DIY - Welcome Table - Take 2

In my last post I left you hanging...waiting for a call back from the lady selling the vanity mirror for $65.-.

Well, I waited and waited and waited and she didn't call back. I was disappointed.

I went back to the post and saw that she only had her shop open on Thursdays, so I gave it another shot and guess what? She picked up the phone!

Now the bad news. She said she didn't get my message and sold the mirror the day before.

But here is some good news, she sold it to another antique shop. She was kind enough to give me the contact information of the shop that bought it and I called there.

They picked up right away and found that they still had it and wanted $100 for it.....Wow! what a profit in just one day! I asked them if that was the best price and they said yes. I thought a moment and decided to ask them to hold it for me and let them know a friend of mine would stop by to take a look at it.

Since my friend was in the neighborhood she was there in nothing flat. She called and said the mirror had a bit of hazing, but the frame looked really good. It was up me, if it was worth $100.

We talked back and forth a bit, and then I talked to the lady and was able to get the price down to $79...which was ok.

So now this beauty is resting in our shop and waiting from me to give it a new purpose! Woo hoo!

Aloha A Hui Hou!

Click Away Monday Collection #2

I did something wrong last week and people were not able to share a pic on this page, so lets give this another try.

Today is Click Away Monday #2 

Mantle Clock

So I finally got to put my little hands on it. The mantle clock I discovered on Craigslist and mentioned a few months ago.

The wood needs some TLC, I need to replace one of the feet in the front and the glass is scratched up a bit - but over all a real treasure.

On this trip I wanted to do so much more, but all I could do for the clock was put in a new quartz movement.

It was easy enough to take apart and put in a new movement, especially if you have been putting quartz clocks together for as long as I have.

The tapered shaft of the new movement had a different shape so I was not able to reuse the original hands of the clock. The ones that were included with the movement were gold, don't dig that too much - But the clock works!  As far as the hands go, I'll paint them next time, maybe even swap them out.

All in all, knowing that I can keep the existing face plate and just have to clean up the wood makes me very happy.

I placed it on the mantel for now, hoping to put it on top of the hutch once we have that in place.

Can't wait to get my hands on it again!

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Wingback Chairs Part III

And here we are,  back to the chairs. I knew this would be one thing that I would like to get while we were at the house because it's not fun to have no other place to sit than on the bed.
Before we left I was hunting Craigslist and I did write to two folks on that were each offering a pair of wingback chairs that also reclined. One set was tan color (which would have been my first choice), the others were blue with brown slipcovers.

Neither responded.

I wrote them off.

To my surprise, just as we got there the one selling the blue chairs wrote that they had been out of town and had put the chairs up for sale at a consignment store in Eagle.

We decided to go take a look

With the help of the Garmin lady we found our way to the store and the chairs looked pretty good and were reasonably comfortable - so we bought them.

Yay! More seating options!

Yay! More seating options! (Sorry, I didn't take a picture of them - but you can see a bit in this clip)

ANYway, while I was unpacking boxes I came across some fabric I purchased some time ago that I thought I might want to use as curtains - it just might work great as fabric for the chairs. I just would need to go back and see if they still have some because I don't think I have enough for 2.

In review, although the fabric is pretty cool, it just might be toooooo busy. I'll have to think a bit more.

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Re-styled clock

OK, to tell this one I'm going to have to go waaaay back...around 7 years back....

There we were, still living in Waikiki, still diving...you know, back in the day. Rogers' old kitchen clock gave up and we needed a new one. I got lucky at Pricebusters and found a kitchen clock for a buck fifty....I can't even buy a quartz mechanism for that money. Of course I bought it. It looked kinda like this

We enjoyed the clock for a few years, until IT gave up. So I was looking for a new clock. On eBay I came across a seller that will personalize your kitchen clock. I picked one out and had it personalized.

The tops of the hands were originally black and they didn't pop off the face of the clock so it was hard to see the time. I took it apart and painted the tips red...there, that's better. Another thing, the clock was kinda small.

But wait, I'm crafty. I still had the other clock and the black clock fit EXACTLY into the middle of the frame from the other clock, so I glued it in place. To match the faceplate I painted the silver trim gold and the outer rim a tan color. It looked great and really fit in our kitchen.

I was looking forward to hanging it up in our new kitchen. So I packed it up and shipped it over.

Now I have some good news and some bad news. The good news it made it from Hawaii. Bad news is  that even though I packed it very well, the plexiglass had a small crack...but I think I can live with it.

ANYway, looking at it next to the cabs - the colors didn't work. That meant I could go to the craft store - which can always be a dangerous thing - and buy some paint. Which I did, along with some other craft items...of course.

