Making Pies

25 years ago, Tim’s parents salvaged a sign that said, “Hannah’s Pies” in Dallas. At the time, they thought it would go in their game room, but turns out it didn’t fit.

The metal signs have been sitting behind a shed ever since. Tim salvaged and popped off the plastic covers and broken neon bulbs. From there he scrubbed, primed and painted. We decided to use the two-tones because we wanted them to pop without overwhelming the space.

This is the before picture where we mounted them on the wall with the original paint, and to the right are the letters with their spiffy white.

What makes the "”PIES” so great is that they sit over the dining table facing the kitchen. Nicole had been trying to track down letters or a sign to say, “OPEN” so we were really happy when we found these in Tim’s parent’s yard – they had an interesting story and they were free.

Here is a great song Nicole loves that just seems to fit, too.

Awwww, Horse Lamp!

We found this plastic horse leg at the Round Top flea market. It is from a Tack shop, but we have no idea what it must have been modeling.

We paid $10 bucks for it and we kept it the original brown, too.

This photo is Horse Lamp in the sunlight. The big hole in it must  have been where it was filled with something heavy to stablize the base, but in Tim’s very clever fashion, that’s where he inserted the switch for the lamp – and the dimmer fit perfectly.

 

Don’t ask how much we spent on the lamp shade. Let’s just say if we tried to sell the lamp for the amount we’ve invested, we’d be laughed at. Oh, and we’re not offended if you compare it to the Christmas Story lamp.

Table and Chairs.

The kitchen table we found at Next2New  (a great consignment furniture and home goods store) was a gem with lots of potential – a bench on one side, 2 chairs and a leaf. (We added another miss-matched chair from Goodwill that costs $6, and are in the market for another…)

But as you can see from the close up below, the original colors were pretty bad. We knew we had to strip, sand, stain, seal and spray paint… and those five words took quite a bit of energy.

Here are some action shots of the work:

For those curious, Ron Hazelton has a great tutorial and video.

Unexpected Vintage Art

We’re not sure what it is, but we are drawn to old-time images and hanging them as art. This first one is from a music book. Nicole loves it because it says “deuce” and hangs in the bathroom. Classy, we know.

The second is 3 images are mounted side by side in Nicole’s boudoir. These are sketches from a designer that she matted and framed. See the close-ups below':

 

The last is in the living room. The most interesting of the 3 is a wedding gift from 1979. The bride and groom’s name make up their images.

Our Big South Austin Sun

We were inspired by Big Red Sun to create a file-cabinet-turned garden. Filled with succulents, this is a great option for Austin’s climate.

First we bought two file cabinets. After removing all the drawers*, we laid one its side (the mint colored) and then we laid the other on its back. This created a nice lip that we are using as a table. Tim then drilled holes to create drainage.

We next installed a small shelf hidden inside the brown cabinet to elevate what would be the bottom and filled it with rocks and dirt (with no shelf, you’re looking at a lot of dirt).

 

Tim also welded a small disk and post. The disk is filled with more succulents and the post holds a humming bird feeder. Although, we don’t know how many birds make their way through downtown. As for the plants – we got them from friends’ yards, Big Red Sun, Great Outdoors, the Zilker succulent show and Home Depot.

*Inside the vintage brown cabinet, we found the sweetest letter dated August 9, 1935 from a brother to his sister. It’s still on our fridge because Nicole can’t bare to throw it away.

Succulents

These are just the sweetest.



These guys are planted in an old metal slide tray. I took the top off and removed some of the hardware. It was the perfect thing to make this centerpiece. There are no drainage holes in the bottom since it'll always be inside and we can regulate how little water it gets.

Tim's Tips:

1. Contrast. Pick plants with contrasting size, texture and color, they'll play off each other and keep the eye moving
2. Non-living object. I threw in an old trailer hitch ball I found in the street. Lots of gardens use large stones or old wood. It adds a bit of visual interest and steps the aesthetic up a notch.
3. Finishing Touches. The white rocks make everything pop and look way better than dirty ol' dirt.

Carafe hunt.

We searched everywhere for a carafe that we could use for Listerine. I mean, months… which we would agree with what you are probably thinking – that’s a little weird.

But, good cool things take time. Instead of that sticky, bulky, plastic behemoth...

...we finally found the perfect one at Crate and Barrel.