I’ll warn you up front, I’ve got nothing pretty to show you today, but I’ve got a few projects that I know have potential, once I decide what direction I want to go in with them.
That’s where you come in! 🙂
I know you all will have ideas for them, and I’d love to hear them.
First up is this cabinet door.
It’s the “twin” to the DIY word wall art sign I shared last week.
I sanded the loose varnish off it and restained it, and then I got stuck.
I couldn’t decide if I should paint the frame and distress it, or paint the inside of the panels, and leave the frame like it is.
Even if I could decide which of those to do – I couldn’t decide what to make with it.
So …what would you do with it?
After thinking about it for the better part of the day, I decided to set it aside and look for something else to work on.
I ventured out to the barn to see if there were any treasures I haven’t unearthed yet.
If you look under all that junk, you’ll see what I discovered.
It’s an old wooden table that’s been in the barn since we moved in.
My husband was overjoyed (NOT), when I asked him to drag it out so I could get a better look at it.
Loki the cat immediately claimed it as his resting spot.
The top was covered with a big piece of metal, and under that were wood planks that must have been the original table top.
Unfortunately, the wood planks had old oil on them, and they smelled horrible, so I can’t salvaged them.
The table legs have were painted silver, and there’s lots of other colored paint spots on them, but I think the table has a lot of potential too.
So, my question about this is, how would you try to fix it up? Obviously, I’ll need to put a new top on it, and it will need to be painted, but would you paint just the legs, or would you do the top too? What color would you use?
Okay… let me hear what you’d do with these!
Vaya con Dios,
I would leave the legs natural….the old paint has history to it. The top would be nice using some old barn wood white washed then pick a favorite inspirational quote that you love and paint it on the seat. Use this bench as your meditative spot, one to relax you and give you ideas from. One to enjoy quiet time in the garden or on your porch………if there is a wall behind the bench placing some comfy pillows and a soft quilt could make it a welcoming seat to let the days troubles flow away and appreciate nature, having a cup of tea or a night time wine.
Great ideas, Carrie – thanks for sharing them!
A friend of mind had a door similar looking to yours. She left the wood as is and repurposed it as an outdoor dining table. She put a glass top and added turned legs. She then purchased wicker chairs to go with the table and it looks beautiful.
Your friend’s table sounds beautiful, Mary – thanks for sharing the idea!
Angie, for the double cabinet door, I would paint the outside edge one color, the beveled edge around the flat center another color and then another color on the flat panel. Then I would decoupage or stencil the flat center with a great design and add hooks to make it a place to hang hats, coats, etc.
On the table, I would paint it and distress heavily and put it on a porch or on the side of the house and put flowers on it. It has a great farmhouse vibe to it and just needs to be used as a potting table or flower table.
That’s all I got!
Thanks for your ideas, Laura!
Beautiful door. I loved the plate display you showed once. I would paint the outside frame white and hang a white plate on each section. Of course you are the creative one and anything you decide will be perfect.
Thanks Mary!
Beautiful door. I loved the plate display you showed once. I would paint the outside frame white and hang a white plate on each section. Of course you are the creative one and anything you decide will be perfect.
For the cabinet door I would paint the frame around the door with chalk paint and distress it. Then on one square I would use chalkboard paint to make it a.chalk board. On the other side I would put some padding and fabric to make a surface you could pin to with push pins like a bulletin board or I would attach some cork board. Thanks my idea! Lol
Thanks Holly!
That door would make a great calendar/blackboard! I would make a perpetual calendar with hooks and wooden tags on one side and make a reminder blackboard on the other side, with a scrabble rack for the chalk of course!
Thanks for your ideas, Derry!
Love your ideas, Angie. The door would make a wonderful towel rack for a bathroom. My choice would be creamy paint with darker but not black vintage style hardware and glass shelving or luggage rack hardware.
I never would have thought of a towel rack, Chris – thanks for sharing that great idea!
Hi, as soon as I saw the pic of the table/bench, all i could see was clay potted plants sitting on it. If you have an old twin bed spring, put behind it and voila, a trellis! Not sure what the measurements are for the table?
The cabinet door , a sign, could be used seasonal , Coffee bar sign, calendar, put shelving on it for use in bathroom, office or bedroom, cut out panels and put chicken wire for note holder. So many possibilities. Can’t wait to see what you do.
