It’s been a while (and by that I mean a baby, a house and a job have transpired). Don’t worry though, I won’t bore you with the details of my absence. In fact, while we considered starting fiveoeight up again, my biggest dread was this…the blog. Wah Wah. Because the world needs another blogger.

Sooooo, I am going my own way and I will be keeping my words to a minimum (unless there is a crazy demand to hear from me…which is totally possible…I am hilarious). I desire most to share images of the things we create and hopefully what comes out of all this is something we can share with you for your homes too.

We are starting small. For now we are not doing any furniture renovation. Although please have fun looking back at past blog posts if you have a hankering for furniture renos. Our animals are a more manageable way for us to have a small creative outlet without it taking over our family life.

Our barn wood, Lilla Vän, collection of animals did so well in the past, but I wanted to refresh the look of them. We are currently offering just the dala horse and whale silhouettes. There is a chance we got a little carried away with all the new color and style options so please check out our store to find your favorite color and design combo.

Aaaaand because we have never sold things on our site before, I am sure there will be some kinks that need to be worked out…so let us know if there are any problems!

I am SO looking forward to this new creative season, adding new animal silhouettes and hopefully new products too.

I will say this- I have learned one very important thing in my long absence. Everyone needs something that fills them up/refreshes/rejuvenates them. For me, this is it.

Enjoy our collection and help us pass the word along!

Xo sarah

p.s. If you want to read a little more about fiveoeight and our family, check out our about page.

I just recently did a guest post for Bemz {its a cover up} giving a run-down on one of our painting methods- you can check them out…Bemz covers & fabrics are crazy awesome. Anyway, I thought I would post it here too….because this beauty is for sale in our shop AND because I thought of some additional tips in hind sight that I wanted to share.

I also realize this may be old news to some, but many of our readers have asked our process and how we achieve our looks…so, I thought this chair was a good example of  just one of the methods we use to create that old chipped paint look. I like this method because it gives a similar look to Milk Paint, but you have more control.

Tools:

• 150-220 grit flat sanding sheets, cut for whatever size you need* {508 uses: 3M Sandblaster or Norton 3X}
• electric sander (if you have it) & sanding sheets that fit
• fine grit sanding sponges, 220-320 {508 uses: 3M}
• furniture wax {508 uses: Fiddes}
• a few lint free rags
• paint, satin finish {508 uses: Benjamin Moore or Behr}
• paint brush {508 uses: 2” Angled Purdy Brush}

1: DISASSEMBLE
Unscrew the seat. Loosen staples with flathead screwdriver & twist them out with wire cutters.

2: SAND
Go with the grain! Start with a medium grit sandpaper {150} using an electric sander {if you have it} for flat areas & flat sheets or sanding sponges for edges & corners. Finish sanding with a fine grit {220-320}.

TIP >> Don’t go crazy- you just want the bulk of that existing finish off or ruffed up. If the finish is really gummy, use a solvent/remover first.
TIP >> Cut long strips of the flat sanding sheets and use them to pull back & forth around each spindles

3: PRE-WAX
Use a lint free rag to apply the furniture wax BEFORE you paint. Wipe on the areas that you want the paint to chip off during the distressing stage. For this chair, I applied the wax all over quickly- not really caring how thick or thin. This made most of the paint come off in the end, which was what I was going for.

TIP >> Be creative with your piece! Don’t be scared. Worst case, you applied too much wax and it is more distressed than you want. Rough it up again and slap on another coat of paint! The more you try, the more you learn.

4: PAINT
I only needed one 7oz paint sample for this chair. Using a GOOD brush, apply one coat of paint. I only brushed one coat on this chair because I knew I was going to heavily distress. The 7oz paint samples are still plenty to do 2 coats on a chair if you prefer.

TIP >> Let dry overnight in a dry place {low humidity}. It is hard to wait, but the distressing step will be easier and less gummy this way.

5. DISTRESS
Using your finer grit sanding sponge or sanding sheet, begin distressing. You will see how quickly the paint comes off in the areas you have applied wax underneath. Again, go with the grain and move quickly. If it is not chipping or pealing off, MOVE ON.  When you are pleased with your look, thoroughly clean entire piece with damp rag.

TIP >> It is your lucky day! I did my first EVER video tutorial of this. Nathan did not think it was important to ever tape my face, so it is just talking arms & legs. Ha. Other than that, it gives you a pretty good idea of how easy it is to do the distressing step when you have put the wax on first.

TIP>> Be sure to apply a PROTECTIVE COAT. For No. 43, after the chair was clean, I applied a top protective coat of the same clear furniture wax {Fiddes, Light} with a lint free rag, buffing it after 30 min.

There are plenty of “how-tos” on recovering your basic chair seat- it is pretty simple. But here is the basics of how I do it- quick and easy.

6. CUT FABRIC
If the original fabric isn’t too torn up after you have taken it off, use it to trace your new fabric piece! This ensures that you don’t cut too much extra fabric- or worse, too little!

