The Handmade Hangout #275

So glad you are here for this week's linky party:

Handmade Hangout Linky Party

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 She turned her outdated red brick fireplace into a modern and updated space!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.

The Handmade Hangout #274

So glad you are here for this week's linky party:

Handmade Hangout Linky Party

Restoration Hardware's Natural color on PINE & Palazzo Vecchio TOUR

Ever wonder what it looks like inside a Florence castle? This Medici castle doesn’t disappoint! This castle sits in the square right outside of our AirBNN- in the promo tourist area of Florence. We walked by it nearly every day for four months- if you're interested what the inside looks like, check out my post!

The Handmade Hangout #273

So glad you are here for this week's linky party:

Handmade Hangout Linky Party

Live Edge in Driftwood Gray & Palazzo Vecchio Tower

This is the closest square to our AIrBNB - its Palazzo Vecchio and it houses Palazzo Vecchio. Which means, the old square has the old palace! This was the first museum we went to in Florence on Day 1. But heading to the top of the tower was one of the last things we had planned. The views of Florence were a 10 and we wanted for the perfect sunset to give it a try. 

The Handmade Hangout #272

So glad you are here for this week's linky party:

Handmade Hangout Linky Party

Chunky Farmhouse Pine Table & Touring Orsanmichelle in Florence

Right behind our AIRBNB in Florence there's the famous OrsanMichelle church. It's most famous for it's exterior stone carvings done by the world famous Donatello. Donatello kicks off the pre-rennaisance in Florence by combining church art with Roman and Greek stone carving techniques. The results are like this St George in the short video we shared to facebook! Take a look!