Our clients purchased some farm land in Missouri that included an abandoned house and barn. Instead of tearing down the house they decided to restore it and keep true to the historical architecture and design. They did, however install an elevator and we finished the inside of it. That was the extend of our involvement with the house project.
But after living in the house for a few years our clients wanted a larger space for entertaining. The house was big enough, but the rooms were smaller than would fit all of their family. They decided to create a “saloon” in the corner of their barn.
The old barn had burned so they rebuilt it to look like the old one on the outside with modern conveniences, like water, heated floors and air conditioning, inside. They wanted to create an old west saloon that would look old but still function to entertain in this century.
Our initial task was to age the tin ceiling. The manufacturer of the old-time tin ceilings is still in business. So the tiles they purchased were just like the ones out of the 1800s buildings. But they were shiny and new.
We created a faux rust look using glaze brushed on the tiles. The metal was untreated so we had to put a coating on so that it wouldn’t rust for real. We usually use water based clear coats in our cabinet and furniture finishes. But the water based clear had a chance of letting rust form down the road. We ruled out an oil clear coat. Oil products yellow with age and that wouldn’t be good either. We settled on shellac. It stays clear and doesn’t have as much fumes as lacquer when it’s sprayed on.
Our part in this project grew as we progressed. My next post will show what we did to the walls.