Thank you, Outside!

I cannot wait to get that dang grill off the patio, too!

LOVE!

As a side note, I think those metal curlicue railings and columns are much underappreciated. They were unfortunately the "Modern Farmhouse" equivalent back in the 50's ubiquitous and overdone, so Boomers got sick of them. Though not appropriate everywhere, I like their smaller footprint against smaller ranch homes, much more so than fake craftsman details made out of particle board . . . at least the aluminum or steel can be recycled and repurposed . . . voila! If I had been able to find one, I would have installed a railing in that style along my back steps at my last house. Small stairway, small footprint railing would have been a good match, IMHO.

Thank you, Pink!

I love those metal columns, too. We found a pair in perfect condition a while back ... painted them brown, and attached them to our wood patio columns.

The original ad:

One of them:

We’re renting this house, and taking them with us when we leave! :)

So fun! I love these creative ideas and miss our days of creative re-use. Hopefully as we come out of this pandemic the old spark will return. Keep showing yours - it's contagious!

Wow, that’s going to be wonderful!
And here I thought it was going to be something for your bathroom and I was going to suggest this to go with it (LOL!)

What a fantastic idea! And that sink is gorgeous!! In storage?! The shame. :)

Totally agree about the metal curlicue columns. (Unless they're the wrong scale for the house.) So many elements like that end up being almost reviled yet there's beauty there, imo. Speaking of metal objects being under appreciated, who has that pretty metal chandelier with flowers? (I think it was metal..?) Well, according to the latest issue of Canadian House and Home, tole lighting is "back". ;-) People are scouting 1st Dibs and the like for originals.

Thanks, ladies!

DLM, I’ve missed it, too. Because we‘re currently renting, I’m very limited on my projects! So we try to do things we can take with us when we find a house. But it’s hard!

Lynn, haha! I’ll have two sinks back there, so just need a tub and toilet planter to get an outdoor bathroom going. 😆

Tartan, I love those tulip chandeliers! I think ilikefriday has one in her kitchen? Looks awesome!

That is going to look so cool Jinx!

Thanks, Jana!

Of course we chose to do a lumber project when prices are sky-high. 😄

DH is in the building trade, so hopefully will be able to find a good source ... or we’ll find someone taking a barn or fencing down. I’m really torn on how rustic I want it. I’m leaning towards *not* so rustic, and wanting a nice stain. Class this joint up!

That's me Tartan. So maybe Audrey can find a home when we are ready. Now I think I need to strike while the iron is hot to sell her for big retro bucks . . . the only reason I dislike Audrey so much is it is not in keeping with what I envision for the room. Here she is above our dining room table. Carpet is going out in there and I envision new paint, possibly grasscloth textured, and no more blue wall of blinds . . . I'm going for an Japanese tinged early MCM vibe. Chairs and table are 80's but they grew on me, unlike Audrey the tulip themed chandelier. Below what I would like instead . . . at least so far. Also possible something more geometric with paper like shade . . .

I love Audrey, but understand wanting a change ... the one you want would look great in there!

And glad you’re keeping the chairs. I’m obsessed with any furniture that has caning.

We've had to redo the caning on the backs of most of them. Canework is HECK to stain!! As you can see, they have their original tatty-by-now lime green seat coverings. That has to go . . . never liked it even at first, but mom did, back in the gold, orange, green era. That's why I'm not getting rid of them . . . solid wood and time invested already in upkeep. Audrey came with the house, on the other hand . . . I dream of someday getting crafty and ambitious and creating fabric seat covers for the chairs that I could switch out. I like to use linens and such to change the look of the dining room frequently. That's why I want the blue carpet and blinds gone asap for something more neutral. Plan is for wood flooring to match parlor floor. Carpet came with the house along with Audrey.

I mean, anyone that names their chandelier Audrey is pretty much a rock star in my book. 😍

A little side project for my sink herbs ... it took me a couple of days, but I have enough corks (6) saved up for this. I just need the skewers.

DH’s quick sketch plan... we’re going to go to the old home supply place for corbels and finials (kind of make it like a piece of furniture) ...

This will look amazing! I've done the wine cork skewers but the Sharpie did fade on them.

