As seen in real homes

 

So exciting friends! My sink was shared and liked so many times that it caught the eye of an writer for real homes magazine!

here is the link

A DIYer found a farmhouse sink in an alley, and what she did with it is truly stunning

What a transformation!

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(Image credit: Nancy Joerger)

BY MILLIE HURST 26 DAYS AGO

The guest bathroom is a great place to make a statement with wallpaper, tiles, or in this case, an old-school sink. One avid DIYer transformed a retro sink that had been thrown out in an alley into a stylish bathroom feature.

• See also: 23 luxury bathroom ideas – to create a hotel feel at home

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure - and this couldn't be more true in Nancy’s gorgeous bathroom. Her half bath is a little unusual because it runs off her kitchen, but having a statement sink totally distracts from the quirky layout.

BEFORE

(Image credit: Nancy Joerger)

The cabinet that was thrown out with the sink had lots of rust on it, which would have made it a big job. 'I wasn't up for that kind of redo,' Nancy says. Instead, Nancy just took the farmhouse sink, and found an antique dresser on Craigslist big enough to hold the sink’s frame. 

So she removed the top and back off the drawers and shortened them to allow for plumbing. The top two drawers can’t be used, but the bottom ones are great for storing toilet paper and extra hand towels.

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AFTER

(Image credit: Nancy Joerger)

The first step in the transformation was to clean up the sink - which, luckily, had no cracks or chips on it - just a lot of grime. She soaked it with CLR cleaner to loosen up the residue, before scrubbing it with bleach. Once it had completely dried out, Nancy gave it a good scrub with a soft cloth and Comet powder.

Finally, she went over it with a Magic Eraser to remove leftover scuffs. Nancy fitted a new faucet found at her local Menards, which has a handy soap tray and traditional style like the original piece.

(Image credit: Nancy Joerger)

‘The sink I had before was just standard and boring,' Nancy says. 'I decided to go dark with the walls in Graphite Charcoal from Behr since the new sink was so white and such a show stopper for the room.’

(Image credit: Nancy Joerger)

‘This sink is so large and gives my half bath so much character,’ Nancy says. ‘The crazy thing is I had been looking for a sink just like this. Adding this sink has just made this half bath such a show stopper.’

• See also: 11 small bathroom lighting ideas to make your space feel bigger and brighter

‘My home is from 1901 so it's pretty cool to have a true farmhouse sink for our guest bathroom.’ We think it works brilliantly in her small bathroom. If you’re renovating your own bathroom and looking for a new basin, our guide on how to pick the best bathroom sink will help.

We're feeling so inspired - something that most people would walk straight past, Nancy has made into a unique design statement.

Millie Hurst

Millie is a homes writer renting in North London. She loves vintage furniture, candles, Interior Design Masters and a Facebook Marketplace bargain. She has previously written for Fabulous, Stylist and Marie Claire.

Please check it out here 

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Faux brick wall with white wash Farmhouse German smear

I want I had wanted  to do some sort of accent wall in our 100 year old farmhouse. I had decided to just do the white wash treatment instead of the German smear. 

Super easy and really gave my little office some charter it desperately needed!!

I had taken out the drop ceiling because I wanted to give my tiny 10X8 office some height in the ceiling. The brick paneling came from Menards the sheets were about $20 a panel. I needed 3.

I attached the panels with liquid nails and my nail gun. 

I really liked this look too! But I needed to lighten up the room. 

I caulked all the seems first with painters caulk.

Then I added 3 parts white chalk paint to 1 part water. I worked with just the seams, brushing the paint on and skimming over the bricks.

 

 I hope this helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Don't let fear of trying something hold you back. It's okay to make mistakes along the way, that's how we learn what we don't like.

When I use a product I do try to link it for you and if you decide to purchase the product I am affiliated with some of those companies. Its the only way to offset the time it takes building my how tos for decorating and DIY.

I am in no way asking you to click and purchase any items but it makes it easier for all the info to be on one site. Many different stores carry the products I use. But the links I provide is where I had purchased.

I hope that helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

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My Favorite things off amazon

These farmhouse towels are a great price, and you get so many. I am in love with the simple pattern and softness. 

This steam vac has changed my life.

These shelves are so fun to decorate and change up and they are half price right now.

Tired of your throws, I changed mine out with these covers 

I just ordered 3 sets of these and am very happy with the finish.

Who doesn't love a boxwood wreath? These are a great price

These scales are so in right now. The price on this one is definitely worth splurging for one.

And I can not forget my favorite floor tiles. Floorpops 

This pillow is long and so well made. Love it on my bed.

 I hope this helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Don't let fear of trying something hold you back. It's okay to make mistakes along the way, that's how we learn what we don't like.

When I use a product I do try to link it for you and if you decide to purchase the product I am affiliated with some of those companies. Its the only way to offset the time it takes building my how tos for decorating and DIY.

I am in no way asking you to click and purchase any items but it makes it easier for all the info to be on one site. Many different stores carry the products I use. But the links I provide is where I had purchased.

I hope that helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Read More

Pallet board clock Pottery Barn Knock off

This was one of my favorite DIY art. I turned an old pallet into a rustic clock. I did this project about 10 years ago. So sadly I don't have the step by step directions with pics but I still really love this old world clock.

I had seen this old world type clock at Pottery Barn. It wasn't an actual working clock just for décor. It was so long ago I can't find the images to even show you.

