Gilding Royalview’s Crown; Before and After Makeover

Gold Leafed Metal Crown.  Gold Leaf Kit from Amazon.
https://amzn.to/4mvqjeG
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What would Royalview be without a crown, I ask? But you know what? I never really thought about a crown for Royalview. I just happened to be scrolling through FB and saw a post a few months ago about my friend Kelly’s new booth at Rosey Opals in New Waverly, and spotted this little cutie and knew immediately it was for Royalview.

In the photo of the crown, I could tell it was weathered. Must have been an outdoor decorative piece before, but I knew I wanted to give it new life for our indoor decor.

Before pic of Royalview's crown.  Weathered and rusted.
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Once Willie cleaned off the chipping paint, it really revealed a lot of rust underneath. I knew I wanted to attempt my first ever gold leafing project, but it needed a fresh coat of paint first, so I began with white paint.

Royalview's crown transformation in progress:  Painting it in white.
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Royaview's crown transformation in progress: Now painted in white.
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I now had a fresh surface to begin gold leafing Royalview’s crown. (Disclaimer: I am not a refinishing professional and do not have professional advice to administer. I am learning as I go, and all items are for our personal use in our private home.) I will tell you however, that all items I use are water based, so no harmful fumes. The paint used is an indoor acrylic paint and primer.

For the gold leafing, I used a product I found on Amazon, called Wadities Gold Leaf Gilding Set.

Wadities Gold Leaf Gilding Set from Amazon.
https://amzn.to/4mvqjeG
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I’m so glad I found this kit for my very first go at gold leafing. It came with everything I needed. The Gilding Adhesive, the Gold Leaves themselves, each individually wrapped in paper, the Varnish, and 2 cute little paint brushes. And as you can see, everything is water based, so perfect!

Gold Leaf sheets and paint brushes from my Wadities Gold Leaf Kit from Amazon.
https://amzn.to/4mvqjeG
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I watched several YouTube videos before I began my project, just to get an idea of how it all works. Looks pretty simple, so let’s dive in!

Before applying the gold leafing, I had to apply the gilding adhesive. I didn’t want full coverage gold leafing. I wanted to achieve a worn look, so I applied the adhesive sparsely, here and there, both to the front side and inside areas, as you can see completely through the open crown. I knew that there was no way to remember where the adhesive had been applied, but I knew the applied areas would be tacky to the touch. After applying the adhesive, I had to wait for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, our first sheet is going on!

Applying gold leafing to Royalview's crown.
https://amzn.to/4mvqjeG
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It was very easy to discern where I had applied the adhesive, as it was definitely tacky in those areas. I just took a sheet and touched it to the metal, and it stuck on contact, where the glue had been applied. I then took one of the little provided paint brushes and brushed over where I had applied the leafing.

It was surprisingly really fun! I was nervous at first, but it was so easy and I was not, in any way, trying to be perfect with the application, so I just went all-in placing gilding sheets everywhere, and not brushing everything until I had all the tacky areas covered.

Gold leafing Royalview's crown.
https://amzn.to/4mvqjeG
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You can see how random placement of the adhesive made it very easy to get a distressed, gilded look. The bits of gilding that do not stick, just flake away. I made sure to go over every surface area with the brush so that there was no more flaking.

Gold leafing applied:  Before the varnish.
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After brushing it all down, I let it sit for the recommended 24 hours before applying the varnish top coat to seal it all in.

Applying the varnish was just as easy as everything else in this project, and it did not have a strong smell, which is a definite bonus.

And we’re all varnished!

Gilding project complete.  Royalview's new crown!
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I’m super happy with the outcome, and the entire gold leafing process. So fun, and so easy. Willie really likes it to. He gave a big smile when he came in and saw it, and said it looked really good. So yay! 2 happy customers!

And now Royalview’s crown is displayed upon our living room coffee table, filled with (faux) white hydrangeas.

Royalview's gilded crown after pic.
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https://amzn.to/4mvqjeG
Royalview's gilded crown after pic.
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https://amzn.to/4mvqjeG

Love, love, love! I didn’t know how it would look after I got hold of it, but I’m certainly glad I was brave and gave it a try!

What project are you inspired to try? Do you love upcycling too? Feel free to leave a comment!

