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Our Outdoor Kitchen Adventure 

June 30, 2017

Karen Coldspring 1 Comment

 

If you check in with me on Facebook, then you know we have been working on an outdoor kitchen in preparation for our full-time indoor kitchen to be out of commission.  Mr. Math has worked hard on the kitchen but with teaching summer school and my new and much more demanding job, it was a slow start.  Just about the time we were making progress, sub tropical Cindy rolled through and the tropical moisture has hung around.  We are getting rain daily.  Our yard is beautiful, especially for end of June, but painting and carpentry outside has been a challenge.  I am happy to report we now have running water, a sink that drains properly, a galvanized metal counter and a storage cabinet that has sealed rusty metal as inserts n our outdoor kitchen.

A glorious sink outside.  This will be a place for the dudes to clean up when they are working on machines, cleaning fish, and smoking meat.  Yay for me!  No more nasty stuff coming inside.

The counter top will look weathered with time and when I am happy with the finish it will be sealed.  The backsplash is the same material.  I am not sure it is finished.  I think it may need more screws to smooth it down.

We are grandparents now and it is funny the things that worry us that we might not have worried about before.  Like sharp corners.  They are all covered with corner piece.

The cabinets are painted with Behr Circus which is a soft, rusty, red.  It blends well with the redwood stained picnic table.

I love those corrugated tin inserts.  The tin is from Mr. Math’s family farm.  It is at least 60 years old, but my guess is it is older.  It all got coated with polyurethane before being installed to seal it.

Here is what is finished.  We couldn’t finish the shelf underneath because we ran out of 1X6 boards but it will be quick work.  I am going to stain and seal the boards.  I am thinking that the drain needs to painted either silver or black.

The porch will be great once we are through but right now it is a mess.

The slate top is not done and the trim work needs to be finished around it but it is going to look great.  Stone sealer will keep out the yuck.

This is going to be a great spot to hang out, entertain friends, and cook.  I am looking forward to getting this one finished.

Thanks for following along on our journey.

Blessings,

Karen

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Weekend Update

June 18, 2017

Karen Coldspring Leave a comment

It was another busy weekend here at Providence Acres.  We had family over, we made a trip to see my sweet daddy for Father’s Day, we picked a pile of peas, tomatoes, squash, peppers, and kale.  I now have a freezer full of produce for later.  

We also made progress on the outdoor kitchen.  This is a low budget, heavy use project so, we were way more concerned with functionality than aesthetics.  It will be stained barn red and will look better, but honestly not having the dudes run in the house to use my sink to clean fish, wash nasty hands, or drip meat juices makes my heart sing.   The timing of this project is crucial because my inside kitchen is about to be under renovation and I will never wash dishes in the bathtub again.  Two homes we lived in required me to do dishes on my knees at some point and I am over that.  Forever.

Mr. Math built the sink base out of treated 3/4 inch plywood and 4X4 posts.  The stainless double sink was a side of the road find.  We bought the cheapest faucet they had at Home Depot that had a spray attachment.

It took us over an hour in HD to puzzle out the plumbing but the sink now drains 55 feet away so the fish water won’t be gross smelling when we are sitting on the deck.

The counters are this sheet metal.  It took two sheets to clad the counter.

So far, we have the metal roof extension, counter clad in metal, deck power washed, drain in, and plumbing for water worked out.  We didn’t get the right water connection but it should go quickly. 


Next will be to add cabinets up on the deck that will back up to the sink and will be backed and topped in metal.  We are also going to be adding a very small hot water heater.  

I am so excited that my farmhouse sink and faucet arrived from Overstock safe and sound.  


The quartz has been selected.  Zodiaq concrete.  


The backsplash will be this awesome herringbone marble.


Mr. Math is going to redo the cabinets so that they look like white shaker style.  

Next week I will be so super busy that I will be out of commission but soon I hope to have pictures of a finished outdoor kitchen all staged and looking nice.

Have a wonderful week,

Blessings,

Karen

A Little Update

June 12, 2017

Karen Coldspring Leave a comment

I promise I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth.  Really, I am still alive and kicking.  Right after I wrote to you that I missed you and was back, there was another turn in my road.  I was offered the opportunity to be Director of Elementary Instruction for the fast growing district I have worked for the past four years.  Crazy.  It has taken all my extra minutes just to catch up.  You see, for the past 10 years my focus has been secondary and or advanced students.  I have had terms to learn, programs to get up to speed on, research to read, and plans to make.

I am excited for this opportunity and expect this to be my last stop in public education before  retiring, but I would have said that about my last position too, so what do I know.

In the next week, I will have a few posts that include our outdoor kitchen (which had to be finished first), the kitchen renovation that is imminent, and what is up at our little cabin in the woods.

I spent a few moments this evening looking longingly at my shop.  I must make time to get back to what feeds my creative side.

