Repurposed flea market finds

I stumbled upon some old windows on my way to a traveling notary appointment.  The appointment was a bust but I was rewarded for my efforts anyway.  Driving on Wisner Street, I passed a house where the windows were being replaced.  Stop the car!  I’m not that shy.  The workman allowed me to help myself, so I did.  To repurpose an old window, you have to find one and it is not always easy.

If you are like me, walls and furniture are mostly neutral colors.  I select color for things that are easy swap out like wall art, pillows, home decor and accents.  The strategy allows me to change the look of the room when ever I want without spending a lot of money or doing a lot of work.  High color wall art is perfect for this.  

Choosing a Poster

It takes me hours pouring over art to choose THE one. Most repurposed windows have seascapes. The very first one I created was a seascape but really any fine art landscape might be very attractive this way. I imagine what kind of scene would be pleasant to see looking out from a window.

This one below features 1910 “Tegernsee Landscape” by August Macke, impressionist painter in Germany. The vibrant colors caught my attention as well as the landscape content.  

I buy my posters on AllPosters.com.  The quality choices there are important to me.  Inexpensive posters have a glossy finish and colors are not true.  Whites tend to be gray, etc.  Spending the extra money for the better quality, where white is bright, is worth it in the long run.  

I learn about the artists at the same time.  The one above, “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” originally ridiculed, became the most famous work of Georges Seurat (1859 – 1891).  I didn’t know that!

How to Repurpose An Old Window 

Make sure the window is in good shape, not falling apart, and the glass is still stable.  Take the hardware off and clean it from splattered paint and years of dirt.  For distressed styling, I sand  the window frame.  USE A FACE MASK, some of the underlying paint might be lead based.  Reveal the colors of previous paint layers and get down to bear wood especially in corners and edges.  Otherwise, paint the frame with a matching color.  That works too!

It is simple and easy to finish the project by placing the poster on the back of the frame with painters tape.  Cut out to size a piece of corrugated to use as a backing.  Staple it to the window frame.  I trim the edges off with another round of masking tape over the edges. Window art tends to be heavy, so use D-rings and 30 pound hanging wire.  Re-install the hardware exactly where it was.

I started out to do one of those chandelier repurposes I’ve seen on Pinterest.  Maybe you’ve seen them.  A very clever woman turned a scrap chandelier into a hanging garden planter.  Check this one out from DIY Show Off.  It morphed into a lamp repurpose.  

I needed a reason to visit the local thrift store!  I wanted to give this project a try.  There are 5 resale shops in town.  I didn’t find any old chandelier with the lamps turned up like this one or one that was less than $20.  The ones available all pointed down or too expensive for a repurpose project.

I bought 2 table lamps instead.  I figured I could adapt the idea to repurpose a plethora of lamps available for less than $10.  Actually, I kind of like it better.  A table lamp planter is versatile.  I can put it on a table in the bedroom, kitchen, living room, patio or even outside in the garden.

How to Repurpose a Lamp into a Flower Planter

I wish I had take pictures of the process.  I’ll try to add some with the next lamp repurpose project.  Here are the steps to take below.  You’ll need a pot, Liquid Nails construction adhesive (or similar), and maybe Great Stuff Foam in a can depending on the lamp base used.

•  Disassemble the lamp.  Remove the bulb, socket and wire from the base.
• Paint the lamp as desired or not.  
• If there is a socket cup like the one above follow the next step.  If not skip it and go to step 5.
• Fill the socket cup it with Great Stuff Foam – only half way.  Let the foam expand and harden.  I left the project and came back to it the next day. Cut the excess foam with a sharp knife even or flush with the socket cup.
  
• It might be easier for the next step to pre-plant the pot.  
• Attach the pot to the base by placing a generous amount of construction adhesive.  Let it cure over night.  

My new obsession is finding and painting ugly old clocks.  They are found at garage sales, flea markets and, thrift stores still somewhat cheap.  Since chalk painting has taken off, the thrift store market for used dressers has sky rocketed.

Old clocks are my undiscovered gem of an inexpensive and pleasant upcycle project.

The clock featured in this post was found at Resale Depot charity thrift store in Jackson, MI.  This store is a little pricey in my opinion but $15 was fair.  Originally it was $30, too high for me to paint and resell.  I had to wait 6 weeks for it to be marked down and it was worth the wait! 

It was dark metal, still attractive as a rustic piece, if it weren’t for the mirrored background behind the metal design.  It had a very 80’s vibe but good bones.  Behind the mirror was very cool barn wood like backing. The upcycle plan was formalized that instant to flip the mirrors and reveal the wood.

I used regular white chalk paint directly on the metal without primer, then top coated with flat poly urethane.  The barn wood was dry brushed white and re-installed around the clock.

The outcome of the project is incentive to do more, so kept my eyes peeled for another while making my rounds for dressers to paint.  I found a second clock at Kiwanis Thrift store in Ann Arbor, MI.  It’s a cute clock featuring cubby space with hooks.  I saw it white and distressed.  So that’s what I did. 

SOLD

Authentic seed sacks are around but getting harder to find.  I had the pleasure of attending a homestead estate sale in Grass Lake just as winter was setting in.  Estate sales do more for me than provide a shopping experience.  Like this one, the pleasure was all mine browsing several out buildings that were once buzzing with activity.  This estate had several buildings for farm animals and a huge barn, underground root cellar, and the mechanics to live off the grid.  This estate contained fascinating treasures that were saved from the generations.  Nothing was tossed that could be used for something else, including stacks of seed sacks.  By the time I arrived there were few good ones left.   I purchased two or three.

