Tag Archives: salvage

Vintage Door/Shelf DIY

I ♥ DOORS.

I paid $40 for this door that came off a house in Mexico.

I decided to make it into a leaning shelf.  And later thought to attach a light fixture.  I stumbled upon this glorious find on lowe’s.com. It was exactly what I was looking for and only $24.98!

Here are some of the other materials I used:

Instructions:

To be honest, I just kinda figured it out as I went.  Along with the sconce, I purchased the wood, composite board, and extension plug from Lowe’s. There, the employees answered all my questions and cut the wood and composite material for my project – All I had to do was measure the dimensions.

1. After I purchased all the materials, I stapled(with a staple gun) the batting onto the composite board. When I stapled on the fabric, I made sure it was tight, but not too tight – because then it can pull and look sloppy. I stapled the full right side and then the left. I did the same for the top and bottom, this way it was all even.

2. I measured where the sconce needed to be and sliced tiny holes(in the now upholstered board) for the screws and the extension wire. I, then, attached the extension wire to the sconce wire with caps and electrical tape(this converted the light to plug-in). I tested the light(it worked!) and secured the fixture to the board.

3. After the wood was slightly sanded and cleaned, I sporadically applied Annie Sloan Dark Wax. I let it sit for a while, and wiped off the excess – then buffed. This added warmth and polish to the unfinished pine.

4. Because I am who I am, I measured once for the location of the shelf brackets and wasted no time screwing them in. My measurements were, of course, wrong and I had to repeat this step :/

5. I laid the door on the ground and placed the the board in the panel grooves, and drilled in the two shelves. To be honest, I didn’t really check if the shelves were level, but nothing has fallen off and it looks flush,  that’s good enough for me!

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Toy Oven DIY

On one of my many trips to Mesa, I stumbled upon something very interesting while shopping at the Antique Plaza. At first I wasn’t sure what it was, but came to find it was a toy oven.  How darling?!

I ended up taking it home with me, it was too special not to.

Here’s how I fixed her up…

ONE.

AFTER SHE WAS ALL CLEAN, I REMOVED THE HARDWARE.  BECAUSE THE PAINT WAS RATHER ”CHIPPY”, I LIGHTLY SANDED AWAY THE LOOSE PAINT.  I DID THIS OUTDOORS (When sanding older/painted things, it’s especially important to protect your eyes, and to wear a mask.  It’s possible there is LEAD in the paint, and that is TOXIC.  Always wear goggles and a mask when sanding).

  

TWO.

I TOOK A HAMMER TO THE RUSTY SCREWS THAT WERE STICKING OUT OF THE FRONT LEFT SIDE.  I JUST HAMMERED THEM RIGHT INTO THE WOOD UNTIL THEY WERE A LITTLE BEYOND FLUSH.

THREE.

ONCE THE OVEN WAS DRY FROM CLEANING OFF ANY DUST, I USED ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT (PARIS GREY) TO PAINT THE INSIDE.  I PAINTED THE INSIDE OF THE THREE DRAWERS AND THE OVEN ITSELF.  LEFT TO DRY.

FOUR.

I TAPED OFF THE TOP OF THE TOY, BECAUSE I WANTED TO LEAVE IT UNPAINTED TO KEEP SOME OF THE OLD CHARM.  I USED THE CHALK PAINT (DUCK EGG BLUE) FOR THE FRONT AND SIDES OF THE OVEN, AND THE FRONTS OF THE DRAWERS.  I PAINTED TWO COATS.  LEFT TO DRY.

FIVE.

I PULLED THE BLUE TAPE OFF AND CLEAR WAXED IT.  I ADDED SOME DARK WAX ON TOP OF THE CLEAR AND BUFFED IT.  FINALLY, I REATTACHED THE HARDWARE.  IT WAS ALL DONE AND READY TO USE.  YAY!

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