The upstairs dressing room - fully functional at last

We've been putting the finishing touches on the dressing room. Things like a large mirror so you can actually see what your outfit looks like (not that our typical uniform of ratty jeans and a paint splattered sweatshirt are exactly high fashion), and a variety of hooks for hanging robes as well as work clothes that you want to let air out. 

We had some great boards left over from the sawmill escapade. Note that great is subjective. My fine furniture making husband about had a heart attach when I told him I wanted to use the boards with "character". 

Cherry boards with character flaws

And we had antique door knobs that I thought would make wonderful hooks. But I couldn't figure out how to convert them. The bar that connects the knobs through the door is square and 3 inches long; not something that you can easily mount on a board. 

Well, Pinterest to the rescue! I did a quick search and found several different tutorials on how to turn knobs into hooks. Some were a bit more involved than I wanted since they had you pour resin into the knob and then drill it out to fit a hanger bolt. Loved the bolt idea, didn't relish buying a big can of resin for five little knobs. Then I found this tutorial and it worked perfectly. It allowed me to take these:

My materials

 and turn them into these:

Glass knobs done, brass yet to do

Then I grabbed the boards and we cut them to size.

Sanded them lightly and wiped with water to get rid of dust and to raise the grain.

Then I applied clear poly.

Cherry board with clear poly - no stain. Look at that color!

Walnut board - again, no stain. Wow.

The walnut was so gorgeous that I had Chris apply a salad bowl finish to a cutoff and turn it into a breadboard for the dining room table.

Then it was just a matter of hanging everything up. First up was an antique mirror that used to hang over our fireplace mantel.

Antique ogee-edge mirror

We knew it was old, but hadn't realized just how old. Look what we found on the back of the mirror.

1908 - pretty cool.

 The brass knobs were mounted on the cherry and placed near the closet for robes.

 The walnut board and glass knobs will be used for outfits and airing work clothes.

I really wish the picture showed this better. It's gorgeous.

The middle knob is actually a very light amethyst. Unfortunately you can't tell, but if you look at the before photos above, you can just make it out.

In action

Robe guest appearance

Ignore the bedroom - it's still in process

So the dressing room is now fully functional. Things that still need to be done: closet doors, trim on doorways (three), doors!, baseboard, and hardwood flooring. Since all those things extend into other areas (bedroom, bathroom, loft) they'll be tackled as those rooms are done. 

Baby steps.