I Had received a shipment on a pallet, I was so excited to use the pallet board for this project.

I started pulling off nails and disassembling the pallet so I could have just the boards.

I laid all the boards flat and attached three boards across the back to secure the wood. I used old roofing nails to give it a more rustic look.

I then stained the boards in a black stain. I roughed it up a little with sandpaper to really give it the old rustic look.

Now this was before I had a projector or knew how to transfer letters so I would up printing the roman numbers and tracing around them in chalk. The labor of love...

Once I had the outline I was able to paint in the numbers with a small brush and white paint. I went over the entire clock with a brown stain to really give it the aged look. 
 

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Modern Farmhouse kitchenette Black kitchen cabinets

Honey Oak to Black French Farmhouse-

The challenge here was to design an existing kitchen to blend with our massive bar/pub and game room. Our basement was very country looking, with a lot of orange tones. It has a lot of natural lighting and is a walk out. So we really went with a dark tone in the walls, cabinets, and ceiling.

We didn't want to replace any of the appliances or countertops, but I couldn't live with the honey oak cabinets. We don't cook a lot to justify spending the money to redo the entire kitchenette, so we went with a color palette to incorporate the space we currently have with our pub themed basement.

Added a veneer backsplash to give the room some texture. Wayfair sells this in peel and stick. Super easy to apply.

Our new kitchenette has tons of texture. I wanted to blend with our existing countertops and not replace the granite that was there. The backdrop of warm tones is a great base for decor and it will be a fun space to easily change up with the seasons.

The stain on the shelves is vinegar stain, which brings out the natural grain in your woods, while aging it. For the details on How to achieve that look  here

We added farmhouse brackets and chunky shelves to give the kitchenette and updated look with more storage.

The shelf brackets came from amazon here

I used peel and stick wallpaper for my drawers and drawers. It’s so much thicker and luxurious then using contact paper. They have a much larger selection of colors and patterns too, then what you’ll find in contact paper. Here is the one I choose.

White was my first choice for the honey cabinets, but half way thru the painting I derailed and re-painted the cabinets in black. We have a lot of natural lighting so the area isn't dark it all. The transformation has actually helped the space feel more homey and welcoming.

We added the same veneer to the back of the island.

Here is the other side of the basement. Our pub style bar in progress. We opened up the basement by having  the drop ceilings removed and sprayed flat black.

Before it was just okay. I am not a fan of anything honey oak. The cabinets were in great shape we just needed to add some color.

want to know where to get the backsplash?  I linked the one we purchased here

The shelf brackets came from amazon here

The stain on the shelves is vinegar stain here
 

The paint color for cabinets is Dark secret Behr 

 I hope this helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Don't let fear of trying something hold you back. It's okay to make mistakes along the way, that's how we learn what we don't like.

When I use a product I do try to link it for you and if you decide to purchase the product I am affiliated with some of those companies. Its the only way to offset the time it takes building my how tos for decorating and DIY.

I am in no way asking you to click and purchase any items but it makes it easier for all the info to be on one site. Many different stores carry the products I use. But the links I provide is where I had purchased.

I hope that helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Read More

Cleaning the Farmhouse porcelain washboard sink

 

I am not an expert in cleaning these sinks, But the sink I had found at the side of the road had no cracks or chips in the porcelain.  So these are the products I used to get my sink back to working order and shiny again.

                                                                   

The products I used

-gloves

-scrub brush

-CLR here,

- Household Bleach

-Comet here

-bar keepers friend Here

-Magic Erasers here.

I soaked it with CLR first trying to loosen up any deposits and residue or rust on the tub, 

I put the stopper in the sink and poured 2 cups of  CLR then filled the sink with water. I would use a good amount of CLR to really give it good fighting chance on that grime. Use a scrub brush and give the entire sink a good scrub with the CLR. Let the CLR soak on the tub for a few hours. You can purchase it in a spray as well if you need to apply it stronger on the sink top and washboard. I just let the water sit on it from the sink.

I would come back every 15 min and take a scrub brush and try to loosen any grim on the sides of the sinks.

Drain sink and completely dry.

Now that the sink is dry  I went back and scrubbed it with bleach, just to get anything that was left. 

I did the same process with the bleach as above. Filling the sink with water and adding 2 cups of bleach to the sink. 

Let it soak for a couple of hours.

Scrub, drain and dry.

Now that I have gave the sink a good soak I went back and covered the entire sink in bar keepers friend  and really scrubbed in a circler motion. The comet did a lot to the finish on the sink it helped get it nice and shinny and any scuffs or marks really came out in this process.

Once you have scrubbed the entire sink rinse and dry well.

That should get all of all the old yuck off the porcelain sink.

Now go over it with a Magic eraser. They work great for any left over scuffs.

 I do need to from time to time give it a good scrub with the bar keepers friend  powder.

 I hope this helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Don't let fear of trying something hold you back. It's okay to make mistakes along the way, that's how we learn what we don't like.

When I use a product I do try to link it for you and if you decide to purchase the product I am affiliated with some of those companies. Its the only way to offset the time it takes building my how tos for decorating and DIY.

I am in no way asking you to click and purchase any items but it makes it easier for all the info to be on one site. Many different stores carry the products I use. But the links I provide is where I had purchased.

I hope that helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Read More