Style Archives - The Weekend Country Girl

How Red Wing Dishes Made Me Famous

December 27, 2022 Karen

Hello friends! It has been a while since I posted because life got in the way but I am back.

I am not quite, but almost, but not really famous now. Let’s call it famous adjacent. Of course famous is an overstatement but it is probably as close as I will be and here is why:

If you have been with me very long you know that my buddy, The Social Planner (TSP), and I love to explore new places and shop in resale, thrift, antique stores. We took a quick trip to Crockett, Texas one Thursday. I love that we can just take off shopping now that we are retired.

The Social Planner and I in front of he new Crockett mural.

Crockett is awesome, visit if you get a chance. While we were shopping I saw these beautiful vintage Red Wing dishes and immediately thought of one of the people I follow on social media Sara @SimplySouthernCottage. They were mid century, pink, had flowers and butterflies, and were American made.

She is making a difference along with others in her community of Minden, Louisiana. (If you watched the most recent Hometown Takeover on HGTV Minden was one of the cites and she was one of those people working to make her town awesome.)

Sara (Simply Southern Cottage) has her own very inspirational story to tell and I hope you check her out of Facebook, Instagram, or her Blog. I love, love, love her sense of whimsy and how bold her color choices are. Annnywayyy back to my story. Sorry for the digression.

In the thrift store I took a picture of the dishes and thought I sent Sara a message with the photo of the dishes. The message didn’t go through until much later- like not until we were driving home. Sara contacted me later that day to ask if I knew the name of the store because she would like to see if they could be shipped. By then I had TOTALLY forgotten where I saw the dishes so I hustled over to The Social Planner’s house to ask for memory assistance. She couldn’t remember either. (Crockett has lots of cool shops to our defense and we saw lots of things we thought about buying.) Immediately she said let’s go back and get them for her. She even figured out how to rope in our husbands. It involved lunch and a brewery.

I contacted Sara, told her I would go buy them and drop them off in Minden on an upcoming trip to North Carolina. Sara was sweet about us going and told us not to worry if we couldn’t go back but we are always up for a challenge.

The Social Planner, our two husbands, and I headed back to Crockett and started searching for the correct shop. I thought it was one place, but it wasn’t the right one, TSP thought it was another but it wasn’t there either. I did learn something though. You can look at your iPhone photo properties ( just swipe up on your photo) to see the location the picture was taken. Using that after searching a good hour we found them! They were sitting in the exact spot just waiting for us to come back. I think I was a little too excited to find them because the price went up. We negotiated and still got a great deal on the dishes.

The husbands were fine with the shopping trip because they got to eat at an award winning bar b q restaurant and a brewery on the way home. We do love a road trip.

When we headed to North Carolina the weather was terrible and traffic was super slow. We arrived in Minden an hour later than planned so instead of a leisurely lunch at Geaux Fresh with Sara we met up, introduced ourselves, took photos, and handed off the dishes. Sara had food bank food delivery duty. She is that kind of person.

We did eat at Geaux Fresh which was one of the spots featured on HGTV and loved it. We shopped at Paris Design Company. It is a cool shop that sells items from local artists, drove by The Villas, then headed on our way. Sara is so busy I honestly thought that was the last I would hear from her.

Sara let me know a few weeks ago that she used the dishes in a photo shoot for Cottage and Bungalows Magazine and that they would be used in one of her Villas. She is renovating a set of 1930’s Spanish style apartments called The Villas that have been abandoned for more than 20 years. They look a-m-a-z-i-n-g. The colors, mix of patterns, and preservation of the historic charm are unique to her style. The Villas are being featured in Cottages and Bungalows and guess what? Sara told them the dishes story and let me know that they wrote a side note telling about a follower who brought her dishes in an upcoming magazine. I feel like an extra in a movie. Only my friends will know that I am her follower but it is still fun. Check out Cottages and Bungalows February/ March issue. It is out now.

Photo from Cottages and Bungalows magazine. The dishes are circled in the photo.

I am now a follower in Texas. Photo from Cottages and Bungalows Magazine, February/March 2023

Minden right off Interstate 20 not far from Shreveport. It is a great little town and her short term rentals, including The Villas soon are located at Minden Stays.

I will be signing autographs soon!

