the medicine cabinet and mirror

The bathroom MIRROR
was in the form of a
RUSTY medicine cabinet.

It had integrated lights and the only outlet for the room was INside the cabinet.
Its condition was pretty disgusting, and nothing you’d catch me using!
Plus, it was SMALL, very inadequate storage.

A few years back I happened to find a nice 3ft tall medicine cabinet at one of the local ReStores, $10.  Unfortunately it was missing its shelf brackets (not an easy find here-?).
We used these in our new construction builds so I knew their quality and what they cost.
THIS was a DEAL!
I bought it and added it to my stashes–you never know when you might need something!

W e l l~
Brandon needed something
and I had a solution!

 

Tearing out the old medi-cab revealed some scary wiring leading to the lights and outlet.  Thank God Brandon is an electrician!  I REframed and added proper blocking for the new medi-cab and new wiring was RErun.  (In the works here….)

The new medicine cabinet is a 3ft tall × 1ft wide cabinet–mirror and storage.  It should offer a great balance over the vanity, sink, and to the room.  Plus~ I think TALL people will appreciate the height!

And here are the new RETRO-styled lights!

—apparently a sneak peek of the “shiplap” too.

Catherine

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mirrors~antique & vintage

I love mirrors.  ALL kinds of mirrors.  They can really add to a design!  And I do have MANY in my collections.

O k a y, I confess–I have MANY things in my MANY collections.

But it’s funny the things you REfind when you’re looking for something particular and you’ve got (cough-cough) –a lot of stuff- to dig look through.

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The smaller mirror I had was probably salvaged from something like this Victorian piece.  I bought it at a boutique flea market a few years back.

When I stumbled back on to it -during my search for the sewing table top– I knew I needed to work it into a project for Nellie’s!

I pulled one of my many door & window headers to pair with it and

make a very simple shelf!

I disassembled the header, repaired its necessary issues, and cut it down.  I’d recently stripped its detail trim for one of my Bespoke Birdhouses, so I had to search my stock for something to put back.

Above-  the header cut down and REassembled, some very small quarter-round added back for detail, and the mirror is now attached.

The picture below shows you how I attached the two pieces—I pre-drilled on the diagonal -or- toe-nailing fashion to screw them together FIRMLY.  It’s –different– from the current trend towards Pocket Screw joinery, and I’m really not sure just how to explain the difference–but there is.  I learned the old-school way and I’ve been doing this a looooong time.  

THEN it was on to painting.  I sanded, primed the whole piece, and then drove myself crazy trying to figure out a color.  Which I knew it would need for Nellie’s Barn Sale–that’s what they’ll be looking for!  And my 2 yellows were still on my mind.

I purposely painted out in the full out sun.  BECAUSE- the paint is old and a bit thick, and it would “set up” quickly for what I intended.

◊ I mottled the two colors together, and as soon as it “felt dry” touching it, I took a soft dry rag and started rubbing areas to peel off paint.  The paint isn’t actually dry so it hasn’t affixed to the wood yet.  If I couldn’t do this in the warm sun I would have used a heat gun.  *These were some of the tricks PRE-chalk paint.

Now, the other mirror.

This too was kind of buried in the stashes, and, w-e-l-l–

out of sight~out of mind. 

At some point I primed away the garish gold these plastic frames originally came in.  But the poor thing was SO dirty–it didn’t LOOK very white-primer.

After I scoured it clean again, I grabbed a can of the soft gray spray paint Chalk paint and sprayed small sections at a time and wiped away the paint.  It tinted the white and left the gray in the voids for more dimension.  SIMPLE.

Catherine

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so much to share~

I have a LOT of projects going on at once.  Seriously!

But the hectic pace, with two 1st communions, a school auction, and a piano recital in the mix has me running a little helter-skelter—

so bear with me, I’ll be right back to you!

But here’s a glimpse of the beginnings of my Nellie’s stashes—and there’s MORE!

Catherine

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the craziness before the show

Truly accurate.

*Doing my best to stay sane through the pace.

**Explanation for my absence.

Below are just some of my projects~and the display pieces built for (both) shows.  I’ll talk about them more after this last show—when the clock will not OWN ME anymore.  Well, for a while anyway.

—This was a super cute side table I found on Craigslist long ago.  It got parked in my queue when I had thoughts of keeping it, and came to light again when I took another look at things for Nellie’s Barn Sale!  I would have loved to leave it alone but discovered several “issues” upon closer inspection.

Commonly seen thrift store UGLY old wood lamps.  IDK~something struck me about them this time…?  I DEelectrified them, cut them into PARTS, REbuilt them, tried sanding the finish but bailed for stripping.

A variety of boxes, trays, and picture frames—I’ll be anxious to come back to these to tell you ALL about it!

How about a VALET from several misc parts!

Misc “things” for the sale!

 

These are our 3 main display pieces.

 

That columned structure is

8ft tall × 8ft wide!

The strapping is set at 1½ ft intervals and strong enough to hold some pretty heavy stuff—like that aMAZing mirror I REframed with chippy door casing!

Hope to see you at the sale this weekend!

Catherine

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I ♥ old door and window casings

Back in the day they used to mill the best profiles!

And all that old chippy paint now. . . !

What’s not to love?

So I wrapped another antique mirror with some amAZing casing!

