Cutting a (Seagrass) Rug

I'm sure you've been wondering what I'm going to do about the seagrass rug that goes all the way over the wall where my new bookcases and window seat are going to be built.  This is a rug I bought on ebay from Natural Home Rugs for about $250, including shipping.  They also do custom sizes but when I inquired about something custom in a slightly smaller size, the price was about $800. 

I'd love to be able to get a sweet little Persian number for the room but with two bathrooms and a kitchen ahead of me, it's not in the budget right now.  I don't want to spend anything I don't HAVE to right now so I thought I'd try cutting it down on my own.

Here's how it went: 

These particular rugs have a rubber backing that prevents the rug from slipping.  That probably doesn't make rugs from this maker the greenest option but it also helps protect the floor.  I remember having a coir rug from Conran's back in the day that really chewed up the hardwood floor in my apartment.  Oops.

The largest cabinet depth is going to be 18 inches so I decide I'll take the same amount off the rug.  I measured in 18 inches from the end and used my 4-foot level to connect my marks.

Once that was done, I used a box cutter to cut through the rubber backing.

By folding the rug along that cut, I could then cut through the fibers of the rug without cutting through into the rug itself.

I then put a bead of Gorilla glue along the newly cut edge and smooshed it in to prevent the edge from fraying.

Now we have to get the binding off.

Get out the handy dandy seam ripper and go to work.  There's no way I can sew the binding back on but I think glue will do the trick.

I replaced the binding over the cut edge and put a good dose of Gorilla glue on the rug as well as the back of the binding.  I'm sure hot glue would work just as well but I usually burn myself when I use it.

Press the binding down firmly just until the glue is starting to ooze out.

I used a board with some paint cans to keep weight on the edge for a few hours.

At the corner, the binding folds over and gets glued to the back. 

And voila!

If your rug has a mitered edge, you would have to sew a portion of the binding from the side edge to make it long enough to fold over on to the back.  Once the front is dry, glue the binding to the back of the rug.

And here's the new finished edge.  This back edge of the carpet won't get much traffic but even without it being sewn down, I think it's adhered well enough to stand up to traffic.

Stripping Paint off Hardware without Harsh Chemicals

You probably missed the compelling post about my Edith Wharton hinges unless you were one of the three followers I had at the time. I received a comment from Trina of A Country Farmhouse  offering some advice about stripping paint off old hardware so I recently put Trina's advice to the test and thought I'd share my experience for anyone else who might be facing this task.

*AFTER DOING THIS SEVERAL TIMES, I'VE POSTED AN UPDATE AT THE END OF THE POST*

I've also gotten several e-mails asking where to buy the washing soda.  I found some at my local small organic grocery store as well as the drug store that sells laundry detergents.  It's also available on amazon.com here.

Supplies needed:

1.  Old pot or container in which you'll soak your hardware

2.  Pot of boiling water

3. Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

4.  Your old painted hardware

5.  Toothbrush, preferably one no longer being used

6.  Small bucket for doing a final washing/rinsing of the stripped hardware.

7.  Paper towel or rags

I found some sources on the internet that recommended boiling the hardware in an old pot and others that proposed using a Crock Pot, I guess for the "low and slow" method.  It seems that washing soda is sodium carbonate (not baking soda which is sodium bicarbonate) is a water softener but is also used in foods as an anti-caking agent so it's not necessarily toxic but there's something I don't like about the idea of boiling hardware and releasing lead paint fumes. 

And don't get me started about the Crock Pot.  I was the victim of a Crock Pot childhood.  Six nights a week we were subjected to every possible combination of meat and Campbell's Cream of Something soup.  To this day, I can't go near a Crock Pot, not even to strip my hinges. 

I would have found something larger to hold more hardware but for this test I'm only doing two.  So I put about 1/4 cup of washing soda in a coffee can, filled it up with boiling water, stirred until it all seemed dissolved and dropped in the two sets of hinges I need for the dining room study closet door.

I tested a hinge after an hour and the paint seemed to be softening its grip but it was still very much intact.  After a few hours, the paint was softer but still holding on.

To make a long story short, I got distracted refining the diagram for my shelving units and the hinges ended up sitting in the coffee can for a week.  This is what they looked like (above) at that time.

Look how the several layers of paint are all coming off together.

This portion comes off all in one piece.  (I know, I should have worn gloves. I still have paint under my fingernails.)

On the detailed side, the layers also come off easily.

Here's the paint off one side of a hinge...front and back all in one single piece! All the hinge needs is a quick scrubbing with a toothbrush in some warm soapy water.

Here's the paint that came off one hinge.

Once they're washed up, I dried them with a paper towel and put them outside to bake in the sun.  This dries them quickly so they don't rust.  One internet source recommended putting them in a low oven if the sun's not available but that just seems unnecessary.  Some of the original paint surface has come off so I cleaned them up a bit with some steel wool and gave them a coat of spray paint.

Here's one of the hinges "before."

