You know my productive trip the other day?
That’s not all we found…..
I saw these spindles and knew I could come up with something great to do with them….they were only .99! I got twelve in all. This may be a disappointing post, because they’re still a work in progress. But I thought I would run it by all of you to see what your great ideas are!
Here’s the thing: Matt and I have a MILLION projects right now….I myself am responsible for:
-making a template to cut out the headboard (that’s right–that’s been the plan with those doors–they’re going to become a daybed!)
-refinish my new desk
-finish painting all the storage boxes for the kids
You get the idea–so that’s all kind of in “wait until we….” mode, and with the knowledge of all that lies ahead, I’m itching to get to work–to paint something!
Enter the cute little spindles….
I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do with them, so I decided I should just start painting and something would come to me.
I wiped them down with tack cloth and used Benjamin Moore Iceberg–which was going to go in the staircase and my bathroom upstairs, but I’m thinking it may be the writing room color. It’s a beautiful grey-white, but I wanted a little more saturated grey for the other two areas. (Little tip–not sure where I read this, but it was a great painting tip: when painting something with small grooves and edging, paint those intricate details first, then paint the smoother, larger areas to avoid splotches/imperfections on the “focal areas.”)
After a couple of coats….
So, now, what to do with them? My first thought was to taper the bottoms, add a lamp kit/shade, and turn them into long wall sconces for the writing room–and I probably will. I love the large impace such a small architectural element would have.
Speaking of that….
I was wondering what to do with the rest of them, when I noticed how I had propped this one up under my bar:
Oh my goodness! I love it there….I love our kitchen, but if I could do anything I wanted, I would have much more detail to the cabinetry–it adds such texture and interest, especially when decorating with whites.
Do you love it there as much as I do?? I asked my partner in crime if he could attach them for me, and he said it would be no problem. (I love that even if it was the hardest job on the planet, he will always respond the same way–he’s incredible–you’re going to see just how talented he is when we reveal that playroom storage…I’m so proud of his work ethic and his endless energy to use his talents)
There is one problem…the spindle is not long enough to fit all the way under the bar top, so…
So I’m thinking I’ll get a cute little foot (or a finial upside down) for the bottom to raise the top totally underneath the counter. Another small detail…what a quick (and cheap!) way to update our cabinetry!
A close-up of the distressing–I did this for the sconce pieces–still trying to decide if I’ll distress any of the ones for the kitchen.
So what do you think?? Am I using these little guys to their fullest potential?? Any other ideas for them? I’ll probably still have 4-6 leftover to do something else with.
Leave a comment and tell me what you think–I love hearing your great ideas!
–shaunna 🙂
I’m linking up to these parties today!! Go check out the great ideas!
the distressed spindle was the look I wanted for my coat rack last year, but couldn't ever get it to sand right so I crackled it instead. Oh well. maybe when you catch up you can refinish my coat rack. 🙂
You definitely need to come to my house and inspire me! You have great, creative ideas. We recently bought a foreclosure and EVERYTHING needs to be redone. I love the spindles under the counter. It looks beautiful, and it's so unique. I'm a big fan of anything distressed, but my advice would be (if it's not much trouble), is to do a couple of distressed, and a couple of non-distressed. Prop them up and look at them for a few days and see which one you're drawn to most. I just got an old window for my birthday, and I'm snagging your picture framing idea.
I am loving the distressing! It's all those little details that you can add that really make things look fabulous!