Family Life Centers Around a Great RH Style Table & Baby Angel Art, Florence

All the baby angels!! In Italy, these angels are called Putti. 👼🏻 👼🏻 👼🏻 The ones I shared in the below post are all from larger portraits in the Uffizi - found in Florence, Italy. I love the ones with colored wings. I hope you will friend me on Facebook, so I can see what you like to do, too! 

This project is so heartwarming. The kitchen in the center of the home today and this one is no exception! Let's see how to get the look of their gorgeous table!

Materials

• Alder Table 
• Palm Sander
• 80 grit sandpaper
• Weatherwood's Reclamation Stain
• Weatherwood's White Maintenance Oil
• Polyurethane Topcoat- Flat

Directions

1.] SAND

For this project we used alder, if you're using a different species check out this color chart for weathered wood options: Color Chart. Sand the boards and with 80 grit sandpaper and now they're ready for you to apply stain. 

2.] STAIN

If you want a pure gray, you should use Reclamation, if you want a gray with brown in it, use Salvage. Using a wide brush or sponge brush, apply heavy coat of stain. Like in the above video, the wood will absorb the stain as it dries. The color will change from raw wood to stained. 

3.] LIGHTEN

To lighten the wood, use White Maintenance Oil Topcoat. This will lock in that light driftwood look and protect the wood. It's a wipe on and wipe off application. Use a brush or rag to apply and a clean rag to immediately take it back off the wood. The longer it stays on the wood, the whiter the wood will get.

4.] PROTECT

To seal the wood, use Weatherwood Polyurethane. This will lock in that light driftwood look and protect the wood. Just brush on 2-3 coats. 

You can save 10% on Weatherwood products, like you saw here, with code WELCOME10. 

Achieving a White-Washed Farmhouse Look

I found this project to be super inspiring! Magically turning the most inexpensive douglas fir from Home Depot into an incredible farmhouse table, perfect for this show home or yours!

Materials

• Douglas Fir Table- raw wood
• Sandpaper
• Weatherwood's Stain- Salvage for a light gray - More options
• Weatherwood Maintenance Oil WHITE

Directions

1.] PREP

If you're looking to replicate this beautiful weathered look, you'll need to start with douglas fir. Our beams were rough sawn (textured) so they didn't need sanded. If your project is smooth wood, then give it a quick sand with 80 grit before staining.

Choose you wood stain color. This company went with Weatherwood' Savage stain- that's the top option of the photo.

3.] STAIN

Stain wood using a large paint brush. You want to really drench the wood. That's all you have to do, just let the wood stain absorb into the wood. Douglas fir is very very sappy. Reactive wood stain will not react with sap, because there are no tannins in sap. That means, if you get any sap spots you'll need to re-sand those and then stain them again.

4.] WHITE WASH

The White Maintenance Oil + Salvage will give you a really cool look. It can be brushed or ragged on- here they applied it to the raised edges of the wood to create the look of patina.

Just brush on, allow to sit 5-10 minutes (longer for lighter shade) and then wipe back!

5.] PROTECT

Seal Weatherwood products with 2-3  coats of Weatherwood Varnish for superior protection. 

DIY Restoration Hardware Burnt Oak Driftwood Finish

Reclaimed [Looking] Douglas Fir Tables

I hope you'll follow along on our awesome adventures abroad and of course more fantastic projects to come! Save 10% on Weatherwood products with code: WELCOME10.

Salvaged RH Style Pine Coffee Table & The Vecchio Bridge

We were on our way to dinner, but the second we stepped out the amazing sunset demanded to be seen! So we headed to our favorite spot, the Ponte Vecchio bridge, to take in the colors. The bridge was a totally party, as usual!! Enjoy the videos!

Let's get to this awesome project. It's my favorite kind of post! Where usually hard to achieve colors are a piece of cake! This client wanted to match her new farmhouse coffee table to Restoration Harware's "natural" color, on this Salvaged Trestle Table. This look is easy to achieve on pine and it's just a subtle aging.

Materials

• Pine Furniture 

• Weatherwood Stains' Reclamation stain

• Sand paper and Hand sander
• Rags
• Weatherwood Varnish Topcoat

Directions

1.] SAND: Begin by sanding the wood piece, that way the wood will easily accept the stain and create a good pallet to begin your work. Start with a rough grit with a 120 grit. 

2.] STAIN: Once the wood has been stripped or sanded back down to raw, you can stain it using Weatherwood Stain's Reclamation stain. Simply apply Reclamation with a sponge brush, brushing product onto sanded wood and allowing it to air dry. Allow to dry one hour. You'll see in the above time-lapse, the color change is subtle and is pretty similar to Restoration Hardware's "Natural" color. 

3.] SEAL: Apply a wax or varnish seal coat to protect the piece. SatinVarnish will give the look of raw wood, but the protection of cabinetry!

The texture on this maple just makes the color POP, don't you think? This stain will turn most wood species this shade. 

Check out our Color Chart for more choices and don't forget to save 10% on your first order with code: WELCOME10.

Fireplace Refresh & The Medici Tomb

Michelangelo is a true master. Walking through his town, over 500 years later, I couldn't help but imagine what it would've been like for him. To be growing up in Florence, the end of the 1400's! You would've seen people walking in renaissance garb, oil lamps burning, children and animals in the streets. In some ways Florence has changed but it others, it never will. Towards the middle to end of Michelangelo's life, he returns to Florence to work on the crypt of his benefactors and Florence's rulers, the Medici! We visited the crypt which was styled after the Pantheon. Check out the post below, you won't want to miss it!

You guys are going to LOVE this fireplace refresh from our friend Kelly at Street Flea Style! She turned her outdated red brick fireplace into a modern and updated space! The previous mantel began as a nearly pink color! But don't worry, wood is forgiving and it's 100% gorgeous again.

Materials

• Weatherwood Salavge Stain
• Red Cedar
• Paint Sprayer or  Sponge Brush

Directions

You can use this same staining technique on FAUX BOX BEAMS -like this post- or on solid wood beams, like I'm going to show you today. You can stain any wood, but we're working here with cedar. That's a super common wood for this type of project. 

1.] You will want to stain the red cedar with Weatherwood Salvage stain. We strain the stain and then put the stain through our gravity sprayer and applied it to the wood in even coats. We apply a heavy coat of stain and let the wood air dry for 30-40 minutes.

Depending on the red cedar you have, the color result will be anything from brown to dark gray to gray and brown mixture. That's because the tannin in cedar varies so much. Check out the Color Chart for more options! For a DARK GRAY result, use Pining Stain. For a LIGHT GRAY result, use Light Oaking. For a BROWN color, use Salvage Stain. 

BEFORE: As you apply the stains, you can see the wood turn from bright red color. 

AFTER: And in about 30 minutes, the wood changes to a beautiful barnwood brown. You can This type of stain completely alters the undertone of wood. 

Don't forget to visit our friend Kelly at Street Flea Style and see more from her groghsou home. For more color options, see our Color Chart for more choices and don't forget to save 10% on your first order with code: WELCOME10.

Restoration Hardware Salvaged Table Hack & The Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps! 135 steps connect two large piazzas, at the top and bottom of the stairs. They’re also the site of famous movies like Roman Holiday, The Man Called UNCLE & The Talented Mr Ripley. The square is literally packed with people and street performers.

Cedar Farmhouse Table & Santa Croce Church in Florence

I had to visit the famous old church called Santa Croce because my fav guy Michelangelo is buried there.🎨 But there was so, so much awesomeness happening!!

Reclaimed-Looking Beams & Tre Fontane Abbey, Rome

The Apostle St Paul was imprisoned several times on his journey from Israel to Rome to await justice for preaching the "Good News" or the gospel of Christ. This was his final prison and he was beheaded in this small spot between an abbey and a (now) church. 👼🏻 

Faux Barnwood Sliding Barn Door & St Peter's Basilica, Rome

When you got to Saint Peter’s Basilica you have to tour Michelangelo’s famous DOME. 

Quick Oak Shelf Makeover & Montepulciano. IT (New Moon Filming Site)

Montepulciano! If you’re a twilight fan, this is where New Moon was filmed. 🧛‍♂️ 👧 The midevil town is tucked in the Tuscany hills so you drive up these tight, winding switchbacks on these narrow ancient streets. 

Farmhouse Coffee Table Upcycle & St. Paul's-Outside-the-Walls, Rome

The Apostle Paul lies entombed beneath the alter of this giant basillica in Rome. ⛪️ This church is about two miles from his martyrdom site, which we were also able to tour. ✝️ This site is extremely busy with pilgrims and tourists, bustling with persons from all over the globe.

Weathered Gray Soffit & My G-Grandfather's Town

In the early 1900's, my wonderful great-grandfather immigrated from the beautiful mountainous town of Benevento, Italy. 🏔 This is not a tourist trap by and stretch, it''s about a hour and 15 minutes away from Naples, but we easily made the beautiful drive. 

Salvaged-Looking Porch Swings & Easter in Roma

When we planned this year abroad, we made sure we would be in Roma for Easter. Easter or Pasqua is Italia's biggest holiday. They have pilgrims travel to the country from all over the world to see the holy sites and to meet the Pope (Il Papi!) And believe me, Rome does not disappoint. Two weeks ago this place was pretty dead and now the museums and churches are packed with people. 

Dreamy Wood Ceiling & The Sistine Chapel, Vatican City

Now that we are in Rome, the art and architecture is coming hot and heavy. For example, we've spent several afternoons in the ginormous Vatican museum, which is a total dream for me. If you haven’t been to the Sistine Chapel, I can share my impressions. You enter and you’re taken aback by just how much is happening — all the walls and every inch of ceiling is covered in frescos.

EASY Barnwood Wall & Pompeii ART

We took around 1000 photos of Pompeii. I was shocked at the size of it, reading about the city in history books, you cannot comprehend the scale. The ruins are 80 hectares and it took us four days to explore everything. The customer services gals said most Americans get 2-3 hours there. 

Driftwood Live Edge Console & Reggio Calabria

Reggio Calbaria is on the bottom of the boot of Italy, it's not a popular destination for American touritsts but it caught us for December. We spent a few weeks there after we left Sicily. The weather was pretty great and we were staying right on the beach. Here's a few of our highlights.