TIP>>Often, people cut cotton batting to put between the foam and the fabric…in this case, I didn’t want it to look over-stuffed, plus this fabric was pretty thick, so I left the batting out.

7.  STAPLE
Basically, I just line up the fabric, staple one side and then continue pulling tight and stapling each flat side first. Then, I work on neatly folding or bunching each corner tightly, stapling the corners in place one by one.

TIP>> I mostly use an Easyshot gun, which isn’t the most powerful out there, but with a heavier duty staple it does just fine for most jobs. If you are stapling into a denser wood or fabric, you may want a more powerful staple gun.

8. BACKING/DUSTCOVER {optional}
Because I tend to “over staple”, I like to lightly staple a white backing/dustcover on the underside of the seat to clean it all up. Especially because in some cases, the seat overhangs from the chair, exposing all those ugly staples and could snag your fingers while moving it around.

Now all you need to do is reassemble your chair and enjoy!

Hope this has helped, feel free to ask questions. Oh, except paint colors…we keep not all, but most of those super secret…I mean, we can’t give EVERYTHING away!

cheers,
s

After much research, we realized there are varying levels of restoration that you can do using various methods. We decided that we wanted to be very thorough in our restoration, but not change the character that the piece had acquired over time in the wood or in the iron.

Nathan deserves all the credit here. He fully disassembled the cart…taking the time to keep all the original nails for the wood and all the original bolts for the iron.

After taking off all the iron parts and cleaning them thoroughly, he then sealed them with a clear wax. Many have restored their carts with a black wax to make the iron pop…but we loved the industrial aged look that the clear wax gave. You can see here a HUGE difference in the before and after…and how beautiful the iron is even with out the black tint added…

As for the wood, he was careful enough to save each & every original nail as he took the cart apart. Once the wood was bare, he sanded each board to get all the dirt, paint and splinters off. He was careful to get the boards nice and smooth, but not sand so much that it took away all the variations in the wood. Again, you can go further than this, sanding the wood much more…but this cart was very much USED in its lifetime…we didn’t want to take it back to looking brand new again. That is called “taking the cool-ness away”. Our very professional opinion.

Before…

After:

And finally…because my husband is so smart…he added “kickstands”. The side wheels do come down to the floor, but we raised them in the image below so you can see. These kick stands lock into place to make the piece sturdy for use…but can be flipped back under easily to move the piece. He distressed and stained the wood on the stands so they wouldn’t stand out too much. The cart is plenty sturdy with just the wheels but we like this addition, especially for use as a coffee table. Pretty cool, no?

Factory carts are everywhere, but I am still so much in love with this!! We plan to sell this one to see how it does…and of course do one for ourselves!

SO, if you like this one and would like us to do more…let us know!! This particular one {No. 36} will be up in the shop in the next day or so…I just have to verify that it isn’t already spoken for. The cost on these will all be $675 plus shipping {or if you live close enough to the Lynchburg VA area, let us know}.

Cheers!
s

I told you I had a massively big and beautiful sapphire blue piece to show you. Well, meet No. 42. This was one of those pieces I bought with out a plan. Meaning…there is NO WAY I am going to be able to ship this to a client…we don’t really have a place for it in our home…but it looks like a giant’s desk….so how can I pass it by?? So, it went home with me. And it stayed home, untouched forEVER.

Then one day, my sister decided to get married (well, that is the short version)…which as I have mentioned was kind of a big deal around here this spring and kept us busy! OH…let me just stop here and point out that out of all the billions of guys out there, she married one named NATHAN. No, not even “Nate”. NOT COOL JULIE. Way to make family gatherings even MORE complicated.
Anyway, we began discussing which piece would be their wedding gift, and she is all….”well, I have no furniture in our dining room and I need a big piece to put linens & dishes…I like that unfinished one in your hallway though…”. BAM. Just like that, No. 42 became theirs.

Here he is when he looked like a giant’s desk…

And after a massive amount of the very best shade of blue, a LOT of love and a fun shelf in the middle to accommodate baskets for linens and such…

Again, sorry for the weird photos. I really don’t know what I am doing when I take them and I always wait until the last minute to take photos and it is always the wrong weather or time of day. Oh to be rich and hire a photographer….anyway, this photo shows best how the blue looks in person…

The hardware on the piece was MADE for it. I bought the hardware probably 2 years ago, waiting for just the right massive piece of furniture to use them on. So, I guess buying stuff with “NO PLAN” and just because it is “cool” sometimes actually works out for good…no?

And here a quick snapshot of No. 42 right after it was brought to it’s new home…

Love you both, Julie & Nathan. Thanks to G&G and Judy/Mike for making it happen!
-s

Starting off fresh with No. 41 this Monday morning! Take a look at this looker…

I have had this suuuuper pale mint/jade paint color in my stock for a while now…just waiting for the perfect little number to use it on. This is one of those rare times I went glossy, NO distressing…I know…SHOCKING. Couple that with the brightest orange I have EVER used and OH MAN…I am totally diggin it. (do people still say “diggin it”?)