Great ideas, Regina!
For the door: I’d light sand the wood to brighten the natural grain around the frame. Upholster padded oilcloth seats in recessed panels. Either add stubby legs for a bench, or mount hinged to a box on wheels with a wagon handle or simple rope pull.
The latter being my fave, but is more work. Having a low garden trolley w/seat storage always works! Plus it uses up other cool salvage bits. Adding old tool box trays on the sides &/or rear of trolley would be useful too ?
Thanks for sharing your ideas, Cindy – love them!
All great ideas. You did not mention dimensions of table or door, but if they give, why not put them togetherness? If the door is smaller, place in middle and repurpose some salvaged wood around. I am a ral lover of natural wood over paint where possible. Strip and gently sand all and refinish with gung oil or gung oil with teak oil. Go over lightly with very fine steel wool. Remove dust and repeat until it look
K’s how you want it. Buff. You will not believe. How the grain of the would responds! From time-to-time, repeat with tung oil (or tung with teak, whichever you used) to rejuvenate.
My 2 cents worth!
Thanks for sharing your 2 cents worth, Mary-Joan! 🙂 Great ideas!!
As soon as I saw your cat on the old table I thought of our park bench which our cat has claimed as her own. I have used boiled linseed oil to seal and rejuvenate the old wood. First of all I washed the bench down with warm soapy water and rinsed it thoroughly, and let it dry over a few days. Then I used an old paint brush to liberally paint it with boiled linseed oil. The old wood just drank up the oil and I am left with a beautiful honey coloured finish. You could try this finish on your old table, and maybe finish it off with terracotta pots filled with geraniums. But make sure you leave room for the cat.
Annette, I’d love to hear more about boiled linseed oil – I’ve never heard of it or used it. Thanks for sharing your ideas!
Well, all the other ideas are spectacular. I don’t think you need more, but I’ve been watching the Democratic National Convention all afternoon and I’m dying to express myself in some respect….
I think Loki is a very smart cat… and I love benches under trees. And benches or seating areas in unexpected places. A great place to take a book and hide from the sun for a bit. Especially a book with a recently sewn ticking cover! And a pitcher of iced tea. Replacing the top with salvaged wood is right up your alley. You’ll still want cushions, and maybe your mother can be recruited to help.
The door – endless possibilities. One of the things I love best about your blog is how openly you share your family. You have spectacular family photos, and I suspect there are countless more. I would find or make frames that fit the inner squares, give the outside an “Angie” distressed paint job and get a couple of your family photos sized to fit each square.
I can’t wait to see what you do… Every project you do is exciting and inspires the rest of us.
Great ideas, Donna – you make me want to curl up with a good book now, but I’d probably fall asleep! 🙂
Angie, I can’t help but think the “table” would be so handy as a butcher block island. Adding castors and adding the butcher block top would be so rustic and useful. Not sure how tall so the height could be a problem. If to short for a rolling cart how about a rolling bench, to move around at will. Karen
That’s one of the issues with it, Karen – it’s a short table, and a few inches need to be cut off the legs because it was on the ground in the barn and there’s some rot. We do love the idea of a table though, so we may brainstorm a solution to the height problem!
The cabinet door has a beautiful wood grain and color and I like the idea of using it horizontally—like you show it. That’s about as far as I’ve gotten! I do think that if you use paint with it I would leave the flat panels unpainted and just paint the framing because of the beauty of the grain on the panels. It might look good to paint them black; I don’t like the idea of framing the panels with a lighter color.
The table is a puzzle. I think maybe the whole thing should be sanded and painted as the wood isn’t especially appealing to me. Maybe a bright turquoise? Put some bright printed cushions on it and it could be used as seating, either like a window seat or a bench at a dining table. You might have to shorten the legs depending on the actual height of the table.
I’ll be interested to see what you actually do with these two pieces. Now I’ll read the other suggestions. I’m sure they are a lot more creative than mine!
I love old wood, so on the legs I would leave them as they are but for the top I am a sucker for enameled metal. I think it would look awesome with a white enamel top.
The first thing that entered my mind with the door would be to use it as two frames. Maybe put a picture of each of my children in the middle of each side and paint and distress the “frame”. The table I would leave the legs the same and add boards for a top.