Repurposed Table and Chairs

Hi,

So, remember Darcie's great backyard? Well, with the fourth of July holiday fast approaching, and a great party planned in Darcie's backyard, with fireworks included we wanted to share with you a project that Darcie and Al completed with just some scrap wood and hardware.

Isn't it great.

The table is very ideal for the outdoors, its heavy and solid which makes it perfect for the uneven ground and the wood had already been treated so it can withstand this crazy spring weather we are having.

Materials:

A. 6  4x4 boards measuring 78 1/2 inches for table top
B. 2  4x4 boards measuring 71 1/4 inches for table top
C. 4  4x4 boards measuring 28 inches for table legs

2 1/2 inch threaded rods measuring 29 inches long
4 sets of 1/2 inch washers, nuts and locking washers to fit rod ends
8 1/2 inch stove bolts measuring 8 inches long

Step One:  drill 5/8 inch holes thru the 6 long boards (A) 20 inches from each 
end

Step Two:  drill 5/8 inch holes thru the 2 long boards (B) 16 1/2 inches from 
each end

Step Three:  Assemble table top by lining up boards in this order:  A, B, A, A, 
A,A, B, A and running the threaded rods thru each board and lightly secure with 
a set of washers and nuts

Step Four:  Place table top right side down on the ground, place leg pieces (C) 
in the corresponding spaces. Lightly secure with stove bolts on both sides of 
table top   

Step Five:  Use wood glue on all joining surfaces and completely secure all 
bolts, nuts, etc.  

The wood we used was ‘rescued’ from some shipping crates.  We chose to leave the
wood rough for a real country flavor but you could easily finish top.  I think 
it might look really great painted black or green.  We use it for a serving table 
at parties and for backyard picnics with an unmatched set of wooden chairs 
painted different shades of green.

 the collection of small baskets were collected over time at flea markets and the Habitat Store.  

Average cost 50 cents.

                    

- E & D

How to clean brass hardware

Hi!

So, I'm chugging right along with this Campaign night stand. I posted yesterday about what a great piece I found on CRAIGSLIST. Today I'm going to dive a little deeper into all the small details that make it such a wonderful piece. 

Brass hardware is very hot right now, its a very versatile metal that goes with pretty much everything, and adds alot of texture and character to a room

Pinterest.com 

Pinterest.com

This night stand came with beautiful brass hardware and ALL of it, no missing pieces. The other two furniture pieces we have, one having real brass hardware was missing a side plate that we replaced from an online vintage hardware vendor and it still has a missing handle bar. I bet you didn't even notice it in the picture yesterday!

With these older pieces you can almost guarantee that with the authentic brass, it will come with tarnish. This one just happened to come with ALOT of it. 

How to tell if your brass is the real deal...

Easy magnet test
Brass is a metal alloy usually composed of zinc and copper. If you put a magnet against the hardware and the magnet is attracted to it, you might have brass plated hardware, which is just a cheaper iron-based metal underneath a very fine sheet of brass covering. If, the magnet isn't attracted to it well than it is probably real brass.  

There are multiple ways to clean the hardware. I researched online the best ways to clean brass hardware and here are the most favorable ones.

1. Au' Natural- Lemon juice and salt

2. Brasso- Cleaning and buffing chemical- $3-$5 at any hardware store

3.Bar keepers friend- polishing and cleaner-$2-$3

I started out with the lemon juice and salt way,  #1 because they are both household items that I had on hand and #2 because I was so eager to start my project, and show all of you.

For every 1/2 squeezed lemon you'll want to add 1/4 cup salt, mix and it will produce a paste. I started by using an old rag and got no where. I had some steel wool on hand and that made a world of a difference.

*Suggestion: if you find that you have brass plated hardware, stay away from steel wool, the brass plate is very fine and fragile and steel wool is very abrasive that it will leave tiny scratches, if not, chip the plating 

 

 What do you think?

 Amazing! (insert happy dance) 1/4 cup salt and a $.50 lemon cleaned all this hardware... mind blown! I spent the rest of nap time cleaning the layers and layers of tarnish off these things, man did my fingers hurt. I rinsed them in cold running water and let them air dry.... BIG MISTAKE!

 I'm really not sure what happened, but I think the salt and air did not mix well. All the hardware was splotchy and  multicolored, I thought for sure that I ruined all this beautiful hardware. 

