Fabulous Farm Finds

I few months ago my wife and I went picking and my father in law's ranch.  We found many great things.  My wife stumbled upon the old water faucets that her dad had used and replaced though out the years.  They had a great patina on them but I did not have any idea how I could use them. 

My wife came up with an idea to re purpose them as a towel rack.  What a great idea.  After going to Lowe's and figuring out how to mount them the project took no time at all.  At least I thought.  Now I had to find an old piece of wood to place them on.  I could not find one but I did find some great Rust-Oleum Ultimate Wood Stain in Sunbleached. 

The stain gave my piece of wood the perfect shade of weathered I was looking for.  I attached the faucets and hung it on the wall.  

The towel rack looks great in the Kids bathroom.  I would have never thought that simple old faucets would make a great piece. 

Thanks,

Rene 

aka "The Shabby Chico"

The Goodwill Desk

I had been looking for a desk for my son who is in 3rd grade because we all know that homework on the kitchen table is fun until it is time for dinner then it all has to be put up. One night my kids and I made a quick trip to the Goodwill by our house and I found this desk.  It was old and beat up but my son liked it.  I saw the price WOW $30,  it was solid oak how could I pass this up. 

The next day I decided to strip the old stain and varnish off of it.  Yeah it took a while but once I got to the bare wood I knew what a good piece this was. 

I decided to try something new and got some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color Graphite

So after a the first coat of chalk paint I was sold.  This paint is awesome a little bit goes a long way.  After 3 coats of chalk paint here is the product.

I then realized that I needed to put a good protective coat on top of the chalk paint.  I decided against the suggested wax and went with Minwax Wipe On Poly instead.  I did some research on the product and saw that other bloggers had used the wipe on poly on chalk paint. 

After about 6 coats of wipe on poly here is the finished Desk.  I distressed the desk in common areas that I knew probably would wear. 

I hope you all enjoyed this redo.  There will be many more to come. 

Thanks,

Rene 



Hello Everyone!!

Welcome to The Shabby Chico Blog!!

Hello My name is Rene and I am brand new to the blogging world. As a reader of many blogs I thought to myself I should start one to showcase my talents and ideas.  Let me introduce my self.  I am a husband to my awesome wife Lulu,  Dad to two amazing kids, along with the many other hats I wear, I am also a Respiratory Therapist.

My blog is going to be about my DIY skills, refinishing furniture, projects around my house and I don't know maybe throw in a little recipe every now and then. 

I look forward to all of you who will follow my blog.

Thanks,

Rene