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Be Our Guest: Brooklyn Limestone

Today, we are flattered and honored to have over the fabulous Mrs. Limestone of, you guessed it, Brooklyn Limestone. Her uber gorgeous home in the infamous New York burough had us at “hello,” and we’ve been hooked on every easy tip, major reno, and style secret ever since. When I first spotted her simple (albeit, tedious) tutorial on a custom side table, I asked if she would share the love with all of you.

Hi everyone, Mrs. Limestone of Brooklyn Limestone here. I’m a big fan of Yellow Brick Home – that kitty paw header sucked me in on an earlier visit and I’ve been hooked ever since. When Kim asked if I would guest post, I was more than happy. So here I am sharing a recent project I finished that cost almost no money but a lot of patience – my tree stump side table!

Inspired by lots of other bloggers who have done their own versions, my goal was simple: Turn a nasty old stump I scored for free into a charming little side table. Seemed easy enough, right?

Let’s start at the beginning. More than a year ago, a very nice stranger offered me some free stumps. I made my poor husband donkey them home, bugs and all! Banished to the backyard, there they sat (cue clock hands spinning, calendar pages flying by) so they could properly dry out.

StumpsonJul142009photo taken July 2009

I had sort of I had sort of forgotten about them (except for the times when Mr. L suggested throwing them away, then I vehemently refused suggesting I had big plans for them!)

Stump1

After a year it had dried out considerably which you can see from the cracks all around. It was by no means perfect but its what I had.

I picked the stump that look best and scrubbed it down with clorox and water. Sat it in the sun to let it dry for a few hours hours. Once I deemed it dry enough it was time to get to work.

Stump4

This is going to be the most boring tutorial ever as it’s made mostly of one directive: SAND.

Stump5

Sand, sand, sand, sand. Then sand some more. Then sand more. Then think you are done and have your husband come out and suggest it needs another hour of sanding. Raise and shake fist in the air at your own idiocy for thinking up this torture for yourself. Return to sanding.

Stump10

Then when its not quite perfect, decide you’ve had enough of sanding and call it good enough. Then realize you haven’t even started on the sides! More sanding!

Stump7

Thankfully the sides are a lot easier. It only needs a few minutes to rub all the yuck off.

Stump9Voila!

Now I had all kinds of plans to paint the tops ala Martha Stewart’s version. But as I stared at it I actually liked the cracked texture on the top so I decided to leave it. I had also planned on sealing it with this spray poly but the unfinished nature screams driftwood to me.

I could have easily just stopped there but I decided it needed to be on wheels. So on went some cheap casters I found at Home Depot.

Stump12Screw those bad boys willy nilly on the underside of the finished stump.

Stump11A better person than I would have used a level and shims to get it perfectly flat. I could not find the level nor did I have any shims so this is what I did. I figured I could always unscrew and futz with it later. Shockingly, I turned it right side up and it worked perfectly fine.

Thus concludes my Guiness World Book of Records entry for blog post with the second most mentions of the word ‘stump’. If you want to see the first prize entry, stop by my blog, Brooklyn Limestone, for this and more.

Thank you, Mrs. Limestone!

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  • Cait @ Hernando House11.10.10 - 9:44 AM

    Woohoo. This just may be the kick in the pants I need to remind me to actually start working on the stumps I have had sitting under a tree in our front yard for months! (I’m sure our neighbors love me.)ReplyCancel

  • Amanda11.10.10 - 11:51 AM

    I’m loving this! I also saw some DIY coasters that people make with basically the same method- chop, sand, sand, sand, finish. I like how you left yours natural too, though. Great job!ReplyCancel

  • Dave11.10.10 - 4:49 PM

    Love the guest bloggers. Have a great time on the left coast. How was the yurt?ReplyCancel

  • Kim11.10.10 - 9:56 PM

    Dave: Awesome. Can’t wait to show you the photos!ReplyCancel

  • Amanda11.11.10 - 9:56 PM

    Very cool! That was a heck of a lot of sanding, but worth it!ReplyCancel

  • Amanda11.11.10 - 9:56 PM

    Very cool! That was a heck of a lot of sanding, but worth it!ReplyCancel

  • Daniel1.5.11 - 1:12 PM

    What did brand of sander did you use? It would be great if you used sanders from Makita or DeWalt that you can get from tp://www.globalindustrial.com/. That would be more cool if we used the same brands. Haha! I love DIY!ReplyCancel

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Kim and Scott

We’re Kim + Scott, Chicago based content creators behind the Home + Lifestyle brand Yellow Brick Home.

Join us as we renovate and nurture vintage homes across Chicago + SW Michigan!

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