Coldspring, family, Style, using bright colors

My Guest House Inspiration

July 30, 2021July 30, 2021 Karen

My great grandmother (Katie) was twenty when she had my grandmother (Helen), my grandmother was twenty when she had my mom, and my mom was twenty four when she had me. That means my grandmother was forty four when I was born and my great grandmother was sixty four. Sounds crazy to me but I had really young grandmothers. I am saying this as a sixty year old grandmother of a three and five year old.

Katie standing by her board and batten house in 1959, three years before I was born. She always worked outside in a bonnet. I love that the wood stove metal shovel is hanging in the background.

All that talk about my linage is because both my grandmother and great grandmother had a huge impact on me. My grandmother was a career woman, a worker bee who made her on destiny and was the bread winner for her family after my grandfather was injured on an oil rig because that was really her only option. My great grandmother lived alone for many years on the homestead of her husband’s family after my great grandfather passed away. It was 17 miles from a paved road. We would turn off the highway onto a gravel road and into the interior of Louisiana to a land grant that had been in the family since the late 1800’s. Katie was a great cook, had a quite strength, and was a hard worker.

There was no indoor bathroom or phone at Katie’s house when I was young. I think a bathroom was installed when I was in elementary school. There was an elevated cistern outside the kitchen that caught rain water so that the kitchen sink had running water. Of course there was no television. I can remember going to my great grandmother’s house when I was in elementary school with my grandmother for a week during the summer. Funny, but I don’t remember being hot. It had to be really hot there but it isn’t one of the things I remember. My grandmother didn’t learn to drive until she was 50 so heading out for a trip to Louisiana was an adventure for both of us. It was like going to pioneer camp or time traveling back 100 years. We would get up in the morning, Katie would make breakfast, milk the cow, find the eggs (free range chickens), throw leftovers to the hogs, and I can even remember churning butter in a glass butter churn. My great grandmother had a treadle sewing machine that had been converted to electric at some point that she sewed on. She loved quilting and during the week she would work on a quilt. She would either work on squares or use her stretcher to do the quilting depending on where she was in the process.

I loved being there. Even when I was so young I knew how special it was to get to spend time with those ladies. I have such happy memories of the homestead that I wanted to make my guest house feel like going to Katie’s house. I picked the colors from a quilt she made. I have no idea when Katie made the quilt, my guess is mid 1950’s because of the colors but my grandmother gave the quilt to me when I got married in 1982 and the quilt looked ancient then. The quilt colors are what I am using as the color scheme in the house.

The kitchen walls at Katie’s house had what I believe was bead board on them. I know it was slats. When I had v groove planks given to us I knew it would work for the kitchenette area. I loved it so much it became a whole wall.

Everything was functional inside and outside of Katie’s house but she managed to insert pretty things where she could. I believe that is why she loved to quilt. Bright colors and fabrics with a function.

I don’t remember a lot of purely decorative items in the house. I plan on not having a lot of purely decorative things in the space but want to have things that serve a purpose and are pretty at the same time. I plan on hanging up my grandmothers’ (both sides of the family) rolling pins. They are packed away right now but will be coming out soon. Glass and wood with many a biscuit and pie crust between them. I am getting an old map of our county framed to hang from before the lake was built. That just feels like something my grandparents would have hung up along with the feed store calendar and pictures of the family.

I was so fortunate that my daughter got to meet her great-great grandmother, Katie. I love this picture of them together.

I can’t wait to show you the progress that has been made. I also have a few funny stories to share.

Have a wonderful weekend.

We love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Karen

Country Style, Decorating, family, Fun with friends, ship lap, Style, Texas, traveling

A Trip to Waco Part 1

December 11, 2017December 11, 2017 Karen

Y’all, I had the best weekend last week. I got to spend the weekend in the season 1, episode 1 Fixer Upper home. While that was an awesome experience, sleeping for two nights with all of my kids and my sweet granddaughter under one roof along with our dear friends was the BEST part of the weekend.

I hope you don’t mind, but I am going to share my weekend with you along with a few tips in case you head to Waco yourselves.

First of all,

This my friends is the house we stayed in.

It is a beautiful home.

Come on in, I will show you around.

The three stories of stairs are so pretty. They were quite a challenge for our 18 month old granddaughter to navigate. She could not get enough of them.

