Antique Newel In Progress

I feel like I'm juggling 2 jobs right now- the flip and our own house reno which is seemingly never ending (aren't they always?).  Luckily we are able to function in our house now, but shockingly (or not) my 'little' floor refinish project has snowballed.  Aside from needing new baseboards with the new floors and replacing the railing on the newly finished stairs, I'm using the floors as an excuse to fix a lot of my annoyances with the house- one BIG project instead of ten thousand little ones- makes sense, right?  RIGHT?? The next big step in the project is the stair railing.  This needs to happen asap so Hubby and I don't take a header down the steep steps.  Before that can happen, however, these antique newel posts that I picked up need to be rejuvenated.

Aside from the degraded finish, I needed to patch several holes from old hand rails and these suckers needed to be about a foot taller.  People were apparently shorter 100 years ago... or didn't mind having low handrails.

Handy Dad helped me to tackle the height issue and we devised a plan to marry the existing post with a mahogany 4x4.

First we cut down the bottom of the newel posts so we had a flat surface to attach the 4x4 to.

Then, Handy Dad took over and doweled the newel post and the 4x4 together.  Essentially he drilled holes on one piece, then used transfer points to mark the other piece.

Insert wooden dowels, wood glue, and clamp.

Once the glue was dry, it was time for me to patch and sand my butt off.  I cut filler pieces out of the scrap we had from trimming the bases and glued them into the old slots- one on one railing and two on the other.

And then sand for what seems like forever.  I started with a low grit and worked my way up to 220.

I would LOVE to be able to stain these newel posts and the railing to match, but sadly with all this patching regular stain is not an option.  Never fear, I have a plan!

While a solid stain alone would look flat and like I just painted the posts, a solid stain with a slightly darker stain/poly mix over it just might add the dimension that I'm hoping for.  Please disregard the ribs in the wood itself below- I was using the back of a floor board from my scrap wood pile.

And since this is where I currently stand, this is where I leave you for today.

Will I be able to make these old newel posts look good?  Will my experimental finish work?  Stay tuned next week for the thrilling newel post conclusion!

My Office Plan

Oh my office.  I'm excited to make this a workable office.  and tv room. and workout room.  It wears many hats, but the primary one needs to be workable office.  This is where the design magic needs to happen. Before we tore out the carpet, my office had stalled out shy of usable office.  No desk or workspace and the computer placement made me feel like I was in a cave.

While I'm still fleshing out the layout, I know what feel I want here.  This office (via House Beautiful) spoke to me.

Clearly I don't have anywhere near the space or want to fork over budget to replicate this, but I'm inspired.  Sometimes it's the hardest as a designer to work on your own spaces because of all the possibilities in front of you.  When I find myself getting tripped up like this I always try to pick a jumping off point.  For my office, it's this rug that I stumbled on at HomeGoods.  It's so soft and more subtle in person.  Traditional and feminine without being too girly.

From there I was inspired.

1.  IKEA ranarp task lamp.  I've had this lamp for over a year and I still love it- it just needs a better home.

2.  My vintage craigslisted settee will need to stay in the space (for the tv room functionality portion), but it requires some new pillows!  This fun stripe is Color Lesson, Cantaloupe from Tonic Living

3.  I love the way yellow pops with the rug, so my office chair might get a good dose of Heni Slub Goldenrod from Fabric.com

4.  #polkadotsforlife.  Polka dots make me weak in the knees, so I'm very very seriously considering a roman shade in this Small Ikat Dot from Tonic Living

5.  This room needs plants!  I'm still not so great at keeping them alive, but I'm officially a plant addict.  The one pictured is technically a small, artificial one from IKEA, but you get the idea.

6.  This image is courtesy of Apartment Therapy, but I am actively on the hunt for a small scale desk to maximize my worksurface in my small scale space.  Hopefully my besty Craigslist will help me out.

7.  Totally the same rug as above but it changes color in different lights- more beigy at times, and others more blue.  It's actually billed as silver which is probably accurate.  I stumbled on mine for an amazing deal at HomeGoods, but I found it later at Target as well- Safavieh Calista Rug

8.  If you have a really good memory, you might remember this guy as my $25 Brimfield pick from a year ago.  He's been patiently waiting in the basement for new upholstery- I'm thinking #3 above.  A nice yellow pattern would make him look super dapper, don't you think?

I have a few other tricks up my sleeve here too (like a creative way to hide the TV), but the bedroom floors are still unfinished, which means 1/3 of the bedroom is currently shoved into my office.  Another 1/3 in Hubby's office, and the last 1/3 in the living room.  The cats seem a bit bewildered as to why there's a mattress taking up the entire living room floor.

Hubby's Office Plans

With new (old) floors upstairs, that means the 3 rooms affected will also be getting new looks.  The bedroom's transformation will be minor with just a new rug and maybe new night stands and lamps, but Hubby's office and my office will both get pretty drastic changes.  Neither office got too much design, planning, or thought previously. Hubby's office was regrettably painted lime green (when we first got the house and were in desperate need of some color in the house....) and it inherited Clifford the big red chair when it got ousted from the living room by my reupholstered ikat chair.  Hubby loves that big chair.  I'd love it in another fabric.

Basically, I hate to admit, Hubby's office was where all the bad design decisions in the house went to die.  Out-dated messy gallery wall, clashing colors, ikea desk left over from my bachelorette pad....  Bad designer/wifey.  Hubby deserves better than that.

I'm deciding to finally be a good designer/wifey on this room and take my own taste out of it.  Clifford stays despite my best efforts.  Hubby's finally getting the dark, traditional office he's always wanted.  Complete with oriental-style rug and antique (craigslisted) desk.  The base layer is going to be very traditional.

Color: Behr Marquee Mossy Bench; Anya Chair; Task 1 Floor Lamp; Amida Rug

Hubby would die happy if I let him live in this room (with the addition of his computer of course):

image via Architecturaldesigns.com

It's a little too buttoned up for me.  Luckily, however, Hubby's not as buttoned up as he thinks and there will be a heavy dose of cheekiness in his office.

The fun and funkiness will come in primarily through art and accessories.  You can't have too serious of a room when you have this hanging on the wall, right?

hehe.  I'm really looking forward to styling in here (ya know, once we move the dresser and night stands back into the bedroom).  Mixing traditional paintings from Hubby's travels with a crazy anthropomorphic painting of our cats along with some fun/geeky decor which includes Optimus Prime.  This is going to be one serious room that doesn't take itself seriously at all.

I can't wait to share my office plans with you Wednesday!