It's the Little things....The Surprises That Sweeten Our Days

I awoke this morning, not really knowing what the day was going to hold as it relates to my blog. Working so hard on my Hall Tree Transformation, I hadn't really planned anything else this week.  Plus, I am seriously tired from the physical labor of it all.  If you are a blogger, you understand that thinking about the next blog post can sometimes be a little daunting, especially on the heels of a large project.  I have found that somehow, the idea comes to me like a little angel. 

As I am sifting through the many wonderful comments about my Hall Tree, in the back of mind I am thinking, "What to write today."  I walk out back looking around at my garden and potted plants making sure that all is well.  Living in South Florida in the warmer months means watering more often or risk losing plants.  This can happen very quickly and I find myself checking in visually at least once a day.   As I walk around the backyard, I get super excited to see that my white frangipani Tree is starting to produced it's once-a-year coveted blooms!  I love this tree.  My kids gave it to me 9 years ago for Mother's Day and I dug it up from the last home and transferred it here.  I also have a pink frangipani that has been in bloom for about two weeks, but I especially love the white, velvety petals of the white.  I think to myself, "What a nice surprise today." 

I turn around and head back in when something out of the corner of my eye catches me.  I couldn't believe it!  The exotic hibiscus that I thought was never going to bloom for me again had produced a fabulous flower!  I have other hibiscus throughout my backyard, but this one is a special hybrid that I bought direct from a guy who scientifically creates blends in his own backyard nursery.  I think, "Wow, another surprise.  I must get outdoors this weekend and enjoy this."

So I venture back inside for my second cup of coffee before having to jump in the car to drop kids at school.  I sit down to write this blog post.  I get interrupted by my friend, Helena, knocking on the door bringing me a bag of the most beautiful mangoes!  She knows how much I love them and the first weeks in June are when mangoes are ripe and ready to pick and eat.  I got goosebumps.  I mean, come on people, another surprise?!  Wow.  Such a totally cool morning I am having over here.....

I guess I could have turned on the television today and become annoyed by whatever news is being reported.  I guess I could have just sat inside stewing over what to write, instead of simply walking around my backyard.  But, I would have never had these moments....these tiny moments when nothing really matters but that my frangipani and hibiscus plants came to surprise me this morning.  Top it off with a neat, thoughtful gift from nature brought to me by someone special too.  You know what?  It's the little things.....it's the little surprises that sweeten our days.....  Get out there and create a time for the special little surprises to happen to you too.  I've got some mangoes to enjoy.....maybe I will make salsa......

-The End-

Linking this project to:

Hall Tree Reveal: It's All Over But The Waxing

 

-Before-

This Hall Tree is something that I picked up about 12 years ago.  It has sat at the front door my last four homes. I have used the small table top to display all sorts of decorative 'welcome' items and even used it as a sign in area for meetings. Unfortunately, it is a super large piece of furniture and it has been overwhelming my front door/dining area ever since we moved into this home.  My entryway is just not as large as the other homes.  When we started the project to paint the interior of the house a few months ago, I knew that it was either time for this Hall Tree to go or time to find it another location.   I decided to bring it up into the master suite as an entry piece.  In the image above it is sitting in the master bedroom looking rather unloved and undecorated.

As soon as the guys set the piece down, I knew it was staying.  I also knew that my work was cut out for me.  You see, I am in the middle of a complete re-decorating of the master bedroom and bath.  We are going from a red and green with dark wood color scheme to an all white and neutral color scheme. 

I decided to paint this piece in Sherwin William's Alabaster.  The four poster bed, which I haven't revealed to you yet, is painted with Annie Sloan's Old White and is heavily distressed.  For this piece, I didn't want to distress it very much, if any.  With all the details in the carvings, I knew the white paint would help pop those features. I didn't want to busy it up with added distressing.

I started by removing the old hardware, including the four hooks.  I picked out new drawer and door pulls in a silver nickel finish.  I also masked off the mirrors, something I would later regret. 

Primed and drying

I primed with Annie Sloan's Paris Grey because someone out on the blogs mentioned that they were using it as primer and it worked great.  I didn't have the same results unfortunately. 

