Last December, after we closed on our place in the mountains, the search was on.  Knowing we had 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living area, dining area, and a kitchen that would need to be furnished with everything from floor coverings to silverware...I got busy.  The last thing I wanted to do after the renovation is complete is to begin the search for furnishings, so I've been going to local antique shops, thrift stores and on FB yard sale sites, looking for everything from kitchen supplies to furniture that would go with the cabin feel I am going for and fit within my tiny budget.  I have learned that looking in advance ensures you find things you need for a much better price than having to make a quick purchase. 

Before we get to all the stuff, I want to show you the pink daylilies blooming just above the creek in the mountains.  I think they are beautiful with their bright yellow center and ruffly edges.

Sprucing Up Something New for the Mantel

For a while now I've been searching for something different to use as decoration on our fireplace mantel.  And there she was.  Off in a corner of my favorite antique shop was an old fireplace cover with three deer and an egg and dart border.  She was covered in dirt and grime.

Once home I brought her out back to the water spigot where I hosed her down and gave her a good washing with dish soap and a soft bristled brush.  That made a huge difference but she still needed a little something to brighten her up a bit.  Here is the before...

Reminiscing ~ Top Ten of 2015

It's already New Year's Eve and 2015 is coming to an end.
This seems like the fastest year ever, it has flown by!

I want to say that I so appreciate your friendship, encouragement, comments and for sharing in my life and home...you're the BEST.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

It's always fun at year end to look back and reminisce,
so today I'm sharing the 10 top posts that were viewed by YOU!
Each will have a snippet and a link to the post.

Christmas Bird Centerpiece

Around here,
it's all about keeping things easy this Christmas.

Adding simple but cheerful Christmas touches,
like this quick and easy Christmas Bird Centerpiece...

Carpet to Wood ~ Staircase Update

It's Friday and I have big plans for this weekend,
hopefully I'll get the staircase priming and painting finished!

Here's where we are now...

After removing all the carpet,

carpet tack strips,

staples and nails,

we began removing the paint, filling all the holes and sanding...

If you remember our stair treads and risers are pine,
the type of wood intended to stay underneath carpet, but we decided to see what we can do with it
and were happy to find the front of the treads were bullnose even though the exposed ends are just a straight cut.

When the spindles were originally painted some got on the stair treads so we used paint remover to loosen it up...

FUN IKAT ~ Pink, Orange & Gray

Isn't this a fun Ikat fabric!

Stephanie and I have been searching for an upholstery fabric for her dining room chairs.  She wanted a fabric that was somewhat formal with a pop of color so when we found this fun Ikat fabric with the colors pink, orange, and gray...she knew this was the one!

Remember our family cherry dining room table that was passed on to Stephanie?  The one that I was hoping to restore but it wasn't turning out too good?  You can see it here...Cherry Dining Room Table & the Stripper!

Well, the trick was to do the Restore A Finish process 5 more times.  Yes, SIX times in all!

I thought my arms were going to fall off!  But it was worth it because the table looks great now...

These are the dining room chairs that go with the table.  The finish on the chairs was fine, they were just a bit dirty.  However, the Moire fabric wasn't doing much for Stephanie...

Stephanie's pup Daisy was very interested in the chairs... 

So, we got busy reupholstering them with our fun Ikat fabric...

We laid the fabric out, made sure of the fabric repeat fitting correctly on the chair cusion and began cutting...

Once the fabric was cut we pinned the fabric to the cushion making sure the pattern was centered, then we turned the cushion over and used a pneumatic staple gun to staple the fabric to the seat backer board .  They turned out great!

Here are the other three completed chairs.

There are two side chairs and two arm chairs that go with the cherry dining table but she needed more seating.  We hunted, and hunted, and finally found four Parson's chairs at a consignment shop.  She has ordered slip covers for them that are really cute and once she moves into her new home the plan is to use two Parson's chairs on each side of the table and the arm chairs on each end.  The extra two cherry chairs will sit on either side of her buffet. 

Did you notice that stack of Parson's chairs in the picture?  Yes, in addition to a storage unit, for four months now our home has been a storage center for all their stuff.  It's been full of crazy here with them, their stuff and two pups but I have really enjoyed having them with us!

Guess what!!!

Today is move in day and we are so excited to be helping them move and get settled in their new home and I can't wait to share how everything looks in their dining room!

Blessings,

Cindy

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FEATHERED NEST FRIDAY

CHERRY DINING ROOM TABLE & the STRIPPER?

Our daughter and her hubby are still living with us.  Everything is coming together nicely and their proposed closing date for their new home is October 15th.  They are beyond excited!  You may remember their new home will be only a few minutes up the road from us, so we are beyond excited too!

Stephanie was thrilled to be offered a cherry dining room table and chairs for her new home.  Happy to have a set for her new formal dining room and also happy because this set has been in the family since she was a tiny little thing!  When she was about 2 years old it was in our dining room, then my sisters dining room, and for the past 5 years or so it's been in my sisters attic, but now it's Stephanie's!

This isn't her set, but this picture (found on Google) shows how the table looks when the legs are on it!

I moved the table and leaf to the porch for a little sprucing up.  There is one large scratch which we aren't too worried about, that's character, right?!  Mostly there are a lot of fine scratches and a dull finish so I was hoping to use a little Restore-a-Finish to make it look pretty again.  I've used this product in the past with great success, so I got started...

I purchased all the supplies Restore-a-Finish recommends, including 0000 steel wool and Howard's Feed-n-Wax.  Here is a closer look at the large scratch, you can see the smaller ones too.

This shows after the left side was completed using the Restore-a-Finish and steel wool.

My hopes are high at this point, looking good! 

 This shows both sides after the R-a-F and steel wool was used.

The leaf is looking great too, so I'm really encouraged at this point!

I get a little worried after an hour or so when this shows up, but then I remind myself that I haven't done the last step of the process yet, which is to use Howard's Feed-n-Wax, so I don't panic.

After the Feed-n-Wax is applied it looks amazing, look at that shine!  So, I leave it to soak in as per the directions and will come back to wipe it off.

It's still soaking in, pretty shine isn't it!

After all the wax has been rubbed in and then rubbed off,

and the table has been moved into the house,

and I come down a day later to check on it,

there are lots of little scratches, you can still see the large scratch which we aren't worried about, we just wanted some shine!

But it is dull and the small scratches are showing up with very little shine.

I was soooo hoping that I could get away without totally refinishing the top of this table and Stephanie doesn't want it painted, so painting is not an option.

Maybe I'll try this process one more time?!

Blessings,

Cindy

Hop on over and join us every MONDAY for AMAZE ME MONDAY!

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