And here's the "after."  I've used Rustoleum's Metallic "Dark Bronze" as my finish coat.

Cost:  I paid $10 apiece for my hinges.  It seemed steep at the time, especially since it was a lot of 50 hinges but I loved the connection to Edith Wharton and thought I would use most of them. 

But when I actually compared it to a similar hinge like this one found on a popular antique hardware website, this reproduction hinge ranges from $12.49 to $13.49 depending on the finish.  And it doesn't come with a story. 

Here are my two hinges all ready to be installed.

In the end, this method was easy and highly successful and (lead paint aside) it doesn't use any toxic chemical paint strippers.  I wouldn't hesitate in buying old painted hardware, or anything or for that matter, that can be submerged.

And, thank you, Trina, for your recommendation!

**UPDATE**

I've used this same method several different times to strip various hardware and have found it's best just to use the hot water to dissolve the washing soda but leaving the hardward in the solution for several days works best.  The paint will come off sooner but it seems the longer it soaks, the easier it gets to peel the paint off.  Why work any harder than you have to?  Take it easy and let it soak.

If you try it, please leave a comment and let me know how it worked out or if you discovered anything new.

Painting Windows

Neighbor's back door

There's not a lot of progress to report on my multiple projects.  I've been working with The Architects again to tweak the kitchen and bathroom plans.  I'll show you those plans in another post.  I've been ordering fabric samples from a variety of ebay and etsy sellers for my upholstery projects.  I get overwhelmed whenever I go into a fabric store but I want to see things in person.  I thought ordering one-yard samples would be a good way to limit my choices and see how they look in my house compared to under the fluorescent lights of a store.  And buying fabric online seems like a cost-effective alternative.

Everything here has been a frozen, snowy mess since Christmas.  We've had three major snowstorms in a row...

That's -3 F.  (-21 C. for the rest of the world)

...colder than normal temps...

 ...and there's another big storm predicted for this week. 

 I literally have nowhere to put any more snow.   I may have to attack this pile and put it over the fence into the side yard.

Since I'm cooped up inside, I thought this would be a good time to get the new windows painted.  I've been feeling a little overwhelmed by this project.  All these little panes add up to one big pain. 

142 panes.

568 little corners.

One coat of primer, one finish coat.

So I've committed to getting one window done per weekend which means I'll be done by spring.  That's two things to look forward to:  painted windows and spring.

I don't normally use tape when I paint.  I'm a very neat painter, I have a pretty steady hand and I'd rather deal with any mishaps as they happen as opposed to finding surprises under the tape when you peel it off.

I started painting by hand but I'm such a perfectionist about the edges, I was really unhappy with the job I was doing.  So I decided to try Frog tape.  I've read really positive reviews of it, so I thought it would be a good chance to try it out myself.  Taping up the edges was pretty easy but getting the tape cut at perfect right angles to fit in the corners was a real chore.

As I stood taping up all the panes of one of the living room windows, Sam stopped by to start work on the front stair railings.  When he saw me taping up the windows he said, "You should get those painter's tape corners."

"What?"

"They make rolls of blue painter's tape corners that fit perfectly in the corners."  Sam said he'd never used them but he's worked with painters that really swear by them.

I don't know how many times I've been to Home Depot and various paint stores and I've never noticed them.  Maybe I just never noticed.

Have you seen them?  Have you tried them?

I went on ebay and found only one listing for them so I bought a few rolls and two days later they arrived.  Each roll of 60 corners was about $7.50

They're definitely easier and faster to stick in place than trying to cut perfect right angles with the tape.  And then I filled the gaps with Frog tape.  This must look really attractive from outside.

After using the blue corners on one window, I'll agree they work well.  They kept the paint off the glass and peeled off cleanly without having to score anything with a razor blade.  I also REALLY love the Frog tape.  It works amazing well.  On one living window which has 18 panes, I had only one tiny place where the paint bled underneath and required cleaning up with the razor blade.  Everywhere else the edges are perfect!

After painting the two big living room windows, the light bulb went on and I figured out a way to handle the corners that's pretty easy and doesn't require the extra cost of the blue corners.

Rip one small piece and cut the corner at a blunt angle and position the point into the corner on one side of the pane.

Rip a second small piece, cut a blunt angle and again place the point into the corner on the other side of the pane.

If you do this when it's light outside, you can see if you get the tape tight to the edge.  You can see here that I didn't quite get it tight on the top.  You could pull it back and try again or...

...just rip another piece and overlap it.

Actually, if you rip about a three-inch piece, you can cut the tape at an angle in the middle and have no waste at all.  I drew a line where I could cut just so you can see what I mean.  (I wouldn't draw lines on the tape.  The ink could end up in the paint.)

Ripping these small pieces and cutting the corners is something that you can do while sitting and listening to music, watching TV or watching it snow.  I'm sticking them lightly on a plastic cutting board that I'll pull them from as I'm taping up my next window.

The painted windows look beautiful.  I'm really happy with how they turned out.  

Two down, eight more to go.