Staining loft storage lids, trunk finished!, and a wall.

This week started with stain experimentation.  I previously saw a blog about homemade wood stain made of vinegar.  Thought I'd give it a try.  I used vinegar, a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide, and some leftover copper wiring, hoping to make a light blue green stain.  Here's how it went down.

I put the stain together on Monday and used it on Friday/Saturday.  I wanted to try a test piece first, but as with many things, I get so excited that I just can't wait.

First coat on a test piece after the stain had been sitting for 24 hours. 

Then I realized that I was jumping the gun, and I truly needed to let the stain sit for a few days.  By Friday I was chomping at the bit!

 

Here is a before/after of the first coat of stain.  The top three pieces have stain, the bottom three don't.

I gave the lids four coats of stain... (just turned one over so you can see the difference)

I really like how they turned out.  Then for the linseed oil, which had to dry for 12-15 hours.

Only a little piece of the frame needed to be stained and I ended up only putting two coats on that.  Then the linseed oil on and wait for it to dry. Only need to add the hinges and put them in the loft. Getting closer!

It has been a while since I could declare something officially finished, with no little small thing that still needed to be done. So today is a great day!  The steamer trunk is officially finished.  I had some cedar left over from the drawers so I put that in the hanging-clothes side, and then I put felt pads on the bottom so it won't scratch the floor when I open and close it.  Also, finished taking off the masking tape from the brass rings. DONE!

Also, finished putting wall covering on the port side bathroom wall.  Might make a painting day tomorrow...just for fun.  Then I could also put the faucet handles and shower head in and be finished with that!

The Closet

We now return to our regular programming...

So back to the bungalow.  With the changes I made to the interior layout, I essentially eliminated much of my storage space including clothes closets.  In an effort to keep some of the fantastic furnishings around my current larger house I've decided to use a few things for which they were originally intended. This trunk for example, which was being used as a TV stand.

My mother claims it is the trunk my grandfather used when he returned to Denmark as a missionary.  Although we have a picture of my grandfather with a trunk that looks like this one, I'm not positive that this is the actual trunk.  Nevertheless, I like it and I'm going to use it as my clothes closet.  It will sit in the corner behind the front door and most likely stay open most of the time unless I have guests or want to spread out something else.  It has the original fabric covering throughout which is very worn and musty. So the plan is to remove the old fabric, spray the interior and drawers with kilz (I was happy to find it in spray form), and add new fabric.  For new fabric, I plan on using a solid color, as opposed to finding a flowery print like the old.  If I feel like getting fancy, I might do a little embroidery work on the  drawer fronts.

Here I've got the drawers stripped of fabric and patched.  Only one drawer was actually not in bad shape.  The others have needed a bit of patching and repair. 

Got the fabric out of the inside as well.