The Ultimate Little Girl's Armoires

My wife was on Craigslist the other night when she came across 2 tv armoires for only $50! They weren't all that pretty, but she knew instantly what she wanted done to them.

We arranged pick-up in Oakland the next morning, and we were off. We got there, and took a look at them. They were just the right size. It was just the top half of what would normally be an entertainment armoire. So it was perfect.

While we were looking at them in the back of this guy's house, I noticed a furniture dolly sitting there and asked him if I could borrow it to load them. He told me not worry about that and that he would have "the guys" bring it around and load it for us. I was like wow, this is awesome, I was some "guys". (wow that sounded pretty gay, and I'm not even going to try and rephrase it, because no matter how I word it, it just sounds gay.) So the "guys" loaded it up in the truck and we were off back to Antioch.

I unloaded them and parked them in the garage until I had time to work on them. This is what I started with:
This wasn't a huge project, but it did take some time. I started by stripping all of the hardware off of it, including the hinges. I have found that I like the look of non painted hinges better. So once that was done, I primered the entire thing, inside and out with my favorite Rustoleum Primer. I then went and got a gallon of Velspar Gloss paint tinted just a little, but still very white. I then painted it all, It actually took a couple of coats on the sides to get good coverage. The one tip that I can give when using gloss or high gloss paint is dont play with it too much or it'll leave brush marks. Just brush it on, and maybe twice more, then LEAVE IT ALONE! The brush lines that are there will flatten out and it will look perfect!

So after painting the inside and out, I also added a piece of fabric to the back. There were two reasons for this; 1. I didn't have to paint the back and 2. it made it a little more girly.

And here's the finished product:

You're Off Your Rocker!

I finished most of my other projects that have been in my MIL's garage, so I was starting to get bored. I had moved a couple of children's rocking chairs around in the garage a few times, and knew that they needed to be refinished. One of them belonged to my wife's aunt Sue, and the other my MIL. I started with the one for sue. I didn't know what I was in for when I started to dissect this fine piece of craftsmanship. After removing the aged vinyl, I discovered a bird's nest of cotton and strapping. Not to mention the 200+ nails that I had to remove to get to the bones.
Here's a before:

And this is what I found under that fake cow.


Mmmm. That's nice! I had to sit and think about what to do with this once I got it all apart, and even had to consult my wife (which I actually do quite often). I didn't want to put it back the way I found it because it just wasn't right. I knew there had to be a better way. I decided to cut a piece of MDF for the back, and instead of re-upholstering it, I would just paint it. We also thought it a good idea to add a small wood detail on the back to give that little something special. (say with a lisp, its more fun)

Now for the seat. I cut another piece of MDF for that, and added a small amount of padding from the old seat, and some fabric we got from a good friend. (Thanks Lindsey E.)

So after some primer and some semi-gloss paint I was ready for reassembly. And here it is:


I know, its not all that special, but it was Sue's from when she was a kid, so its special to her.

After I showed this to my MIL, she wasn't wanting to give it back to Sue. She really wanted to keep it. I told here that I was going to redo the other rocker in her garage, and that she was probably going to like it more, so there was nothing to worry about.

I forgot to take a before picture. I just don't think about it sometimes, and I just start working on things. Gotta work on that.

With this chair I had a little more work than I was expecting. One of the arms was broken where the screw attached it to the back spindle. I had to think about how to reattach it so it would still have some strength. The answer came to me as I was taking the seat off. This rocker had old wood screws holding it together, and the screws stuck out just a touch. I didn't care for that look, especially since I was going to paint it white, so I decided to reattach everything using wooden dowels. I cut a piece of MDF for the seat since it had a big hole in it. But in order for the chair to accomodate the extra thickness of the MDF, I had to cut out some of the arm rest, and expand the notches on the two spindles on the back. It wasn't that big of a deal, but it made a huge difference I think .

