2 years later

 In March of 2012, for my 39th Birthday, John-Mark surprised me with a special gift. Click on the link to see THIS post for the 2012 Birthday. Yes, he took me to an old salvage yard to pick out an old wooden door. I have wanted an old wooden door for our headboard since we got married! Well, almost 11 years later my honey has made it happen. It was a slow process but well worth the wait.

JM started to sand the door which was laden with layers and layers and layers of lead based paint. It was a mess and was very difficult as he purchased a safe and non toxic paint stripper....non toxic but non effective. JM finally decided that he would have it professionally stripped. I wasn't sure if I wanted it painted or stained. 

Early last year the stripping was finally finished and so we decided to hang it up "blond" until we agreed on a color. Here he is hanging the door....but then I saw wee little bits of lead based paint dust in the crevasse of the door I said..."We can't sleep with this near our heads. We'll breathe in paint dust all night!" So off the door went...outside in the back yard....for about another year.

About 4 months ago JM and I started talking about our door again. We finally decided to stain it...but (you know me) I really wanted a non-toxic stain and non-toxic sealer. So, JM researched and found the right one. He started staining our door a couple months ago....this took several, several nights and weekends.

but last night the final coat of the sealer was dry and it was ready to be hung! 2 years later and well worth the wait I tell you. We love how it came out. It's just what I imagined it would be.

The door knob we picked out at the salvage yard gives a beautiful touch to the door.

For a complete look, I still am on the search for some colorful and  decorative pillows for the bed but man do I like what I see so far! It's coming a long.

Thank you sweet JM. I love it. Well done! This Birthday....let's keep it simple.:)