No. 41 was for a beautiful bride this past weekend…congrats, Kate!!! She and her new husband are super fun…so this piece was the perfect match :)

My favorite part? You know I love some orange dippage  going on with the feet PLUS I had a chance to finally use these SWEET birdies…

A fun piece going to a super fun home given by super fun people. XO, G&G and Judy & Mike!
-s

No. 40 a little bit made me fall in love with barn wood all over again. I know barn wood is being used on everything everywhere- especially barn wood tables. Here at 508 it is everywhere too. I can’t help it. This custom dining table is A-MAZING.

I am going to show you pictures and write about it….but it was Nathan who made this happen. 100%. From design to building to completion…this was all him…and it works out well because this is the kind of stuff he reallllllly loves to do.
Enough chatting…check out No. 40 in all his glory…. (and please excuse the photos…I was in a rush to take them before we packed him up…the workshop photos are grainy and the rest are taken in our living room…which is weird…oh well…)

Oh, and can I please say that this table put our little kitchen table TO SHAME???! That sounds bad…I love our table. Ours was meant to be a bit more rustic and this one more “vintage-y”…but now that all the cracks are filled with peanut butter & jelly…I MAY have mentioned to Nathan how VERY NICE it would be to use the planer & biscuit joiner on the wood from OUR table and just “real quick” put it all back together…too much to ask??

{this is a horrible picture & I am sorry, but it gives you an idea of the whole thing}

Well, that is all I have…isn’t it beautiful?! I will say we had amazing clients to work with {a VA local!!}. Beth and her husband are very please and even sent a quick picture…I think No. 40 is fitting in quite nicely in their new home!!!

Cheers,

s

He is a new addition to our 508made family of stools & side tables. As you can see, I have decided to go ahead and start numbering our 508 made items along with the others. I don’t know why…just go with it.

The design for our stool came straight from the mind of Nathan. His design for our new kitchen scrap wood step-stool is so loved that we decided to make a larger version of it. And put yellow feet on it. Don’t you just love it in the larger scale? We hope to do a 3rd size that can be used as a bar stool or side table.

We decided to go ahead and make them both available to you in our shop!  Woot. Because the bottom line is, we can’t keep everything we make. Sad.

Until next week,
s

Let’s just be clear. I am totally trying to play it cool right now…but IT IS NOT HAPPENING. I just LOVE our new little collection of painted wood animal silhouettes that we like to call Lilla Vän {pronounced “leela-ven”}. It means “little friend” in Swedish.

I can not even tell you how fun it is to play with color & pattern on smaller-than-furniture scale pieces! Lilla Vän has a little 508 style mixed with a little of the Swede in me…I just can’t help it. We are introducing 4 animals…in a variety of sizes and color…

The idea started to form about 6 months ago…in my WAY too tired and overloaded brain…in other words, the idea was not solid (to say the least). But, on the principle of “waste not, want not”, I was trying to come up with an idea for us to use all our scrap pieces of beautiful barn wood & other misc wood from our furniture making. Lucky for me, I also have a husband with drawing AND wood working skills. SWEEEET.

We tried MANY animals. We made many mistakes. Brutal honesty? Many of our failed attempts where burned in our wood stove over the winter. I don’t really hang on to stuff. We either love it or we burn it {apparently}.

I have several on my walls now and when you throw one of these in with your typically boring collage of photos, it TOTALLY makes it fun and unique and filled with awesomeness. Personal opinion, I know.

One day, we decided to add a SUPER WHALE. He is huge- too big for our barn wood. Made from a piece of wood from the Torrence saw mill. He is super amazing.

Everything you see is available in our shop today. For you. None of them are perfect and none are the same.
So, go check em out and let us know what you think. We really do LOVE feedback. Favorite animal of the four? Favorite size? Want to see more of something?

OH and one more thing. I didn’t take a single one of the photos. No not one. Thank you to my favorite…Kelly at Kellan Studios. She loves me AND she is mad skilled AND she took all these photos. xo

over and out.
-s

He came to us as plain as can be & a bit beat up…

and as a result of the madness, he came out with a split personality! Chippy painted distressed chair dipped in solid white glossy. YUM.

This chair is a perfect expression of 508 style…a bit SPLIT…

No. 33 is ready for a home. A small & quirky accent piece. SUCH a treat. You can buy him HERE at our shop.
That is all for today. Enjoy your Monday!
{the quote in yellow made me laugh and i had to print a quick version for this shoot! i saw it here on pinterest}

**UPDATE: No. 33 has a new happy home and is no longer available**

We aren’t big into modern or complicated design {obviously}. Just usable furniture that brings color to your home…

These pieces are NOT perfect or alike….

We want to make simple furniture that is MADE WELL so it can be WORN WELL.

