I feel old, and a refinished patio table set for Birdsong Cottage...

Good morning. I feel old today. Not because I have any new aches and pains, but because my firstborn turns 38 on this day. I will not mention how old I was when I had her. For obvious reasons.

While Mr. Perch put the finishing touches on the front door at Birdsong last week, I also completed work on the old patio set that I bought in Raleigh a few months ago. We had hauled it up when we came up in April to open the place for the season. Of course, I still didn't get around to painting that trim work!

I had previously painted the frames of the table and chairs back at "real house", and you can see that post here.

You may recall what the furniture looked like before,

shown here at SuzAnna's Antiques...

I painted the old vinyl cushions, again, with 

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White (my go-to color).

In the photo below, I have started to brush on the paint

over an old rust stain that was likely from an old bucket

that someone left on the chair...

After two coats of paint, this is what the cushions

looked like...

And here is a finished chair,

seen with that lovely carpet mentioned in yesterday's post...

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together in such a cheap way?

I hope you have a great day today!

A new front door for Birdsong Cottage...

Hello to all!

It was my intent last week to paint all the trim work up at Birdsong. Have you ever noticed how things rarely go as planned? The day after we got up there, Mr. Perch decided that he wanted to replace the front door, since he never liked the old one. So, we went to the local mobile home supply place, picked out a door, and came home to measure. He then went back, paid for the door that we liked, and brought it home.

Hubby is someone that once he decides to do something, he works on it until it is finished. Without eating. Without going to the bathroom. Without regard to the fact that I had planned on doing something else. But that's OK. I guess.

The funny part is that last summer when I was painting some very hard to reach places in the top cabinet above the broom closet (no one had every painted back there, as the original old 60's dark brown paneling was still in its original state), I found a small plastic bag nailed to the wall. When I took it down to see what was inside (worrying that I might be bit by something), I found the business card of the original salesman that sold this mobile home when it was new, along with a spare key that opened all the doors. And still did when we bought it. Can you believe that no one had changed any of the locks in 45 years? Well, leave it to us. New door, new lock. But certainly not because we were afraid of a break in. I imagine that if the locks never needed to be changed, there were no worries in this quiet little mountain community.

So, back to the door.

The old one, which opened to the inside,

blew open if the deadbolt wasn't secure,

and hit the back of the chair behind it

every time we came in ...

The new one, which opens to the outside.

This photo was taken before we 

installed it.

We did get a new doorknob and deadbolt

in, what else, but oil-rubbed bronze,

but of course I forgot to take a photo 

of it and the door after installation.

Next time!... 

Better photos next time I hope. Have you ever noticed that husbands have mega patience for accomplishing their feats, but not so much while we take photos of everything?

Have a great day!

Prettying up old lawn chairs at Birdsong Cottage...

Hello friends. We are now home from Birdsong, so I thought that I would share a little of what we did up there last week.

When we bought the place last year, part of what was included were two lovely lawn chairs in the porch. You may recall their ugliness from one of my posts last year, but just in case you are a new reader, here is a glimpse of what they looked like. One was a rocker and one was not, but they were a matched set, with...

...ever so stunning lime green, black,

 and lemon yellow woven plastic cushion

covers. 

If you are in my age group, you may remember

this color scheme from the early 70's.

Perhaps they were original to this old house. 

I mean this old single wide...

And of course, they had "marvy" old, and very pitted,

aluminum frames.

We were initially going to throw them out,

but they served us well during the remodeling last year.

And were ever so comfortable to boot.

I couldn't bear to be the one to disrupt the chain of

ownership of this stunning couple.

So, like any thrifty all-American woman,

I took out the spray paint and let it rip on the frames... 

...using my ever so trusty Rust-Oleum 

in Metallic.

Which is the WalMart's version of the 

Oil-Rubbed Bronze from the home store

(I forget whether Lowe's or Home Depot)...

And for the cushions, I decided to try Annie Sloan

Chalk Paint in Old White.

It was certainly easier than recovering them,

and would fair better in the humidity.

I hope.

Below you see it as I brushed on the first coat.

I really made sure that I 

worked it into all of the mesh...

After I put a second coat on all sides 

of the cushions,voila!

Here is the finished product.

The cushions now look like they have been

covered in duck cloth.

And they are soft and supple... 

The only drawback now is that the cushions

no longer match the charming old green

AstroTurf porch carpeting. 

Do you remember that stuff?

I guess you can't have everything.

Not all at the same time, anyway!

Now doesn't this just make you want to go out and try to find some comfortable old lawn chairs from days past? Have fun looking!

Waterlogue

Hello there!