Love your sink and your creativeness! I am concerned about how fast you are collecting those corks😂

Thank you, gchick! I’m glad you warned me about the Sharpie ... I was wondering about that, and will seal them (some Mod Podge or spray sealer). Hopefully that’ll work, if not I’ll just have corks on skewers and no one will know why. 😄

Thanks, lizbeth! Haha, you caught that. 😂

Oh, this is going to be absolutely adorable! You and the Mr. are both so incredibly talented with great vision! Can't wait to see how you put that together. And if your Talavera birdbath ever goes missing, you might have to come look in my yard. That is just the cutest thing ever! 😍

Thank you, Ida!

You have to get the birdbath! It’s at the town with initials MW. Definitely worth a day trip!

Her store is in an old house on the main drag — you can’t miss it, you’ll see all the Talavera outside. And you two could do some light hiking at the state park! It’s so beautiful right now. :)

My Dad was in the scrap business. He would LOVE your planter Jinx!

As a side note, I think I may be one of the only people who had a recycled livestock watering tank as her kiddie pool growing up . . .

Is that round circle in the scheme going to be the sink? That is going to be so awesome! I have a baker's rack for my potting bench, but it is a chrome one I used to have in my old house so not groovy and hand made like yours is going to be . . .

Oh, and if you're ever needing wine corks, I have a gazillion. Hubs is a wino . . .

Did I just hear "FEED ME" coming from the dining room . . . ?!

Pink, thank you! Yes, that’s where the sink will go.

You made me remember the livestock tanks as pools! We had one on the family ranch. We also kept goldfish in them for algae— they’d get huge!

There was a big pond on the ranch we‘d jump in sometimes, but it had a lot of snakes.

Thank you, Jinx! A friend at work was just raving about hiking and bouldering at MW State Park over the past weekend. Will definitely have to plan a day trip.

Done! It’s currently drizzling out, I might go out there tomorrow to smeared ink and soaked corks. :D

Of course this is just for looks, my herbs aren’t exotic enough that no one would know what’s what.

What a gorgeous garden you have, Jinx! That birdbath and surrounding area is TDF. Creating beautiful area for wildlife to gather is my favorite part of garden planning. I love your project and can't wait to see more pictures. The herbs look fabulous.

Thank you so much, Zalco! I love planting for pollinators. :)

That looks fabulous! Bravo! (And I wouldn't really know what's what with herbs. I recognize basil but I'd forget or mix up the rest. :))

Thanks, tartan! I do have one I‘ve never had — lemon thyme. It’s really good on grilled meats (marinade). But I cannot live without sweet basil. I wish I had a field of it. :D

Near the herb sink, I have a rosemary bush and a clump of Italian oregano planted in the ground.

I love your herb garden and all your plantings. Gardening is a true joy!! You are lucky to have a landlord who allows you to plant, etc. We are in the process of selling our rental house and this just made me think. No one ever asked about planting/changing anything in the yard; and also, i'm not sure what I would have answered if they had!!

Thanks, Tina! Yes, I’m glad they allow it.

When we moved here, there were no beds, nothing. I‘m very conscious of planting things that will be easy care for future renters (and we’ll take some things). We’ve gotten so many compliments from neighbors (and dog walkers that use the sidewalks) ... the house looked very unloved before. I know it’s not the wisest financial decision to improve a house I don’t own, but I just can’t live without plants. And I’m a great bargain shopper, so haven’t sunk too much into it all. As my DH said, consider it spending money on a hobby. :)

Oh no, I could not be without my flowers and plants either!! You have done a great job! I would rather buy flowers/plants than clothes lol. (I just bought a mock orange bush yesterday and we are going to stop by the garden center today!!)

Tina, I love Mock Orange!

I forgot earlier — a previous renter planted a pampas grass on each side of the driveway. This photo was taken years ago when they were young .... when we moved in, each one was halfway into the drive, scraping our vehicles. Can you imagine someone thinking, hey, yeah, pampas is great for this spot! These are very small city lots.