And look at the fabulous frame it made!

A N D  ~I really hated to toss the mitered scraps, so I cut those “inner” corners down a bit

and made another frame!

Catherine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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These will be available at the following sales!

See you there!

 

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this, that, and those other things

. . . there’s a missing wall in this space.

Because it used to be ONE – HUGE space and is now subdivided.

And the neighbor has this large 3-paneled screen.  With a dog.  A ridiculous dog.  Annoying me to NO END.  So I’ve come up with a remedy I’ll work on today.  Otherwise, I’m trying to take it easy today—I need a day off!

I NEED that beach I’m dreaming of…sigh…

Okay~ dream over~ well, deferred

~

WHAT doesn’t belong here . . . hmmmm . . .

Catherine

AND there’s WaY more waiting for space to free up. . .

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juggling projects

Besides MY OWN crazy array of the usual projects,

I have been ~ I am

juggling projects for 2 other families!

For Judy~ REstyling some ladder-back chairs AND a trestle table,

plus a REdesign for a change of TV.

And THEN there is a “pseudo estate sale” for a senior couple leaving their home of MANY years–overwhelming and exhausting in the best of circumstances.  I’ll be helping them sell their treasures at the antique mall beginning April 1st!

The preliminary work is almost daunting–almost.  One bite at a time, it’ll get done!  Dressers are getting stripped–one completely REstyled!  Things are getting painted, even REcreated—

and EVERYthing is getting cleaned and polished!

Bear with me—COOL PICTURES ARE COMING!  I promise!  ; D

Catherine

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problem solving -and- am I cheap?

It’s almost feeling like

Groundhog’s Day 

around here.  Almost.  Although my 4 sectioned~4 day project is on day 5 of actual work—I started last Friday.  What the heck~??

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I broke my work into 4 sections, and saved the “worst” for last. Partly because this North corner bothers me.

*To clear up any confusion—I prefer to call this the Lower Level or LL because it’s too nice down here to be called a basement anymore!

The North corner is, well~ darker.

When I added the builtin down here, I actually wanted to put mirrors in the back wall of the shelving to reflect light and brighten things up.  As much as could be.  COST crossed it off my list, but I’m REthinking that once again.

I called for prices this morning.  Uhhh~let’s just say I’m still thinking about it.  Each side is 40½” wide × 46½” tall.  They quoted $122 per side. AM I CHEAP?  THAT’s crAzy!

PLAN B.  I asked about plain old glass being cut for each side— ½” thick $90 each, ¼” thick $70. Times 2 remember.  UNbelievable.  My thought was that I would silver the glass myself making it affordable~haha.

Then I considered glass (I would silver) to cover ONLY above the top 2 shelves—design magazines completely cover the bottom shelves.  Even THAT was $70’ish something!  YES.  I guess I AM cheap.

I checked if there were any mirrors in their Ooops section that could be REcut—?? You DO know most glass/mirror stores have an Ooops section, right?  Unfortunately, everything was too small.

Ok a y ~plan C.

I could paint the back with a silver leafing/metallic paint…

or A REALLY high gloss paint for a lacquered effect…?

Maybe I should check out the price and sizes of mirror TILES…?

So~ 1 last potential option.

*BTW~ here’s an example of the ltd natural light.

Looking online, I found a mirror that could be FRAMED IN like a picture.  $24.46 × 2  which is a lot more to my liking.

I taped it out, and put the shelves back to get a visual.

I don’t know. . .

So it looks like my project is still in “Groundhog’s Day” limbo. . .

Catherine

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“new” things for another show, #1

I’m in the final push to be ready for

The weather has NOT cooperated for many of the things I planned to work on, so I’m feeling pretty anxious about being ready. . .

it’s going to be one VERY action-packed week.

I’ve been sewing soft goods—but yesterday afternoon when that constant rain finally broke, I headed outside to jump on 2 simpler projects, like—

REframing this heavily beveled, vintage mirror.

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I used the door cutoffs from making my Pilaster Light Sconces.  I just love the patina of that wood, and how the sides show evidence of it being a door, so I left the parts of the hinges that were still attached!  I also pegged each of the corners to make stronger mitered joints.  Lastly, I waxed the wood.

Btw—that frame is 2½” wide and ¼” of the mirror is covered by the new frame, see how deep the bevel is?  The last time I priced out a standard beveled glass table top~it was $2 an inch.  Imagine what this might cost nowadays!

 

I’m thinking about adding those vintage wire hooks to make it a very simple entry hall mirror. . . hmmmm. . .

Catherine

. . .here’s the back side and how I secured the mirror.  Part 2 tomorrow.

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sometimes you get lucky!

I saw an ad on Craigslist for 6 really old windows  $25.

Say W H A T ?

I had to rub my eyes and look at that again.  I clicked on the posting expecting the description to clarify that it was $25 PER window—nope. I read right—what a shock!

I also called immediately and headed out the door!

Except that one window had a broken pane— O M G!

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They’re tall,

they’re skinny,

they have ARCHED tops,

and they’re MINE!

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OLD windows with their wavy glass make FABulous mirrors!

I added graphics to 2, left 1 plain & hustled them to the antique stores!

 

 

. . .fingers crossed for quick sales!

Catherine

And check out these items that are getting my attention next!

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