We want to represent character, travel, history, color and simplicity…

…you know…all that good-one-of-a-kind stuff you want to collect for a “homey home” that represents you…

We are not selling these in our shop yet, but if you are interested in Minty for your home, let us know…….. fiveoeightRD (at) gmail (dot) com. Minty is one of the first in a collection of 508made stools and side tables that we will slowly be building over the next months.

Oh, and just so you know. I am totally playing it cool right now, but inside I am all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BIG-DEAL-super-stoked-try-not-to-implode-with-ideas feeling.

-s

Meet No. 30…

and No. 31…

We found them both like this…not sure why I only have the one chair in this photo. And, unfortunately for you, this pic does not demonstrate how NOT WHITE that white fabric was when we got them…

The seats are covered with vintage sheet fabric…

…and are now {of course} a VERY happy place to put your bum…no?

Not identical…but man are they a good match…

Kind of a perfect set to add color and pattern to a kitchen/dining area. Or maybe a bedroom? If you want to give them a home, visit our fiveoeight etsy shop here.
Until next time…cheers!
s

**UPDATE: No. 31 has found a new home and is no longer available**

We have an active son.
I guess that is what you call one who likes to pick large objects up and slam them down- sumo style? Not out of anger…just because it is fun…and loud…and he is a BOY. Our previous stool was handed down from Nathan’s grandaddy…and we really liked it…but it was not built with Lincoln Torrence in mind. Just last week it was slammed down for the last time and it fell to pieces. Sad.

We use the stool constantly in the kitchen. So we needed a new one FAST. An indestructible one.

Now, MY spatially challenged brain can NOT do this, but leaving this task to Nathan is another story. He sketched the design quickly on paper and went out and made it all in an afternoon. I am bragging because building a box out of wood would have taken me 2 solid days…at least.

Lincoln is no match for this. He can not break it. HE CAN, however, break something with it. But we we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

We love it so much there is a possibility we may make some more and add it to our etsy shop. Although it is just small, it would be so much fun to sell furniture WE designed…something we both have wanted to get into for a while. What do you think?

-s

We want to start your week off with a sweet pinky twin bed…No. 28…

No. 28 belongs to the beautiful, 6-year old Brianna! Freshened up in pale pink to match the lovely No. 26 twins….

…HOW CUTE IS BRIANNA’S ROOM GOING TO BE?!!…

Wish I had photo of the entire room put together to show you, but all these pretty pieces are in Ohio now.

I have to tell you, though….my 3 YEAR OLD has already put in her request for a pink bed. Pretty normal for a girl, right?
WRONG. She has sifted through my paint swatches herself and selected a shade of pink on her own. Then proceeded to select a green for her armoire. The scary part? They are both great colors and would actually look really good with her room. HOLY COW. WHAT. HAVE. I. CREATED?
-s

…just in time for a holiday about love….

…which is ironic…because No. 29 now belongs to 2 people I love very much…

…a wedding gift to my much too far away brother and his wonderful wife!!

After all, it is valentines day…and perhaps there is a small tiny chance I got caught up in the season and added a little extra something into this one….

{ We love you both Josh & Eileen…hope you enjoy 29 }

Oh- and for those lovers of before and after’s…..

Cheers!
s

Happy Monday! Good weekend? We did…full of furniture, friends and glasses repair (that would be the 2nd pair of broken glasses for our 18 month old in 3 weeks).

Lucky for you, we get to start your week by introducing our itty bitty ditty No. 27…the cutest side table ever made! We are diggin the size and FUNK he has going on…

We had a tiny collection of great paper…just enough for this job…then combined it with some lovely blue “oops” paint and mixed my own cream for the interior shelves. The wax treatment on top ended up giving it a lot of weird stripes, variations and texture…and I like it.

No. 27 is available in our shop…so check HIM out, uh?!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH……and one more thing. I just showed you a sneak peek of what we have been working on (not furniture) to add to our 508 home. Did you see it? Did you, did you???? Can you guess what it is?! I am excited. You should be too.

Cheeerio!
s

{you like our new PIN IT button? a nathan addition to the blog over the weekend. fun.}

As a lover of my IKEA couches, I recently found (and became a huge fan) of Bemz. You heard of them?

They offer a HUGE variety of designer covers (cotton, linen, loose fit, ect) for IKEA furniture that embraces the Swedish look/lifestyle…and let me tell you…I was super stoked. Must be the Swede in me….

Oh, and I am not getting paid to say these nice things…I just really like the stuff- ha!

These images are all Bemz images- from the new Spring collection (Brera). Go check out their site because there are TONs more fabrics and linens to choose from. OR check out their blog for great inspiration!

Cheers!
s

No. 26’s came from humble beginnings. We did not find them as end tables. What we actually found was a very very sad, old dressing table. And I mean it…SAD. The veneer was a mess, the mirror was damaged and missing pieces…..plus, who uses a dressing table anymore? So it was between tossing it to the curb or doing some major reinventing. So, here is what we did {in photos}….

