Ballard Design Clock Hack

A couple years ago, I came across a picture of a Mora Clock and fell in love with it (The name comes from the Swedish town of Mora where in the late 1800’s the town was affected by several years of drought and people fled to Stockholm to learn new skills including clock making). I liked the shape, patina, and the fact that it was quirky and beautiful at the same time. I researched pricing for a tall Mora Clock, and they ran anywhere from $3,000 to $12,000. I even looked at a similar piece I found at Ballard Designs.com (Katerina Floor Clock) which was priced at $2,999.00. It seemed I couldn’t afford a reproduction either. With these prices, I knew I was not going to be owning a real Mora Clock or even a reproduction, so I did what I always do, I tucked it in the back of my head to be retrieved when and if I found something that could be remade to look like the clock I wanted.

Below: The two on the left are examples of Mora clocks and the one on the right is the Katerina Clock from Ballard Designs.

As it happens, I was finally able to bring the vision out of my head on a visit to Good Will where I found the perfect item (pictured below). I know, I know, my husband had the same reaction. He kept asking me if I really wanted it and I said yes, yes, yes. I didn’t like the color or the painted flowers, and it was short, but I could see the possibility. Like when Linus picks the sad little tree in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and says that all it needs is a little love, I bought this clock with the potential spinning in my head. All it needed was a little love!

The clock had some really nice features like the round face, the moldings and the detailing, but none of it would matter if I couldn’t increase the height of the clock (which came in at 3 feet one inch).

We were able to make a pedestal to increase the height.

The pedestal raised the height of the clock to five feet and one inch.

Before I got started, I gave it a good cleaning.

I used Rust-Oleum Chalk Paint in aged-gray for the base coat.

At this point, I crossed my fingers hoping that painting it one color would make it look like one piece.

I was very pleased that after the first coat it looked like one piece. Yeah! Once it dried, I added a second coat to get full coverage.

I decided to paint the clock with Annie Sloan Aubusson Chalk Paint. It is one of my favorite colors.

I added water to thin it out.

I loved the blue, but the trim felt too stark next to it.

I decided to change the trim color to Waverly Chalk Paint in Moss.

Green wins. So much better!

To give it a more aged look I used Annie Sloan COCO Chalk Paint.

Using a chip brush to spread on the COCO paint.

Then blended with a lint free rag.

If I felt it was too dark, I used Aubusson Chalk Paint to tone it down.

To give it even more of an aged look I used Waverly Antique Wax.

I made a wash with the antiquing wax by adding water and spread it on the piece.

Then wiped it off with a rag.

I used my acrylic paints to cover the flowers on the face of the clock.

The original mechanism did not work so I purchased a new one.

I found the perfect place for my clock it is right between the transition from family room to kitchen and it is the first thing you see as you enter our house. It’s funny as I was looking at this picture, I noticed a full circle moment the drapes in the background are Isabella drapery from Ballard Designs. I may not have the Katerina Clock from Ballard Design, but I have their beautiful drapery that goes perfectly with my clock.