The winter wasn’t seeming so bad this year, but then we got a lot of snow Thursday, another couple inches Friday night and a big snow storm happening currently. Whew. We’ve shoveled 3 times already to keep up. We don’t have a snowblower, so it helps to go out and shovel before it gets too deep.
Being snowed in means working on projects! It’s either that or eat, so I got to work 😀 We’ve got the master cleaning list going again and did the kitchen, which takes the longest on the master list because of all the appliances and stuff to clean behind and under. All sparkly clean now!
The master cleaning list works when you keep up with it. Does anyone else keep a whole bunch of hand towels hanging? I think we have 6 on there LOL!
Next project was working on my sewing machine table.
I had wanted a table with the metal Singer bottom for the longest time, and I found this one a couple years ago for $40. Quite the bargain! However, I don’t like the top. It was painted with flat black paint, which comes off when you wipe it down. It’s just not practical. I’ve been wanting to redo the top for a long time and this weather provided a perfect opportunity.
The top was attached by 4 screws, so I took it off and dug out the paint stripper:
I could have just painted over this table, but I was curious about the finish underneath and if it would be worth trying to uncover it. Stripper solution was slathered on and 10 minutes later I was able to start removing it.
Very encouraging. Note the gloves – safety first! Stripper burns. Once it was all removed, I scrubbed the top with soapy water. That’s the nice thing about this particular stripper, it’s water soluble so easy clean up.
With how many times I have written stripper in this post, I can only imagine the traffic that will come to my blog .
Anyhoo, the final product. Let’s say the naked top seeing as I’m going for broke here.
I thought it was a solid piece of wood, but it’s 3 strips of veneer. I like it! That upper corner is just shadow. It’s not dark. Once it’s dry, I’m going to give it a sand and then poly it. Stay tuned for when I finish that.
I’ve also started work on my desk. All the joints were glued back together and I have been using it, but time for its face lift. On the lower part, the veneer was coming up in spots. That is getting glued down.
Once that is done, I’ll fill in the gaps with wood putty. The lower part will be painted because there is no way I can make this veneer repair match. I’m hoping to keep the top natural.
Lest you think I worked all weekend, a treat did happen:
Saturday before all the snow came. I love a good piece of baklava. Totally worthy and I fit it into my calories for the day with some maneuvering (heavy veggie dinner).
Now it’s all snow, snow, snow. Our piles are getting high for shoveling. You have to throw it quite high now!
It’s still snowing, too. We’ll be digging out again tomorrow!
That table is great. There is a diner in Fruitland, MO (The Pie Bird) and all the table bases are old sewing machines. Yuck to the snow. I think winter may miss us this year.
I love the look of those old sewing machine bases. They do make great tables!
That is crazy snow!!! Reminds me of 1 year when I lived back east & we were snowed in for a week with 8 foot high drifts! YIKES!
I always admire your handywork & DYI skills!!!!
We had a January thaw and all our snow melted, then we got some more and that’s melting now. Very little ‘wintering’ for Wisconsin. I’m ok with that! Love what you uncovered on that table top!
PS. You also said ‘naked’ in this post 😉
I’m sure I will get some interesting traffic to this post 😉
I love that table! The singer bottom is gorgeous!
Sorry about all the snow. At least you are being productive instead of eating. 😉
Yes, I certainly could be eating 😀 Have to occupy my hands or they will gravitate towards food!
Here’s the difference between you and me: when it snows like that I am not motivated to do a project, I am only motivated to Netflix and eat lol!
Naked stripping. That should cause some interesting spam.
I do have trouble sitting still. When I can’t go outside, it makes me antsy — even if I wasn’t planning on going anywhere LOL!
How nice to get some project time…of course, having to go outside and shovel snow periodically doesn’t sound wonderful, but still. It will be fun for us to see your finished products!
I’ll show the table this week. I like how it turned out. Just poly leaving it natural.
Kinda related to your post–I went out yesterday to put some poly on some frames,but because of all the rain, the door to my little room was swollen shut!!
I am so glad I was in on the buying and remodeling of Radiance Manor from the beginning. It continues to be such fun watching you all make it “yours!” I spent three weeks in Texas over the holidays and missed the only snow we’ve had in Tennessee this year. I’d be perfectly happy to keep it that way.
We only have one big remodel left of Radiance Manor, which is the upstairs bathroom. That’s on hold for a while, but I can’t wait to get to it!