They have a bit of a girly side with the pale pink, but I think adding the stain on top of the paint & leaving the drawers just stained helped to give them a good balance.

I have had this hardware for a while and love the vintage feel of the silver…a perfect match for these two…

We thought about keeping these for our master bedroom, but decided to put them in our oh so empty Etsy shop instead for someone new to enjoy! By the end of this week you can go check them out in our store and see if they can find a good home :)

Cheers,
s

NO IDEA WHY this wasn’t snatched up already…..but I scored this lamp base for a mere $5 at an estate store the other day…..it was chippy and had a weird finish when I bought it…

However, since it worked just fine, all I did was a quick light sanding with a fine sanding sponge and 2 coats of rusto-leum hammered dark bronze…

The lamp shade is one I already had (Target) and maybe slightly too big? Either way, it is staying. For now. Good enough for a Monday.

-s

AND, we just stained these drawers for the No. 26 set! Made from an old dressing table, these end tables/night stands have got a DOOSIE of a before and after….lots of work to go tho!

Gotta go sand!
sarah

We attached those two pieces of wood you see laying in the background. This worked very nicely for many months and ended up a a prop for a several photo shoots…..

But, I recently painted the back with leftover red paint- didn’t sand it or nothin. I did clean the crate…but that was about it. Now it is on top of my fridge holding my tiny collection of cookbooks that I never use because of google {and because I don’t cook a lot}.

Yes, my plant is dying.

I like it on top of the fridge, but eventually would like to mount it on a wall for a little bookshelf.

I have some more furniture being worked on too. All in due time.

-sarah

Well, I have a lot of ideas, ok? And I don’t always do them…right away. But now this is done and it is very pretty in my dining room and I did it like this:

There are a bunch of gallery-collection-hanging-tips online, so I am sure this is old news blues…like maybe 11 months ago news? But I thought I would write it out anyway. In case this is the first blog you have ever read. {Wouldn’t that be cool?}

1. Place the fabric in the hoops,  tighten & trim close. {I didn’t glue like some people, because I change my mind too often and knew these fabrics would change.}
2. Trace ALL your hoops on white paper and cut out paper circles.
3. Arranged how you want on the wall with painter’s tape.
4. Nail directly into the center-top of the paper & hang your hoops!

Done and Done. Easy Peezy.

UNLESS you decide to add grandma’s flower painting in the middle. Then you take some of the hoops away and place the painting on one of the existing nails. I like the randomness of the placements now.

Oh, and I need a table/sideboard/credenza thing. Yes, the furniture girl needs a lot of furniture.

Welcome again to all our new viewers- have a good weekend!
-s

Thank you Kate for sharing our DIY headboard over at Design Sponge today! We are loving it!!

New friends: Welcome to our blog- feel free to ask us any questions and look around!

Old friends: be sure to pop over to D*s and show your love.

Cheers,

sarah

{via}

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I have to admit, as of now, I don’t have really ANY animal decor in my home….BUT when you can get THIS SWEET FONT FOR FREE – WHY NOT try it- right? I don’t know, it’s the old graphic designer in me I guess.

{They have way more for numbers & lowercase too!}

Hope this helps you with all your animal DIY needs!!

cheers!

-sarah

PART THREE: installed in our room!

Are we all as excited as I am?
We FINALLY have a headboard!

We love how it turned out in the end and feel like it has brought something personal to a much neglected bedroom.

You might notice that we have no end tables- or anything, really. I have never really hung a picture or put any effort into our room. Sad, I know. It has been an accumulation of mis-matched, leftover, unfinished furniture and whatever else we don’t have a space for. But, NO LONGER. Here is where we start.

In the end, we don’t want anything fancy- just a simple peaceful room. Soooo, we figured we would work on one thing at a time. So far, we have a headboard. And we couldn’t be happier.

I hung some photos on a string of Nathan & I that make us happy. That’s about all we have so far.

For all those wondering…. AWAKE MY SOUL was a last minute decision to paint….we just did it by hand before the final spray coat. It is from one of our favs: mumford & sons.

I guess it is special to us, though, for a more personal reason. Even while we rest in this lovely new bed, HE is the one who awakes our soul. You can not possibly rest more sweetly knowing there is a God that loves you that much.

how to attach a headboard to a basic metal frame

Securing the headboard was pretty simple. Our metal bed frame came from Sam’s Club ($27).

The frame (as with most frames) had holes to bolt a headboard- two on each side.  We had already measured how far apart the legs needed to be on our headboard to fit our particular frame.

We just marked with a pencil, drilled the holes, popped in the bolts and tightened them down! I think we will put an additional attachment to the wall itself at the top of the head board- but it is very secure as it is.

All in all, a very simple project. This time it took about 3 days. If we were to do it again, it would probably only take a day- if that…but it took a little figuring on the first try!

And HOLY MOLY, you can’t complain for only $8.