Recently I downloaded a great app. It's called Waterlogue, is $2.99, and worth every penny. What it does is turn your iPhone photos into a watercolor paintings.

I'm not one to load millions of apps onto my phone, but whenever I hear about a good one relative to photography, I like to check it out.

It's so much fun to load your desired photo into the app, and watch it convert right before your very eyes. First it creates what looks like a pencil sketch of the photo, and then you watch it gradually add in the color, just like a water colorist would do.

Here's an example of what it did to a photo of my newest granddaughter.

 The original photo of Avery...

...and after applying Waterlogue to it...

I plan on trying to use this in some artwork. It's called an app, but I call it magic.  I'll let you know how it shakes out! 

Have you found any sweet apps lately?

Jump Off Rock

Hello!

When we are up here busy at Birdsong, the question that we are often asked is "Are you two ever going to have some fun up here?". Well, the answer is "yes".

Last time we were here, friends told us about a place just up the road from our town that was amazing. It is called Jump Off Rock, named after an Indian maiden who found out that her love, a warrior, was killed in battle. Her grief was overwhelming, so she jumped off the rock and committed suicide because she didn't think that she could live without him.

This place is not a tourist attraction. There are only a few places to park, and you are warned that you visit at your own risk, but it is definitely worth seeing and hiking up (or down) one of the three trails.

Sign at the entrance...

One of the views...

The fencing that keeps you from replicating the 

Indian maiden's journey...

The beginning of the trail.

That is Mr. Perch below...

Another beautiful view.

That is a house that you see way back

in the middle of the photo.

Imagine the views from that one!

I hope that you see some beautiful things today!

A few purchases: Art stuff, and a new bureau...

Hello friends.

I'm still trying to catch up with some posts, so I wanted to share with you a few photos of a couple of things that I bought last week at my favorite haunt back home, SuzAnna's.

We are hoping to redo our master bedroom in "real house" and give it a little more of a farmhouse look.

I saw this dresser, snapped a photo, and

showed it to Hubby when I got home.

He liked it well enough to go back with me

and buy it. 

It was painted in a "soft" black,

which he liked.

Not yet sure how it will figure in to

my plan, but time will tell.

The best part is that I don't have to 

do a thing with it. 

Even the drawers slide quite nicely!

For an assemblage project I couldn't resist

this tote.

Can you guess what it is?

Why, a blueberry crate, of course!

So, I have since dry-brushed over the green

striping with black...

...I have a very definite project in mind for this

piece. 

I couldn't resist the timeworn blue-grey

patina on the rest of it...

For just a few bucks I also bought the below

items. A couple will be used in the piece

that I make with the blueberry crate...

Don't you just love the little

ringer on the right?

A couple of the pieces went into 

The Salvage Saloon

for the future...

I hope you find something great today!

Birdsong Cottage: Little updates in the single wide mobile home...

Good morning!

I'm still trying to catch up with my posts, so here are a few photos taken of little updates that we did when we were up here at Birdsong last month.

The little landscaping that we did in

the front in April is coming in well...

Another view of the front,

looking down the street...

The hostas growing around the porch

are growing quickly.

We divided them and replanted some

in April, as they were taking over

the small beds.

We also planted a couple of hydrangeas,

one pictured below between the hostas...

A little metal wreath from Hobby Lobby 

hung in the porch.

We really haven't done any decorating

in this space yet...

So do you remember this style of faucets? 

We planned on living with these for awhile

since they worked...

...but found two of these brand new for $42 each

 in the local salvage store, and couldn't resist.

By the time Hubby finished with them

we were sorry we bought them, as these are the kind

that you have to take the sinks out to get them in.

Old sinks and plumbing, new faucets.

Need I say more!

But they sure do look purdy!

Thanks for coming by!

The Garden Jubilee Festival in Hendersonville, NC...

Hello all!

When we were up here at Birdsong Cottage last month, we went to the annual Garden Jubilee Festival in Hendersonville, the town that our place is in. It was really spectacular, with many vendors set up all down Main Street. The street was closed for the weekend to all traffic, and Lowe's Home was one of the sponsors.

Here are some photos.

Tents lined both sides of the street all the way down...

Vendors sold many different things, 

mostly garden related, 

though there were some others such as jewelry,

antiques, and so on.

This one was for a company that does

backyard ponds...

Plants and garden art made by craftsmen...

An antiques booth...

Many local garden centers had displays

with the most beautiful combinations

of plants...

A few different vendors selling bird houses,

but would you guess this was my 

favorite?

We did come home with a few things for

"real house", which I'll show you on a future post

I hope that you are in the garden of YOUR dreams!