Farmhouse Cabinets To Inspire You

Ideas for Farmhouse Cabinets From 10+ Bloggers!
For Valentine's Day, some girls get flowers or chocolates or jewelry. Me? I get a big old farmhouse cabinet! Yup. My  hubby knows me very well. Flowers fade, but farmhouse is forever! :)

My Valentine cabinet is an antique beauty. I can tell it has a lot of history because of the style of glass and the type of nails and hardware. Plus, it's in pretty rough shape. So, the question is, what to do with it? Should I try to restore it? Or paint it? or leave it as-is with all its rustic charm?

I decided to round up ideas from some of my favorite bloggers to inspire me. I hope they inspire you, too!

Amber Oliver

Pretty Handy Girl

Southern Revivals

A Brick Home

Our Crafty Mom

Roots & Wings Furniture LLC

Tracey's Fancy

Green With Decor

Pinterest Addict

Petal & Ply

H2O Bungalow

Farmers Market Bench Makeover

Farmers' Market Bench Makeover by What's On My Porch

I find real pleasure in taking something unwanted and old and turning it into something beautiful and useful. This Farmers' Market Bench was no exception.

I found this bench in a thrift store. I knew as soon as I saw it that it would be perfect for an entry way: a place to store shoes or toss a bag or coat. It just needed a little updating.

First, I cleaned and primed the wood with Zinsser primer. This makes it ready to take on paint. You could also sand, but that takes a lot of work, and it's not necessary as long as you prime first. It's easy to think you can skip this step, but I don't recommend it. The paint just won't stick well without it.

Next, I measured the bench and found some cute fonts and printed the words "Farmers' Market" in large letters and taped them together. (Fonts: Mottona and Twiggy Pop).

I colored the backs of my words with willow charcoal and placed the words on my bench. Then I traced them onto the wood with a pencil. I removed the paper and outlined the tracing, again with pencil. Then I filled it in with black acrylic craft paint and a small paintbrush. I extended the "f" and "s" at the beginning and end of "Farmers'".

I love how it turned out! How about you?

 

Want MORE makeovers?
Check out this Antique Dresser Makeover!

 

New Year, New House, New Projects

Hey Porch Fans! I'm back! As some of you know, our family spent the last year in Wisconsin living in an apartment. Hubby's job needed him to work in the Badger State for a spell, so my home projects were put on hold. Also, due to some health issues, I've been unable to do much this year, but I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things in 2018!

 



Our old house.



 

The old porch where I worked on furniture projects.

  



Before our move to Wisconsin, we spent 10 years in Iowa raising our two girls in a rickety, old 2-story home built in 1894. It was a labor of love, constantly working to make the house a home. There was no room inside for my favorite work: furniture makeovers. So, I took my projects out onto our wrap-around front porch to sand and paint and stain. That was how "What's On My Porch" began. It was literally a blog about the projects on my porch. It was sad to see the old home get sold, but it has opened the door for new projects and new decorating endeavors!



I loved our old open staircase!

 

Currently, we live in a single story home on a beautiful lake in central Iowa. I never envisioned myself in a house like this. In fact, I used to hate everything about these kinds of homes. I thought they had no character or charm. But I'm starting to realize that charm is something you can add to ANY space. And while I miss our big, open staircase, I don't miss climbing those stairs ten times a day to get to the bathroom!

 

Our new lake house.

With our daughters both grown now, we don't need quite as much room as before, and health troubles with my feet make living in a one-story home a blessing. We've already done a little painting, and I hope to do LOTS more as the months and years go by, but we'll see what God allows. His timing is perfect, so I'll keep all plans flexible. :)

 



We have a fireplace!



 

 

 



Our new kitchen. Needs some love.



 



Our new living room with built in bookshelves and a window seat. This room needs love, too.





 

 



 







 



Can't beat the view!



Sunset on our lake.





 

 

 

 

 

 

Red Radio Cabinet

You may have seen a similar cabinet on Pinterest. Like me, you may have even pinned it. Twice. And you might have also thought, "I NEED that." Of course, radio cabinets aren't all that easy to come by, but when you do find one on Craigslist. In your town. You BUY it! And then you paint it RED.

Okay, so that's what happened. One dark and stormy night, the ever-beleaguered Hubby went out and brought home this bad boy: an antique wood radio cabinet.

I seriously thought about painting it white. "White goes with everyone's décor," I said. But my daughter convinced me to go for the red. "Not too many people can fit red into their house," I said. "Yes," she answered, "but that means the ones who can will be REALLY excited to find something in red."

Okay!

Here's a quick rundown of the process. First, Hubby removed the fabric "speaker" in the front. Then I sanded a few of the rough spots. Not enough, though. After I painted, some of the dents showed through, but we'll call that "character."

Then I primed it with Zinsser primer. This step may or may not have been necessary. I was going for a bit heavier distressing than usual, so I could have probably gone without the primer.

