The Art of Disguise

I have lived in my home for 18 years. For 18 years I have tried, cajoled, encouraged folks to come in through my front door since there is lovely landscaping, a porch with rockers and flower planters, a pleasant entry! But no....EVERYONE insists on coming in through the back door, which is the laundry room, which was standard back in 1994 (Smart people these days put their laundry close to their bedrooms!). All those years my laundry room/back entry was functional, it served an active household with three busy teenagers, but it was not a pretty room. This always bothered me. But nothing bothered me as much as day in and day out the first thing you would see when you entered through the back door was this darn water heater.

Tapping in to the wealth of ideas on Pinterest, and utilizing my local Habitat ReStore, I snapped up a shutter style louvered closet door. The finish and color were all wrong for my style; pine doors with a honey stain and glossy polyurethane, but I knew they could become the shabby, weathered, antique looking "shutters" I envisioned to disguise the water heater. One coat of Zinsser 123 Primer, a coat of Tulip Yellow like my newly painted laundry room walls, a coat of Graphite, a light coat of Old White, a coat of AS Clear Wax, and finally after buffing, some sanding and roughing up and Voila! My version of old shutters with a lovely aged patina to hide my ugly water heater.

They are still a work in progress, as I am looking for just the right decorative objects to hook on the slats. I've only found one cute little thermometer so far to put there. So just remember, even utilitarian objects with no style or beauty whatsoever can be camouflaged through the "Art of Disguise".  If you like the distressed and aged look of my "shutters" you will probably like some of the other pieces we will be offering over the coming months. Check back with us often!