Ya don't really know until you try, right?
So, in one of my last posts, I mentioned the dining room, and the wall of mirrors I am planning to replace. I was positive that my weathered shutters idea was going to be nothing short of perfection when I envisioned it in my mind. (Que the theme music to Traceyville)
While the idea might have worked with the right length, width, and ideal amount of weathering, it turned out to be a no-go. First of all, I have a heater vent on the low part of the wall, so the shutters had to be hung high enough to not cover that.
Then too, it just seemed like too much wood. I mean, as you can see, what I am referring to as shutters are actually bi-fold doors that I planned to weather and age with paint and crackle and wax, but even with my wildly keen imagination, when I stood back and looked, it was just too much wood. A painted wood (off white) entertainment center on the other side of the doorway to the hall, and then the (currently) black painted hutch.....adding more wood between them didn't seem to add anything.
Ugh.
I then thought I had an epiphany and brought in some shorter old (partially) weathered window shutters from the back patio that I then tried hanging (on existing nails from the mirrors) so each shutter section was horizontal.
Ewe.
What I pictured in my mind as a weathered subtle backdrop for a clock or a wreath, looked pretty much like I had hung an extra wide weathered teak patio lounge chair from Hawaii hung on the wall.(Do you see that too? That fold there on the third rung down is where your knees go....)
Not the look I was going for, as you might have guessed.
(....and I would feel like I needed to say "aloha" every time I looked at them.)
Later that day, when I was down at Camas Antiques dropping off Easter banners in my booth, I spotted a pair of old hutch doors with glass windows inserts, and seriously considered them. This sparked a series of ideas in my head about vintage windows, but in the end, I ruled this whole window-hutch-door idea out.
(Am I exhausting you with all of the in-my-head-debates I had?)
Instagram came to my rescue, as I spotted a sign this gal had made for her home. I could make a sign, and it wouldn't cost too much (...it might even be free. I have to check my wood scraps in the garage.) and it could be done in the exact colors I want.
I quickly designed a basic sign for the dining room in my cheesy print program on my computer. I'm thinking the butter yellow from the wicker chairs, with white and stain weathering (maybe) and possibly dark-ish tan lettering? Maybe blue?
What do you think? Are you seeing my vision? Okay, let me share two possible ideas. First, the sign I just shared, done on slats of wood, or beadboard....(From Instagrammer Burlaproserevivals)
The second idea, a painted sign on flat wood....(Found this idea on a Pinterest link to the TV show Fixer Upper)
Of course, this idea is still another wood piece on the wall, and I may not like it when completed. I am thinking I will find or buy my wood, then paint the background colors and hang it on my wall to then make the final judgement call. If I do not like it, I'll paint a sign to sell at Camas Antiques.
I'm heading out to the garage to have a look-see and update next post!