I hope all is well in your lives,

Blessings,

Karen

Using the Restoration Hardware Finish to Fix a Problem

April 11, 2017

Karen glazing, rescuing damaged furniture, Roadside Rescue, vintage style , , Leave a comment

A pile of tables were given to me.  I know.  I am so very lucky.

tables

The table I worked on this weekend was the one at the back in this picture.  I know I should have taken a better picture of the table, but in true form I just got in the mood to paint and jumped in.  It is how I operate when a lot is going on.  Paint first, think later.
The tables had been in a vacant house left by previous renters and this one was in pretty rough shape.
I fell in love with particular table because I have an identical one that is in great shape from my mom.   My table is a family piece that I would get grounded if I painted.  This one I am free to do what I want to.

I spray painted the legs with chalk spray paint I picked up at Walmart.  I liked the paint but frankly it wasn’t worth the extra cost for the chalk finish.  I should have just purchased flat white paint.


This table at one point sat under a leak and had water stains along with a water ring that just wouldn’t come out, even with sanding the finish off.  I tried my darkest stain, Minwax Jacobean, and the stain still showed through.  Bummer.


I knew I wanted the top of the table to be stained with the bottom painted, so I knew I needed a solution to my water problem.  The solution was my Restoration Hardware Weathered Oak Finish for the top.

I figured out this finish through trial and error and have used it several times like here on the bathroom vanity in our suburban house

dresser to bathroom vanity

and here on the top and sides of the Funky Dresser

Funky Dresser

It is a finish that covers a lot of flaws and is almost foolproof.  This finish is the most popular post on my blog, so I guess I am not alone in using the simple process.

Pickling Stain on top of the stained wood then wipe off in the direction of the wood grain almost immediately.


It always looks a little nasty at this point and every time I second guess my decision.

The next step is to apply a coat of Jacobean stain over the top.


Wipe off the excess stain with the grain and voila- the water rings disappear.

I sanded the paint slightly on the legs and will ne adding a clear protective finish to the top of the table once I am sure the stain has dried completely.


It turned out great and gave me the satisfaction of getting one project done this past weekend.

I don’t know where this table will end up, but I really think it is pretty.

I hope you were productive this last weekend,

Blessings,

Karen

Hair Pin Leg Winfall

April 10, 2017

Karen cedar lumber, Coldspring, DIY, Mid Century , 1 Comment

I have a thing for mid century stuff.  I particularly like hairpin legs.  I never really cared for the Formica topped version of the 1950’s atomic, futuristic, sharp angled tables but I love the bent metal legs mixed with natural elements.

The photo above showed my screen when I searched Google Images for hairpin legs.
Two times in the last month hairpin legs fell into my lap thanks to The Social Planner.

At an estate sale my buddy, The Social Planner found this set of four coffee table legs.  It was Sunday afternoon.  They were getting ready to wrap up.  I am not sure they knew what they were.  I got them for $2.00.  For the set.  .50 per leg.

The coffee table legs are going to get a slab of cedar for a petite coffee table in the guest shed.  It is under construction now.



The next set, my buddy found in a trash pile at our little cabin in the woods!  There are three table height legs which isn’t that unusual. It was common to have three legs in hairpin tables.  I wish I had a picture of her climbing into the pile to get them out.  The photo below shows a three legged table off Etsy from Winespirations.   I wish I had a wine barrel lid, but I think I will have something even cooler if I am just patient.


See the giant fallen tree below? Mr. Math is going to cut a section of this tree (called a cookie) for me to put on top of theses legs.  The diameter of the trunk is 34 inches. I am not sure where it will end up when finished.  I may be selling this particular table.  It is going to be a fun project.


I sprayed all of the legs with a rust arresting spray paint then flat black paint.  The will last forever if they aren’t allowed to rust.


Above is the difference between the legs once they are cleaned up and sprayed.

This is going to be a long process with lots of coats of poly, but I am looking forward to have something to do each evening that is pretty mindless.  My life is about to have another twist in the road that even I did not see coming.  More later.  For now, the weather here is beautiful, the garden is growing, and it is dry enough to paint outside.  Now if only the gale force winds would stop.  Oh well, we can’t have it all.

Didn’t Mr. Math do a stellar job on the south pasture this weekend?  It looks like a golf course.

I hope you had a great weekend. 

Thank you for following along on our journey.  

I love hearing from you,

Karen

The Guest Shed

April 3, 2017

Karen Coldspring, family, Fun with friends, JJ Lane, Mid Century , , 1 Comment

One of the reasons we bought this beautiful property we live on is so that we can share it with our families and friends. We have done what we could with our home to allow for more overnight guests.  We have a sleeper sofa, a Murphy bed in the craft room, a queen bed and a a crib in the guest room.  The house holds a lot of folks.  More than once it has held 20 + young men.  (We stayed with friends those weekends… that was too much of a good thing.)

As our family and friends have come to visit we have realized that we need a separate space for visitors.  I even see us heading out to the guest house when our friends with a lot of kids or when both of our kids come with their families because we are early risers and noisy.  We also have an early riser dog. She is noisier than we are.

