This is part two of my recently completed home improvement and décor projects overview. I decided to compile my more recent spring projects here. Several were actually completed at the beginning of quarantine. At the beginning of the stay-at-home order I was quite productive. This will get the blog up to date on our recent projects. I am excited to share them with you. Let me know what you think!
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1. Fireplace refacing
We can’t take too much of the credit for this transformation, but we did do some of the prep work. Our 100-year-old home has three great wood-burning fireplaces with gas starters, but unfortunately the one in the living room was an unappealing shade of pinkish-purple. We didn’t want to spend thousands of dollars replacing the marble when it would just be an aesthetic change, so our designer recommended that we have a professional muralist repaint the fireplace.
The artist we worked with had previously worked for a light fixture company doing marble fabrication painting and had painted several other fireplaces for our designer. Prior to her arrival, we had to sand down the existing marble with a high grit sandpaper to ensure the paint would adhere. Then, at the recommendation of the Sherwin Williams representative, used an extreme bond primer. I did two coats of primer because the original marble was such a dark color. We then used the recommended industrial paint for high heat surfaces as a base because it is a working fireplace.
Once all of that was completed, the artist was able to add the marble effect. After she was finished, we covered the newly painted surround with a water-based poly (again, at the recommendation of the paint store representative). We are pleased with the final result which we think fits in with the overall aesthetic of the room (and decade) much better.
2. Custom window treatments
I planned for months to make Roman Shades for our morning room and upstairs landing. These windows are located in the back of the house and get a lot of hot afternoon sun as the house is east-facing. In the summer, this results in both of these areas being significantly warmer than the rest of the house. Because the house is very old, none of the windows are standard sizes. It wasn’t possible to find prefabricated window treatments that are the correct size, so I decided to make them myself.
With the help of my designer, I picked out some fabrics. In the morning room, we chose Duralee pattern 15638 in color 206-navy and on the landing we used the Fabricut Capri fabric in color 102. I purchased black-out lining from Joann Fabrics and the grosgrain ribbon trim from Amazon. After doing some research online, I decided to follow the online tutorial by Sailrite. They also offer an online fabric calculator which was very helpful. I purchased most of my supplies from them (the video tutorial clearly lists all required items) but I actually purchased wooden and metal dowel rods from Home depot for significantly less than the cost of the plastic and metal rods offered by Sailrite. The Heat’n Bond that I used to secure the ribbon was purchased from Amazon.
I have to say, as a casual sewer, this project was tricky- primarily because of the size. It was difficult to cut the fabric and ensure everything was square. It was also quite an expensive project- but still less than half of what it would have cost to have them custom made by a professional. Overall, I am very happy with the results. With the blackout lining, they keep out a lot of the sunlight and I am hopeful they will help reduce our energy consumption this summer.
3. Vintage piano bench restoration
We have been looking for a small bench for our guestroom for quite a while. Just before quarantine began, we found a well-worn vintage piano bench at a local antique store. The bench had been painted black at some point and the paint was badly scratched, so we decided to strip it down to its original color.
This was my first time stripping a piece of furniture. After doing some research, we decided to use Citristrip to remove the paint. It is easy to use and didn’t create terrible fumes. After applying the product and letting it sit for about an hour, I used a putty knife to scrape away the finish. It was a bit messy but very effective. Once the paint was removed, I decided that I liked the original color of the piece despite some uneven tones left behind by inconsistencies in the paint saturation. I did my best to iron out the worst dents (using the method that I describe in my vanity restoration post). When then covered the piece in a wax finish to help protect it. I am really happy with the finished piece and look forward to guests using it (when it is finally safe to travel and have visitors).
4. Craft room pegboard
When we refinished the basement last fall, we were able to use part of the unfinished portion to create a craft room. I love it and use it regularly. I wanted to have some storage near my workspace from which I could easily access my tools, so Brian and I decided to install a pegboard. In an effort to reduce waste, we re-used some pegboard that we had taken out of the garage. However, you can easily purchase pegboard at your local hardware store.
First, Brian cut the pegboard to the desired size. Next, we cut furring strips (1” x 2” boards) to create a ‘frame’ for the back of the pegboard. This is important because the board must be about an inch off of the wall in order for the hooks to be inserted into the pegboard holes. You can find numerous tutorials on how to do this online. Once the furring strips were added to the back of the pegboard, we added a veneer edging on the side of the board. Brian then cut some molding to make a decorative frame on the front of the pegboard to make it look more polished. I painted everything white using leftover furniture paint from my morning room table project. We then we installed it and added the frame.
I haven’t yet worked out how to best organize my tools, but you can find lots of pegboard accessory kits online. For now, I have more storage than I need- but I’m sure that my collection of crafting supplies will continue to grow over time.
Concluding thoughts
If you want to read about some other home improvement projects we have done, you can check out our winter home improvement projects post or look at our vintage kitchen buffet update.
Although I am already back to work a few days a week, we hope to continue working on more home improvement and décor projects. This will be much easier now that the warmer temperatures allow us to complete projects outside. What projects are you planning for your home this summer?
I am so glad you visited us at Jack and Bax. If you haven’t already done so, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter (sign up available either on the right sidebar or at the bottom of the page). And please follow me on Instagram and Facebook so that you don’t miss any of my upcoming projects!
