How To Style Industrial Farmhouse Bookshelves

I'm a sucker for what many people call "junk." Give me something old and rusty, and I swoon. So, it's no surprise that I would use it to decorate my bookshelves. Here's a little look at some of my found items.

One of my favorite finds, my vintage Underwood typewriter was all but buried in the basement of an antique store. I couldn't pass it up. As a children's author (check out the Villain School Books), typewriters are near and dear to my heart. This one had so much character, too!

The roller skates came from a thrift store, as did the antique books, tackle box and clocks. The wooden crates were junk-day finds... people left them on their curbs with the trash.

The "Cooper" street sign came from a town we lived in for a while. The city was replacing old street signs and had a huge pile! I talked one of the street department employees into giving me one. I asked for the whole pile, but they said it was already promised somewhere else. Bummer!

Do you collect vintage items? What's your favorite "junk" piece?

Galvanized Farmhouse from Hobby Lobby

I am gaga for galvanized home décor! I just love that faded silver look! Here are a few galvanized farmhouse finds from Hobby Lobby. I already have the three-tiered tray and the metal tray with the handle... and I think I might pick up that lantern soon, too!

Round Galvanized Metal Lantern

This little lantern might have to come to my house, soon!

 Country Farm Flour Galvanized Metal Canister

 

 

 

 

Galvanized Metal 3-Tier Tray Stand

I have this awesome tray near our coffee bar.

It's perfect for holding tea and jars, and it also works great for seasonal decorating!

Galvanized Metal Bottle Caddy 

 

 

 

 

Galvanized Metal Windmill Clock

 

Metal Tray With Handle

 I loved this little tray so much for holding all our odds and ends (think tape, string, glue, keys, etc.) that I bought one for my mama-in-law for Christmas.

 

 

 

 

Rustic Galvanized Metal Pitcher

 

 

 

 Wood & Galvanized Metal Letter - &

**Images source: Hobby Lobby

Get ready for spring by making this monogram wreath!
Read about it in my blog post here.

 

 

 

 

 

Clock Shelf Makeover

So, technically for a makeover, I like to show "before" photos. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take any.

Suffice to say this awesome clock/shelf was plain brown wood. And the photo frames on the sides were empty. You can picture it... I KNOW you can!

I just added a few coats of satin country white paint, then sanded/chipped it to give it that old, worn, vintage, chippy paint look. I also painted the hooks. I've just recently discovered the awesomeness of painted metal hardware and am now officially addicted.

Next, I mixed black acrylic paint with water and brushed it on, then wiped it off so the paint wasn't so bright and shiny, but rather had a vintage, worn feel and voila!

For the photo frames, I cut out a muslin fabric, using the cardboard frame-backs as a template. Then I used my favorite transfer method (Citra Solv!) to transfer the French labels to the fabric and voila again!

The only real trouble I had was trying not to get paint on the glass clock face. It is rounded, convex glass and is glued inside, so I couldn't remove it. I got a little paint on it, but it wiped off easily. Also, I realized after I'd completely finished painting, glazing and chipping that I forgot to paint the clock piece (with the two little triangles on it). Oopsadaisy. Luckily, I was able to get those painted without too much fuss.

I LOVE how this turned out!

Etsy Update: Shabby Alabaster Autumn

Here are a few more items I added to my Etsy shop this week. They all look like they match, but it wasn't planned. Completely random. I really LOVE making old items new again! And I added a touch of autumn white to get myself into the fall decorating mood. Enjoy!

Hutch Makeover

All sanded.

What I Did
Something I realized over the past two weeks is that refinishing furniture for a client is SCARY. I don't know if I want to do it ever again. See, when I buy something from Goodwill and decide to fix it up, the worst thing that can happen is it looks bad, or I dent it, or I just can't sell it and get my thirteen bucks back. Really, the consequences aren't all that dire. But when I'm working on someone else's furniture, I have to worry a little more about if I'm doing everything right and if it will stand the test of time.

Left unglazed. Right glazed.

That being said, I really did LOVE working on this hutch, despite my fears. And in my opinion, I think it turned out BEAUTIFUL. The client seemed happy, too, which was my biggest fear.


How I Did It
First, all the hardware was removed. Yes. All of it. Next, I sanded the whole thing. Yes. All of it. My fears here were if I didn't sand it, the paint would slide right off. It's a lot of work, but in the end, sanding really pays off.  Next step was priming, then painting with a creamy satin latex paint. It took a few coats to cover it all up. After that, I sanded all the

I also painted the hinges to match the
new hardware.

edges to bring out the details of the molding. Next, I glazed it with a mixture of burnt umber acrylic and water, brushing it onto the surface, then wiping it away, leaving just a hint behind for that aged/worn look. And finally, I coated it with a clear acrylic sealer. I used spray matte finish Mod Podge and then also brushed on few coats of matte finish furniture-quality Mod Podge.

Random Porch Projects

So, I finished up the chairs to go with my French country table. They started life as purplish-red with nasty green cushions. With a little sanding, painting, distressing, aging and re-covering, they have transformed into something charming and lovely. And clean.

 A few of my other projects/finds:

Some great hardware from my a box my hubby has been hiding from
me in the basement. Steampunk-a-rific!

Excellent find at Salvation Army! I LOVE this piece!
My daughter said it looked like Sara's from Labyrinth... where she keeps
her stuffed animals, including Lancelot, the teddy bear!

This was an old project I did a while back.

Finally, a great use for an old drawer. The wood was pretty. The handle
adds a charming touch. This drawer has dividers for sorting all my art supplies!