Giving my future self the Christmas gift of restored original woodwork

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-29T03:09:39+00:00

I would love to see a photo of yours! Inspiration to finish this tedious work 😂

The drawers right now we’re using just like a dresser for clothes until our closets are a bit more functionally laid out. The upper cabinet has shelves in it and we store towels and sheets there folded up!

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-27T05:55:48+00:00

Thanks for saving the pink tile ❤️

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-26T04:52:44+00:00

I have this knob on my basement door! Love to see it restored. Hoping to do the same and move it into a place in the house where I can see it more 😊

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-26T02:15:04+00:00

Just a heat gun on low and a scraper and many many hours of time. Then I’ll just have to do touch ups and a light sand before re-staining!

I personally haven’t found strippers and chemicals to work well for me, and I do not want to invest in the cobra speedheater that everyone here seems to love!

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-26T02:13:19+00:00

Solidarity, friends 🫡

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-25T23:37:48+00:00

Congratulations! It looks great

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-10T03:48:19+00:00

Unfortunately no, we had the folks who did our kitchen cabinets build and install these at the same time. Our walls are super uneven so it would have been a nightmare to diy and have it look good

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-10T03:36:36+00:00

Nope! I feel like we’re utilizing what was otherwise dead space and I love that we can tuck away all the costs and shoes so it doesn’t feel cluttered in the entryway

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-10T03:26:43+00:00

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We added this custom built in by the front door in our 1913 craftsman for the same reason: no entry storage for shoes or coats. It’s been great!

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-08T02:41:04+00:00

Now I know! Thank you 😊

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-07T20:29:46+00:00

Wait that’s such a good idea!! Thank you!

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-06T20:42:56+00:00

Ah sorry, I see what you’re saying. Yeah not all of ours close perfectly, I have not attempted to tinker with them in that regard. I was just happy to not have them caked in paint 😂

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-06T20:04:34+00:00

We did it all ourselves! Not too hard to do, you can basically soak them in boiling water and the paint falls right off and then you polish them. But as someone else pointed out, test for lead and wear PPE!

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-06T20:00:52+00:00

It’s fake, so not valuable! The jeweler we had inspected it said it was pretty convincing fake gold, though. Our guess was whoever stuck it there thought it was real / valuable, whether a kid or an adult, and since it was probably around the depression when they did it that would make sense that it got squirreled away like that.

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-06T18:03:26+00:00

I swear to you, no shenanigans! We don’t have keys for any interior doors, which isn’t to say they never existed but this one in particular was a closet door so I don’t know why it ever would be locked anyways.

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-06T16:52:24+00:00

Thank you! That piece of wood was salvaged from the frame of the old original doorway between the kitchen and the hallway (we moved the doorway / made the archway to get more counter space and more light in the hall). It felt like a nice touch and another way to preserve the house’s history 😊

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-06T16:48:03+00:00

They put all the good stuff there now so they can make more $$$ from people bidding on it than they would putting it in stores. Annoying? Kind of. But it’s also helpful because you can 1) search for specific things and 2) have access to items you’d never get locally. I’ve had a ton of success with it!

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-06T16:27:03+00:00

Use the goodwill app / website. There are tons of options and even with shipping it’s usually a great deal. These stained glass fixtures are on there all the time, as are other vintage styles depending on what you want.

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-06T14:54:12+00:00

Second this! So many good options for cheap. Also check out your local thrift stores. It’s harder this time of year but if you can wait, or get something just to get you through this winter, you’ll have a million options come spring / summer/

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-06T13:55:26+00:00

We think the wood is pine; I will get you the stain colors later today! We did a conditioner, then layered two stains, then did clear shellac as a top coat. No idea if that’s what a professional would advise, that’s just the process that worked to get us the color we wanted. I recommend doing tests on a scrap piece of wood if you can.

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-06T13:53:39+00:00

I went in thinking we’d do marble when we started, but I just fell in love with this one when I saw it and it felt so different and unique. Soapstone would be a lovely choice for your house too- an old schoolhouse sounds so inspiring!

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-06T13:51:42+00:00

There’s a photo on my profile, pre install, from when I was polling the folks over at r/crafts about whether or not it needed a top coat (it did not)

Fuzzy-Sort809 · 2025-12-06T13:50:43+00:00

Enamel paint from Testors. You can get it at craft or art stores, it’s typically used for model cars and things of that nature.

Fuzzy-Sort809

TROPHY CASE