The first shiplap room on HGTV. Joanna made her mark convincing Charmaine to leave the walls open to reveal the shiplap that traditionally was covered with a “finished” wall in this one small room.

There are the requisite French doors. I just loved this little space.

The kitchen is my favorite room in the home.

I loved the beams, the tile, the vent hood, the lighting, and he countertops. That island, made by Clint Harp from reclaimed shiplap made me swoon.

Something I wasn’t prepared for was the industrial elements. The paper towel dispensers, the exit lights, the pump hand sanitizers on the wall. Charmaine said that at one point she planned a child care center here.

Oh, and Joanna would never approve of the shelves that are in the corners.

The family room was very comfortable.

The front porch was amazing.

You just have to be comfortable sharing it with all the Fixer Upper fans who drive by, stop by, jump out of their cars for pictures, even coming up on the porch, and even the one extremely brave man who asked if he could come in… in case you are wondering the answer was no. I enjoyed it and waved like a fool at all of them until they drove off… except that one.

Also, the neighborhood is rough. It is definitely the best house in the worst neighborhood now.

The house sleeps more than 12, has four full and one half baths. It is close to Magnolia Market, and the homeowner is the same person who was on the show. She checked in on us, brought a Keureg when he one there didn’t work, and was a pleasure to work with.

The home can be rented HERE, if you are interested.

The quality of the construction was apparent, the home was beautiful, and it was a great weekend for us.

This week I am going to show you you our visit to Magnolia Market.

Thanks for following along on our journey,

Blessings,

Karen

Coldspring, Country living, Country Style, family, ship lap, shopping, Style

A Fixer Upper Trip

April 12, 2016 Karen

Hello guys. Have you missed me as much as I have missed you, and sleep, and a clean house? We are almost moved out of the burbs and into our forever home. Just a few more trips I hope. Monday night I sat on the porch and cried because my long-suffering husband asked me what to do with a box of spray paint. I am so over it when it comes to moving that I am not even rational any longer. In the near future I am going to tell about our experience downsizing, but not tonight because I couldn’t be a lady about it right now.

On this night, oh my gosh, do I have news for you all. I promised you a while back I would fill you in on our trip to the Waco area and things to do when you visit and I am going to fill you in, BUT IT GETS EVEN BETTER AT THE END.

First of all, the map below shows you where Waco is in relation to Austin, Belton, Salado, and Round Top (east of Austin).

Austin, the undisputed hippest city in in Texas, is an hour and a half away from Waco. I am not going to fill you in on Austin tonight, but if you are making a visit to Magnolia Market part of a vacation, make sure to include Austin in your trip.

On my last post I shared with you that we recently visited Magnolia Market (The Silos) and Waco. One question I got asked over and over again was: was it worth the drive. As a huge fan of JoAnna’s style, I loved the market, but the drive for us from Coldspring was over three hours there and the same back. I enjoyed shopping in the market and had a great day, but in order to make the trip really worth while, our next trip will be a weekend adventure. (We will drive up Thursday night, then spend Friday and Saturday exploring and head home Sunday.) wait for it friends, it is going to be good at the end. ( Skip to the end here if you want my super cool news first.)

Here is what I thought our future trip was going to include:

Thursday I thought we would be staying at a bed and breakfast- There are two I was interested in:

Friday

Breakfast at the B and B then off to
Magnolia Market which opens at 10:00 but we will try to get there about 9:30. We should finish at Magnolia Market by 11:30- just in time for lunch at one of the food trucks conveniently located.
Harp Design Co because I want to see the shop where all those amazing tables and benches come out of and hopefully I will find something I can’t live without. The Harps have a whole list of Waco favorites. The two that caught my eye are Lula Jane’s if you are driving in for breakfast and Club Sandwich if you are looking for a fun food truck lunch.
The Findery. How did I miss this one the first time? It is for sure going on my list next visit.

Junque in the Trunk Waco- I could only find a Facebook page, but with 70K follwers, they must be doing pretty well.

I have a feeling the guys would rather hang out at one of the restaurants or diners on LaSalle while we shop.

Head on to McGregor, Texas. The Magnolia House and the Carraige house just on the show is there and it is worth a visit.

I also want to visit the Cedar Chest Antique Mall that has been featured on several episodes of Fixer Upper.