Till next time, always follow your joy! God is truly good!

Johanna and Willie

acrossthelake.blog

Home Decor, Upcycling, Trash to Treasure, Vintage Finds, Before and After Makeover, Gold Leafing, Gilding, On Metal, Easy DIY Project

Vintage Mirror Makeover DIY Project: From Western Motif to French Country Home Decor

Western Motif Vintage Mirror Before Transformation.
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So, we’ve been on the look-out for mirrors for Royalview for a little while now. I, in particular, have been keeping an eye out for a full-length mirror for our bedroom, as well as a mirror for my office/make-up room.

Western Motif Vintage Mirror Before Makeover.
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The price tag that comes along with a beautiful large mirror is pretty large as well, we’ve noticed, so when I spotted this beauty at one of my favorite booth’s at Yesterday’s Treasures, I was definitely interested, and when Willie told me the price, I was sold. ($25.00)

It’s not quite the look and style as Royalview’s decor, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, but if you’ve been following our story here for a bit, you know I’m up for a challenge, armed with my can of white paint. So, yeah, after giving it a good look-over, I said, “I can paint it white!”.

It was listed as a Western Motif Mirror, and it does have some pretty designs. The frame is very large and ornate, so definitely something I can work with.

For this project I did need to get the painters tape out and fully line all sides of the mirror to make sure not to get paint on the mirror itself.

Western Motif Vintage Mirror Before Painting, with Blue Painters Tape.
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I decided not to sand this, even though it seemed to have some type of varnish over the paint, and with 2 coats of white paint, the old brown, black, and gold tones were a distant memory.

Vintage Mirror Makeover.  Painted White.
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I did allow some of the old tones to show through, to let it still have a vintage look, but this time I took things to the next level by adding blue paint to the little circle details. At first I was going to paint each one perfectly, but then I decided it would be better to give it an imperfect, distressed look.

Vintage Mirror Makeover in White and Blue.
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I’m very delighted how it turned out. It was a very easy project to do. The mirror just needed to be cleaned a bit and painted. It has a lot of character, and a new life now at Royalview.

The toughest things about this project came after completing the makeover: Deciding where and how to hang it.

The how to hang it has now being taken care of thanks to Amazon. I found a French Cleat Picture Hanger Kit that we will be trying out here very soon. This mirror weighs in at approximately 25 pounds. Yes, Willie weighed it. It feels much heavier to me. The kit(s) I found have different sizes for different weights. This is going to make hanging it so much easier and safer.

And for the where. My initial thought for this mirror was definitely for our bedroom wall.

Completed vintage mirror makeover.  
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This is large enough to use as a full-length dressing mirror, but after I painted it, I looked into the living room and thought how beautiful this would be over our main sofa (hung horizontally). The wall over our sofa has been kept blank till we find the “perfect” item, or items to adorn that focal area.

Bare living room wall awaiting decor.
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I don’t know for sure yet where it will find it’s place.

I do have two more vintage mirrors that are awaiting transformation. These two I got for free, rummaging through one of the buildings at Willie’s family’s business that’s being cleared out.

Here are the two lovelies.

Vintage mirror awaiting transformation.
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Think I have my work cut out for me?

Vintage dresser mirror awaiting transformation.
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I know there will be a lot of cleaning involved, for sure!

But, I do have some ideas, and I’ve ordered some things already for these, including the French Cleat Hangers, of course. The brown one is off of a dresser, so it definitely will need hardware to hang.

That yellow mirror is so pretty, though. That one will either be in my office (the brown one will be over my dressing table in my office/make-up room) as a full length dressing mirror, or in our bedroom if the other goes over the sofa, so stay tuned!

I’m just so happy to be able to breathe new life into these almost lost mirrors. They are all good-sized mirrors, and in good shape mostly. I’m hoping once the dirt is wiped from these last two, that the mirrors themselves are good. From what I can see, they look like they will be ok.

Okay gang, till next time, please remember to be kind, and always follow your joy!

Johanna and Willie

acrossthelake.blog

Vintage Mirror DIY Paint Makeover Project, French Country House Decor, Lake House Decor, Conroe, Texas, Arts and Crafts

Royalview Landscape Makeover, Dramatic Before and After Photo Reveal: Backyard Areas

I asked Willie, after all of the landscaping was complete, which area he believed had the most dramatic transformation. His reply was the front lawn. I do agree that the transformation is definitely dramatically different, but… my thoughts are that the backyard areas were definitely transformed the most.