Very first thing I did was hire a guy to take them out. I thought he understood how razor-like the blades are, but apparently he didn’t, and didn’t show up the next day. Called another guy, he finished it. I could hear him cussing from inside the house. I get it, man! I’ve done it before! That’s why I hired out for it! 😁

I replaced with super tough perennials. Every time I’m out there and someone walks by, they thank me for removing the pampas (which covered the entire sidewalk on both sides). Oh, and there were snakes living in there, too, as well as dead stalks blowing all over the neighborhood every winter.

(Last year) —

We weren’t able to get started on building this thing yet, but did find the front legs. Went back to the Old Home Supply (Ida! Go!) ... found an old porch column. DH is going to cut it to make two legs. The back legs will be straight/stouter.

I‘m going to add a bit of paint around the decorative parts, but mostly leave it chippy.

GWers, meet Pole. Pole, meet the GWers:

This could end up being super cool ... or some sort of Frankentable. We’ll see! 😄

ETA: Not sure if first pic is showing up? Maybe if you click on the square? Board is acting weird.

Great find Jinx!

Thanks, Tina! Now I’m having second thoughts about leaving it chippy. I might strip it and stain it like the new wood, but still paint some accent parts.

I have this weird thing about, ‘hey, this might be a 100 yr old porch column, I don’t want to erase the original paint away’ ... but then realize this post might be from the ’60s or something. 😄

If I liked the chipped paint look I would just seal it in. Not sure how to do that but I would find out. It's kind of a protective coating anyway. :-). Love the whole project! Can't wait to see the finished results.

What a great find! A very handsome Pole he is.

Years ago my landlords let me put a little garden by my house, between the walk and the house, the walk that led from the driveway to the back door. I just planted a few things like marigolds, easy to take care of and it looked nice. I also kept a few peppers and herbs in pots . . . now I have practically an estate . . . well not really but today it felt like one. My back is killing me from pulling dandelions . . .

Thanks, yeonassky and Ida!

We were really trying to find a more bulky Jacobean style leg, but haven’t been able to. Came across this one and think it’ll work well. Hopefully. :D

Pink, I‘m so sorry, your comment wasn’t showing for me when I posted last. This board!

Oh my goodness, dandelions. I’ve never seen so many as this year! I was hoping after the freeze we had, it might slow them down ... nope. My beds look good, but the yard not so much. :P

Great job, i love it

I love repurposing oddball stuff! Looking forward to the 'reveal' - very cool.

Glad I came back to this because the first image is broken for me, and some of the others too, and I was super curious to see what everyone was discussing. Neat project!

Why can't you use the sink?

Thanks, all! Carol, the image thing is weird, the pic shows up if I click on it, but looks like a blank box otherwise.

The sink ended up being too big, taking up too much space. And it was more for looks. So we took a vote and unanimously decided nay. :D

My carpenter fell asleep after lunch, so today’s progress was just the finials and metal brackets for the top shelf.

Another recent project was refinishing our heavy old coffee table. I’ve had it since the ’90s, and still loved the lines of it, but wanted a fresh look.

It was a stained oak and I’d painted the top inset in kind of a leather look years ago. It was all looking very scratched, beat up, and tired.

I wish I’d gotten a picture of how the top looked before sanding, but forgot. Anyway, I wanted to get it to a natural color and just poly it. I stripped, sanded, sanded, and sanded, oh, and sanded more, then applied three coats of matte Varathane water-based poly.

Right after sanding top, I was thrilled to see the design again after years of paint! You can see original stain on legs here:

After:

I love the color variations, as I didn’t want just a solid light color. Our decor is a mix of things, including rustic, so it works.

Goodness, the photos make it look very splotchy! Weird shadows and iPad camera.

This armoire finish was my inspiration:

I love your outdoor potting table project! Vintage, repurposed, always-been-there look gets me every time.

I have a metal tulip ceiling mounted light . I bought it in 2004. It has moved three times with me. ’ll never leave it behind!

eta:found it online. I’m pretty sure I paid more 15 years ago. lol

jojo, I am in LOVE with your fabulous light! It’s so charming!

The first picture shows well and doesn't look splotchy. Nice table and you did a terrific job with the refinishing!

I love it when I have a piece of furniture that I love enough to refinish or recover.

Thank you, lizbeth! I do, too … I’ve been looking around wondering what should be next. :D

Thanks for the tip - now I see the photos 🙂