MASTER BEDROOM REFRESH

I’ve had the itch for a few years now to do a total master bedroom and bathroom refresh. This past winter I finally took the plunge and started on the bathroom, which you can read about here. When that was all finished, I knew the bedroom had to be next! (No more excuses!) It was the last "untouched" room in the farmhouse. Since we bought our "labor of love" in 2010, we've taken on 80s wallpaper, outdated carpeted, and cramped spaces. The master bedroom had been refurbished but was still desperately in need of a face lift.

My goals: make the space BRIGHTER, FRESHER, and more ROMANTIC. I’ve been in love with the sliding barn doors look lately, so I thought I’d incorporate it into the final product.

The first order of business was to give the space a fresh coat of paint. (I used Behr paint.) Since I wanted to lighten and freshen things up, I went with a white on the ceiling and on the walls. I also repainted all the base boards and trim with interior trim paint from Behr as well. I thought the bedroom still needed a little more texture, so I decided to paint the floors to give them a rustic feel.

For the floors, I used a combination of varnish, white paint, white chalk paint and grey porch & floor paint. Whatever you have lying around that fits the “vibe” would work just as well! The original color was beige. I dragged varied colors over the boards with a paintbrush to create that wonderful “weathered” look. Because the end goal was more organic, it didn’t have to be perfect!

By far the biggest change was installing the vintage doors over the closet. These doors were rescued, restored and refinished to give the space a whole new look.

…HOWEVER, their original color (dark hunter green) needed to go. Yikes! I turned to my faithful friend, Citrus Strip. This product does wonders when you’re taking the paint off furniture! Especially four layers of paint!

NEXT: I found some silver tin backsplash panels at Lowe's, in the kitchen department, and knew they would be the perfect "windows" to compliment the arched portion of the doors. They were an easy install - I used superglue! Below, I've included some pictures that inspired the "look.” Truthfully, I just experimented with the look of the doors until I found an arrangement I liked...

Photos via Unsplash

Once the doors were repainted & ready to be hung, I needed hardware. I did my research on a few different hardware companies and knew I wanted a company that put quality and craftsmanship first. After many hours of research (plus visiting several different stores to check out the quality first-hand), I decided to go with a company called Rustica Hardware.

What made Rustica stand out to me was the fact that all their steel is made right here in the USA. Pretty cool, right? When I reached out to the company, they were kind enough to work with me to help find what I was looking for: hardware that would look beautiful contrasted with vintage doors. I ended up going with the “Struck” hardware, and you guys? It’s gorgeous! Bonus, the installation was super easy.

Rustica also sells a ton of furniture and beautiful metal & wooden barn doors. If you’re looking for the perfect finishing touch for your next DIY project, I can’t recommend them enough! I mentioned this on IG, but friends: please go over & say hello to the folks at Rustica. I'm not getting paid to say it, but I stand behind their product! It's great quality and the folks I've worked with have been so kind and efficient.

The hardware came in about a week, and Mr. Maple attached the hangers at the top of the door, then the track. From there we just sat the doors on the track and put the handles on. Easy-peasy! I snagged the handles from Lowe’s for cheap, in black, to match the other pieces.

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1: hanging the track. 2: putting the doors on. 3: handles!

For my FINAL LOOK, I staged the room with sunflowers and lots of sunlight. The bedding is from Piper Classics – seriously, the coziest bedding! Perfect for those chilly fall & winter nights. (IG here.) The chandelier is from Antique Farmhouse. (They have the coolest wooden signs!)

I’m so happy with the overall product, and glad I get to finally share it with you guys! Have you ever refinished any furniture or doors? What’s your latest DIY project? How do you think this one turned out? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram, @maplecreekmarket !

Blessings,

Ginny

#life #diy #famrhouse #farm #vintage #vintagefarmhouse #countryliving #rusticahardware #rustic #doors #bedroom #bedroomremodel #sunflowers #summer

FARMHOUSE BATH GETS A MAKEOVER

This blog post is way overdue, but life has been happening at lightening speed! Whew! I know there are no excuses...but things have seriously been so busy. In between the craziness, The Mister and I did find time to remodel our 1970 master bathroom (it came with blue carpet) this past spring. I’ve waited eleven years to do this project and it finally happened! I couldn't be more excited to share it with you guys...