Here are the before and after photos. You can decide which you choose as well. You can see our front lawn transformation before and after photos here.

Upon our very first visit to Royalview, we were encountered with a make-shift outdoor kitchen, and a very large stump from a downed tree, right in the middle of the yard.

We did not let this thwart our enthusiasm for this home. There was much potential to be unlocked here.

So, from a right side angle before picture, you can see the kitchen and the stump right behind it, in the yard.

Before photo of Royalview's backyard.  acrossthelake.blog
Before photo of Royalview's back yard.  acrossthelake.blog

In the after photo, the kitchen is gone, the stump is gone, and a beautiful tiered garden can now be seen from behind the pillar of the covered back patio upon approach.

After photo of Royalview's back yard garden.  acrossthelake.blog

This stump was the before lawn decor. And even though it was quite the sight, I could envision a beautiful tiered garden here that flowed naturally with the land’s own organic lines.

Before photo of Royalview's back yard.  acrossthelake.blog

And here it is now. I still cannot believe that it actually exists, outside my imagination. The Eagle A. Improvements team brought it to life just as I had envisioned.

Royalview's backyard 3 tiered garden.  acrossthelake.blog
Royalview's tiered backyard garden.  acrossthelake.blog

I was able to choose the plants that were to go into this garden, as well as the front gardens, and I also gave Eagle A. artistic freedom to add others that they thought would work well.

Everything is so pretty. I couldn’t be happier with the results. And bonus! We now have Texas Bluebonnets blooming in the back garden. That was one of Eagle A.’s surprises for us.

Bluebonnets are blooming in Royalview's backyard garden.  acrossthelake.blog

For the far right side of our backyard area, there wasn’t really anything but grass, and water would stand in that back corner area of the house. We had a generator and a propane tank installed, and then Eagle A. custom poured steps for the maintenance of this equipment so that mud would no longer be tracked back and forth on our patio and sidewalks.

Before:

Before photo of Royalview's backyard.  acrossthelake.blog

After:

After photo of Royalview's backyard.  acrossthelake.blog

We, and others, can now easily access this area and no more tracking in dirt and mud. That’s a big Yay! And a huge win! And so cute, Willie wrote our names in the cement.

Next, is the other side of the patio, going toward our back gate. This before photo is how it appeared when we first saw the house.

Before photo of Royalview's back yard.  acrossthelake.blog

After the Eagle A. team finished their beautification, it is now clean, simplistic beauty. The grassy areas are all newly laid sod. Eagle A. also installed irrigation for the backyard grass and garden.

Royalview's After Photo:  Backyard  acrossthelake.blog

In the gravel area, there are built in drains, and this line follows the drain line.

Here is a before picture of the drain line area:

Before photo French Drains
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Eagle A. made sure that all drains were clean and flowing. And the whole area is so much neater.

Look closely at the after picture and you can see one of the little hidden sprinkler heads. These rise up when the water comes on.

After photo:  Drain line in back yard.  acrossthelake.blog

On the other side of the gate, across from the grassy area, is a small little nook between our garage and house. This area houses the outdoor a/c condenser.

Before, there were stacks of landscaping bricks piled up against the outside of the garage.

Before photo.  AC area in backyard.  acrossthelake.blog

Now, everything is cleaned/cleared out, and white gravel has been installed.

After photo:  AC area in back yard.  acrossthelake.blog

So much better! And thankfully Eagle A. was able to use those landscaping bricks in our backyard tiered garden. So fabulous!

I think you can probably see why I thought the backyard makeover was so dramatic. There was a lot to clean up, make useful, and beautify.

It’s so much more peaceful out here now. We’re looking forward to getting our patio all decked out so we can sit back here and enjoy.

3 tiered backyard garden on a hillside.  acrossthelake.blog

We’ve put out a few solar lights already, so it’s really pretty after dark.

3 tiered backyard garden on hillside lit up at night.  acrossthelake.blog

Willie and I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing the progress of our property being renovated and given new life. It’s been quite a fun journey for us.

