Small, Rustic Touches In Our Tiny Powder Room Add Up To Fabulous!

We are sharing this post by blogger Debbie Hayes of MyPatchOfBlueSky.com
 

I’m pretty sure that we have the weirdest, smallest powder room in existence. It is not prominently featured somewhere near the entrance of our home, where guests can discover it. It is hidden at the back door, within the laundry room.

Blah! When we first moved here I’m not sure we knew it existed for a month. Until we had a gaggle of little girls over for a deck party. Then the magic location revealed itself as nothing short of brilliant.




Recently I got in the mood to repaint the ceiling and trim and trowel some pearl-color plaster on the walls that were once layered in painted tissue paper. The room had been a warm brown, with a stenciled copper foil ceiling. It was pretty glam, but in my current mood to lighten up, and of course, change something, it was time for a facelift.

Now, with the grey-white lustrous walls, the room seems so much bigger! The rusty, crusty custom-made mirror and sconces show up beautifully, instead of fading into the background.

I am dying laughing trying to show you how tiny this room is. I had to squat on the john and duck down to get the back wall in this shot. Love how a simple paisley scarf from my collection turned out as art.

 

 

I used one of my fav products, Wood Icing® White Furniture Glaze to whitewash a stick I cut that had fallen in our yard.

This glaze is so nice to use for lots of DIY reasons. It has an acrylic water base that cleans up with soap and water. It is durable for projects like mine, or it can be sealed with Wood Icing’s PolyAcrylic Sealers that come in Dull, Satin and Gloss.

I like how fast it dries and that I can water it down for a wash, like I did on my branch, or apply it full strength. There is also a Clear Glaze you can mix with it if you want to add open time on a large project.

 

A quick jute wrap was all that was needed to hang this very light piece.

 

Two cup hooks and a hammer made quick work of hanging. Knowing me, I will change out what’s hanging on this wall often, based on current treasures found.

 

You can see that I have a thing for “shopping” for tree branches in the yard.



Ages ago, I wound some green raffia around old hardware to make this towel bar.




Handmade rock soap is so pretty, hubby Steve was looking everywhere for the soap bar when I added this cool, jewel-like chunk. It seems men don’t like pretty when it comes to washing up after mowing the lawn.



A short sugar mold is the perfect opportunity to add roses from our tiny garden, or anything we pick up that is intriguing.



Another favorite focal point in this truly tiny bathroom is the cabinet doors, which were a great project that I did for Paint + Pattern.


You don’t have to use much imagination to guess where the best vantage point is, LOL!


Overall, I couldn’t be happier with this little project. The perfect mixture of rust, patina, texture, glam, and um, facilities.



What do you think? Do you have a weird powder room project? Love for you to share it on the Wood Icing Facebook page!


{This post is sponsored by my wonderful client, Wood Icing®. They allow me to experiment with their cool products, and the ideas and comments are my own.}

How To Create A Gorgeous Antique-Looking Book Using Wood Icing™

Posted March 25, 2014 by Debbie Dion Hayes on MyPatchOfBlueSky.com

 

 

Although this post is sponsored by Wood Icing™, the idea and comments are my own.

Yes, I am clearly like a kid in a candy store with Wood Icing™ products! Since many of my projects from the faux finishing biz were crusty and textured, the water-based Textura Paste is right up my alley. For my last post I used a cool hand-turned teak vase. Since then, everything I look at has possibilities since this product seems to stick to everything and it is so easy to use with my favorite paint and products.

For this post, I went back to basics – my unabashed love of painting hardcover books. Books are in everyone’s attic, in the Goodwill bin ready to donate and if you have to actually purchase one, the dollar store has them too.

The wonderful thing about a project like this is you can use bits of leftover materials.

 

SUPPLIES FROM WOOD ICING:
• Wood Icing™ Textura Paste and an off-set knife • Furniture Glazes Colors – Tree Bark and Licorice • Chalk Paint® Annie Sloan in Old White, Annie Sloan Dark Wax

SUPPLIES FROM ROYAL DESIGN STUDIO • Antique Gold Stencil Creme and Moorish Fleur de Lis stencil • Imitation gold metal leaf and leaf size

SUPPLIES FROM AROUND THE HOUSE • low-tack tape, paint brushes, wax paper, rags, 220-grit sandpaper



Choose a book, old or new, and if it is a bit bedraggled, even better. Tape off the area you want to gold leaf and position the stencil. For this one, it is centered which means I had to fill in a bit of the design in another step. Use the knife and spread some Textura Paste over the stencil openings, just like frosting a cake. Repeat to complete the front and back covers, then when dry, sand lightly to remove any raised areas. Dust off.



Paint two coats of Old White Chalk Paint® and let dry. Then re-tape the areas where you want to add imitation gold leaf and paint on the leaf size in one very thin layer. Let come to tack for about 15 minutes. Lay a piece of leaf over the tacky area and smooth with your finger. When the area is covered, burnish with a piece of wadded wax paper. Remove tape.



If you’d like to add some age and extra pizzazz to the edges of the pages, use a large stencil brush and paint on some Royal Design Studio Antique Gold stencil creme. To make the book look like leather, brush on layers of Wood Icing Furniture Glazes (I used alternating Tree Bark and Licorice), then wipe on some Annie Sloan Dark Soft Wax, removing any extra wax with a clean spot on your rag. Wait ten minutes and buff to a soft sheen. The glazes and the dark wax grab the debossed lettering for the title and author, a nice touch.

Now you have a lovely gift for a book lover that looks extra gorgeous on their shelf. I think these are gorgeous in groups as decoration as well. What can you use Wood Icing™ for? We’d love to know your project ideas and see your photos!

Disclosure: This is a paid featured post in conjunction with Wood Icing™. All opinions, projects, and ideas are based on my own experience.