Repurposed Oar

A couple of weeks ago we found this old wooden oar at an estate sale.   Chablis and I have been toying with sort of remodeling the kitchen in the Kentucky lake house.  I've been putting it off because it's going to be a lot of work, but we finally decided to just jump in and get going on it.  When I saw this oar sitting in a corner of a garage, I grabbed it and immediately knew that I'd repaint it and use it in the Kentucky kitchen.

Here's a few before pictures.  The former owners had written their names and some vacation dates on the back and they had drawn with magic marker on the front....

We painted and distressed the oar and then stenciled Mess Hall on it.  It reminds me of when I was a kid and went away to summer camp.  We called the dining room the "Mess Hall."   This will be the first thing I hang in the kitchen once we re-paint it.

We've begun work on the kitchen, so stay tuned for updates!