restoring the roost

North Carolina Country Living and Farmhouse Style

North Carolina Country Living and Farmhouse Style
since 2010

decorating the roost

A Church Pew Bench

· decorating the roost

We are the proud owners of a ca. 1920s pew formerly used in our very own church we attend! After being replaced the older pews had been given away to congregation members or discarded. Our dear friends gave us a pew that wasn’t being used since they know we love antiques- what a blessing!

We decided to use the pew as a bench on our front porch since it was already painted and would be somewhat protected from the elements. The pew was fairly beat up and needed some work, but I didn’t mind. A few weekends ago when we hosted family and friends to celebrate my husband’s defense of his doctorate degree, we pulled a table up to the bench with chairs for outdoor seating on the front porch. 
I think it works rather well!  I will treasure this piece always as a relic from our sweet church that we have come to love and depend upon as our Christian family.  A new use for an unconventional piece. Do you have unusual pieces of furniture that you have recycled into new uses?
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The Entry

· decorating the roost

Hi, there! Hope everyone is having a happy Monday. Today I thought I’d join up at Cottage and Vine’s Room by Room series and let you have a peek at my entryway. The entry serves as a welcoming avenue into the home, and I like to keep mine simple, functional and inviting.
Since we have such a large entry, I moved this antique sideboard to serve as extra storage and a drop off station for mail



If you live in a historic home like me, it is important that you retain and preserve the original entrance door to your home as much as you can. As the architectural styles from various eras are distinctly different, likewise so are their front doors. So, for example you wouldn’t want to take a salvaged door from a Queen Anne style house and use it on a Craftsman Bungalow, or transfer an entry door from a Tudor Revival style house to an early twentieth century North Carolina Triple-A farmhouse. If you are unsure of what style door would be appropriate for your historic home, consult some architectural history books from your local library or contact a local architectural historian who can point you in the right direction.

The antique sideboard provides extra space for dishes and glassware that
cannot fit in my china cabinet



Sometimes I like to display my husband’s great grandfather’s antique highball
set in the window sill above the sideboard.



Linking to: 

The Entry

· decorating the roost

Hi, there! Hope everyone is having a happy Monday. Today I thought I’d join up at Cottage and Vine’s Room by Room series and let you have a peek at my entryway. The entry serves as a welcoming avenue into the home, and I like to keep mine simple, functional and inviting.
Since we have such a large entry, I moved this antique sideboard to serve as extra storage and a drop off station for mail



If you live in a historic home like me, it is important that you retain and preserve the original entrance door to your home as much as you can. As the architectural styles from various eras are distinctly different, likewise so are their front doors. So, for example you wouldn’t want to take a salvaged door from a Queen Anne style house and use it on a Craftsman Bungalow, or transfer an entry door from a Tudor Revival style house to an early twentieth century North Carolina Triple-A farmhouse. If you are unsure of what style door would be appropriate for your historic home, consult some architectural history books from your local library or contact a local architectural historian who can point you in the right direction.

The antique sideboard provides extra space for dishes and glassware that
cannot fit in my china cabinet



Sometimes I like to display my husband’s great grandfather’s antique highball
set in the window sill above the sideboard.



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What Would You Do? – Dining Table & Hutch

· decorating the roost

Last week we found a new dining room table, two benches and hutch for a steal off Craigslist.  Both pieces together with the two benches were only $300. Pretty good for solid, sturdy pieces, huh? We were in need of more seating for family gatherings and the hutch happened to come with the table. Who can resist more space for storage and display in your kitchen?

I plan to re-design the display and storage in the hutch; what you see here was placed
temporarily for fun and to see what various colors look like with it. So many options to
choose from: whiteware,  vintage brown transferware, jadite, or a combination?

The dining table can easily seat eight, despite the photo giving the illusion of it being smaller.
I love the lines of each piece, but I am unsure if I want to keep the wood finish as it is or paint/stain/refinish. I think I like a more natural color for the dining table….maybe sanding down and refinishing this would be the way to go? Or stain it a dark walnut color? As for the hutch, I am toying with the idea of painting it a light and creamy color with some distressing, but I don’t want to be disappointed with the results (it is a rather pretty piece as it is now). Perhaps I could just paint the the backs of the inside cubbies for some contrast?

What would you do? I need some help, please!
Linking to:

What Would You Do? – Dining Table & Hutch

· decorating the roost

Last week we found a new dining room table, two benches and hutch for a steal off Craigslist.  Both pieces together with the two benches were only $300. Pretty good for solid, sturdy pieces, huh? We were in need of more seating for family gatherings and the hutch happened to come with the table. Who can resist more space for storage and display in your kitchen?

I plan to re-design the display and storage in the hutch; what you see here was placed
temporarily for fun and to see what various colors look like with it. So many options to
choose from: whiteware,  vintage brown transferware, jadite, or a combination?

The dining table can easily seat eight, despite the photo giving the illusion of it being smaller.
I love the lines of each piece, but I am unsure if I want to keep the wood finish as it is or paint/stain/refinish. I think I like a more natural color for the dining table….maybe sanding down and refinishing this would be the way to go? Or stain it a dark walnut color? As for the hutch, I am toying with the idea of painting it a light and creamy color with some distressing, but I don’t want to be disappointed with the results (it is a rather pretty piece as it is now). Perhaps I could just paint the the backs of the inside cubbies for some contrast?

What would you do? I need some help, please!
Linking to: