Have you ever found a trashy treasure, had real good intentions for it, and then just kind of let it lie there in it’s shabbiness until it became part of the unintentional decor? Well, that’s kind of what I did with my picket fence. I found it at an antique/resale shop for a smoking deal. I was more than just a little pumped up to fix it up and give it a great home in my new office. However, once I got home with it I kind of lost my zeal.
It might be because the fence was formerly red and already very distressed. One of my office accent colors is red so I started to talk myself into the fact that the fence already fit in perfectly. It was the right color….kind of..,my original plan was to paint it white, and it was already distressed which was another look I was going for.
The fence had a flaw though. It was missing one of the pickets so the horizontal pieces of wood stuck out too far on one side. I simply hid those behind the bookcase that I had placed it next to…..also not my original intent but I had to hide the flaw…
Here is the before picture of the fence in the room:
It was fine for a temporary solution but I was ready to start finishing my office the way that I had originally intended. So, I dragged that fence down to my craft room determined to saw off those wild ends before painting it.
Normally, I would have waited for my husband to come home and use one of his power saws to cut off those ends for me but once I decide to start something, I want to get right to it! And, there is no way I would use a power saw myself because I am way to wimpy….yes I admit it! Just hearing the words chop saw makes me think of accidentally chopping a limb off. So…I used the trusty little hand saw that I had. I must say that it was really good that I had just looked at my son’s grades because it gave me that burst of angry energy I needed to saw right through those pieces of wood! Fast too!
As I put on that fresh pure white paint, I began to relax and I wondered why I hadn’t done it sooner….which is always the case when I delay a project! It was easy to keep a distressed look because I just applied the paint thinner where it was already down to the bare wood.
Once the paint was dry, I brought the fence back up to my office and placed in on top of the little bookcase. This was my intent to give it more height and to make it more of a wall art. I now have further plans for the room that I am anxious to get to. Here is the picket fence in place on the bookcase:
Now I had more fun adding all of my accent pieces:
I hung these antique jailer keys from a wide white ribbon so that they would fall more in the upper center of the fence. In the before picture, I had just looped the key ring over the top of one of the pickets.
And, then I added my decor to the bottom and I am much happier! The rest of the office is a bit of a mess now as I am making room for some more pieces. I will be showing the whole reveal in a later post when the room makeover is complete.
Can you tell yet if you like the white better or the red? Let me know your thoughts!
it looks great, i love it!
Thanks Norma! I’m so glad I finally got the project done.
Visiting from “Katherine’s Korner”. This is such a cool project. And I just love that rusty old key set hanging there…gorgeous!
Kathy
Thank you Kathy! I was so excited to find those keys and would love to know the story behind them!
Love it!!!!!
Thanks Marsha! I always appreciate your input!
I want those keys! Your vignette is wonderful. So glad I found your blog, I’m a new follower. I love meeting new blog friends, so stop by anytime, Lori
Thanks Lori! I’m so glad to have you here 🙂
Yep – white was the right choice – the fence looks great in your space!
Thanks Pat! I am really glad I made that choice!
Looks great! I especially like those keys and the stamped block wood underneath. Really nice!
Thank you Fred! The block of wood was from an old skid!
Brilliant! I love it painted white with the rusty keys suspended from ribbon.Hugs! Thank you for your bloggy friendship and participation at Katherines Corner xo
Thank you Katherine and you’re welcome! I always love hearing from you!
The white is much better and goes bestest with your awesome home.
Hey Tee! Thanks so much! Your comments mean alot 🙂