The chairs were purchased from Habitat Restore and painted this light oatmeal color.  I added extra padding for the behind!  After painting the chairs they were distressed on the edges and areas that would scrap naturally.  I really dig the carved backs.  Distressing the detail helped to enhance it greatly.  Wax is applied to provide protection and a flat luster.

Together the seed sacks and chair style make for genuine shabby chic and farmhouse decor.

Create an urban industrial chic look in any room instantly with this repurposed metal farm part turned hanging lamp.  

This is no store bought reproduction, it is authentic antique milk cream separator found in a junk yard.  Upside down,  it became a very cool idea for a pendant light!  It is electrified with a 12 foot cord and a cord switch.

Handmade by KellaChic

Farmhouse antique height chair turned plant display stand was given a makeover by a cycle of highly distressed white paint and wax.  Nothing fancy here but an authentic weathered galvanized bucket and a painted height chair.

It is perfect for a change of season by replacing the plan with wonderful holiday green trimmings.

Create a fantastic farmhouse style Christmas display on your porch, entry way or any corner of the house with left over pine tree trimmings.  Add an ornament in the middle for some color and you won’t stop looking at it.  After the holiday’s, change it over with a house plant to warm up the house.  This inexpensive display piece is versatile for every season.

SOLD 1-27-2018 at Antique Mercantile, on Hupp Street in Jackson MI

This size stool perfect for playing guitar, giving presentations, work bench, behind a retail counter or mobile guest seating in a super small apartment.

I spent money on nothing more than the legs.  Everything else I had in inventory.  The burlap coffee bean bag came from a trip to “Flower Days” in Detroit a couple years ago.  A vendor sold them for $1 a bag.  I had no need of it but bought it for a cool future project – it was inexpensive and easy to store indefinitely.    Matching the stool with the stored burlap bag made the angels in my studio {aka basement} sing.

A thrifty neighbor snagged a discarded ottoman and gave it to me.  As an ottoman it was useless but disassembled it became most valuable. I got a set of legs (for a future project) and foam cushioning free!  Foam cushioning is madly expensive these days.

Now that I have my own space to sell things, I cave in at Thrift Stores, junk shops, and roadsides more often.  Yay for me!  Previously, when I was drawn to buy a piece, I said No to myself 90% of the time.  The usual reason was, “there is no place for it, what would I do with, [after makeover]?”  Not anymore! My solution is my space at the Antique Mercantile.  Small projects like this one excite me and I now say Yes.  A lonely, neglected, cast away stool is a perfect go ahead and buy, up-cycle and place it in my booth.  Hopefully someone else sees the cool in this stool.

What is so exciting about up-cycling?  If you are an animal lover, you understand it when you see a lost, homeless kitten.  You can’t leave it there to die or be miserable!  Ghastly, that action would cause a sleepless night worrying about said kitten, (ahem my sister).  Tossed out junk creates a similar reaction in me plus its inspiring.  Is is safe for me to reason that I must be a normal addiction or else there wouldn’t be so many YouTube videos and TV shows on the subject?

A word to co-dependants reading my blog:  rescuing furniture is far easier, more successful and rewarding than rescuing boyfriends or husbands.  Furniture doesn’t talk back, resist much, and is made lovable again.  Every one of my finished projects says Thanks to me and is happy for my intervention.

Vintage steamer trunks are very versatile and have become popular in urban, industrial, shabby chic home decor, including steampunk styling.  I have had one of my own for over 35 years.  Vintage trunks belong at the end of the bed to store blankets or as an end table storing photo albums and scrap books. This one was found as a leftover garage sale item the owner needed to get it gone.  No reason for me to buy it but I did anyway.  Must be I needed a scrubbing project because this was one.

There was some kind of fabric that covered the outside panels.  Using a razor box cutter, putty knife, scrapper and every other tool, the fabric was removed, thread by thread.  Some fabric peeled off in big sheets while other pieces clung onto the trunk for forceful removal.  Next, the wood and metal strappings were wire brushed cleans using Acetone.  Halfway through this process I sincerely doubted what I was doing this for but I kept going.

I really liked the way the wood looked after the fabric was gone.  Clean and bright.  That’s when I decided to try white washing.  With practice I learned to dilute chalk paint then wait until it is 1/2 to 3/4 dry before ragging it off.  It works best on rough sawn wood for sure like pallets are.

The metal strappings were refreshed using General Finishes Lamp Black, brackets brightened with Rub-N-Buff gold (no studio should be without that stuff), and the wood straps stained.

The first topcoat I used spray lacquer.  Brushing on a topcoat I worried would lift the gold off the brackets and other terrible things.  After the first spray coat, I followed up with brush on Shellac.

YouTube is so helpful for do-it-yourselfers.  On it I found how to line a trunk with spray adhesive, poster board and fabric.

I really like the way it turned out especially with the knobby legs I found at Home Depot for a tremendous $13 EACH including brackets.  Yikes.  Like lipstick, when you need it, you NEED it.  The legs make the trunk modern, chic and a more use-able furniture piece.

Sold it at Antique Mercantile Jackson MI 1-24-2018