After a day for the 'primer' to set, I painted 2 to 3 coats of the Alabaster, sanding between coats.  The third coat was needed because I had a hard time getting the Sherwin Williams paint to bond to the Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint.  A real mess, let me tell ya.  I won't make that mistake again.  The two products do not pair well together at all.

As I painted I tried to make sure and leave the deep details in the carvings exposed.  I waited at least a half day between coats.

I sprayed the four hooks to match the hardware.  I used Rustoleum's All Surface Metallic Spray Paint in Satin Nickel.  I was super pleased with the results.  The match was so exact, it made my heart skip a beat!

Poor masking and poor
adhesion with the primer.

Then there came.....taking off of the masking. Oh my!  Earlier in the process, I got lazy and decided to butt up paper, instead of just using my trusted blue tape, to the sides of the mirrors.  In some places, I even worked the paper between the mirror and the outer wood trim where I could.  What a mistake!  I should have known.  Cutting corners rarely works and in this case, it made a ton of work in the cleaning up process.  I mean, just look at this mess that it created!  I had to use an exacto knife to painstakingly remove the mess, some of which is still stuck under the outer wood work!  

Ugg! That stuck paper!

With all the extra work, it was still so worth the results.  In the end, I decided to distress by sanding a few of the details.  For the most part, I did not distress the table top, the edges or any large areas.  I really wanted a cleaner look.  Plus, just the size of this piece is overwhelming.  It doesn't need the extra noise.  

I still need to put a few coats of wax on it.  But, for the most part it is complete.  I will be using clear BriWax for those of you who are wondering.   I am also planning on using a few coats of MinWax's Wipe on Poly (satin) on the table top.  I love the finish that the Wipe on Poly affords. The added durability is a plus too.  

So for the full reveal.... (by the way, notice the pale yellow swatch on the left wall next to the Hall Tree in the first image.  That is going to be the new room color.)

-After-

The next step in this project is to get the walls painted.  The pale yellow is a formula that I came up with through trial and error this week.  I will talk more about that later.  If you are wondering why I haven't shown the bed, the reason is quite simple.  I really want to wait to get the room painted to show it.   I hope you like my Hall Tree.  I am super please with the outcome. 


I am getting so excited about this master bedroom! I feel like I am in the home stretch!  Stay tuned.....

-The End-
Linking this project to:

Stuck in the Middle with You

Clowns to the left of me!
Jokers to the right!
Here I am stuck in the middle with you.

I have been humming this tune to myself all day.  Why?  Well, because I am stuck right in the middle of several projects, none of which are ready to show you.  I am stuck right here.  No 'real' blog post to think about.....except this one, I guess...... 

Even though I am stuck in the middle, I am feeling more like the clown and/or the joker from the song.  So, I guess I will keep it short, but sweet.  Show a couple of images and skeedat!

Decided against the white wall colors and am opting for a pale yellow.  The white just wasn't doing it for me.  Living with this new swatch for a day or so.  I know that I am attempting an all white room, but this is just the upper half of the wall above the bead board and I think a little pale yellow will still allow for the feeling of all white.  We shall see....

Here is a sneak peek at the Hall Tree.  I have gotten the final coat of Alabaster white completed.  I am making decisions of materials to proceed with for antiquing.  I have also sprayed the gold hooks in a pewter color that matches the new hardware that I bought.  I wanted to finish this today for a reveal, but I am just not going to rush this project. 

I was held up a little in my process because I had to spend extra time making sure that I drill the new holes for the drawer handle precisely correct.  As you can see in the image below, the old hole and the new hole were super super close.  I had to wait until the fill in the older hole hardened, or risk collapsing the tiny bit of wood between the two holes.

I am right on the verge (or stuck in the middle) of completing the four poster bed and dressing the bed. I am actually done with the bed, just haven't switched out the bedding.  I have been collecting white and off white bed linens and accent pillows over the past three months.  I am sort of tired of them laying around and can't wait to get them on this bed!!



Little detail that I am
working on....

As soon as I have something concrete finished, I will post the reveal.  I have my fingers crossed that I will have an entire reveal of the Hall Tree tomorrow.  But, I gotta get going.  It's not fun looking like a clown and a joker..... 

-The End-