Sliding Barn Door Project

I want to share some pictures of my fabulous new sliding barn door that my father built me. I searched for something like this for ages because the house I bought (site-unseen, mind you) has the garage door in the living room. It always bothered me, so I started searching for different ways to conceal it. Sliding doors are all the rage on Pinterest, ya know! :)

We began by hunting everywhere in Austin for reclaimed wood to start the project. But I was surprised to learn just how expensive reclaimed wood can be! I know I didn't want to (nor could I) spend $2,000 just to have a door that will cover up my existing garage door, so I almost gave up on the idea altogether until my dad came across Mike Draper's This Old Wood. There I found an original barn door which was salvaged from the 1890's (it pays to be patient sometimes).

The door is amazing in that it had all its original hardware in place (rusty nails, bolts and hinges). I fell in love with it and Mike gave me a good deal. It wasn't in the best of shape--some wood rot and breakage--but my father hauled it back to my house in his trailer and then took an entire day deconstructing it by taking out the bad panels, rearranging the good ones and cutting off the bad bits.

Nothing new was purchased (except for the top railing area at the end). My father carefully took out every single nail (I think I counted 75) and every lag bolt, then cleaned them to re-use again.

After he measured and cut the final pieces for my existing garage door frame, we cleaned them and coated it with beeswax. Beeswax really brought it back to life.

Then my father hammered back in the old nails, re-bolted the bolts into one set of the hinges (for decorative flair). We still need to do the bottom hinge area, but I am still searching for some more square head lag bolts to do that with (they're hard to find as they don't make them anymore).

Next, we took an entire day and went to countless antique shops looking for the right "handle." We went to shops in 5 different cities looking for this special piece. No success. I was getting desperate and my vision was shifting as to what I could possibly use as the handle. Well, you know when what you are doing is kismet when you find your perfect handle on your iPhone in your eBay app while sitting in the back seat of the car. I was so lucky to find a woman back in New York selling it on eBay from an estate sale. It's also from the 1800's. How serendipitous can it get?

The last part was mounting a plank of wood to the wall and assembling the railing/sliding hardware to that. We ended up buying that at Tractor Supply because they were the cheapest. And we spray painting it with an espresso color paint. I wanted it to match my other curtain rods in the room. Besides, I like the contrast. :)

And, there you have it! Took about 4 full days and about $400. I'm left with something that I love, not to mention something I will always cherish because my father did it all for me. Thank you, dad! xo

Now I just need to finish painting those canvases!!

Texas Bound!

Haven't blogged about anything this year and 2011 is half way over. I've been buried in work and am now in the process of moving to Texas to live in my very own house! Homeowner Heaven!

I'll miss Boston enormously. I won't miss the corrupt politics nor the unrelenting taxes, but I love the snow, the spring, the summers and the falls here. It marks solid chunks out of the year and each season always makes you feel as though you're experiencing something brand spanking new. I love living in a brownstone and seeing this type of architecture all around me. I have lived here beside the Emerald Necklace in the Back Bay Fens since the summer of 1997, so it will be sad and hard to go -- however the need to be closer to family is such a larger focus.

Another new Scarlett chapter is to be written. Change is good for us all, yes?... :)

Watchful Work

I have always loved the work that comes out of Aesthetic Apparatus for years. They're a design shop in Minneapolis which do the most wonderful illustrative screenprints. They have oodles of new posters up now and you should take a look because they are all so fabulous. Although I've never heard any of the bands--by name or by sound--I would have to say that having AA do a poster for you is like having the President over for a private dinner at your house (that's just a figure of speech for those of you who dislike our current President). Their style has always been hip, retro and modish -- so, in my book, they go with the classics ;).

A Wine Bottle Marriage

How beautiful are these? Have you ever seen a wine container made like it's art? I look at these and my eyes find peace. This concept came from Athanasios Babalis -- an industrial designer out of Greece and his other work is just as elegant... lots of clean lines and shapes with ample qualities of placidity. Just gorgeous. However, these gift boxes are my absolute favorite and so unique! Wish they were more readily available though, because they make the perfect way of presenting wine. A proud way of giving.

Just Being Self-indulgent

Every time I see this dress, I drool. Milly is one of my favorite designers out there because of her fabrics (they are always brilliant in colors, striking in their graphics and then she compliments them with special beads... ever so individually placed). You feel like you're in Palm Beach when you wear one. I have a couple of her dresses, but I've never paid full price for any of them (the one below sold for $400). So, my new thing now is: I WANT TO SEW!!

Although I need to find a course on how to do it first--and if I can--I could use that time to make one of these. This very same one! How rewarding that would be!! Making this maxi dress can't be so hard, right? Is there anyone out there who can help me with locating a pattern which mirrors it?

I'd love to learn how to sew tunics, summer dresses and maybe even skirts. How fun! I really never cared for the idea of anything to do with a sewing machine before, but after several years of slowly getting addicted to watching Project Runway--how could I not catch the sewing bug? All I can do right now is a button (which I learned on YouTube) thus I know my road ahead shall be long... but what a skill to have at some point in your life!

A Lone Star Spotlight

Whenever I come across birds, for some reason I pay a little extra attention since some people write my nickname birdy instead of berty. I stumbled on these screen prints this morning and I thought you might be interested to take a peek at their other work over at Bee Things. They're located in Dallas, Texas and I just love their style. They also have the cutest brown bags that are great if you have kids or even if you don't (like me). Bagging your lunch has never been so adorable! Check out all their goods -- they are très bien!

Leave It To The English

My motto has always been that good coffee and great design make the best of marriages -- however, I am discovering a new teeth-staining focus... which the UK is ill-famed for. Let's face it, they know their teas and now they have a neat new tin. Williamson Tea does, actually. Just saw these on the dieline and had to share. What a great thing to save and hide your greenbacks in (which would be quite fitting, really, since elephants are a symbol of good luck). Wish I could get my hands on a pink one... or the green. I have a tendency to collect. :)

An Oldie But A Goodie

Dockers has a new campaign out for men. Nice use of typography and although it's not a new concept using type as the body's silhouette (which, by the way, is terrible if you read the message), I can't help but admire the way they did theirs. It's so eye-catching I hardly noticed the khakis that they're trying to sell!

New Ways of Reading

How clever is this? This is a nice little product from what looks like a nice little company called twelvesouth. I love it for personal use because you can hide it away if you leave it at home... and there it shall lie safe within your library. Now, aside from it being well made, it's also a really nice price (considering how much interesting laptop bags go for these days). Pretty good out-of-the-box thinking on this one if you ask me!

Newbies

I'm always paying attention to refreshing things being posted out there and saw these newbies this morning and thought I'd share them along.

This wine label (made by an experienced labelmaker) was screen-printed and named after the country’s international phone code. The font is based on the one used by the Bulgarian Post in the 1960s. A selective transparent UV matt varnish was applied on the pattern of circles around the logo against a glossy background--and then a transparent puff-up varnish on the +359 logo to create the appearance of wave lines. The label is also bordered with a glossy hot foil stamp and there are some tiny hot foil dots around the logo as well. Turned out really fun looking!




I found this label's technique interesting too. It was a seasonal greeting of spiced mulled wine made for clients and friends from a design firm over in London called Buddy. Their Christmas wishes were pad printed matt silver directly onto the bottle glass (the design being suggestive of measuring jug graphics). The concept went: the more you drunk the merrier the message. Very festive, indeed!