So once it was all primered and painted, I set the seat on it, and attached the arm rests again. Everything fit nice and snug. I was even able to repair the large chunk of wood that was missing out of the arm rest using Liquid Nails and some wood putty. Also, all the old screw holes dissapeared with dowels, and then some putty. It made the chair look better built than it had been. Plus, regluing all the joints after all these years was probably a really good thing any way.

The chair still has some good creaks though, you know, the ones that we all love to hear from old stuff.

Here's the after.
And yes, my MIL loved it more than the one I did before. Especially the fabric. (It was left over from when I redid her cedar chest for Christmas.)

Head/ Foot Board Bench Transformation

I have been trying to think of all the projects that I have done since we got here to California. I had almost forgot about this one until I started to go through my pictures on my phone.

Here's the story on this on. My wife had my MIL buy this head and foot board at a garage sale in Danville, Ca several months ago. She paid a whole $15 for theses beauties. My wife had a seen the idea of making an old bed into a bench in some magazine. And the really funny thing is, the head and foot board she bought were the exact same ones as in the magazine. So all I had to go off of was one picture, that wasn't even very clear, so I had to plan and figure things as I went.

Unfortunately I didn't take pictures as I went along. I know, its terrible, but I get so caught up in doing that I sometimes forget to document things.

Here is the before I painted picture though:
I guess I should explain several things, and how I did them, even though I don't have pictures to help those of you who might need/ want them. In order to find the right depth, I had to do two things; first I went and measured a few other chairs to find out how deep they were. Then I took the foot board and started to play with where that depth of the seat would fall on it. So there was a compromise with depth, esthetics, and functionality. Because of how the head board sloped down, and the foot board sloped up, I was trying to marry them at just the right point so it looked like it was ment to be. So the bench isn't quite as deep as a normal seat may be, but it is mostly for looks afterall. It will be great for an entry way bench though, becuase it is on the narrow side.
Once I decided on where to cut the foot board, I had to attach it. I used a couple of screws, but then I added a few dowels as well for added strength. I also wanted to add a detail that hung down on the foot board, but I didn't want it to be right on the seat, so I took one of the side boards that came witht he bed, and cut it to place in the front. The actual seat of the bench is 1" pine board that I got at Home Depot. It cost a little, but I have been able to use other pieces of it in more projects. Plus I didn't want to get 3/4" board and have it sagging in any way. I attached this with some screws, but again I used dowels for added strength and stability (like things were made back in the day!).

So once all that was done, and I puttied in the holes, and some of the cracks, it was time to primer and paint. And what I've learned form redoing some furniture is this; 1. You DON'T have to sand things down to bare wood. 2. using a good quality of primer is ESSENTIAL (you get what you pay for, off brands). and 3. The same goes with paint and brushes. If you want it to last and look great, don't be cheap. Spend the little bit more and you will see the difference when you work with the paint.

For all fo these projects I have fallen in love with Rustoleom's 2x coverage primer and paint. It sprays great, and you truly get 2x the coverage. I aslo bought one of those spray can attachments and boy am I glad. That has saved my fingers and forearms some serious cramping and pain.

Any way, I only primered the bench for now until the wife decides what color she wants it, and if she wants to keep it, or sell it on craigslist.

Change Happens When You Look In The MIRROR

My MIL had a an older mirror laying around in her garage, so I figured that I would repaint it and sell it for her. I got too into what I was doing and forgot to take a before pic, but at least I have an after:

Here's a very important note: I haven't been the biggest fan of shabby chic-ing things that I just put a nice coat of paint on. This was actually my first time doing it. I'm not terribly proud of what I have done, but I guess that shabby chic is like sex, it sells. So I have sold out!

