Deals, Steals, & Thrifting

Forecast: Sunny Plants

Published on June 27, 2014June 27, 2014 by Our Humble Abode9 Comments

Last year, creating the hardscaped areas outside was our largest, most time-consuming task. We created a waterfall with hidden pond, built a reclaimed beam deck, added a bocce court, and spread tons (and tons!) of limestone rock.

With the major components in place, we are free to start adding plants. At least in most areas. We still can’t plant against the house because they’d get trampled while working on the new siding. Womp, womp.

Can I get a “Finally!” though? While we think the rock is better to look at than the very patchy dirt and grass of yore, it feels rather desolate and… unfinished.

I’ve been shopping around town for perennial plants that fit these criteria: 1. Must tolerate full (6+ hours) sun. 2. Drought tolerant and/or deer resistant because those four-legged friends show up often around our house. 3. Can handle the cold weather we get come winter (we’re in zone 4). 4. I also want a variety of sizes, texture, color, and bloom times.

My stops included several local greenhouses, Home Depot, and Lowe’s. I was very pleasantly surprised by the variety both home improvement stores had this year. In fact, most, if not all, of my top twelve picks are available at the big retailers. No need to track them down at a special store.

1. Spirea is a shrub, growing 1 to 4 feet tall with colorful flowers. Hearty in zones 4-9. The green leaves are pretty spring through fall with pink flowers showing up in the summer. Also somewhat drought tolerant needing weekly waterings once established.

2. Lupine is a perennial with colorful, showy flowers. Grows 18 to 24 inches tall in zones 4-9. Adding colorful flowers to brighten up areas will break up the green.

3. Nest Spruce, an evergreen can grow 3 feet tall and up to 6 feet wide. It’s bright color contrasts with darker evergreens. Good in zones 2-8. We’ve already added five to the front of the bocce court. Once mature, these will spread out and hopefully look like a green carpet year round.

4. Blue Fescue is a low growing (6 inches tall) ornamental grass. Both drought tolerant and deer resistant it adds color along borders in zones 4-8. I’d love to plant a row of ornamental grasses, including Blue Fescue along the edge of the bocce court.

5. Yarrow, a flowering groundcover can reach heights of 2 to 3 feet and spreads up to 5 feet wide. Bright flowers are ideal for cutting. Grows in zones 3-9. To add some color along the front walk, I picked up two yarrow. While small now, they should cover the rock well in a few years.

6. Lavender is known for fragrant flowers, but did you know it is also an evergreen? Growing 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall and wide this low water mounding perennial is hearty in zones 4-9. After we finish the siding, I think a few lavender plants along the house would look and smell amazing.

7. Purpleleaf Sand Cherry A tall shrub, 5 feet wide by 8 feet tall, with deep purple leaves in summer and fall, grown in zones 4-7. We’re nursing a scraggly Sand Cherry back to life. The color is just stunning.

8. Salvia Pretty and vibrant violet flowers grow on this mounding perennial. At 18 inches tall to 24 inches wide this plant packs a punch in zones 4-9. All over our neighborhood, I see Salvia in yards and along borders. I’m certain it will do well here.

9. Sedum ‘Angelina’ Stonecrop This wonderfully bright chartreuse groundcover stays 6-10 inches tall spreading up to 16 inches. Surprisingly cold hearty, growing in zones 3-11. The bright color and texture of this plant had me at hello. The one by the waterfall has already grown about 50% bigger.

10. Dwarf Daylily With bright green leaves and trumpet-shaped flowers, these fast growing plants are ideal for borders. Only 15 to 24 inches and grow in zones 3-9. Several lilies would work very well along the back walkway.

11. Lamb’s Ears Silvery green fuzzy leaves are an interesting low growing (8 to 10 inches tall) groundcover in zones 4-8. While the flowers aren’t anything special, the texture of these make me want several. Perhaps planted on the slope along the driveway?

12. Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ Commonly used as a border plant, this fleshy leaf plant grows 18 to 24 inches tall and wide. Easy care and low water usage when established in zones 4-11. I’ve deemed the area along the back rock steps my succulent garden and planted several varieties, including this sedum variety.

Of course there are many (many!) more plants that could work. These are just the twelve currently on my radar and in my mental shopping cart.

Plants don’t have to cost an arm or a leg either; the most I’ve paid for one plant so far is $20. Sure, the smaller the plant, the less it’ll cost. But Home Depot had large Nest Spruce evergreens for about 25 bucks each. Costco also has good deals on plants in the spring. For the 45 or so plants I’ve already purchased, I think I’ve spent around $350 total. Most are in the 5 to 9 dollar range, so they’re affordable. In a few years, they should fill out more.

Keep your receipts, too as most stores have a one year warranty policy for perennials. Also, check Craigslist for people looking to get rid of plants they already have. Friends may also have plants to split and share. A friend recently gave me 4 hostas, 4 hydrangea plants, several peonies, and a large boxwood. My mom said she can divide her large hostas to share with us, too. We have one smaller shade area (along the back of the house), that I’d like to turn into a hosta/fern/lily of the valley garden.

What are your favorite sun plants? If you like this round-up, I’m working on part sun and shade plants, too.

Faux Real

Published on June 18, 2014June 18, 2014 by Our Humble Abode18 Comments

I’m still changing things in the living room. The triangle lamps I made just weren’t perfect in the room. Quite honestly, they got knocked over a lot because the bases are very light weight.

I still love them, so they’re in our bedroom and out-of-the-way of little hands. While dropping a few things off at the thrift store, I spotted this lamp for five bucks.