Till next time, stay safe, and follow your joy! God is truly good!

Johanna and Willie

acrossthelake.blog

Landscape Design, Home and Garden Renovation, Before and After Photos, Houston, Conroe, Texas, Best Landscape Company Eagle A. Improvements, in Collaboration with HOU-TEX Outdoor Services

Royalview Landscape Makeover, Dramatic Before and After Photo Reveal: Front Lawn

The transformation is complete!

Willie and I are very happy, very pleased, ecstatic, all the above, with the results of our completed landscape makeover. So, if you’re all ready… Drum roll please… Sit back and enjoy these very dramatic before and after photos detailing our front lawn makeover.

I’ll begin with our front door entryway. This has to be my favorite. Although, every area is my favorite, there’s just nothing like the view from our front door.

Before photo:  View from our front door.  acrossthelake.blog
Before: View from our Front Door

This view already had me in awe. Being able to open my front door and see the lake across the street was very exciting and unbelievable to me on our first visit to our new home.

This is now the view from our front door:

After photo:  View from our front door.  acrossthelake.blog
After: View from our Front Door

And, it’s very functional as well as beautiful. I was not able to walk up to, or down from, our front porch. This was also the case with visitors and mail/delivery people. Our mailman made the comment to us that we just made his life a lot easier. No more traipsing through the ditch and climbing a hill to get to us. Awesome!

Next is the Southern front corner of our front yard. We are on a corner lot, so this area is seen the most by passerby’s and this area also has a great view of the lake. We can see the lake from our front porch, as well as from our yard in areas between our neighbor’s houses, and this is one of the areas, so we decided this would make a great place for a garden and seating area with a swing.

These photos also show the transformation of our front facade.

Before:

Before Photo:  Front Porch to South Lawn View and Front Facade.  acrossthelake.blog
Before: Front Porch to South Lawn View and Front Facade

After:

After photo front porch to South lawn and front facade.
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After Photo Front Porch to South Lawn and Front Facade

A closer look at the front South Lawn garden from the road:

After photo:  South Lawn Garden Area.  acrossthelake.blog
After: South Lawn Garden Area

A closer look at the bridge:

After photo:  South Lawn Bridge.  acrossthelake.blog
After: Front South Lawn Garden Bridge

Where there once was nothing but brush, we can now stroll across the bridge and enjoy a beautiful garden as well as a lovely view of the lake. A nice place to enjoy an ice cream bar or ice tea, and a friendly chat.

Next, let’s stroll on over to the Northern corner of our front lawn, and visit our second garden with seating area:

Before:

Before Photo:  View from our porch to our front North Lawn area.
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Before: View from Front Porch to our North Lawn Area

After:

After photo of our North front lawn from our front porch.
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After: View of our North Front Lawn area from our Front Porch

That is really quite the difference, isn’t it? We can now simply walk down our front steps and across a path to sit and enjoy another garden and beautiful lake view.

I’d also like to share a before photo of Keren of Eagle A. Improvements, in collaboration with Albert of HOU_TEX Outdoor Services, from when they first came out and took a look around to gather ideas, and then an after photo of their very beautiful work after completion.

Before Photo:  Albert and Keren visiting our property for the first time.  acrossthelake.blog
Before Photo: Albert and Keren Visiting our Property For the First Time

After:

After photo of our front yard from our driveway.
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After Photo View of Landscape Transformation

Here are more after photos of Royalview from a road view:

Royalview after landscaping makeover.  
acrossthelake.blog
Royalview after Landscape Makeover
Royalview after landscape makeover.  acrossthelake.blog
Royalview after Landscape Makeover
Royalview after landscape makeover.  acrossthelake.blog
Royalview After Landscape Makeover

Willie and I are both looking forward to seeing everything in full bloom soon. Spring, and pollen, are in the air for sure. It’s so nice having butterflies and bumblebees stopping by to visit all the lovely flowers.

Next post will be the before and after photo reveal of our back yard, so stay tuned.

Till next time, stay safe, and follow your joy!

Johanna and Willie

acrossthelake.blog

Before and After Landscape Photo Reveal, Landscape Design, Houston, Conroe, TX, Landscape Makeover, Renovation, Garden Bridge, Beautiful Gardens, Lifestyle Blog, Home and Garden

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