Another fun place to visit is Megregor General Store.

I got this cool sign there.

Friday evening will be up for grabs. Lake Waco looks beautiful.

Saturday

We will head out to Salado, Texas. I love this place so much that we visit every chance we get. Here is a blog post I wrote about that cool little town a few years ago.

Sunday we will head home slowly. Eating Kolaches, stopping at fun shops, and enjoying central Texas.

Okay. Here is the big news. (It is big news to me anyway!) After I already started this post and was all set on going back, I saw on Country Living that two houses that were on Fixer Upper are now rentals in addition to Magnolia Home. One of them was my absolute favorite from season 1. The Gorman Story. On a whim I decided to look it up just to see if we could rent it and guess what? They had an opening in October Friday and Saturday night. I am so excited to get to check it out, spend time with my sweet family in the home, and visit Waco again in the fall. Woo Hoo.

We are going to get to take Lucy, Sweet Amanda, Baby Boy, The Southern Belle, Big Cat, and our buddies The Social Planner and Larry on the trip with us. It will be fun. I have a feeling the guys will find something other than shopping to do all day Saturday, but we are going to enjoy our trip.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my posts. I love hearing from you,

Blessings,

Karen

Coldspring, Country Style, Decorating, master bedroom, painting, reclaimed wood, Style, The City House

Mini Master Bedroom Makeover

January 6, 2015January 6, 2015 Karen

Rain, rain, more rain, and cold meant no outside work, no Garagemahal furniture work during our week at Star Hill. Being stuck inside our 950 square foot house with husband, bored dog, and a restless wife meant something had to be done. That something was updating our bedroom. For less than $50.00 got the room freshened up. We painted the walls Behr Subtle Touch, I made Roman shades, and put in a reclaimed wood hat rack.

Every room at Star Hill has some variation of red, white and blue. Anything that goes into the house has to be tough and washable. We play hard at the lake. Last summer I found a blue striped Ralph Lauren quilt for $20.00 on clearance at Marshall’s and I knew it would be staying in the room. We purchased one gallon of Behr Subtle Touch zero VOC for $27.00 and $17.00 worth of fabric for the mini makeover.

Here are the best pictures of the color before we painted. I snapped these after we already got started moving stuff.

I have to give props to my husband. When it comes to painting, he is the best at cut in work. He can paint right up next to the ceiling or in this case, the reclaimed wood without taping off anything. It is a gift I don’t possess. I did the rolling and we were done in two hours. The fleshy tan color i never cared for is gone and a soft gray is now in the room. We have also had a standing hat rack in the room, taking up a square foot of space in our tiny room. We need something to hang summer boat hats, spring rain gear, and wet winter hats, gloves, and scarves.

My dad gave me three vintage coat hooks he took from a house being torn down. I loved the patina on them. They are perfect for a room with an old door headboard, a reclaimed wood wall, and sewing machine base side tables.

The most stressful project was sewing Roman shades for the windows. I am a terrible seamstress. I try, but it always seems to go wrong. This time it all worked out like I wanted. I used red and blue fabrics that coordinated with the bedding to make them and denim ribbon I had in the closet.

I love this vinyl cling on an old window. It is the perfect art for our room and reminds Hubby to give me a good night kiss!

This oak chair was two dollars as is at a resale shop. I am crazy about the chippy blue paint.

All put together, the room looks cleaner and more finished.

Another room ready for us to put the house on the market.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I love to hear from you..

Blessings,

Karen

cedar lumber, Coldspring, Country living, Country Style, DIY, DIY Projects, Lake Livingston, master bedroom, Redecorating, San Jacinto county, Style

Adding a Corrugated Tin Wall

January 5, 2015January 5, 2015 Karen

We got a good start on the want to finish projects before putting our beloved Star Hill on the market over the holiday break.

This is what the wall in our main room has looked like since we moved in.

We recently got a new-ish wood burning stove off Craig’s List for our near the lake house, Star Hill. ($200 for a stove used one season. It is still for sale at Tractor Supply for over $600. That was a score.) It has a glass door and an electric blower, the two things that the old stove in the house did not have. We can now heat the whole house with it when we want and get to see the flames. We are already enjoying it. We knew that we would want a metal wall behind the stove and had planned for it to be put in for the seven years we have owned the place. Stuff always gets in the way of projects. Stuff like rescuing roadside furniture.