 This is my idea for a guest house:

I call her the guest shed.  I have dreamed about redoing her since 2015 although the colors have changed, I still want that mid century vibe.

The previous owner used this space as his woodworking shop and “man cave”.  He installed a sink, hardwood flooring reclaimed from a gymnasium, and cabinets.  He also built a wood burning stove that is the craziest looking thing ever.  


It needs a good coat of high heat paint. ( Can you tell he was a welder? )

 We are going to add a bathroom to the space, move the sink location, set up a kitchenette.   More on the bathroom later.

The vibe is going to be mid century-kitsch. The walls are going to be a really pale turquoise, there will be plenty of red and white.  Think light, bright and airy.  


I have collected some fun mid century furniture and a mint condition chrome UFO light.  The light was still in the original box, unopened.  I am smitten.  When it is on the pin holes look like UFO lights- yay for mid century atomic.  That bulb thing on the light is a pulley to adjust the height of the light.  There is a frosted glass light diffuser that attaches to the bottom of the light. 

I picked the light and two mid century walnut framed low slung chairs up at a garage sale for $2.00 each. No lie.  $6.00 dollars total.   ( Here is the post about the finds at the garage sale.)


At that same garage sale I got a porcelain cast iron sink to use in the kitchen.  ($5.00). The sink is stained and there are a few worn places but overall it is in great shape.  It is getting a coat or three of epoxy.


 I also have picked up a vintage kitchen upper cabinet set that are getting painted white. 


Before I can get started we need to replace the shop board along the back wall that is all full of holes for tools and paint the walls then install a drop ceiling. 


 This is what we are planning to use.


After the dropped ceiling is in, I am going to use the same stuff we used on our garage apartment to restore the floor without making it look brand new.

I have a double modified to be a queen sized iron bed going in along with the funky dresser and a chrome 1950’s table and chairs that are currently kicking my hiney.  Mr. Math did a much better job than me, but the back of them still isn’t done. Soon I will share what we learned from this process.  There were lessons learned!


I am so excited about this fun, funky, kitschy, bright space we plan on working on this summer.   It is going to make me happy to just walk in.  As soon as it is all finished I think we are thinking putting it on air bnb when we don’t need it for guests.  With the huge Houston area Boy Scouts camp going in down the road I think there will be a need for parents who want to stay nearby. 

Plans for the Cabin

March 27, 2017

Karen Camp house, Country Style, fireplace, Fun with friends, Texas , , 2 Comments

This weekend The Social Planner ( TSP), her hubby Larry, Mr. Math, and I spent the better part of a day cleaning up and making plans for the cabin we are getting.

There were so many more happy surprises on the first “walk through” of this project after the tenants moved out than we did on our Huntsville rental property.   The electrical was done properly.  There is an ingenious system for water in the house even though there is no well or city water. The house is well insulated. The appliances work. They did a good job of moving out without destroying.  Winner, winner chicken dinner.

IMG_8470

(We have a lot of stuff to move along.)

The problems with the interior of the cabin are mainly unfinished projects or space planning issues.

IMG_8468

The kitchen cabinets are unfinished at the bottom.
I would like some that look like this:

Cabinets

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But I wan them washed in barn red.

The top cabinets are warped, laminate-over-particle board office cabinets.  I hate them, but for now we need to make them work.  I will keep an eagle eye out for someone who is getting rid of   real kitchen cabinets and will haunt the ReStore for upper cabinets that will work.  I can be patient.

The wood burning stove sticks out too far from the wall, the cement backer board behind the stove is unfinished, and the stove needs to be painted with high heat black paint.
The dudes are going to move the stove back about six inches and fix the stove-pipe.  We ( The Social Planner and me) are going to paint the stove and I am going to attempt to install plank tile that looks like whitewashed wood vertically over the backer board.  Mr. Math will be my backup in case of disaster.

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(The picture above is of the place with the tenants.  It is cleaned out now, but I did not get a picture that shows the space between the wall and the stove.

Tile


The cabin is not too far from the Alabama Coushatta Reservation, and the area has a strong western cowboy history.  We are going to try our best to honor the area through our decor but with more of a deer camp feel.  We both have quite a bit of western stuff that will be coming in. Our bedding for the six beds will be a mix of plaids, solids, and even  couple of native inspired.  The inspiration from the cabin colors will come from these pictures.

I actually found some bedding really cheap on Amazon.

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A lot of what is going into the house is coming right out of my old lake house “bunk room” and The Social Planner’s stash.  These vintage canisters came from the stash.

IMG_8474

The flowered couch is getting a chocolate-colored slipcover that will make it work for us.  The bonus is that it is washable.  The love seat is going and a vintage vinyl western couch is coming in to join the brown couch. 

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I plan on doing a piece for the wall sort of like this one.

I found this letschipit.com color scheme based on a female cardinal.  It is exactly the colors I see us using.

It is going to be fun making this small space functional and FUN.

The journey continues,

Blessings,

Karen

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