Yet another Rub 'N Buff frames makeover

The Find

It is a story that has been told a few times already on this blog, but since free frames just keep floating into my life, I just keep glamming them up with Rub 'N Buff.  Don't you love it?

Here is one of the faux wood frames I found, still wrapped in its original plastic.

Original frame

The back side had the fake wood grain wrapped all the way around.

Faux wood continues on the back...

The Fix

For this freestyle makeover I did a quick coat of Rub 'n Buff metallic wax on both frames.  I left a bit of the original texture/faux wood grain visible. You can see the texture on this close-up picture of the corner.

After the Rub 'N Buff treatment

Conclusion

That's it! Super quick and easy makeover. I found some random little pieces of art, one photograph and one watercolor and they both fit the 5x7 size. Now to decide where to put them...

Two little pieces of art, waterlily photo and watercolor abstract.

Happy freestyling!

The Nolmyyyyyra - shiny and new (to me)

The Find

I pulled this Ikea Nolmyra chair out of a trash pile, it was sitting right on top, so easy!  Upon examination it seemed like the only problem was cosmetic, the chair mesh seat had some spots on it.  But the frame was in perfect condition and everything else was structurally sound. Let the makeover begin!

Sad chair

The Fix (How to Clean an Ikea Nolmyra Chair)

After the initial customary wipedown with cleaning spray it was time to take the chair apart.  As long as you have a hex-wrench (aka Allen wrench) this is pretty quick.  The mesh seat is some sort of polyester, which I was hoping would help when it came time to clean it because it would be less absorbent than other materials.  The zipper pull was missing from the mesh cover, but some pliers did the trick.

Since I didn't know what had caused the large spot on the base, I assumed it was grease, maybe a spill during some patio dining? Who knows.  I laid the mesh on some cardboard and then piled baking soda over the spot.  I also wiped down the entire frame and chair base since everything was accessible and there had been some dusty bits hiding between the seat mesh and the frame.

Baking soda treatment

After letting the baking soda sit for about half an hour I put the seat mesh into the washing machine on hot, with hopes that the low absorbency of the polyester would work in my favor.

And it did! 

The seat mesh came out of the wash looking brand new. Even the cat approved after performing his customary inspection.

Chair cover, all fresh and clean

Conclusion

After re-stretching the mesh over the metal frame, and attaching the metal frame to the wooden legs, the chair was as good as new. Not a shadow of its former condition remained.  I was impressed with how lightweight and easy to move this Ikea Nolmyra chair was, for anyone who has to move frequently this would be an easy piece of furniture to own. 

Ready for a new life

Happy freestyling, if you can carry it home you can try to fix it!

Wrap Yourself In A Freestyle Waffle (A Waffle Weave Blanket Story)

The Freestyle Find

I found a free waffle-weave cotton blanket as part of a neighborhood clean-out event.  It was an odd sort of pale yellow-green, not cream, not yellow, not white, just enough of a color to make you doubt your eyesight.  Lucky for me there were no holes or rips, just that odd color....

Blanket (bottom) next to a white t-shirt (top),
see what I mean about the weird color?

The blanket had MANY snags (pulled threads) in it, as I imagine is a common hazard of the waffle weave with its raised boxy texture. Naturally my first task was to machine wash and dry the blanket -- and specifically to dry it in the machine on high heat in order to shrink it in case it ever goes in the dryer in future.  Then on to the snags!

Tying and cutting the loose threads was sort of like a little treasure hunt...

Scissor cutting a thread pull

The Restyle

I decided that the key makeover element for this odd color blanket was a dye job, good thing I had randomly acquired a large plastic bin (no lid) that would fit inside the tub and could hold this blanket.  I used RIT brand dye in Dark Green

RIT dye package, dark green

Here is the blanket while taking a dye bath, the color looked quite dark while wet.

Blanket in a tub of RIT Dark Green dye

I also used about half a bottle of the RIT Color Stay Dye Fixative in the fixative bath (after the blanket came out of the dye bath), this is supposed to help the color "stick" to the fabric.  Given the large surface area of this blanket, I should probably have used an entire bottle - but I only had half a bottle left.

Blanket in fixative bath with RIT ColorStay Dye Fixative

 

After the dye bath and the fixative bath the blanket went back into the washing machine for a 'real' wash to remove any unattached dye particles.  

Like a wet blanket

Conclusions

This is a LARGE blanket, and I think if I had wanted a true dark green to match the color on the box I would have needed another packet (or two?) of dye to get a saturated dark green, and probably a hotter dye bath as well.  But, in reality, I LOVE the seafoam green color that it acquired by the end of the process.

Here it is draped over a chair to display the length.

Blanket, post-dye

Blanket, post-dye job

The remaining small snags are still visible, more so when the sunlight hits at an angle while trying to get a good color photo.

Blanket in the sunlight with blue pillow

My phone camera doesn't do justice to the color, but what matters most is that it is still a great soft blanket for couch naps.  Mmmmmmm, couch naps.

Happy freestyling!

Easy+lazy planter makeover

Freestyle Find

I found this round tapered vessel, and I think it's either a wastebasket or a planter.  It's wood (I think), which makes me lean towards a decorative wastebasket and not a "real" wastebasket that would be expected to hold wet things.  

wooden wastebasket

At any rate, it is the right size and shape for a plant cachepot, so that is what I decided it would be.

I found that the plastic top from a takeout container fit snugly (friction fit) inside the vessel an inch or so above the base.  

Inside the wastebasket with plastic lid insert

This serves the double purpose of catching water and raising up the functional bottom so that the plastic plant pot that I had would sit closer to the top and be easy to remove.

View Inside the wastebasket with plastic lid
and plant pot to test for fit.