Cheers!

sarah

Side note: We do have a next step in our plan: night stands. Here is what one of them looks like now (I started to take the headboard shots with the unfinished night stands, but decided to keep it simple)

PART TWO: Finishing/Sealing

Ok, so here was the BIG dilemma: We really REALLY loved the gray weathered look of the barn wood. Problem is, as soon as you start any significant sanding, you loose the gray. Also, it seemed like every finish we tried darkened the gray. We love the variations in the original of dark and light gray and wanted to keep that as much as possible. So after much hemming and hawwing…here is how we did it:

First, we sanded it LIGHTLY with a fine grit sanding sponge (we use these)- just dirt and getting any major splinters:

Next, we used a cleaning brush (like this one) over the entire thing….no water, just dry:

I could pretty much scrub as hard as I wanted with out messing it up. So I scrubbed. Because I don’t want a dirty headboard. Dang it.

Next, we used the air compressor to blow away all the fine dust and dirt. We did this a lot too.

After this step, the boards were pretty smooth and it eliminated all of the dirt. Like I said, we tried MANY a finish and finally used Valspar FLAT Clear Finish Spray. It darkened it a little bit, but not too bad. We did several coats until I felt like I could cozy up against it (maybe 3-4 coats). I am a freak about such things.

When it was dry, it was lighter than that last pic.

OH!
And before we did the sealer, I painted a couple words on it. I forgot to take pics- but you will see it on PART THREE.
Next, Nathan will attach it to the bed frame – I will show you how we secure it and take the final shots.

Cheers!
-s

I just love that collection of vintage flower paintings. They reminded me of this one you have seen pose with No. 20…

Isn’t it beautiful? That was done by my Grandma Nelson who lives in CT and it was just handed down to me a few weeks ago. I can not tell you how much it means for me to have this in my home! It’s just wonderful- right?! I love it. And I love you too Grandma! {who reads my blog and has an iPad2…}

But that is not all. On the other side of the family, my Grans is a painter too. We opened this from her on the first day of our honeymoon…painted for Nathan and I with love…

I am so proud of my inheritance….creatively, spiritually…truly I am blessed.
-s

Found this on my dining room table the other day….made by the kids (with Nathan’s help). He said Ella picked flowers for 30 min to make it.

My heart almost exploded.

-s

We used oak barn wood that we scored from Nathan’s brother a while back. Same stuff used to make our small barn wood kitchen table. We have a queen size metal bed frame- no head or foot board. Soooooo, with no real plan, we just set out to put our headboard together….
First, we laid out all our best pieces.

I didn’t want just a few straight boards nailed together, I wanted to stagger the pieces to create interest…of course, this also created more work. We laid them out on top of each other….roughly how we wanted….

There was some debate as to whether to keep the old nail heads in the wood, but in the end we took them out for easy-ness sake

{SIDE NOTE} It was early morning and COLD – for it only being September….but we were kid free for the day. Nathan was capturing my attempt at being really exited that this was finally getting done. Which I was…but as you can see, the coffee was still needing to be drunk. I did my best.

Back to the work. To figure out the SIZE of the headboard for a queen, we just went up to our bedroom with a measuring tape and guessed. Super technical, I know. Then we drew the outline directly on our workshop floor in pencil to help us line up the boards relitivly straight. Here is where you could have left a jagged edge, but we opted to have it clean cut.

Using the miter saw, Nathan cut the pieces to fit how we laid them out.

Here is the final size we came up with for a queen after all the boards were cut and laid out… 44″ x 64″

The wood we used for the next few steps will vary for you because we just used any leftover wood that we already had. But you can find similar something similar at any home improvement store.
The 2 main boards holding it together and connecting to the frame were roughly 1″ x 4″ and 65″ long.

We wanted the actual barn wood part to begin 22″ off the floor. So we attached the barn wood 22″ from the bottom of our 1″ x 4″ pieces with screws in case we needed to make any adjustments (nails seem more permanent).

And, since we opted to have the front look staggared, we had to screw in pieces along the back were the boards met.  Again, we just used scrap wood. We also used shims since the barn wood varied in thickness…doesn’t look that great, but super secure and sturdy.

The construction process wasn’t very hard- just time consuming. It took close to ONE day (even with out the kids). Doing it again would go much faster since we know how and have all the measurements. Here is what we had after the construction:

I know other people who have done headboards attach/hang them directly to the wall. However, the oak we used was WAY to heavy and most of our walls were plaster. This is why we have the legs. Also, I move our furniture around a lot and I wanted the option of moving our bed.

I am working on putting together the other photos…but PART TWO will how you how we sealed the boards and PART THREE will show you how we attached it to the frame and you will see the final pics!

Cheers!

-s

After the piece was painted, distressed and cleaned thoroughly, I applied a furniture wax with color/stain in it (on all areas except the panels where the fabric goes). Usually the protective top coat or wax is the last step, but I didn’t want to risk getting the fabric stained. You can see the difference the wax makes- beautiful aging instantly!