A cold, wet, weekend after Christmas was the perfect time to knock this particular project out. Hubby figured out how much tin to buy. It comes to about fifty cents a square foot. You can buy it in up to 12 foot lengths.

How nice of Home Depot to provide gloves.

First we cleared the wall and found the studs. I love projects where we will cover the wall because we get to write directly on the wall.

Next, attach this wooden support stuff to the studs.

The tricky part here was making sure curves lined up vertically. Hubby chopped off the ends to make sure they all started out the same way then made sure they lined up with each other at the start of the wall. Our roofing nailer attached the wood to the wall.

Our wall slopes up so that adds a level of difficulty to the project that we wouldn’t have had to deal with on a plain flat ceiling.

Using the very scary grinder, Hubby (AKA Mr. Math) cut the angles on the tin along with the vent cover and electrical outlet using rise over run math.

If you plan on doing this project you will need these special screws, gloves (or a box of Band Aids- that tin is sharp), something to cut the tin (if a grinder is too scary for you too, they make a metal cutting blade for a jigsaw) a level, a stud finder, tin, and wooden corrugated strips.

Plan on this project taking a whole day. Cutting around vents and outlets slows the process. Full disclosure here; it took us two days and a trip to three hardware stores. If we planned better and didn’t have to drive all over creation looking for supplies we forgot to bring, we could have finished in one day.

We decided to use some of our natural edge cedar for a shelf on the wall. The brackets were garage sale finds that we used for years with a funky swirl on the bottom. The grinder took care of the swirl. I love the industrial, rustic feel that the wall gives the cabin.

The wall looks great. It is exactly what I hoped. We have it set up with our free or almost free furniture, but I also wanted you to see it with more modern furniture and fabric. It would be a great wall for a modern wall. I really like the look.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I hope it inspires you to tackle your own projects.

Country Style, Painted Furniture, Repurposed Furniture, resale finds, Style, The Garagemahal, the suburban home, Thrifty decorating, vintage style

The Finished Funky Dresser

December 14, 2014February 12, 2015 Karen

Painting furniture in the Garagemahal during a southeast Texas winter is tough. It is either too cold or too humid to dream of painting. I usually take on smallish projects that I can finis in the house during winter. This fall I found a dresser that I wanted to turn into an unusual entertainment center. It was $20.00 at Huntsville Goodwill. It is a 1950’s wooden dresser that probably went in a boy’s room.

I had been looking for something to turn into a funky dresser after finding this dresser a year ago at the Mainstreet America Christmas home tour. It was over a thousand dollars but it was so cool.

The dresser was originally destined for my brother in law and sister in law’s new house near us. It took me so long to surprise them with the piece done that they already bought a beautiful entertainment center out of whiskey barrel oak.

I wasn’t sure what I would do with it at this point, until I sanded the top corner. There it was: “I love e b”. My hubby’s first and middle name begins with e and b. ( In his family he goes by Eddie Ben.) I knew it would have to be something that would end up with us.

I struggled with what to do with each drawer and redid three of the drawers at least twice, one of them three times.

I determined that I did not want to spend much on this project. I have a large collection of hardware, a pile of paint and everything needed to give the wood a weathered finish like the inspiration piece. A bonus is that the colors on the piece will be colors I already like and have in my home.

What you see above is just a small sample of the hardware I have. Notice how many of the pieces I photographed I actually used in the final shot.

Saturday afternoon the skies cleared, the humidity dropped and I had about two hours to work.

The dresser went from looking like this Saturday …

To this by mid-day, Sunday.

I glazed the turquoise because it was a little too bright for the rest of the piece after this photo and I added a license plate and some letters. I am not sure it is finished but it is coming along.

Soon, I will tell you where I hope it gets to go.

Here are a few close up shots I took after adding the license plate from 1969 that we found in the dirt at my husband’s family farm. The numbers are the year of his birth and the S is our last name initial.

Did you notice I used a different license plate than what I pulled originally? I decided that I wanted to use the one with browns and yellows. It is great that I have options. I collected quite a few plates from my husband’s farm.

