ReStore Sink Cabinet and Kitchen Cabinet

I love to make things that help a person get organized.  Wish I had a place for these in my home!



Sink cabinet BEFORE



AFTER a desk

3 door upper kitchen cabinet BEFORE

Kitchen cabinet AFTER

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Kelly

Industrial Design...and Rusty Gold

 Ashtray and minnow basket lamp

Lately I have been loving anything rusty and metal.  I have been trying to come up with innovative ways of using them and this is the beginning of what I hope will be a long affair!

Chandelier candle holder

Jewelry organizer

Engine gasket photo frames

Baby buggy turned table

Glass doorknob photo holder

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Kelly

Gasket Photo Frames

I found these great looking gaskets in a shed and pondered what to do with them.  I decided to glue Plexiglas to the back so a photo could be slid in from the side.  Then I glued a magnet on the back.  They would look great in an automotive shop hanging on the tool chest, file cabinet or refrigerator!

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Kelly

Old Speaker turned Kitchen Island

I found 2 of these speakers at the Salvation Army for $35 each.  They weighed a TON, and barely fit in the back of my SUV!  To start off, I put wheels on the bottom to make it easier to move. Then I gutted them of all contents and put a shelf inside before painting the inside black.  Next since I don't sew,  I used that tape that you can iron and fuse fabric.  I folded it over and made a sleeve for a tension rod.  The fabric helps soften the look.  The finishing touch was a piece of granite! 

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Kelly

2005- Hawaii Room

It's interesting to look back and see how my tastes change.  This is from 2005 when we were into Hawaii (3 trips in 4 years) and I was into "themed" rooms.  Back before vinyl lettering, I stenciled Hawaiian words and phrases above all the doors and windows.  Aloha, Mahalo, Ohana. 

 Ma ka hana ka 'ike...In working, one learns.

I even ordered bark cloth and sewed my own bedspread and ottoman.

 I covered my headboard with bamboo place mats, and the nightstands my husband made with bamboo table runners.    I cut holes in the shelves and put the ferns and birds of paradise "in" them.

This Family Tree was my poor attempt at making a Banyan Tree.   The Banyan tree has vines that re root in the ground and make another trunk.  I made it from spray insulation foam so it was 3 dimensional.  Then I put artificial leaves on it.  It seems like so long ago, but that was probably when I began my love of repurposing items.  It's like an addiction, and now I can't stop.

Stay tuned for more blasts from the past.

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Kelly

The PINK Room:

This spacious room was surrounded on 3 sides by glass!  Added on in the early 50's it sported a full wall of glass doors and two complete walls of windows.  So...in this home that meant 3 walls of ceiling to floor, wall to wall drapes.  And iridescent PINK at that!

I was told by a friend that was a seamstress and drapery maker, that in their day the drapes in this house were probably worth $10,000!  Pink is NOT  my color and they had some stains but I did find them a new home on ebay.  Someone out there is hopefully really enjoying them. 

 Oddly this room was only accessible by going through the closet/master bath, the HUGE sitting room and THEN you entered this room in the corner, under the light of an outdoor flood light!  No chandelier as one would expect from such a surrounding of magnificent drapes. It was hard to understand why this would be designed in such a way.  Little did we know we were soon to find out!

These rooms served more as a private wing for the lady of the house and this was added after the blue master bedroom and master bath.  The logical passage way was from one to the next because it was meant to be private. 






But the REAL reason I think it was built this way is because the original 1916 part of this house is made of poured concrete.  And let's just say we found ALL the original outside walls, because they were EXACTLY  where I planned new doorways!!  Yep...we had to chisel out 3 doorways in our restoration process. You can see in the photo below where we made an opening for the door and a hallway leading to the laundry/workout room.  It took ALL day to cut the hole and there was an awful lot of concrete to haul out to the dumpster.  This is also where I found evidence of a roof to a porch, though I am not sure where the door would have been.

Here is the room now!

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Kelly

Hot tub room before...and more importantly...AFTER!

The house we bought in 2006 had many additions to it including this hot tub room.  Sounds great right?  Did I mention the tub was put in place... and then the room was built ArOUnD it!  It had one tiny window and insufficient ventilation that caused the tape to fall from the seems of the sheet rock on the 8 foot ceilings.  The tub itself is FaBUloUS...I was told it was the cadillac of hot tubs in its day.  And did I mention...it's HUGE!  Here's a look at it.

  

The first thing we did to make this room more functional and appealing was to bump out the wall 4 feet to match up with the new trusses on the sloped roof.  That allowed us to remove the 8 foot ceiling and raise it up to 12 feet. 

We also took out the chimney on the wall that had previously been the outside wall which allowed us to shift the tub over a couple of feet and make a walkway to the new 8 foot by 6 foot french doors.  These doors will provide a way in the future to replace the tub if needed.  Gratefully we were able to plan for plenty of ventilation by putting in 3 large windows, a ventilation fan and ceiling fan as well as providing 3 doors in and out of the room.

The headers above the doors and windows are actually salvaged pieces from the Frontier Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.  We picked them up at a architectural salvage yard in Vegas and the man said he bought them when they tore the casino down! 

It was just the rectangular section with the detail work that we bought.  There were 3 of them and we bought them all for $60 TOTAL!  You should have seen us driving home (8hours) with them stacked between us touching the windshield and back window of our small SUV.  Thank goodness we didn't need to hit the brakes!  I designed the columns and crown moulding, and a friend helped me hang it all.  Thanks Norm!

Below was the original outside wall where the chimney used to be.  We removed it so we can lean the cover there when we are in the tub.  Notice the 102 on the door.

I was lucky enough to buy 29 antique doors for $30...yes $30...at an auction and this was one of them.  I have the mate...room 101...as the library entry door.  These doors were from a local hotel.  How do I know which one? 

Because the sign was still on the door!!  How cool is that?

And that window and table...they have a story as well.  The window was given to me by a cute little old lady (think 85ish and about 4'10" tall)  It came from her home which is a garage converted to house.  She told me I could have it but I was concerned that it was not hers to give away, since I knew she rented the home.  She proceeded to tell me the young man that took the window out wanted to know what to do with the window.  When the owner replied, "Just throw it away."  Peg said, " Over my DEAD body!"  You go girl!!!!!  And THANK YOU PEG!!

The table was found locally just hanging out in the weeds, where it had been for WHO KNOWS how long.  I just added the top board from an old OUTHOUSE from which I salvaged the wood.  I think it fits right in!   Don't you?

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Kelly

Tin ceiling tiles

I have a HUGE love for and addiction to antique tin ceiling tiles.  I have used them in many different ways and have plans for several more projects.  So enjoy and check back often for updates:)

My first use has been simply framed as art work, because they are so beautiful.  I wouldn't be surprised if someday I have at least one hanging in each of the rooms in my house.  Actually, I am well on my way!

The next use has been as a magnet board.

I have used them to jazz up other pieces I have created.  I save even the smallest pieces and use them in ways that scrapbook paper would be used to make art.

 

 And the latest way I have used one is as a tray to catch the birdseed that the birds drop over the edge of the feeder.

Keep pickin'

Kelly