Thursday, May 17, 2012

Ucreate Guest Post - DIY Distressed Mirror

I'm so excited to tell you that I was asked to be a creative guest at Ucreate. For my featured post, I tried to replicate my favorite mirror from Restoration Hardware. For the tutorial, visit Ucreate.


 

16 comments:

  1. That mirror is amazing!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have been inspired by the same mirror, thanks for the fab tutorial to make my own! Yours is gorgeous. I am new to your site- came from ucreate, now off to explore.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by, Andrea! Hope you'll come back and say hello again!

      Delete
  3. I found your blog via Ucreate and have loved looking over your house updates. We currently moved to the midwest for my husband's residency as well and our house also has oak everywhere! Did you paint or replace all of the baseboards? If you painted them, what type of paint was it and was it as daunting of a task as it seems like it will be?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mandi, I'm glad you came over from Ucreate. What is your husband doing for residency? As for our baseboards, dooor, and trim I painted them. I useds Zinsser Primer (Bullseye 123), then used Behr Pure Ultra White (straight from the can). I recommend sanding the areas that are touched a lot ie: door frame, doors prior to painting them. I didn't worry about sanding baseboards and they've held up fine. It is pretty daunting, it took 4-5 coats (including priming). BUT it's been so worth it!! I found if I plan on it taking a week, or two or three (depending on how much you want to tackle at a time) It isn't as bad as hoping to get it all done in a couple of days. You just put on a coat leave it for the next day to put on another. You'll have to let me know if you decide to do it!

      Delete
    2. I'm SO excited to hear you painted them. I heard that they won't look nice if you paint over oak . . . but it looks like yours turned out great (from the pics at least)!! My hubby is doing an EM residency so we have a couple of years left and I'd love white trim! I also really like your kitchen chandelier. We are in the market for one and I think the one you have would be perfect. I have searched around a little and don't think I have seen anything quite like that. If you bought it, at which store was it purchased?

      Delete
    3. Yes, the trim does look just fine painted as long as you avoid drips. As for our kitchen chandelier, it came with the house. I don't know where it was purchased. Wish I could help you out! :)

      Delete
  4. Hi Kristi, I too found you through Ucreate. I loved the mirror - it is absolutely gorgeous! I loved your other projects you have done too. I do have a question for you. I have been wanting to do board and batten in my house as well but i am not sure what type of nail gun i need. Can you tell me what nail gun you use and also if you use an air compressor. I get very overwhelmed when looking at them in Home Depot or Menards. (The same Home Depot - you are shopping at apparently, since I work in Rochester only 2 blocks away from the Home Depot. I just might see you shopping in there sometime! LOL) I utilize Home Depot because they cut the wood for you. I can cut most of it but since i only have a miter saw, it limits me.
    Thanks for any help you can give me.

    Shelly S.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Shelly,

    You live in Rochester??! I'm so giddy! I seriously go to Home Depot at least a couple times a week...I know, it's kinda sad. We should meet up there sometime :). We just recently bought a Porter Cable air compressor that came with two nail guns and a staple gun. My husband is pretty thorough with researching products and that seemed to be the best bang for our buck. In fact, the price has dropped even since we purchased it.

    Here is the web address:

    http://www.homedepot.com/Porter-Cable/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ68y/R-100672212/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

    We've had it for only a couple months but I've loved it! Hope this helps you. If you have any other questions I'd be happy to help. Thanks for stopping by and saying hello! Love that you're a fellow Rochester resident. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the quick reply Kristi.

    I appreciate you letting me know which one you guys use. I did some reviews too - but they didn't tell me whether they would be good for what i wanted to use it for and I didn't want to buy one that was "more" than what i really needed. So your post really helps me. (And my husband isn't handy with tools - so he is no help at all! LOL His philosophy is that we can afford to pay someone to come do the projects for us. And I like to save the money, plus I get enjoyment out of doing it myself! And I like teaching our 7 year old daughter - that GIRLS can do anything.)

    I actually live in LeRoy, but work in Rochester - so I commute to Rochester every day. But I love my job - so I don't mind it.

    I too am at Home Depot EVERY WEEK - at least once - if not twice! I was just there on Friday buying some MDF to make a new headboard for our Master Bedroom. The one I like is $400 and I can make it for less than half of that price! And I bought some shelves that I put up in our closet this weekend. I am already making my list for this week's trip - LOL!

    Once i am done with the headboard - i might try that bench you made. I love Ana's site, but I have to say what you did with her bench is awesome. I love the modifications you did. I am going to duplicate it that way you did it!

    I joined your subscriber's list so I will get updates when you post your new great ideas.
    Thanks again for sharing them with us!

    Shelly S.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Shelly, I'm so impressed! I love that you have so many projects going!! Good for you! Also, driving from LeRoy to Rochester is quite a commute! Do you work at the clinic, or IBM? Obviously there are other jobs out here but those seem to be a big draw. :) Anyway, I'm so glad you subscribed to the blog and I hope you'll pop in and say hello again. Also, I'd love to see pictures of any of your many projects if you have time to send them my way.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kristi - don't be so impressed. We bought our house in 2005 and I "put off" doing all the things that needed to get done!! I am amazed at how much you have gotten done in such a short time since buying your house!

    I am one of the few in my subdivision that commutes that DOESN'T work at the MAYO or IBM! I actually work at an engineering firm (MEP Associates).

    I can't wait to see what other projects you have lined up and will check back often.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Came from pinterest... so impressive! Love the mirror so much!

    I was trying soooo many different combinations of "weathered" look with different stains, vingear/wool method, etc. I cant find the one I really love. But this might be it! You're now my inspiration! You mentioned 2 coats of jacobean and 2 coats of classic grey stain... was it in this particular order? did you let every coat dry before applying the next? Will be forever grateful for your response!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Sheri, I'm so glad you stopped by! For this mirror I put two coats of grey stain allowing dry time between each coat, then I put two coats of jacobean stain, again, allowing time to dry in between each coat. Fortunately, I got the look I wanted with those easy steps. However, it usually isn't that straight forward. I've found that because wood varies so much there is not always an exact formula. (Even when it's the same type of wood.) I have a technique I've used for several projects that helps me get the look I'm wanting each time. It's difficult to put to words on how I do it, which is one reason I have yet to do a detailed tutorial. :) I'd like to do a video tutorial on how I tweak the color once it is stained. Stay tuned and I'll try to post the tutorial soon!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kristi - I appreciate your response... Very much! I'll have to do more experiments myself too then. I'll be looking forward for your tutorial. You have a new follower for sure! Cheers.

    ReplyDelete