We chose this beauty from Restoration Hardware as our inspiration. I love RH. Even though many of their pieces tend to feel a little heavy and masculine to me, I think they do a good job of blending our styles.
Tanner started the project by drawing up a design based on our inspiration pictures and making a shopping list.
Our original plan was to use reclaimed wood from a store a few towns over, but for one reason or another we just never could make it there on a day they were open. In the end we went with pine boards from Lowe's. Though we've since learned that these probably weren't the best choice for this project (due to pine being a soft wood), this was a learning project and we went with what we knew and what was affordable.
We also had a really hard time finding balusters for the legs. Anybody know where to find these suckers? We searched everywhere--notta. In the end, we decided to go with some solid, chunky candlesticks we found at a Pottery Barn outlet.
Our original plan was to age and/or stain the wood, but first we needed to remove the paint from our PB candlesticks. This did not go well. In fact, it went terribly. We tried sanding, we used a drimel, and we bought every paint stripping product we could get our hands on. N o t h i n g worked. Nothing. After about two weeks of trying to scrape bubblegum smelling orange goop out of the grooves, we gave up. Tanner was ready to throw away the sticks and find something new, and we actually spent a weekend shopping for replacement legs...without success. In the end, we decided to keep our candlesticks and go with paint.
We went with Annie Sloan chalk paint in country grey. I'd had some success using Annie Sloan paint with other projects and thought it would be a good option for the look we wanted.
Please excuse the messy garage...I'm blaming it on the not so recent move.
One of the great things about the Annie Sloan paint is that is doesn't require any sanding or priming before you begin painting. And it's quick drying! It's perfect for people like me who are too impatient to deal with lots and lots of steps. After two coats of the country grey, I covered the wood in one coat of clear wax and one coat of dark wax.
There are so many great Annie Sloan tutorials out there (this one and this one were really helpful) that it really doesn't make sense for me to break down each and every step here... In summary, it's pretty simple. Just stay with the grain of the wood and you can't screw it up.
I am ridiculously happy with the final product and so proud of my boy! Who knew my green, techie husband was such a handy man?!
It was definitely a learning experience, and we have a running bet on whether or not it is sturdy enough to stand the test of time...we shall see. Regardless, we are feeling really excited to try more projects (console table, anyone?), and I can't wait to start decorating this room! We spend so much time here that I really want to make it a beautiful, functional space that reflects both our styles. Pretty sure there's a new rug and side tables in our future.
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