NEW WOOD PLANK WALL

Well it seems that everyone is crazy about wood plank walls these days.

And I am no different. I've always liked the look. Left unpainted

they remind me of a cabin, but painted they remind me

of a farmhouse and that's the look I love. So I decided to go for it and

plank a wall in my bedroom.

Here is the after shot.

But lets look at the before story.

Here is what the wall looked like before the installation of the wood.

  It was a pretty blue, which I loved also.

Here's more of a closeup.

So to get started let me tell you what I did.

I had been looking on pinterest at other sites that had planked a wall.

Some used plywood cut in strips. (more work than I wanted)

Some used actually ship lap boards. 

Then there was plain pine boards. Which I thought about using but I thought

was too expensive and more money than I wanted to put into one wall.

Then I came upon a blog called Stonegable that had used

tongue and grove beadboard planks. Only they had used the back side instead of the

beadboard side. And the best thing was it was half the price of a standard pine board.

They came from Home Depot.

Below is the info about the wood.

Here's the profile of the boards.

See how the tongue and groove fit together.

This is the front side which is a nice look.

Just not what I was going for.

Here's the back side and the look I was going for.

Of course the first thing I had to do was find all the studs and mark them.

Then I started installing. There were two boards to each run.

I just staggered them long-short, then short-long.

It all went fairly quick considering it was a one woman job.

I did have to wait until my husband could rip the top boards before I could finish.

So it took me a day to install. (Remember I was working alone.)

With two people it would take no time at all.

The instructions said to nail into the tongue part of the board

but they were so thick I decided to just nail directly into the boards.

To me it seemed more stable.

The next step was to spot prime the knot holes.

Then I primed the whole wall and added two top coats of semi-gloss.

Here's the end result.

Another look-see.

Here's a close-up.

I added a strip of lattice molding in the corners.

I am so pleased with the outcome.

A little bit farmhouse.

Hope my instructions will help you to try it too!

I'm being featured in a digital magazine called
DIY Decorating Addict Magazine if you'd like to check it out.

Hope you enjoy.

For although the law was given through Moses,

grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

John 1:17

REDOING THE STAIRS

This is what my stairs look like now.

Read below the story of how this was accomplished.

One thing I've been getting rid of through the years

is all the stained woodwork in my home.

We built our home in the early 80's when

everything ( and I mean everything) was stained.

It makes everything soooo dark.

So all the windows, trim, doors and kitchen cabinets have been

painted over the years. 

Something I have never, ever regretted.

So I decided another thing to paint was the trim on my stairs.

As you can see below the risers, treads and side trim are all stained.

I decided not to paint the risers just in case someone in the future wanted them stained

(obviously not me)

plus since it had a runner not all the riser would be painted

 so I custom cut some thin plywood to attached on each side of the runner.

Then I painted them all before I installed them with a nail gun.

Here's a picture in progress.

Here's some pictures of the stairs all finished.

I think the white paint really brightens them up.

A nice fresh look.

I will sing of your love and justice;

to you, O Lord,

I will sing praise.

Psalm 101:1

GO PANTHERS

KEEP POUNDING

GO PANTHERS!!!

Be thankful in all circumstances.

This is what God wants from you in your life

in union with Christ Jesus.

I Thess. 5:18

STYLING A COFFEE TABLE

Hello everyone.
 I was recently introduced to Chairish,

you can go to their site here.

https://www.chairish.com/collection/cocktail-and-coffee-tables
And since I love repurposed and vintage furniture,
it was no surprise that I jumped at the invitation
to take part in their "Coffee Table Style Challenge."

Well, being the repurpose and recycle girl that I am, I just decided 

to go throughout my house and come up with some ideas using things

I already had.

MY NEW BARN DOOR

One thing I wanted for Christmas was a barn door for my closet.

I have a small closet and the door swings inside

making the area behind the door kind of useless.

Well, I got my barn door.

And here it is.

It was made from a recycled door that I had stored

in the basement for about 20 years.

This door used to be upstairs leading down to the basement

and I had replaced it with a french door.

And you know I don't throw anything away.

So my barn door was free.

This is where the barn door will go.

Here's a look at the opening after the molding

around the door has been removed.

Another look.

To install we put up a 1X6 to attach the

barn door hardware to.

Here the hardware has been attached.

It's pretty straight forward.

We ordered the hardware from Lowes.

After I primed and painted the door 

we attached the hardware to it.

Then we lifted the wheels on top of the rail.

For the hardware to open and close the door

I used something I had gotten a year ago from Hobby Lobby.

I think it looks really old.

Here's a copy of all the hardware involved.

After adding the molding on the sides I caulk and painted

and it was finished.

And heres another look at the finished door.

I love it!

My Spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

He has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

Luke 1:47-48

I am co-hosting and being featured today at finecraftguild.com. Be sure to go to her site and check out all the great posts she has. Thank you so much Rose for this opportunity.

CHRISTMAS AROUND THE MOON'S

Merry Christmas.

Thought I'd show you some of my Christmas Decorations

around my house.

Hope you enjoy.

This is my new coat rack decorated with my sparkly trees.

Whoooooo's ready for Christmas.

This lamp gets changed with the seasons.

Now it's full of Christmas balls.

It's kinda hard to get a good shot of my mantel,

but this look will carry me not just through Christmas

but through the whole winter season.

I thought this arrangement showed up really

well against my wood wall.

One of my all time favorites is this mercury glass tree.
It sits in my kitchen window.

I got it at Homegoods years ago.

I decorate our tree with ornaments as old as way back in my childhood.

There's plenty of ornaments that my kids made

and now my grandchildren.

I do buy one or two new ones each year.

This is our moon tree. There are a few stars but

the majority are moon ornaments. I buy any moon

ornaments I can find each year. And they are hard to find.

My son-in-law always makes me a new moon ornament

each year.

This is a pottery nativity scene that I've had for years and years.

The stable was made by my dad.

It sits on my piano table.

This is a shallow cabinet that my dad built 

probably 30 years ago to fit in a special spot.

I just put some natural greenery and berries

in with my blue and white collection.

Well that's the end of my tour of decorations.

Merry Christmas to everyone

from my home to yours.

Hope you enjoyed.

Happy New Year.

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father

Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

NEW/OLD TABLE DECORATED FOR CHRISTMAS

Though I'd share how my new/old table is decorated for Christmas.

I "borrowed" some branches of magnolia from

a neighbor and cut some berries from my nandina bushes.

Then put them in my green mason jars.

Here's another view.

I replaced the big leather chairs I had before

with some white ones I had in storage.

I can seat more around the table with these.

Plus they don't take up as much room visually.

And they make for a brighter look.

With the bench I can easily seat 14.

If I put 2 on each end it becomes 16.

Well there you have it.

I think she looks especially festive and lovely.

I love this table:)

Mightier than the thunder

of the great waters,

mightier than the breakers of the sea-

the Lord on high is mighty.

Psalm 93:4