Makeover

In order to make the greenery of a plant stand out I tend to use light or white cachepots, preferably ceramic, but there are a few plastic and metal ones floating about the place.  It is just easier to keep a consistent look that way.  Every time I'm tempted by some scrumptious talavera pottery, funky hand-thrown vessel with a unique glaze, or just something silly and fun from a discount store it is much easier to say 'no' to a purchase if I have a defined palette of allowable plant pots in the home.  So, in its original 'as found' state, this wastebasket-future-cachepot didn't match with there rest of the container garden. Could I have sanded the outside and revealed the lighter wood? Possibly.  Would that have been closer to the rest of the cachepots? Yes.  But do I like sanding? No.  I also had a paintbrush and samples out as part of an ongoing chair project, so this just seemed like the right time for an easy+lazy planter makeover.

 

I used one coat of this sample paint and applied it with a brush because I wanted to get paint into the small grooves running vertically along the outside.  The paint sample color is 'Light Drizzle' with a satin finish, it is a very pale blue.

Paint sample, Light Drizzle color

The first coat didn't give perfect coverage, but I left it like that..... it's cool because it is distressed. Right?

Not just because I didn't want to paint a second coat?

Outside after one coat of paint

Conclusion

I repotted a rubber plant (yes, that had been free too) into the new plastic planter, and placed it inside the newly painted cachepot.  Success!

Newly painted cachepot and new
(also free) rubber plant

Happy freestyling, and don't overlook the power of paint!

Free Frame Finds A New Look With Gold Metallic Wax

The Find

As promised, another example of using Antique Gold Rub 'n Buff - in this case to make over a free wooden frame that was set out on the curb.

Here is how it started....

wood frame, back side

wood frame, back corner detail

After removing the glass I used a piece of very fine sandpaper to lightly scuff up the surface of the frame. I'm not sure if this was totally necessary but the original wood seemed to have a bit of sheen and I didn't want any existing coating to interfere with the wax adhesion.

wood frame, sandpaper, tube of Rub 'n Buff

After sanding the frame and wiping it down to remove any dust I got to work on applying the Rub 'n Buff metallic wax to the wooden frame using a scrap from a rag. Here's how it turned out.

Frame after wax application, detail view

The wooden frame had some texture to to, and I decide to retain that slightly mottled look by not applying too many coats of RnB - which I could have done if I had wanted a uniform color surface.

Frame after wax application

Final product

I download an oil painting seascape from the Rijksmuseum using their free Rijksstudio art download options, such a great source for art! Then I resized and cropped the image in order to fit the frame and had it printed out via the Costco Photo site - you do not need a Costco membership to use their photo printing site.

Final product after gold wax on the frame and new artwork.

Happy freestyling! Don't overlook frames that might not match your decor, they can always be painted or waxed to give them a new look.

Tags: makeover; furniture makeover; frame; wooden frame; low cost artwork; metallic wax; rub 'n buff; Rijksmuseum; seascape; Dutch art

Old Lamp Slides Into New Life With Gold Metallic Wax

The Found Lamp

This bronze-tone desk lamp was in my stash from years- YEARS- ago. I was never sure if it worked because I didn't have the proper size lightbulb. I love the shape and size, so it just sat in a bag in the storage unit, waiting for destiny to unfold.

Desk lamp, before

Yes, that's right, normal lightbulbs don't fit into the elongated dome and it never occurred to be to shop around for a custom size lightbulb. Turns out I didn't need to shop around, I just needed to wait (years) until someone was throwing out old, dusty, but unused lightbulbs. I found this.

Tubular light bulb

The result is that I tested the lamp and it worked, as one always hopes a lamp does! 

Working lamp!

Next was the makeover, since the bronze color was juuuuust a bit too dull for my preference.  Also there were some pitted bits, a dent on the top, and some other signs of wear which gave it a bit of a tired appearance.  

Detail of rusting

Detail of dent on dome

Detail of spotting/pitting on base

The Lamp Makeover

It was around this time that I *finally* decided to try out Rub n' Buff (RnB), which according to the blogosphere can do miraculous makeovers on tired furniture pieces.  I also had to decide between two colors of RnB that came in my sample pack.  In a small area near the cord I tried one coat of 'Antique Gold' RnB vs. 'European Gold'. I could see that the Antique Gold is much more yellow, and the European Gold was a more copper-bronze color which was too close to the original and not bright enough.

The difference between Antique Gold (bottom) and 
European Gold (top)

The difference between the original color and the Antique Gold RnB was even more striking on the top of the elongated dome of the lamp.

Original vs. 1st coat

Here's the entire lamp after one coat of RnB, already lookin waaaaaay better and brighter.

Lamp after first coat all over

You can see that the rusting on the top square part was able to be covered by the RnB.

After, no more visible rust

Top of the lamp dome after one coat of RnB. There was also a learning curve in how to apply the product, it help to do one thin coat and then walk away in order to let it dry fully - if you try to apply more product too soon you will just end up wiping off the first coat!

After 1st coat, dome looking brighter

Detail of the lamp base

Final product!

The final made-over lamp after 3-ish coats of RnB looks so much bright and just more cheerful. I'm pleased with the way this turned out, easier than spray painting and a bit more shine than I've seen from gold paint.  Expect more Rub 'n Buff freestyle makeovers in future.

Desk lamp after makeover with
Antique Gold Rub 'n Buff

Happy freestyling, don't be afraid to hold on to those useful little things. Minimalism doesn't always win over the practicality of knowing something will come in handy.

Tags: how to makeover a bronze lamp; bronze lamp makeover; rub n buff; using rubnbuff; using metallic wax to makeover a lamp; metallic wax on metal lamp; desk lamp makeover