When I picture the windows open in a room, I imagine warm sunshine streaming through as the wind gently blows the curtains. Fresh air hits me and I am compelled to take a deep breath. The refreshing energy fills my soul. Of course there are only certain seasons when it's practical to open the windows, but my goal is to fill my heart, home, and family with a beautiful serenity that always makes me think the windows are open!

Thursday, January 21

Little Boy’s Denim Shaker Peg Strip and Basket

 shaker peg rail 1 b

I’ve been working on turning our guest room into a cute cheery girl room for lil sis, since she will soon need to vacate the nursery  for the new baby.  I’ve been taking my time doing it, but I think spending so much time on it has left big brother feeling a little jealous.  So I wanted to do a quick project for his room that would make him feel special, without taking too much time away from my little girl’s room makeover.
A while back I had seen a Shaker peg strip in a book at the library (sorry I don’t remember which one) and always liked the look.  I remembered it and thought it would be a perfect addition to his room.  After looking around for more inspiration, I found the pic below and decided this denim look was a technique I wanted to try.  Now, I can’t for the life of me find it back to give credit where credit is due.  If you see this anywhere, PLEASE let me know!

clip_image002

So… wanna know how cheap I really am?  Hubby had bought some lumber for a project he’s been wanting to do.  It’s been months now and he still hasn’t found the time to work on it, so I “borrowed” the two 1 x 3 x 8’ boards he had and went to work.  Hey, if he ever gets around to doing his project, he can buy some more wood, right?  He loves me!!

And I picked up some pegs from Joann's... couple bucks.
pegs

First I used a miter saw to make 45 degree cuts on the 1x3 pieces where I needed them to fit the length of one wall and a short span on the adjacent wall.  If you need more info about how to do this let me know.
Then I drilled holes part way through the boards every few feet for the pegs.  Put some wood glue in the hole and pushed the pegs in.  I made sure when I drilled the holes that the pegs would have a snug fit and the glue is for extra security.
 
drilled hole

Now the painting can begin!  This is the paint and glaze I used.  I used a lighter blue for the base and a darker blue glaze for the denim fabric effect.


paints&brush

After a quick sanding I put on a base coat of Valspar “Blue Eyes” Interior Satin.  Make sure you use a satin finish!

Blue Eyes Label

I wasn’t really concerned about perfect coverage or brush strokes.  Just get some color down on the board and pegs.

base coat2

After that dries, move on to the glaze.  I had Lowes tint a can of glaze with Valspar “Indigo Streamer”.

Glaze Label

For the first coat of glaze, only run the brush in one direction across the width of the board.  Make sure you don’t put it on too thick.  You want to see the base coat through the brush strokes.

1st coat glaze

After this has dried, do the second coat of glaze in the other direction across the length of the board to create the look of fabric.
 
 2nd coat glaze

To hang the boards on the wall, I used my handy-dandy DeWalt  brad nailer (I love DeWalt tools!) and enlisted some help from the hubs to hold the boards in  place.  I chose to put the boards above “normal” person height to keep heads from running into the pegs sticking off the wall.
My son can’t reach the pegs yet, but when he’s older he can.  And for now it can hold things I’d like to hang up.  I mean really… he’s three… what would he hang up anyway… his sole purpose in life right now is to leave everything possible laying all over the floor! LOL!


finished rail1
finished rail2 shaker peg rail 1

To tie into the new denim theme in the room, I then used the same painting technique to turn this basket

original basket

into this…

finished basket

It’s a great place for him to store books, toys, etc.
Now back to my little girl’s room…  some day I’ll finish and reveal that makeover to you too!

Rebecca



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