Next, I laid out the {ironed} fabric & marked with a pencil where I wanted to cut. I cut it a little big so I can trim it with an x-acto once it is attached.  I don’t really MEASURE because when you are working with old pieces, they don’t always line up the way they should.

These are the panels cut but not attached….

I use Modge Podge Satin Finish to attach the fabric. I think that is what most people use…but in case you haven’t used it, it looks like this and its at all craft stores:

I poured the modge podge in a plastic bowl and applied it to the panel with a foam brush. I guess you can use a china brush too but probably not as smooth a finish.

Just apply a very even coat- not super thick- on the entire area. You have to do this step quickly and have the fabric ready.

I started in one corner putting the fabric on top of the modge podge and smoothed it out with my hands until the entire thing was down. Then I took a credit card and did some serious smoothing out. Next I trimmed with an x-acto.

Ta-da!

I took a fine sponge sander over the fabric after it dried. You can either do another coat of modge podge on top of that OR polycrylic will work. Then you are done! Pretty easy once you have done it.

Here is where I kind of messed up on this piece. I painted the panels GREEN before the fabric was put on- I just didn’t think about it. So, because I used a white fabric, you can see the variations and some of the green showing through.  In hind sight I would have painted them white to prevent this. HOWEVER, after living with it a while, I actually don’t mind it because it makes it look older….but I wouldn’t take the risk next time.

That is all I got! Hope this helps someone!

-s

BUT…here he is….emerald green & loving it…

{sorry for the table & chandy in the way….it was rainy for a week and I had to work on it in our house. I am liking it in MY dining room though…with all my fabrics- right?}

The fabric is vintage and I only had enough to do this ONE PIECE. So, I can’t do this combo again….sad.

Handsome legs…

I thought about doing the inside a cream color, but wanted to keep it simple and green so the fabric panels would stand out more.

I happened to have the perfect wallpaper for the drawer that matched the fabric…YES!…

As PERFECT as this piece looks in my dining room, we are not keeping him. SO SAD. I really really tried to get Nathan to see why we needed it. I do love him (No. 20) (and Nathan too).

All that to say, he is looking for a good home and you can go grab him now in our shop.

I kind of documented some of the process for this one and I want to do a little tutorial on it in the next few days. It will be my first “how-to” on furniture, so we will see…

Cheers!

s

Cause OBVIOUSLY this was not big enough for our kids to play in {sarcasm}. Soooo…..we built one for them too. We have problems. We call it:

Scrap from the 508 workshop + leftover 508 paint + 1 super-fast builder = playhouse.
We {Nathan} had to dig a little wedge for it because our yard is downhill. Which I hate btw. OH- and it took more than that ONE day. But all in all it was pretty basic and pretty quick {as you can see}.

I love walking out to the back yard seeing this:

Ella (on her own initiative) helped paint the whole thing plus stencil the numbers. I guess she has seen me do it so many times she was inspired (or thought it was normal).

LOve.
Oh- and did I mention it is filled with sand? Kids happy = mamma happy. End of story.

Cheers,
s

OH- just realized there is no pic of the entire thing! When our rain stops, I will update with a pic of the whole 508 1/2.

My husband is numero uno. He bought me this book. Been wanting it since May.
It’s not like I go often, but I have always wished for a non-lame guide book to all the sweet spots in the city for a person like me.

From a graphic design perspective, the design of this book is out of control awesome too.

All images from The Stylist’s Guide to NYC by Sibella Court. Published by Murdoch Books Australia

-s

RED. Yes people, we painted a piece RED. First red piece EVER. And I have to admit, it was the perfect one to do it on.

My friend of a friend, “J”,  brought me this piece from DC and the poor bench was half-way covered in mint green paint. VERY poor and incomplete paint job. It was sad. Does this picture make it look good? Well, it wasn’t good. Just take my word… here is sweet 24 before:

Moving on….”J” wanted it red to match her kitchen and you can just picture it sitting right up to her farm table (no, really…you have to picture it because I don’t have a picture).
Her plan is to re-upholster the backs….and send me photos so I can post the actual “after” shots (because I know how much you people love your before and afters).
OH- and yes, this is my hallway…I couldn’t drag it to the shop myself…deal with it.

The big problem? We wanted to heavily distress this sucker….which meant ALL the mint green had to GO. In order to get all the nooks and crannies we took off the three top boards and sanded our little hearts out. And then sanded more. Then 2-3 coats of red (I don’t remember)…..then MORE sanding! Finally No. 24 was named and a beautiful coat of brown wax applied.

