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| proving to my husband I still had all my digits |
Well, I wasn't going to just let a tan wall go behind the cross. The cross, by the way, is a beautiful silver with abstract swirls running through it. Just beautiful. I was thankful I had something so nice to work with!
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| before |
That's how the concept below was born. I did a bad job of it, but it was enough to help us all envision what it would look like.
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| not-so-great mockup |
The idea was to get pallet boards and paint or stain them, then arrange them behind the cross after the wall had been painted tan. Everyone approved.
First things first...I painted the wall tan.
Finally, I could start work on the boards! When I went to ask for free pallets, God put me in the path of a man who generously gave out of his scrap collection. There were beautiful planks of wood, some oak and hard maple. I got to work in my parents' barn, removing boards from pallets and sawing planks.
Then my dad donated planks from his stash in what we call the "corn crib." I had a great time looking through the old boards, some of which were from buildings that had been on our family farm more than 100 years. I got some walnut pieces that way, they ended up being my favorite.
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| donated wood from the lumber store |
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| plank donated by my parents |
After a week of working on my own, my parents returned from vacation and my dad stepped in. He didn't like the look of the pallet boards I'd wrestled free. Honestly, neither did I. "Cottonwood!" he said in disgust. He went out and bought three planks from the lumber yard.
Then he helped me with sanding the roughest boards and cutting boards to size, while I went to work staining. All of the wood was stained, and none of it was painted. I love seeing the grain through the different shades.
We were ready.
Once we were at the church building, I stained one last piece of wood - see that honey-colored board? It wasn't quite right. Then I laid out all the boards on the floor according to how they should go on the wall. The guys (my husband and my dad) started looking for studs with the stud-finder. There was for sure one. One. They got hits on different areas but none of it seemed to make sense. Let's just say, it was challenging, but they worked through it.
Because they are awesome, my dad and husband measured, made sure the boards were level and straight and started making my vision come to life. I handed them tools. I'm just not a person who attaches things to walls.
Finally, on March 4th, 21 days after we started talking about improving the stage area and the wall behind it, we'd completed the design.
- Pray
- Measure the area and plan the look you'd like it to have.
- Go to your local lumber stores and ask for pallets. Tell them you're working on a project for a church. Watch as God provides.
- Buy stain in the colors of your choice, and/or paint.
- You'll need access to a table saw and belt sander if possible. Sawhorses are nice for staining.
- Cut the boards according to your measurements, sand, and stain.
- Assemble the boards and hang them on the wall with the help of people who are good at that sort of thing.
- Praise God.
My friend Heather asked how I did this project, and aside from the above the answer is really just that I relied on God and the help of good people. I'd never used a power saw before, never stained wood before. I didn't know what I was doing, but I had the enthusiasm to get past the obstacles of my lack of know-how.
The result was pretty great, and I believe there were only compliments on the change. My goal was to bring fresh life to the environment, and joy to people's hearts, and I think God made that happen.
Splendor and majesty are before him;strength and joy are in his place.
1 Chronicles 16:27
Tags:
Interior Design