My Vintage Door Headboard Project

So...this is one of last weekend's projects. My friend Sandra gave me this door two years ago, because I wouldn't let her throw it away. She said "What are YOU going to do with it?" and I said "I don't know, but I'll think of SOMEthng!"

So....I've been letting it weather outdoors next to the garage through 8 tumultuous seasons, and this is what has become of it:

Yes, I agree. It's kind of gross. But I can totally see the potential in gross.
So I started scraping and sanding.

I love my king sized bed, even though it pretty much eats this tiny bedroom for lunch:
Oh, and I hardly ever make my bed. Unless company is coming. (Which was this past weekend...so I actually broke down and made it on Saturday....but I digress)

I went down into my basement, which is also set up with my chop saw, and found some old chippy molding hanging out in the rafters. I pulled it down, and put it under a 1 x 6 board that I had screwed to the top edge of the door:

This is the front of the headboard, all screwed together. I just put 1 x 3" legs on the back. I probably should have put one in the middle for more stability, but I didn't.

Because really, I'm just lazy, and always looking for the quick fix.

This is the back side of the door, which I thought I was going to like for a cottagy look in my bedroom, but really, it just looked like a hot mess. So I painted the other side.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that no matter what I did, I couldn't get that darn handle hardware off? So I just worked with it, and hung a tassel.

I was impressed with how all that crappy wood could clean up so well! See? :

Now I can read in bed without worrying about all 72 of my pillows falling down into the black hole behind the bed. It's pretty cool like that. Also, I don't have to have a curtain that keeps getting bunched up behind my pillows, and I don't have to worry about breaking that window any more. It's all good! And since I've taken these final pictures, I've moved the painting on the right up, and added another on the left, to balance things out.

You like?

Join the Transformation Thursday party over at The Shabby Chic Cottage and see lots of other projects, big and small! Also, at Beyond the Picket Fence, you can see lots of projects that were done for under $100! Mine, as you can see, was free! (But that's just because I have lots of crap lying around here waiting to be dealt with.) ;)

My Garden and Bedroom

Ugh...sometimes Blogger makes me nuts. This pic is supposed to be at the end. ANYway....tell me what you think of my new vignette! BF looked at it and laughed. I think he thinks tools are supposed to be USED or something. Whetever. I bought them for a sum total of $5 at a garage sale, JUST so I could hang 'em up. I could use them if I REALLY wanted to. Which I don't. Because that would mean I'd be digging holes and shoveling gravel and whatnot, which I don't feel like doing right now. So there.

...well, I couldn't resist the kitties on my bed...

Do you think he's looking out at my shed garden? I do!!

There's a spot on the top right, waiting for another vintage floral print or painting!

My lilacs smell SooooooOOO good.

You can catch a glimpse of the hideous dropped ceiling here.....wonder how many years it'll take me to get rid of THAT? eh. whatEV.

I took this pic more for my benefit than yours. I have formulated a plan for a cottage garden out front here. I've got the picket fence (salvaged from a client's home), and I want to box in the yard at the top edge of the hill, creating a sort of courtyard look. I'll sketch something up in Photoshop when I get some time. I think it'll look amazing, though.

I love my poppies.

ahhhh.....and next year, I'm going to plant a TON more tulips. I want to be able to cut them. I didn't cut ANY this year because they all looked so good in the gardens. They're just starting to fade after a nice long stay.

Caught 'im--Mr. Bumblebee! It only took three tries! :) I saw a hummingbird out there yesterday. I'll have to try to catch HIM one of these days.

And lest any of you (Sally..lol) get worried that I'm never going to finish my slipcovers, have no fear! I'm almost done! In fact, I think I'll go finish them NOW!

P.S. The ex is in town--came up with his girlfriend and his mother to see Kathleen starring in Mulan Jr. this week at school. So....the house is clean! :P (I never should have given him my blog address...I can't be snarky! Dammit!)

Lazy Sunday

Did you ever just have one of those days? The sun is shining through my windows, and it's colder than a....well...it's COLD outside today...and I have Romantic Country magazine, the "Bedrooms" edition...and I've been lounging about in my giant bed, reading, and surfing blogs all morning. What you all may not understand, is that I have SO much work that I should be doing right now, so the guilt is getting to me a little bit. The good news is, Kathleen has a playdate tomorrow, so I'll be working double time tomorrow. Does that assuage my guilt? Eh. Only a little.

I think what threw me off is that I had to bring BF to the airport this morning at 4am (AGAIN--please tell me WHY his company insists on these ridiculously early tickets?! Does noone think of ME--the poor schlub who has to drive him to Albany?! Argh). He's headed to Washington for 10 days to install a big job (indoor water park) at the new (opening soon!) Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, which is about halfway between Portland and Seattle. One if these days I'm going to tag along on one of these jobs. He keeps insisting that it's not a vacation--that it's nothing but WORK WORK WORK, but what he fails to realize is that if I went, it would be a vacation for ME! Ha! He can work all he wants, and I'LL go see the sights. Right?! Sometimes he just fails to find me amusing. So, here I am, enjoying my solitude, and enjoying all the surfing and reading. I'm sure I'll eventually emerge from under the covers and get something done--like all the piles of laundry, and the sewing that's piling up by the job. Maybe. Here's to all of you out there who are surfing blogs and happened by mine this morning. Enjoy your lazy Sunday!