Turning indoor wicker into outdoor..How to waterproof
17 years ago
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- 17 years ago
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Comments (19)that is sad what katrina did, wanda. some many lost so much. i hope you didnt lose any treasures.LOL, what your son said. omg! i forgot about the door, too susy. yes our attic had a door and it was always closed. that's why it was always so cold up there. at that time we didnt have oil heat or any modern heat pump. we heated our house with a big old coal stove in the cellar and there was one big grate where the heat came out in the middle of the dinning room , right near the stairway going to the second floor. you should have gone up there susy, who knows what treasure were up there from looong ago. i wonder why newer houses dont have two stairs too, dirtdiver. certainly is a good fire precaution. i remember when i was about 12 my best friends house had two stairs and the front stairs were in a hall way off the livingroom thinking back, that was such a neat house. you went in the front door to a foyer you could go left into the living room, then dining room then kitchen, or you could go straight , down a narrow hall which had the front stairs in it and a big understairs closet- which i was afraid of, haunted too!- and the hall led to the dining room. upstairs where what seemed like a bazzillion bedrooms. i think i ventured up to the 'attic' in that house one time but we were yelled at and i never got to see what was there. just remember it as sort of biiiig, open and scarey. that house had a porch off the second floor bedroom too. we used to sleep there in the summer. g...See MoreCan you use a "normal" table lamp in a screened-in porch?
Comments (21)Well I have a screen porch about 14x16 with an A shape roof with tongue and groove ceiling that follows the eves if that makes sense. It is 18 yrs old - the T&G is pine with a basically natural marine varnish - it is aged and is beautiful with the light gleaming on it at night - especially candles. It has on,y been revarnished once and it didn’t really need it but the painters were here and had the scaffolding. I used for 15+ yrs an 1865 oak table with a old oak church pew bench and 2 chairs my grandfather made. These were finished with shellac and were kept basically french polished and stayed fine even though they were in the front corner and most exposed. The polish made the difference - or you can use orange oil but you can also clean well and coat with a satin Helmsman marine varnish but orange oil on regular wood finish works great but you have to keep it up every few months. Do not use pledge - it doesn’t protect and silicones make refinishing difficult without sanding into the patina. I also have an oak fodder chopper from the 1800s with a big black iron wheel - it was also on the front portion and didn’t get the french polish mix (I ran out) for the past 5-6 yrs and I couldn’t move it due to it’s weight to get the back side. It now needs a cleaning and will get a marine varnish. The only thing that has happened where the shellac and polish was exposed to more rain mist and the sun - is it greyed. I have a southwest exposure with no trees so sun is an issue on the things on the front of the porch. Everything is still out there except the big table which is back inside doing duty. and looks like they just came from inside. They are polished now with orange oil to keep them water resistant. The cedar lamps I use out there were made by my grandfather and had shellac finish. The shellac he used was old flake type you mixed yourself not the junk in the big box stores. He used mostly orange but sometimes ruby. As far as the rain exposure - it mostly comes in about 18-24” on whatever side it is blowing if a storm. Hurricanes etc everything is grouped closer to the center and covered. Other than that such as for regular non windy showers, the floor doesn’t get wet but I have about 18” eves on the two sides but no overhang on the front portion. I have a ceiling fan that was used in the house for years (a cheap fan from lowe’s) that we put out until I could find an exterior fan I liked and could afford. That was 18 yrs ago and it still works..it was already about 7-8 yrs old mind you. So the rain and moisture has only affected the ball chain but if I wipe it off with wd40 paper towel it cleans it up and holds it for another couple yrs. I do have GFCI outlets 3 on the inside of the porch and 2 on the outside of the porch with a breaker in the box that turns the back and front porch outlets on and off if needed. I use regular household lamps table and floor lamps- for the same reason someone else mentioned - the exterior lamps I have seen I don’t like - just too modern for my taste or too spanish, etc. And way too expensive as in $600-700+ for anything I kinda could use. They are plugged into the GFCI outlets and I would recommend these for anything plugged into a “wet” environment. I am getting ready to put out a pair of marble lamps and I would suggest to try and find lamps that are of stone, or iron. If wood - just polish and clean with orange oil. The nice thing with old wood is it might be old oak or walnut or mahogany - that do better with weather. Windows that lasted 100+ yrs and even longer in Europe and can be refinished last a another 100 yrs - were made of old growth mahogany, walnut and oak. Mahogany is terrific for furniture too - heavy. I’m thinking of rewiring my lamps due to age and will use exterior wire and fittings from an electrical supply house - they are all mostly 60+ yrs old and the ones on the porch have had 18 yrs of damp so probably time. On the shades - the ones from walmart, target will give you at least 6-8+ yrs yrs provided you brush them off and put them away when winter or bad storms hit. You can buy the shades that you cover in fabric yourself - there is the frame and a “shade” that you remove the film to expose the sticky surface that you attach your fabric too. I like these as I can coordinate it with my fabric on the walnut settee cushions but I don’t find these last as long. If you have old lamp forms, it really isn’t hard to remove shabby fabric and install/sew on new fabric - any will work but if you find a sunbrella fabric that is really helpful. It is just lately - I haven’t like their patterns. Like I say, you can use old shades - if silk and in good shape - wouldn’t use those as they are too valuable. Even paper will work - but spray the inside and outside with exterior water based clear varnish or whatever they call it. There are ones made to use on paper. Also spraying the metal frames before recovering will help with rust. Everything on my porch from Jan through pollen is orange oiled, pulled to the center and covered with cotton sheets and then tarps with the tarps pulled under the legs to secure. By Jan 1, it is too cold to be out there and I always have the iron table and chairs and bench that is on the connecting deck to sit and enjoy nice days. Hope this information helps both with lamps and furniture....See MoreFinally.. working on my balcony!
Comments (135)It looks fabulous. So cozy! As for indoor stuff outdoors, well the biggest issue is moisture. I take in anything that is fabric over the damp months. Also, I make sure any fabric out there is washable. That's the tricky part, when it comes to the cushions. This year I treated everything that was not washable with a mite powder with tannic acid. It didn't stain. For some things I mixed it with baking soda. Leave it on for 3 hours and then vacuum off. Mold and mildew is my biggest battle here in humid MI. I am now in the process of washing all my wicker with a bleach solution. Sigh....See Moremaster bath paint color help
Comments (161)Red, I painted furniture w/Emerald once and did not like it. there are much better options that are easier to work with. General finishes milk paint is very nice on wood furniture. BM Advance lays down a better finish. even the ProClassic is better to work with. Amy, I'd either go darker, (these two listed below are a bit more bronze-y than Urbane bronze) or, do a very creamy white/almond. You need some pattern too. How about a similar run like one of these, or taupe/bronze/almond towels? I think a plant on the vanity w/tall stems, maybe a wicker basket w/folded towels over around the tub, along w/ a tall green plant in the corner would finish off the look. https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-best-paint-colours-for-an-almond-bathroom/ check out the link above. Check talks about working w/almond colors in the bathroom. This one is Kingsport Gray on the vanity. It works w/almond and prob w/your stone. Darker colors like Urbane bronze (which has more brown) and IronOre which leans a little more charcoal w/brown undertone I really like some of these too you can pick out one of the bluer color in the pebbles if you like. it would be a nice contrast color MtEtna should be a perfect match to that color in you pebbles....See More- 17 years ago
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