a vintage window.....

rummaging around in my friend lisa's parent's barn loft last summer was so amazing.  there were stacks of old windows leaning up against the wall.  I think that they were originally part of the house that they are now in the process of renovating.

i found this one...

it was so dirty that i thought that the glass was opaque and didn't realize that there was clear glass until i brought it home and started cleaning it.  

what i loved about it and the reason that i picked this particular one was that the original paint had turquoise overtones.  and because it was really dark in the barn loft, i didn't realize how really cool it was until i got out into the sunlight.

it had just the right amount of age and vintage charm. and of course, that great 1930's or 40's turquoise paint...

after cleaning it up, the glass was in perfect condition.  i guess all of that dirt helped to protect it, right?  i didn't do anything to this window besides cleaning the glass...all of that paint is the original aging and patina on the wood....it's fabulous! 

I found the perfect wall for it in my house...

the room that had it's name all over it....this wall was just begging for something to fill it.

but this window was big (57 x 24 in) and heavy so i needed to hang it carefully.  

i found some heavy duty hanging hardware at home depot.  i normally would have just used one on each end but i thought maybe i had better not take any chances.  i decided to disperse the hanging tension by adding the hardware to each pane.  

thankfully, the studs in the wall fell into the right place to center this window on the wall.  

it filled the space perfectly....

and added the perfect amount of vintage "grunge" and flaky paint patina

to the otherwise clean look of the room.

thanks again to walt and penny (lisa's parents) for allowing me

access to your treasure trove of a barn.....

and gifting me with this amazing piece of your history...

the laundry room revisited....

i think that this room has to be the one i am most proud of in my little diy portfolio.....

the before: 

yuk!!! 

(and i am the one who painted it like that in the first place....

i can't even blame it on the previous owners of the home because we bought it new).

i had ideas for the room swirling around in my brain for a long time.  i just wanted light and bright...i considered painting the room white.  that was a fleeting thought...what would my family and friends say....the girl with the easter egg house.....(so named because of the bright colors we painted when when we first moved into the house).  then i fell in love with turquoise.  hard.  i am sure that the inspiration for the paint came from the blue mason jars i love so much.

so i mixed the color myself from a can of  $5.00 oops paint.

when i started redoing the room, more ideas kept popping into my head and i just went with them.  

a chandelier in the laundry room???  who does that? 

i do..

(look at that bling bling)

tiffany blue walls in the laundry room??? who does that?

i do...

mason jars styled, photographed as art and framed?? who does that?

i do....

board and batten treatment in the laundry room??  who does that?

well, i saw lots of people who had done that in their houses so i figured i could do that too, so, 

i did....

and i did it all by myself...

well........almost.

don hung the chandelier 

because ever since i stuck a butter knife into a lamp socket when i was about 9 years old,  

i am afraid of electricity...

even if the power is off.  

and he helped me use the nail gun for the board and batten ledge 

because that thing is scary, 

especially when it blew the air into my face when i pulled the trigger.....

it scared the bejeebers outta me....

 i am, however, very proud of the fact that 95% of the work was done by yours truly.....

the planning, the painting, the woodwork and the decor....

 i love the room.  everyone that has come over to the house loves the room.  

it makes you want to do the laundry.

sigh......

there have been a few changes in the room since it was first transformed.  

most have been cosmetic changes, changing out the decor and adding other girly touches...

glass containers to hold detergent and oxyclean....

a wire basket to hold towels

and more of my favorite blue mason jars.

i made a little cover from a vintage sheet for the shoe storage cube. 

    the picnic basket holds gloves, scarves and hats for winter. 

i had an old half circle table cloth with lace trim that i added to the roman shade.

my friend lisa's parents have an old barn where i found this window.  the glass was so dirty that i thought it was opaque....when i washed it i realized that the glass was perfect.  the paint is original.  it was turquoise.  i didn't have to do anything to this window to get it to look like it does.  

the patina and rust on this frame is gorgeous and they let me take the window for free....

(thanks walt and penny)  

the one thing that i don't like rust and patina on is my washing machine.  

especially one that is only about 9 years old.  

of course, don tried to fix it. using caulk . which as you can see didn't work very well.

that lovely orange below??  rust!!  

i know that 9 years is a long time for appliances nowadays but it drives me crazy that the lid of my washer rusted.  

so i am entering a contest to win PartSelect’s $5000 GE Giveaway contest for new appliances

because a new washer and dryer would be the icing on the cake in this beautiful laundry room!
and
because my dishwasher is on it's last leg.....

i am keeping my fingers crossed to win. someone has to win, right?  why not me??

wish me luck!!!!

the ugly bench......

started out as a roadkill roadside rescue last fall.  i got a little anxious to get started then and didn't get a picture until i started hacking away at it with a saws-all.

note the lovely 1970's fabric at the front of the seat.  and the thick, chunky, dark brown style.  

i hacked and hacked......

and then i primed.....

and primed again.....

and then it sat.......all winter long because it was too big to bring into the house and it was too cold in the garage to finish it.

but then lisa saw it......

and wanted it for her patio....

so i painted it.

and gave it someplace to place cushions on...

and painted it some more.  

but man, that thing was bright.....

so i toned it down with a little black stain that i got at home depot on their "oops paint" table for 

$.50.  fitty cent, as they say.

and it toned it down just enough for the beautiful cushions and pillows lisa sewed for it....

not bad for a piece of crap, right?

stay tuned for a photo shoot reveal in the next post.

i am volunteering for austen's 8th grade breakfast at school this morning....it should be a fun time....

but...

i head out to cedar pointe amusement park tomorrow for austen's last day of school class trip.  

now that's my kind of chaperone duty~!!!

more great thrift store finds....

i have been looking for small chairs for kids to use as photography props.  i have used full sized chairs in the past but wanted something smaller and with arms for my little ones.

i found this one at a church garage sale...for two dollars.

i have always love the jenny lind style of furniture so i was really happy to find this chair.

this color of blue photographs so nicely in any setting.  it looks great with grass green, sky blue and any color of flower that i would plop it in front of...

i liked it but love a more vintage and worn out look so i hacked at it with the sandpaper....

i love how it turned out but i want to glaze some of the sanded marks a little more.  

i needed it for a photo shoot so i didn't get a chance to do that yet.

but it photographs beautifully!!!

and it fit baby j. just perfectly...more on his adorable family later.

a new goodwill store opened near my house a couple of weeks ago.  i went on opening day and it was packed with people and goodies. 

 i found the furniture to be a little pricey but found a cool candelabra. it's about 12 inches tall and

the little holes at the bottom of the arms hold a string of crystals that i thought were plastic.  when i cleaned them up, i was amazed at how beautiful they were....

perfect little faceted glass crystals

and i couldn't believe the price,  $1.79.  

these candle holders were a bargain too, at just .99 apiece. they are heavy and beautiful.

the one on the right shows what it looked like after i cleaned it up with some silver cleaner.

these are a couple of finds from the garage sale last week that i didn't show in the last post.

a pair of brass wall sconces.  i love how ornate they are.  

 now i just need to find some glass shades for them.

 i fell in love with this sampler.....and since i'm from michigan, i had to have it.

 i love that it was stitched by an 8 year-old girl

 and that she misspelled pleasant....  :)

i need to find a way to clean this though, because i think that there is mold in the area of her name.  does anyone know how to clean something like this without ruining it?  any tips would be very helpful. 

and finally, our long awaited spring finally produced my favorite lilacs......

i hope everyone has a great memorial day weekend.