Our barn is on the small side, as far as barns go. The square footage is a little tight, but still there are a few little cubbies that have housed some goodies for years.
I’m talking about these shutters. No telling how long our 195 year old house has gone without them, nor how long they were hanging before they were taken down. But, we found them tucked away in a back corner of the barn looking pretty sad, and really dirty.
We actually came upon them when we were walking around the house with the inspector before we closed. Ever since we moved in, I have wanted to bring these shutters out, clean them, fix them up and hang them. After all, that is their purpose – not sitting in a dark corner of the barn.
Certainly not a project to be taken lightly. Lots of elbow grease needed along with an ample amount of time. So I decided that this summer is the time to get to work on these things, starting with just the front of the house.
That’s 20 shutters! All needing lots of attention before even one coat of primer can be applied.
I lined up the shutters on the back of the garage and power washed both sides of each shutter. Then I hand-scraped each side. It was about at this point where I realized the magnitude of this job, but no turning back. I really want these shutter hanging on our house again.
I am now at the step of painting the primer on them, and they have taken over our back porch. Just to give you an idea, it takes 25 minutes to paint one coat of primer on one side of each shutter. Yes, it would be quicker if I had a sprayer, but truth is, I did have a sprayer at one point and I just couldn’t jive with it. So this entire project is by hand. True elbow grease and a heavy dose of iTunes.
Of course I am looking forward to completing this project, but more so, I’m really happy to be bringing these shutters back to life and adding the original design back to our old farmhouse.
Stay tuned for Part Two. Fingers crossed, within the next couple weeks. Please send good juju!
Maria Salomon says
the excitement of a new project! this is a big one…….if anyone can do this, it’s u!
All that's Jas says
Can’t wait to see them done. Sending good jujus! Thanks for sharing at Thursday Favorite Things and have a happy 4th!
Sarah says
Can’t wait to see the finished project!
Audra @ Renewed Projects says
What a fun find! All those years of neglect are going to add so much character to the finished project.