I love it. I am proud that I did this almost all by myself. I cut trim, drilled holes, selected colors, and rethought it when I wasn’t happy. I did have a meltdown on the white bottom corner “drawer” (it is actually one long drawer made to look like two) and had to get help on that one. I could not get the trim to line up. Thanks, Hubby.

All in all I have less than $10.00 in supplies in the dresser along with the $20.00 investment for the dresser I think it turned out well.

I have a random bunch of french provincial hardware that I would love to do a little girl’s dresser with one day. The possibilities are exciting.

Thanks for reading my blog.

I would love to hear what you think about my funky dresser.

Blessings,

Karen

Christmas, Coldspring, Country living, Country Style, Decorating, family, Lake Livingston, Style, Tablescape, vintage style

San Jacinto County Christmas Home Tour Part 3

December 10, 2014December 11, 2014 Karen

I will bet a few of you are ready for the home tour to be done. I’m known as a bit of an over-sharer so, my apologies. I just love our little Weekend country community and I am always amazed at the homes tucked into the woods an hour from Houston. Come visit!

Today you get to see the last four homes. I am not slighting them, I promise. One of the houses was the inspiration for the green color we painted our lake house. I literally knocked on their door and asked them what color their house was painted. They were gracious, and didn’t act like they thought I was insane. By the way, the color of their house was baked on the Hardee plank, so I had to guess on our color.

The Green House

This house is located right by the Aggie House. It was one of the first built on the cemetery circle. I love the craftsman style of the home. I could not believe I didn’t get a picture of the outside of the house. I will go take one and add it next week.

The green house has a nautical vibe. Did you know that Lake Livingston has sailboats? It is the second largest lake in Texas.

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I really liked the bedrooms. The colors were very soothing. I think someone was naughty getting the house ready to show.

The Brown House

This house is right next door to the green house. The owners are friends and they have even put in a walkway between the two homes. The brown house could not be any more different from they Green House though. The brown house has a more formal look on the inside. The owner is a quilter with her own room.

The Mediterranean Home

This house is in a neighborhood that is around the corner from ours. The neighborhood has a marina and an RV park along with a very active neighborhood group. They have a pot luck every Thursday night.

The Last Home… Woopsie.

I honestly have no idea what happened to the rest of the last house pictures. I will keep looking.

I loved the back covered porch and the feeling of this home.

I hope you enjoyed the Christmas tour. All the funds for this tour go to scholarships for the kids of San Jacinto County. What a great cause.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Blessings,

Karen

Building a Home, Christmas, Coldspring, Country Style, Decorating, Dining Table, family, master bedroom, mudroom, new home, Style

The Aggie House; San Jacinto County Christmas Home Tour Part 2

December 9, 2014December 9, 2014 Karen

The road that runs adjacent to our neighborhood main road is Harrell Cemetery Road. Guess what is at the end of Harrell Cemetery Road? If you guessed the Harrell Plantation Cemetery you are correct. If you guessed a cluster of new homes, built on Stephens Creek and Lake Livingston, you are also correct.

This year it has been driven home to me that we are not the first or second or third or fourth generation to love this particular part of Texas. A little research into the Harrell Plantation drove home this fact. The land where our lake house is along with the cemetery road and oh 3000 or so acres that are now under Lake Livingston, were once owned by A. W. Harrell. The plantation home built between 1840 and 1850 is gone underwater and that makes me sad. The cemetery was where the black farm hands were buried and it now has a historic marker.

Interesting fact: Sam Houston used to visit a Choctaw village that was located at the mouth of Stephens Creek. He would put up a white flag so the steamboat would stop and take him to Galveston. Right where we live.

In the last two years a cluster of new homes have gone up around the cemetery. it sounds creepy, but it is really a pretty spot with a historic cemetery in the center. All the homes are pretty and I am going to show you two of the others quickly tomorrow but today, I have to show you what I call the Aggie compound. I am sure that is not what the owners call it, but you be the judge.

Welcome to the Aggie compound.

See the gate? Proud TAMU folks built this house.

Here is the home as we walked up the drive.

See the peak of the lake on the right?

As you see, my buddy, The Social Planner, could not resist touching the wreath on the front door. We were like kids in a candy factory at this house. ( Oh, yes it is real evergreen.)

I am going to clump the photos of rooms together because your tour should not take longer than mine. You are going to see the main room and kitchen, the bedrooms, the bunk room, the wine cellar, and the outdoors. Ready to speed walk through this home?

