find a suitable option. The hunt continues.

Keep creating, DIYers!

Antiquing

Andrew and I have developed a soft-spot for antique stores. It's so enjoyable to stumble upon a hole-in-the-wall shop and sift through the salvage, looking for treasures. We try to keep our eyes peeled for antique spots while traveling. Luckily, there are also some real gems right in our hometown. Marshall's Antique Warehouse is one of our favorites. We went this weekend and scored a pair of corbels & a substantial chunk of walnut molding.

We also checked out a storage locker full of doors, but need to do some measuring at home before purchasing any of those.

My vision for the corbels is to hang one in each of the wide entrances on either side of the foyer that lead to the dining room & office. The molding needs to be tweaked slightly... nothing tool-man Andrew can't handle. A few cuts and then the finished product can hang above our bed as a faux mantle of sorts. We're very excited about these new {old?!} additions to our home and look forward to adding to our collection.

Here are some of the other antiques/salvage pieces we've picked up over the years:

The bedside table in our guest room

Midcentury typist desk in the corner of our office that Andrew uses for fly tying

Old window I haven't decided where to hang - it's heavy!

Vintage travel trunk suitcase (in the foyer under an old library table)

Fly fishing creel - office decor

Wooden locker in our master bedroom

PS: The owner of Marshall's told us that the corbels and molding were salvaged from the Aultman-Harter mansion. Located in downtown Canton, this Victorian estate was home to Cornelius and Katherine Aultman, founders of the hospital where I work.

See what I mean? Treasures!

Repurposed Antique Shutters

A few years ago, I found a set of shutters while antiquing with my mom. I wasn't sure what to do with them, but they were well priced so I got them. Up until 3 weeks ago, the shutters were in a closet in our spare bedroom. One night I got the idea to use them as doors for our coat closet. After some quick measuring, we decided it would work. This project took three weeks of brainstorming … but only a couple weeknights of labor!

Challenging because we had no prior shutter hanging experience, but we're both happy with how it turned out!

The door jamb wasn't wide enough to fit both shutters + hinges and we didn't want to trim the shutters. It took us many hardware store trips to find a hinge that would work. Most hinges aren't designed to be mounted on trim with a flush hinge. They are offset because shutters typically hang inside of a window when shut. I ended up finding self-closing cabinet hinges at Home Depot, $2.79/two pack. Not their intended use, but they worked out.

{Side note! This was the third kind of hinge we tried… Third time's the charm!}

Baseboards were removed with a crowbar

Temporarily sad aftermath of trim removal

We removed the trim around the door and replaced it with stained pine board. I used Varathane Dark Walnut stain & applied it with part of an old t-shirt. While I worked on that in the basement, Andrew vacuumed up pieces of crumbled dry wall & painted over the white you see in the photos (to help prevent future crumbling). We ended up having to remove the baseboards on each side of the closet so we could trim a little off - the pine board we bought was thicker than the old trim. That was stressful! Andrew worked hard to ensure that he didn't gouge the wall or snap the boards. When they had been successfully removed from the wall, he cut them down to size with his miter saw.

My staining spot in the basement

We applied the new trim with an 18 gauge brad nailer

After the pine board was in place, we hung the shutters. We installed the hinges on the shutters first, then screwed them into the trim. The final touches? Handles & a magnetic latch to prevent the doors from closing in.

Close up of the top right cupboard hinge

The handles were distressed with sand paper

The finished product; not bad, considering this was our first encounter with indoor shutters!

The pictures hardly do it justice - this project turned out great and we were able to maintain the integrity of the antique shutters, including keeping the original paint. With every completed project we gain more confidence & excitement for the next one. Stay tuned for what's next!

Keep creating!