Old Signs Get New Life

I have had two of these signs for about five years.  They were hanging in our great room.  I have started the process of painting the great room, wall by wall.  In this process, I am sure that I will be finding new homes, or in this case, new uses for the existing decor.  I need something new...I CRAVE something new.  It excites me!

So, back to this sign...I love the saying on it, I truly do, "The Best Antiques Are Old Friends."  The other sign, exact in size, said "Love Begins At Home."  Awww, I bought them for a reason five years ago.  :-)  But, alas, I have grown out of them.





I needed two signs about this size for my "confusing" kitchen.  Let me explain...I have three doors in my kitchen, one after another, after another.  My father-in-law, in particular has the MOST trouble remembering what is behind door #1, door #2 and door #3.  A while back, I put a vinyl "Pantry" sign on the middle door to help with this confusion.  Well, the doors STILL stump him every time he is here (makes me giggle).  :-)  This gave me an idea for the empty spaces above door #1 and #3.

I had to give them labels, purpose.  Behind #1 lurks the laundry room...so it is labeled, you guessed it, LAUNDRY.  Behind #3 are the steps to our finished basement, which houses toys, a TV/video game area, my photography "studio" and our bar.  Tricky, tricky.  MOST of our enjoyment is at the bar area, entertaining our friends, so this seemed the natural choice in labeling.  My husband and I thought DUPES PUB had a nice ring to it...so I set to it!

I first primed the signs, just the inside, leaving the frames as they were.  They were weathered and antiqued and I like it.  Then, one coat of the color I am currently painting the great room (to tie the two rooms together), Yosemite Sand by Benjamin Moore.  Side note: if you have never tried Benjamin Moore paint, I urge you to...it is a little more expensive, but a little goes a long way, it's smooth as silk going on the wall and it looks brilliant.
The original signs had some texture to them, and I loved that about them...less for me to do.  I just stenciled them in black paint and then ran some sand paper over them for a distressed look and voila!  New, FREE signs!
I am thrilled with the end result...the true "test" will happen the next time my father-in-law visits.  :-)

Linking up to...


6 comments:

Unknown said...

Love, love, love!!! I didn't know you were doing this!! I've thought about signs like this over my doors but haven't made the jump! So you have stencils that you used? I might have to borrow those! Awesome!

Unknown said...

Just thought of doing this the other day when I started painting the great room. I certainly have the stencils and they are yours if and when you want to use them. Thanks for the LOVE! :-)

Stephanie said...

Cute! And got to love using something you already have!

very merry vintage style said...

What a perfect solution and so glad that you repurposed signs that you had! Thanks for linking to Share the Love Wednesday!
Mary

Lynne said...

Oh my gosh my MIL would lose it with all those doors. Great solution! Thanks also for the visit. Glad to follow your craftiness! Laura

kara@elements-interiors.net said...

Thank you SO MUCH for linking up to WHASSUP WEDNESDAY!!! Great entry:)

Hope to see you next Wednesday!

xoxokara

 
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