Instantly loved the shape, but not the design. If it were only leaves, I think it would have looked beautiful. The flowers and orange were too much for my taste. So, I changed it up, inspired by pretty zinc lamps like this:

And this Zinc lamp from A Place in the Garden:

Before I could start spraying, I taped off the socket, cord and wood base.

Then gave the lamp two coats of gray primer, holding it upside down for the second to get the undersides.

To create the aged effect, I diluted white craft paint with an equal amount of water. Using a 1/2 inch craft brush, I applied the mixture to 4 inch sections all around the lamp. Don’t go for even here and let it puddle and drip.

I followed up with a very crumpled, slightly damp paper towel. Lightly blotting pulled off the extra, but I left enough to look worn.

Here it is after it dried:

Liking the finish, I pulled the tape off and realized I didn’t want to keep the wooden base. So I taped off the upper lamp and sprayed just the wood base gray. After the faux finish, I had a zinc looking lamp that won’t tip over easily.

I also swapped the shade for a white drum I had for a sleeker look.

For added protection, I sprayed the lamp with three coats of clear matte.

For $5, I’m super happy with the look. What do you think? Have you tried a faux zinc finish? Now to find the perfect floor lamp for the other side.

Historic Photograph Art

Published on June 12, 2014June 12, 2014 by Our Humble Abode4 Comments

Ben and I celebrated 8 years of marriage on Tuesday. Eight years! That seems crazy. Several weeks ago, I was wandering through a local consignment shop and spotted an interesting black and white print of old barns and a butte in the background.

I flipped it over and it said it was a historic photo of the town Ben grew up in. How perfect! I bought it and saved it until Tuesday.

Adding meaningful art to our home has always been my goal. This sweet photo is the perfect piece above the bar area.

Though I gave this as an anniversary gift, an old photo would also make a thoughtful Father’s day gift. A google search has tons of options. Like this St. Paul scene:

Or Minneapolis with horse-drawn carriages.

Of course, don’t print a photo with copyright, but there are options. Or you could photograph a special place and turn it to black and white to look more reminiscent of times past.

Natural Linen and Special Walnut

Published on April 29, 2014April 29, 2014 by Our Humble Abode32 Comments

That ugly, dirty, orange thrifted sofa isn’t so ugly anymore. Over the past week, I’ve given it a makeover and new life.

I started by removing the cushioned section from the wooden frame. The back middle leg was loose, so I glued the plugs and clamped it overnight. Then I started pulling away the dated fabric.

When tackling an upholstery project, I like to take pictures of pieces as I go. If I get stuck or can’t remember how things went together, I have pictures to go by.

Back sections always go on last, so it’s the first to come off.

Followed up with the arms.

See all that nasty stuff that was stuck in the crack? Eeew. I also found old gum on the under side of the frame.

When I pulled the fabric off, I saw the arms were barely padded. Underneath matching solid oak arms. I opted to leave the arms open because I liked the look better. A few screws, accessible from the underside hold the arms to the main frame. I’ll skip the refinishing steps, because I didn’t really follow the rules. Also, my hands were busy, so I couldn’t take photos. Basically I sanded the entire frame with 220 grit paper until I was down to bare wood. To give a rich finish, I applied one coat of Minwax Special Walnut stain, followed up with two layers of Teak Oil.

As for fabric, I fell for a natural linen. I’ve never had linen upholstery, so I’m hoping this hold up. If it doesn’t, I’m only out the cost of fabric and my time. Because my fabric has a little more stretch than thicker upholstery fabrics, I decided not to sew box cushions for the back and seat. This way, if the fabric stretches or looks saggy, I can give it a stretch without it looking strange.

I also replaced the old worn out seat foam with a 3 inch high density foam for extra padding.

Leaving the arms open is my favorite change. With little padding, the arms weren’t soft and comfortable, so this is just a better looking version. That’s one of the super Western and manly leather pillows Ben made, too.

Simple lines on the back are my second favorite thing about this sofa.

To keep it simple, I stapled a strip along the top for the fabric to fold over.

On the sides, I had to improvise. I couldn’t find a tack strip to stuff the fabric into. And nail heads looked too cluttered. Instead I stapled along the top of the fabric, then made strips to hide the staples.

Sleek and simple with a slightly rustic look. The crazy oak grain is fun and the linen compliments it without drawing attention.

Also, I’m not sure what main couch will stay in this room so I want a go with anything neutral. Ben wants leather and I most like the look of the camel toned Foxtrot from Flexsteel.

Wouldn’t the camel and linen look great together? Problem is, local stores don’t have this in stock. We don’t know if it’s comfortable, if we like the look in person, or a price. Clearly we still have some research to do before we can make a solid decision.

Orange You Glad

Published on April 23, 2014April 23, 2014 by Our Humble Abode11 Comments

I bought an orange sofa? Seventies sofa, welcome to my 70’s home.

When paired with exposed studs and insulation, it makes for a really beautiful, somewhat industrial look. Ha, couldn’t keep a straight face for that ridiculous claim. However, the sofa does have good bone structure. That’s where the good qualities end. Also similar to our house when we bought it.

Both back legs have huge scuffs and scratches.

While ugly, the orange upholstery is seriously dirty – beyond a deep cleaning.

I’m not exactly sure what fabric and color I want. Just have to see what the fabric gods send me. I do know I’ll sand the frame to make repairs (tighten up the joints) and stain the wood.

Oh that open back. Hopefully it doesn’t turn into a giant headache to recover. For only $20, I couldn’t leave without this piece.

In other sofa news, the mid-century bench is living in our bedroom. In other, other sofa news, we returned the Rachael. Despite her good looks, she wasn’t comfortable, especially for six-foot tall Ben. Turns out what’s comfortable for a few minutes at the store isn’t the same as a few hours at home.