The home is a split level home. This is the entry hall. Up to the main room and kitchen, right to a bedroom, down to the bedrooms.

Oh my word. That main room.

Rustic, industrial, eclectic with lots of character. Those beams. Hand hewn. Vintage industrial furnishings.

The kitchen

Did I mention the farmhouse table that seats 16? Or the two-toned cabinet colors? Or the cool pendant lights?

The Bedrooms. There are Five regular bedrooms. I think. I may have missed one. All of them are pretty and are in soft blues/greens. Most of them look out on the lake. Wow. What a view.

The hallway has built in seating and beautiful cushions.

The master has two barn doors. One at the entry and one at the bathroom. Beautiful.

This light fixture was in the master in front of the windows looking out on the lake.

The Back Porch

The owner came out to point out the name of the massive fan. See the picture on the fan? It is called a Big Ass fan. I wonder how it got that name?

The Wine Cellar

Wine barrel oak ceilings, cool wine rack, live edge bar and stucco walls. I couldn’t stop staring.

The Grandkid Room

Ever see this on Pinterest?

I would LOVE to do this for our kiddos! Also we need it. Otherwise they would need to live in the bathroom. :p

Source

I have had this pinned a while. Wouldn’t it be fun in a weekend home?

I got to see it in real life on this tour.

It was so cool. Yes, I climbed the stairs between the bunks to take pictures.

This room also had a mudroom bench right off the porch so that when the kids come in wet and nasty there was a place to drop towels and stuff.

I hope you aren’t exhausted from our whirlwind visit to the Aggie house. It is hard to believe that this house is walking distance to our 950 square foot kit home built in the 1970’s with unlevel floors.

I hope you enjoyed this part of the tour.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

I am at a conference this week so the afternoons are all mine. I am enjoying the quiet time.

Blessings,

Karen

Decorating, Painted Furniture, painting, recycled furniture, Repurposed Furniture, Style

Headboard and Footboard into Bench

September 1, 2014 Karen

This past winter we got busy turning several headboard/footboard units into benches. They turned out great, but I ~~think~~ know I frustrated my husband with so many projects all at once…during prime fishing season. This particular set was purchased three years ago and has hung out in the garage waiting for me to get busy. We actually cut this one up at the same time we did the other benches but it was moved over to the “finish later” pile when I could tell I would need help moving this one around and Mr. Math was in no mood to drag it around.

Fast forward to the end of summer. I mean maybe it is not so fast, but forward progress none the less. This weekend we decided to knock it out. I call this bench our hurricane bench because it is so sturdy that the house would blow away before this beast goes anywhere. Hubby even used a 2X12 for the front cross beam.

The headboard and footboard are not old, in fact I would guess it is from the 90’s. It was in rough shape when we bought it and hanging out in the Garagemahal for three years didn’t help it any.

When I got busy on the bench the first thing I did was unscrew the wrought iron on top. I immediately started second-guessing myself. I wasn’t sure that the iron should go back on. As always, I shared my angst with my Facebook friends. They were united. It should go back on. More on that later.

I feel like I say this a lot, but we love our paint sprayer. I mean LOVE it. It makes getting paint on so fast and we have learned that we can even spray on primer.

Here are a few shots of the wood filler in the holes, the sprayer and the coming rain that kept me stressed out.

The paint color is sea salt thanks to my Facebook friends, again. I was torn between red, black or white.

The seat is deep. The slats for the seats are 23 inches long and stained with Minwax Jacobean.

I knew I wanted the bench to be heavily distressed. It turned out exactly the way I saw it in my head, in spite of the high humidity and rain showers that kept coming and going.

Here it is all finished up.

You may notice that it does not have the iron on top. In spite of my FB friends telling me to leave it on, it sold before I could finish it and the new owner didn’t want the iron on it. She lives in an area that is close to the bay and since she wants it outside on her porch she was afraid it would rust. I did take a picture of what it would have looked like with the iron in case you are wondering how it could have turned out.

We have three more headboard sets in the Garagemahal, so I guess there are more benches in my future.

While we were spraying polyurethane, we poly-ed a china cabinet that will be for sale soon. It would be really cute in a nursery.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I appreciate your comments and advice more than you will know.

Blessings,

Karen