“J” wanted the numbers visible on the sides and we were happy to oblige…

again…lots of yucky green paint in random globs:

and now…

Talk about a GREAT idea: Three chairs with one seat = BENCH.
I am thinking this would be a pretty easy DIY with some of our leftover barn wood….no?
Cheers!
s

I have a problem. I can’t stop accumulating chairs. I really love them. It is my chance to try a color I may be a weee bit nervous to try on a bigger piece.
So our kitchen chairs were UGLY. They stood out next to our barn wood table and not in a good way. Both free or under $5….and you can definitely tell…

So one day I took a sample I had of a suuuuuuper dark navy blue (we don’t know why) and just started painting…

it was Nathan’s idea to use the gray from our kitchen walls to add interest and there was no room to do the numbers on the back or sides anywhere so I put them on the seat…

OK. So, I really do like them. A lot. BUT, they are TOTALLY BOY chairs.
I call them my vintage locker room chairs.
Is that cool for my kitchen? We don’t know.

I think they would be perfect for a boys room or play room or “man cave” or whatever you people call those rooms set apart for your husbands….
Either way, I LOVE THEM, just can’t decide if I want to keep them.

Ok, that is all I have. You may or may not see these up on our shop- ha!
Cheers!
sarah

Or maybe they will go in the living room…

Oh, and that is me in my jeans and T.

Which makes my torso infinitely famous. Obv.

Cheers!
sarah

Three months. That is a long break. But let me tell you, it was needed. For all who are wondering, 508 is still here and still making fabulous furniture! We took some time to recoup/regroup and make some decisions as a family as to how to move forward! This is going to be a kind of long post because I have tons of (what I think are cool) photos to show you PLUS, at the end of this post, I explain a little more some of the changes we are making….

BUT with out further adieu….I want you to meet these guys….the No. 21 twins…

Whoa- right? These twins were a commission piece for a lovely couple in DC. They found this incredible set of chairs that I just could NOT say no to! I have never done a piece like this because these suckers were OLD.
The work here was in the DECONSTRUCTION. HOLY MOLY ….I am talking layers and LAYERS of shredding silk, horse hair, springs, one hundred thousand tacks and HAY believe it or not! I took a series of photos as I was taking apart the first one…take a look:

That first rip into the seat is when I knew this was going to be a big job:

Yup- there is the hay/straw…

The spring were attached with twine…

I actually ended up taking these springs to the reupholster-er guy and he used them to create the seats again…pretty cool stuff. Oh- WHAT? You thought I reupholstered them too?! Who do you think I am-some type of super woman? Its a common mistake people make about me.

Once all of that was done, the real work began….there were over ONE HUNDRED MILLION tacks from all the times they had been upholstered. And Nathan and I took every last one of them out. We wanted a clean slate and we wanted to be able to do some repair to make sure these suckers were nice and sturdy. That is right….that is how we roll.

And here it is with everything taken off and ready for 508 to do its thang…

PHEW. A lot of work, but TOTALLY worth it because to me it is such a cool process taking apart something that old. I love everything about these chairs and loved the opportunity to work on them.
As for their NEW look, we discussed how to “508” them and I couldn’t get this black and white stripe thing out of my head…I was DYING to do a chair like this and these seemed to be a perfect fit. I had seen a chair a loooong time ago like this on design sponge (thank you for the inspiration) and got the “Jo’s” (clients) approval….and voila!

She wanted their number stamped in a visible location which I ended up REALLY liking the contrast of the black numbers on the white!

This will also not be the last you will see of this fabric- I am totally on a black and white stripe kick….so settle in and get used to it…

Oh- and you are wondering why my “after” pictures are unusually fantastic even though my camera is still broken? They are all courtesy of Kelly (Kellan Studios)- THANK YOU!

Ok- as for our updates….
Changes? Yes. Our blog is still here but we will spend less time blogging and more time on furniture! The blog will be focused mainly on our before and after pieces {like this one!}. Our etsy shop will slowly start to fill up again, but as it turns out, our hands are pretty full with local pieces {which you will get to see on our blog}. To find out what inspires us here at 508, come follow me on Pinterest -AND of course, you can keep up to date with quick bits of info on our Facebook page.

That’s all I got! We are on vacation this whole week, so if I don’t respond right away, that is why. But other than that we are happy to be back!

Cheers!
sarah

Last Wednesday I had oral surgery (wisdom teeth removed)….so I am less wise…less wiser…lost my wisdom…lacking wisdom…whatever, there was not much there to begin with. SO, some very painful days went by and I TOTALLY missed last Thursday’s Before & After column on Design Sponge….which featured some of my MOST favorite 508 pieces (No. 16 twins)!

A late, but very much appreciated, THANK YOU to Kate for listing them as “best of” end tables!

(see full post on d*s here)

CHEERS,

s

This is Ella’s nesting doll she calls “Tasha”- who now lives in our kitchen…you can see our new paint color above the sink also peeking through on the left.

Here is to YOU trying a new little color somewhere in your home over the weekend…..

Cheers!

sarah

Speaking of color, I am thankful for Anthro and their little nooks….it is a little messy {which I like}, but cozy and colorful.

Ok….that’s all…back to work.

-s

Can’t get emerald green out of my head….sooooooo….pretty darn exciting about this one.

Cheers,

sarah