This next mirror was at my wife's grandfather's house. She told me to grab it and throw it in the car one day, so I did. We didn't get a perfect before, but this should work to show you what we were working with:
And after some taping, priming and paiting. Oh yeah, my wife wanted to glaze this one (another one of those artsy fartsy things) to bring out the details in it. But as we were glazing it, she kept saying that I was wiping too much of the glaze off. then when we had it finished, she said that there was too much glaze on it. Oh well, it looks pretty good. still haven't sold it as of today though. So without further ado, here it is, too much glaze and all:

So the key to redoing anything is; first, tape, then a good primer, then a good paint. And voila' you have something that was junk and is now a jewel. ( yeah I know that using voila' probably sounds gay, oh well.)

Starts in the family, stays in the family.

Like I put in the previous blog, my wife and I were trying to come up with a birthday present for my niece. My mom has offered her old cedar chest to my wife sevaeral times, but we just never had room to take it with us, until this past year. We actually redid this chest before the one we gave to Christa. I remember this chest from when I was little, and it has always had a few small problems with it. I know that it has been hard to open it, and that the back of it never sat like it was supposed to. For the past several years it has been sitting down in my parents basement and the back of it was supported with some blocks of my dad's walnut burls.

Here's the before (Color coded for easier explanation):
There was a piece of edging missing on the front left side of the chest, so we took off the remaing three pieces to make it even.
There was support missing from the back side of the chest so that when it sat on the ground it would would tumble to one side.
The front had some really dated wood accents that I took off. Again, I forgot to take a picture of it before.

This chest is from around 1939 and my mom got it from her grandmother for her 16th birthday( and no, my mom is not that old). If you want to see what it looked liked with the original wood detailing, I found one here.

After some work, this is what it ended up looking like:
We added a new handle, and some new base trim as well. It was refinished with Wal-Mart paint in country white. The temperatures in Alaska in September were getting on the cool side, so the paint took a little longer to dry and set, plus I had to deal with nats landing on the wet paint, along with birch tree seed falling on it. But after a few good coats of paint, it was good to go.

Old chest made new again.

This is a re-post from my wife's blog, but I did the work!

My wife and I were trying to come up with something special to do for our niece Christa. My mom had her old cedar chest that she wanted to keep in the family. She also had this old chest just sitting in the garage that my wife and mom picked up at some garage sale. I don't know if they got it for free or what, but I saw a challenge and wanted it to look amazing for my niece.


Well this is a mostly before picture. I started taking things off of it before I remembered to take a picture. But my wife was nice enough to label what was missing in the photo. So what did it take? Not too much really, just a little prep work, and some paint.
And here's the AFTER!

Its amazing what a little paint will do! Well, I didn't just add paint, I added some trim on the bottom, a small detail on the front (to cover the old lock hole). I also added some simple spindle feet to get it off the ground.


This is the detail we used to cover the hole. We also wanted to do something on the inside since it was just as ugly and simple as the outside. We went to Fred Meyer to see if they still made contact paper and if they did, find some with some character and would look great in this trunk. Well we found some!! So my wife lined the inside with it. I was pretty proud and amazed at what some paint and trim will do!!
So here's the before and after side by side for comparison.

Who is Pete?

This may come to a surprise to many of you... My real name is Jacob. That's the name I grew up with and was known for 20 some odd years. Here's the story behind Pete. (And no, that's not my stripper name.)

My freshman year of college I had a roommate walk up to me one day and say, "Hey Jacob you look like a Petey, I think we'll call you Petey from now on." I told him that my middle name was Peter and he could call me whatever, it was definitely better than what my brother Jeremy and his friends called me in high school, STINKY. So half my ward at college that year knew me as Petey, and the other half Jacob. Some people would get confused and think that they were two different people.

I went on my mission, came home, and when I went back to school I had a roommate named Jake. Well, a Jake and a Jacob just doesn't work all the time, so we held a meeting. I told them that I had gone by Petey before my mission, and I was fine with that. They voted between Pete, and JP, with Pete winning out.

And that's how I met my wife Jayme as, Pete. She introduced me to her whole family as Pete, and all of California for that matter. So maybe its just my California alias.

But there you have it. That's where the name Pete came from. So Jacob Christensen and Pete Christensen are on in the same.