Hi Friends,
Our doorbell rang a few months back and in sauntered my brother – I have 4 of them – with a 100-year-old beam, a piece of sheet metal, and a smile. Superhouls shot me a quick, knowing glance and said to my brother, “Let’s hear it.”
“I need you to make me a frame for this sheet metal using this old beam from my house,” he chuckled, “and keep the rustic look of the beam.” They recently had the house redone and he wanted to re-purpose the original beam and incorporate it into their new farmhouse style kitchen. The house was originally built in 1876 so this beam is about as old and original as they come.
It was cold, damp and snowing – again, Superhouls and I exchanged a knowing glance – we knew this project wasn’t getting started any time soon. My brother, catching the glance, assured us there was no rush. Wanted us to take our time. Do it right. Thanks, bro! Appreciate that!
We started with this…
…and decided that we would construct it by gluing the sheet metal to a piece of ply wood and then frame it with the beam. And once we had a plan, we left it…for months.
⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒ Aside: I know you’re probably thinking that our next project should be to clean up and organize the garage. Trust me, we do all the time. In fact, I’d like to clean it up permanently and make it a guesthouse…with a loft. Superhouls, not so much.
Once Spring arrived last week, we got busy. Superhouls ripped the beam in half because it was about 5 or 6 inches thick. Yeah, definitely too thick for a frame. Then he cut it down to the measurements we needed for the frame. This photo shows the thickness of the old beam.
So we ripped, and cut and sanded…
…and glued and stapled and stained…
And, I gotta say that I love the way this turned out. It’s rustic and the stain gave it so much depth and character! Ready to take a look?
I finished the back with some burlap that I had on hand, and we added two hanging clips to evenly distribute the weight. And…done!
Now all they need are some cute magnets.
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Be well,
Eileen
Blue-eyed Romeo
Houligirls Humble Abode 