Western General Store

  I saw this Texas flag in a local restaurant and decided this would be my next blog project. It turned out the date of the blog would be March 1st, one day before Texas Independence Day! So, I built this flag as a tribute to my great state of Texas. I tried to conform to how the flag is officially described by law such as proportions and dimensions of the colors. Here are the dimensions I used for the barn wood I had on hand. I cut the boards to length and width and glued the frame together. After it dried, I stapled the back corners with a pneumatic stapler. I cut a piece of plywood 25" x 18" and glued and stapled it to the back of the frame. Flag boards are ready to paint. The painted flag boards will be glued onto the plywood backing. I tried to paint the flag boards faded and vintage, so I did a lot of experimenting with acrylic paint. I glued the boards onto the plywood backing and clamped them. I painted a large star nail, drilled a pilot hole, and nailed it into the f...

After the kitchen remodel, I wanted to make barn wood outlet covers to blend in with the backsplash which is distressed oak wood look tile. Using a standard duplex outlet cover I traced the design on to barn wood that was planed to 1/4". I cut it out with a scroll saw and drilled the hole for the screw. I used a 1/4" drill bit to make a recess for the screw head. I placed a receptacle on the cover plate and marked where to recess it on the back side. I used a Dremel tool with a wand and sanding drum attached... ...to recess the back. I painted the screw to match the wood. I also made a decora style cover. The back was routed, and holes drilled for screws. The slanted grain of the wood matches the barn wood backsplash. This was not an easy project, but well worth it. If you try it, send us some photos.

Happy New Year! The New Year is about new beginnings. Well, my kitchen has a new beginning! After 35 years I decided to give my kitchen a new look! This is a photo of the old kitchen with Saltillo tile floor and ceramic tile countertops. In the new kitchen the cabinets are made of reclaimed oak from old barns and buildings. Notice we removed the cabinet above the bar. Wood look tile floors, Dekton countertops, rusty looking pulls and travertine backsplash complete the new look. The fluorescent light will be replaced with LED down lights. The wood look tile for the floor was cut in half and used for the backsplash. The same tile frames the 3" x 6" travertine tile which is in a herring bone pattern. I added Medium Star Nails above the oven. I painted them to match the pulls. The low bar is made from old pecan and wow, what character! The bar chairs will be refinished and cushions replaced. The wood for the cabinets was planed smooth, but I used...