This is how it turned out. I think it goes well with the colors in the kitchen and fits perfectly over the new archway.

I love that we have things that are uniquely ours.

Aloha a Hui Hou!

The Light Guides Me

I know. I shouldn't do it, but you just can't help but look and plan what you want your house to look like, or what you want to have in the garden.

So, there I was cruising thru Craigslist looking for a wood trunk like my dad's old army trunk that I had been using as a couch table when I was still living in Germany. One post caught my eye, titled "Junk in the Trunk". What the heck could that be? So I clicked and the seller had 4 pictures, each of a different item and one of them was a sundial.

Loved the aged look of it, and just the fact that it was a sundial - So COOL!

This is the pic that was in the ad

This is latin and means - The light guides me

I called the number in the ad and it was still available. He told me that it was about the size of a dinner plate and that Lumen Me Recit was embossed on the edge. He also said that in the picture it was filled with water. It was then I realized that the sail of the dial, that throws the shadow for the time, was actually a sail boat. It had our name all over it! The price was $40 and he said that he would hold it for us.

I asked Lisa if they were going to be in Boise (where the guy with the sundial was located) and as luck would have it, they were going to be in Boise on Monday and Tuesday.  They were so kind to pick it up for us while they were in town. Thanks so much Lisa & David.

Another thing to look forward to and I can't wait to get my hands on it and find out some more about it.

Aloha Hui Hou!

tic toc. tic toc

In my previous life I worked in a jewelry store and have liked clocks ever since. I've had kukucksuhren and wall clocks and anniversary clocks.....and when I think of our new home I think of a mantel clock.

Another thing that I've done in my previous life is make clocks, out of Fimo, plaster and wood....

Once again I started looking thru craigslist and found one. It looked like it was from the 50's or so, it was electric, nice form...all wood, but the cables were cut. I loved the look of it and knew I could buy a new mechani.

I looked around and I should have no problem getting a new mechanism for the clock and no problem to swap it out.

So looking forward to making this baby shine and tic toc again~

Aloha Hui Hou!

Country Kitchen Sink

Even before we bought the house I was looking at sinks. Here in Hawaii I've only had single sinks and really miss the double sink I had in Germany. I also have grown very fond of the farm house sinks. 

After looking at about a gazillion photos I found this one

It's new and the skirt and the depth like a farmhouse sink but has vintage style. The only thing standing between me and a sink like this - is my wallet. This baby costs over $1600 (or $2400 - depending what sites you look at) and you can add another $150-300 for shipping! I would love it, but just can't justify the cost.

After we bought the house I looked some more and found a 1950's sink double sink with double drainboard - like this one on Craigslist:

Lots of room for Roger to splash around (he's the dishwasher of the house), the vintage look and the right price. A triple play! The seller was willing to hold it until we came in July and that's what we did. When we were there in July we took a closer look. It had a couple of chips, but other wise looked really good. so we took it home.

The sink has been sitting in our shop since July and today I got in touch with a guy named Tony that specializes in refinishing vintage sinks. As soon as he can hook up with the contractor, he'll be picking it up and making a new penny out of it.

Another step closer and a bit more excited!

Aloha Hui Hou!

I had a hunch about a hutch

After we put the bid in on the house my mind went into decorating mode. From my morning walks on the beach I knew that I wanted a calming color pallet of ocean blues and greens. This photo is the inspiration for the colors I planned to use.

So, while I was thinking of what I would like to put in the room, a vision of a cabinet popped into my mind and I started to draw my vision with photoshop, I was thinking of something like this.

 

Something with lots of storage, a bit of a cottage look to it. I was thinking of making it myself. But being the perfectionist I am, I knew I wouldn't be satisfied. So I started looking for carpenters. But with out measurements I couldn't get an idea of what it might cost to make.

Of course I was already scanning Craigslist for an old brass bed and one day a "60's Hutch" popped up and I fell in love. Only problem was it was long, long before we would fly over for the closing. I wrote the seller and asked, if she was wiling to to hold it until we came over in July. To make the pot a bit sweeter, I offered her a bit more and she agreed.

As soon as we had the truck empty we drove over to pick it up. She told me that so many people tried to buy the hutch after I sent her the money. But she stuck with the commitment she had with me. Really nice people!

So may I present my Hutch

You may notice it has some similarity to the one I drew. A bit smaller and has a top part, but still similar. I plan to have a slip cover made to cover the area between the top and bottom of the hutch. The cover will be made from some of the wood from the shed out back. 

Hope to meet with a carpenter on our next trip over. Excited!