After a late run to my local Cameron's Hardware I was able to find some of this stuff.  Praying that it would be my saving grace I applied a dime size drop to each piece and rubbed/buffed it with a soft towel. Fingers crossed?!?!?

 Ahhhhhh! (Celestial angels singing)
IT WORKED! Nice and shiny brass hardware.

I never made it to #3 but from what I hear it gets the job done. I think next time I'm at the hardware store I will probably pick some up for our next brass project!

I've starting the priming process of the whole piece, I am absolutely in love with Zinssers Primer!!! More on that tomorrow!

-Em

Craigslist Find

I posted on instagram over the weekend a picture of a great craigslist find. A vintage campaign style cabinet for just $35, and it gets better,  I don't know about you but every time I find something I really love on craigslist it is always at least an hour away, and then I find myself begging my husband to take the afternoon, ask to borrow my dads truck, pack up the kids and drive to get it... Well, no begging this weekend, it was only 20 minutes away.

And here it is...

* I got a little too excited and forgot to take a picture of it before I took the hardware off, here is the one from craigslist. The previous owner used it as a TV stand.

It is such a great piece, solid wood with dove tail detail and real brass hardware. I was completely shocked, my luck is never this good.

 

I have a few pieces that we've collected over the past year that I "thought" were real vintage campaign, but once I got my hands on them, it didn't take long for me to realize they weren't much more than laminate or particle board.  This is one of our first pieces, it is now our dining room buffet.

 The trip to Baltimore, MD to pick it up was definitely worth it, we had planned a day out of it. We took the kids to the Aquarium and I knew about this awesome store called "Second Chance", its a HUGE warehouse filled with furniture, building materials, doors, stair railings, door knobs, just about anything you could think of.  If you ever get a chance and are in the Baltimore area, YOU NEED TO GO!

Graham also has a piece that we are using for his dresser in his room, again a trip well spent, my sister and I had a great bonding experience driving to Quakertown, PA and the women who gave it to me; yes you heard me right, GAVE it to me. She was so sweet and turns out she was moving to West Chester, PA, about 15-20 minutes away from us. Small world.

 I know that I can't be the only one who over judges the awesomeness of a craigslist find...what have your experiences been with collecting pieces found on craigslist?

I can't wait to show you what we have in store for this piece, follow us on instagram @emandme44 to see small snippets along the way and stay tuned for the whole repurpose reveal!



~Em

Let's give this a shot

Hi and welcome to our new home.

Darcie and I have finally come to the realization that we need to jump on this Social Media Bandwagon and get our creative juices flowing, just in a more electronic way. So, we've decided to start Em and Me, which is just a warm homey place for us to show you our more creative side, our favorite things and maybe answer a few questions about Real Estate.

Darcie aka mom,  is a 20+ year guru of all different aspects of Real Estate and a self made Professional DIYer, and me... uh I'm just a 20+ something mom of two, who can't stay off Pinterest and away from the hardware store, who is tagging along for the ride.

Darcie grew up in small town northern Maine, and finally settled here in small town Southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. She has a wonderful artistic, handy, creative, loving husband Al aka Dad, and three beautiful daughters, me being the youngest.

As you can tell Darcie and Al's creativity goes way beyond just re-purposing things, Al enjoys using different materials to make fun garden art, just like our little friend up above. He also has made a bunch of planters made out of reclaimed wood  and some chicken wire. 

This is the entrance to their back yard, all their charming touches make their backyard so unique and such a fun place to hangout.

She is currently an Office manager/ almost Associate Broker of Beiler-Campbell Realtors in Avondale, PA and has been in the Real Estate Business for over 20 years. Darcie has always had an eye for detail and a new home for anything unordinary, she loves being at home in her garden and creating anything on a budget.

I currently work for the same company and hope to one day have my own name on a sign. I am married to my wonderful husband of almost 4 years and we have two of the funniest, quirkiest, silliest kids out there. We bought our first home last year and haven't stopped adding, changing, redecorating since the day we walked in.

So that is us in a nutshell. We are very eager to start this journey and we hope that you find this a fun place to stop by every once in a while.

 Please feel free to leave a comment or question or just stop and say hello!

See you soon.

Em*