Then I painted the whole piece red. (Acrylic craft paint, Walmart craft section.) After that, I sanded it with a sanding block.The red was a tad on the orangey side, but I didn't mind because I knew I'd be going over it with a dark stain, which is the last process: to brush on stain and wipe it off. The stain helps bring out the sanded wood, essentially staining it again. It also adds depth and a little shine to the piece while giving it a layer of protection.

I really love how she turned out! Once again, I wish I had a bigger house, because I'd keep this one! Alas, it is moving on to greener pastures.

Secretary Makeover With Damask "Tattoo"

I have been so busy.
Also lazy.
Well, lazy about posting to my blog, anyway.
But that just means I've gone into overdrive on my Porch!
Check out this cute little wood secretary makeover that I  am too tired to properly write about:

Before: this secretary had seen better days. It was pretty scratched up, and the drawers had major opening issues.

After! The secretary got a lovely paint job and a little sanding to give it a chippy look.

I painted the inside gray with a cute little damask "tattoo". :)

I printed it out in sections and lined the pieces up, then I colored on the back with willow charcoal (at Walmart, craft section). When I lined it up where I wanted it, I traced the design with a regular pencil. Okay, not just a regular one, a HARRY POTTER pencil!

 

The willow charcoal left a decent design behind, which I filled in with paint. Careful not to smudge it away!

I used a dry brush technique to make it look worn and faded. Just dip a paintbrush in your gray paint, wipe it on a paper towel and lightly brush over the white design.

 

Lamest Post Ever

Okay, I've been working kind of sporadically this summer. For a long time we thought we were moving to Michigan, so I didn't want to start a bunch of projects and make my house all cluttered and messy. However, we just decided last month that we would NOT be moving. In all the confusion and switching-gears I decided to start doing projects again. Because nothing takes my mind off life-changes like painting an armoire!

Here are a couple of projects I've done in the last week or two. I didn't bother with a lot of before/during photos, so sorry for that. But, if you're like me, you can still enjoy a good makeover.

Hoping to bring LOTS more projects as fall creeps in.

Updated an old wood computer cabinet with a little paint and distressing.



A little punkin painted on reclaimed wood.



This design was from a cute pin I saw on Pinterest! Love it!

Steampunk Teddy Bear

Yes, I'm one of THOSE people. The weirdies. The geeks. I get INTO things. And one of those things is steampunk! If you haven't heard of steampunk, I don't even know what to say. In fact, I can't even define it. It's a kind of subculture. It involves books, gadgets, cosplay and all manner of steampunkiness. It's like Victorian meets dystopian. Think airships, convoluted weaponry and lots of leather and brass, and you're getting there.
Just Google it.

One of the best things about steampunk (aside from the costumes) is the idea of "steampunking" one's stuff. I did it to my Maverick Nerf gun with fantastic results. And now I bring you...

ACE: The Steampunk Teddy Bear

Ace began life as a Christmas bear. He had a hideous green and red plaid jacket and a bow tie. No. Just no. I found him all lonely and abandoned at Goodwill and decided to give him a makeover. No longer would he be a nerdy bear in a Christmas vest. Now he would be an airship pilot!

This took quite a bit of imagination and work. Let's begin at the beginning, shall we?

First I chopped off Ace's red vest and bowtie and flung them into the aether! Then I spiffed up his features with a brown Sharpie (classy, I know). He got enhanced paws and a nice, big smirk that only a dashing airship captain could pull off.

 

Next, Ace needed some clothes because nudity is frowned upon, even in steampunk. I found a lovely purse at Goodwill that I knew would make the perfect bomber jacket! I chopped it up and put it back together by hand-sewing and also using Super Glue (again, classy). I'm a numpty when it comes to sewing, so the jacket doesn't quite fit.

I also made Ace an aviator hat from some leather scraps I got from a lady behind a shop at a Renaissance faire. (Yes, you read right. Steampunk isn't the only weird thing I like.)

A couple leather belts helped finish off Ace's outfit, along with some various and sundries I had laying around like a tiny key and a chain, a brass button and a scrap of fabric for a scarf.

I purchased a set of charms from Michael's craft store, from which I got the silver wings for Ace's pilot "pin" on his hat. The "compass" is just printed on cardstock and "laminated" with packing tape. (Have I mentioned how classy I am?)

The cooliest part of Ace's ensemble is his steampunk goggles. They're made from more leather belt parts and two rather expensive (almost ten bucks a-piece, for cryin' out loud!) locket pendants. I got these at Michael's, too. They are meant to hold cute little keepsakes on a chain around your neck, but these hinged beauties are simply PERFECT as aviator specs. Moving parts are a MUST in steampunk. :)

The weird thing? Not a gear to be found. Gears are usually steampunk essentials, but I figure I get points for his goggles, so I can totally pass Ace off as a steampunkified teddy bear airship pilot. Don't you think?  ;)