The main inspiration for the bathroom came from our collaboration with @sinkology and their stunning copper sinks & faucets. I really wanted something that would still maintain the feel of our 1820’s farmhouse, but update it and give it some character. Hunting to two vintage dressers to convert into vanities was A TRIP, let me tell you. I searched long and hard for the pieces that would be just right in the space. One day I stumbled across not one, but two, identical (!) dressers that I instantly fell in love with.

The beauty in the mess! LOL!

I convinced my amazing dad, one of the most talented woodworkers on the planet, to help convert the each of the drawers to allow a new drop-in sink to fit into the dresser while maintaining the storage in the three drawers below. We ended up with a nice bit of space for toiletries and storage.

While my dad was working on the dressers, Mr. Maple Creek was patching the walls and laying a new floor from @Lowes. We decided to go with a laminate floor that blended with the rest of the wood floors in the farmhouse. For the paint color on the walls, I chose a bright white paint from @sherwinwilliams to give the space fresh, clean feel. It was so nice to see the previously-tan walls transform!

When the vanities finally arrived I gave them a fresh coat of white chalk paint from Kilz with a dark wax coat over top, and then it was installation time. We had finally reached the point in the makeover where we could install the vanities and put everything in place! To say I was doing a happy dance is an understatement.

For the finishing touches to the space I worked with @1stoplighting to give the lights a new look. It was hard to decide what would look good with the space, since they have so many to choose from. I reached out to their amazing customer service team for help and advice, and they pointed me in the right direction. The mirrors also needed an update, so I went with two that I found from @kirklands.

Overall, I'm so glad I decided to stick with the plan of reinventing vintage dressers into vanities. It ended up being such a fun project and a great way to recycle old furniture for a new purpose! Let me know in the comments, or on Instagram: what's your latest DIY project? Have you ever tried to rework an old piece of furniture for a new purpose? Any ideas for what I should tackle next?

If you’ve followed along with me on this journey thank you so much for all of the love and encouragement during the whole process. Y’all made us keep on keeping on!

#betterhomesandgardens #table #bathroom #countryliving #country #vintagefarmhouse #farmhouse #rustic #summerdecor #sinkology #DIY #1stoplighting #remodel

FALL PORCH

The fall porch just might be my favorite spot to decorate here at the farm each year. It's so satisfying to head out to the pumpkin patch and pick out just the right pumpkins to line the steps of the farmhouse!

This year I wanted to have A LOT of cornstalks. I had saved some bunches from last year and wanted to add new ones to give them that fresh fall feeling. Can one ever have too many cornstalks?

...I think not! I also wanted to incorporate lighting to give it a magical glow at night. While hunting for a great deal, I found lighting from Better Homes and Garden on sale for under ten dollars, and knew they would be perfect in this spot. Another lighting source are my solar powered lanterns from Sonnenglas. They are the very best for any occasion and can give a new look to any décor.

My next step was to find one new element. This year, that was the little postal box attached to the door. I found this cutie at Hobby Lobby. With their amazing 40% off coupon, it proved to be a fantastic deal that added just the right touch! Yay for coupons & thrifty shopping!

The wreath on the door is from Micheal’s and is feathered with the touches of autumn colors. This time of year, those wreaths have a special spot in my heart. I also added a yummy cinnamon broom from Trader Joe's by the door to give the entrance a little spooky/ whimsical vibe as well.

The old vintage scale was a piece I found in the upper barn when we moved in. It’s a heavy piece with so much character and I was longing to give it some front-and-center attention this fall. I loaded it with pumpkins and it was literally brought back to life. So much vintage goodness from this piece of history!

This year I went very light on the mums and heavy on the grasses and ferns. I love the look of fall grasses on a porch and in the gardens around Maple Creek.

How do you like to decorate your porch for fall? Do you have your pumpkins all picked out? Any fun fall finds, of vintage pieces, you've stumbled across?

Share your pictures with me on Instagram, @maplecreekmarket!

#fixerupper #interiordesign #vintagefarmhouse #rustic #countryliving #falldecor #pumpkins #porch #fallporch #falldesign