Pretty in Toile

I’m not sure what this was originally meant to be.  It looked like it had been a dresser with the top drawers chopped off and then the dresser top was attached to the bottom drawer.  I’m not sure but I saw it as a coffee table.

A little love and a little paint works wonders!

Added a little toile wallpaper and protective glass top.

Now I just need to decide on the pulls…hmmmm…  It’s a keeper….for now!

Rrrrrrred!

I love red!  It’s one of, if not my very favorite color.  So when I picked up this sad little beauty it just screamed red.

This is one of those very rare times when the piece was taken out of the car and was being attacked in the driveway before it made it into the garage.  The translation of that would be that there were too many pieces in the garage so  I better ‘ git er done!”.
Sanded, repaired and almost ready for paint.

The finish on the top was so old that it came off pretty easily.  Perfect for staining.

The pulls & keyholes on the 2 lower drawers are original to the piece.   They were soaked and then sanded.  The top drawers got new hardware and I kind of liked the black pulls for contrast.

I love how the wood grain peeks through in the bright sunlight.

It hard to tell because of the sunlight but the top was stained a dark walnut.  I love the contrast against the red.

In just over a week this has made it’s way to the shop.  Next!

Linking to Furniture Feature Friday.

Deco Style

Some people love it.  Some people hate it.  I usually like deco style. 

I thought these were pretty so I took them home and gave them a little TLC.

Grey & white paint.  A little white spray paint on the handles then highlighted with silver wax.

Good to go!

What To Do When It’s Already White

 

I use white paint A LOT!  Not because it’s the only one that I like but because it can fit into so many color schemes.  That’s important when you sell furniture…mass appeal’ish.  I love doing Flow Blue and other gorgeous colors and I would like to do them more often but I always need white in my booth.   They’re just more likely to sell.

So why is it that when I finally get a piece that is white I feel inclined to paint it something other than white? 

Once I stripped the top,  I just wasn’t ‘feeling’ it.  So it sat in the garage over the winter until inspiration hit.

I thought Paris Grey & Louis Blue (ASCP) were in order.

Then Miss Mustard Seed’s White wax to tone it down.  I was loving the look and even decided to keep the original wood knobs.

A little German Silver wax and it was good to go!

Old Sugar Chest

While visiting a friend a few days ago she showed me some things she was working on and upcoming projects.   She showed me this wonderful old sugar chest and asked what I thought she should do to it?  Nothing!  Do NOT do a thing!

I offered to take it home and wash it up and put it in my shop.  “Really?” she said.  “Yes.  Let’s see what happens.” I said.  So I took it home and washed the sugar bin part.

The naturally worn patina is gorgeous!

It’s headed for the shop.

A French One

I love these curvy French Provincial pieces.   These were abundant in the 1970’s and still pop up in stores from time to time.

They are so easy to work on because they almost never need any repairs.    Just clean and paint.

They always have fancy pulls.

I decided to do two colors on this one.  White & blue.

I used to tape pieces when working with more than one color but now I prefer to take them apart, paint, then put them back together.  So I took the back off on this one.  I’m a messy painter so that works best for me.

Here it is ready for the shop.   Or so I thought.  My oldest daughter is getting a new place later this month and she has claimed it for her spare bedroom.  There certainly are advantages to having a mom who ‘collects’ furniture!

That Darn Cat!

I have a constant companion.  His name is Smudgie and he often appears out of nowhere! 

Often in my before & after pictures.

He’s never been a picture within a picture before though!

Now you see him.

Now you don’t!

Junking without a Plan… aka Freestyling

 

So last Saturday’s unplanned junking went well.  It always works well when you have no plan.  No disappointment!

This was it!

Anyone know what that red handled kitchen tool might be?  There was also a nice oak mirror in excellent condition.  I didn’t even notice the tag on the back until I got it home.

 

‘Arts & Crafts” period.  Cool.

A very cool vintage wallpapering kit with instructions.

A vintage …. and probably close to antique hat that seems like it is from the style of the 1920’s!  Navy blue taffeta.  Dusty but so sweet!

Silverware!  My weakness!  At very least, I am keeping the 8 piece knife set.

An old bell….a mother of pearl spoon with engravings.

All in all a good junking day!

Fabric Love!

 

My love for fabric started in high school when I took sewing in ‘home ec’ (I know – I’m dating myself!).  It’s not only the colors and patterns but the feel.  A piece of lace may look beautiful but when I touch it, if it’s ‘crunchy’, it just won’t cut it.  It needs to be soft and supple.

That brings me to my latest project.

I was thinking about throwing this out because it was rather sad looking but decided that since it was such a small project, I’d give it a whirl.   It’s a useful piece because the top opens an I keep slippers and flip flops in it.

First I painted it white (no pics) and then I went fabric hunting.

Success!  Only $6.98 a yard on the clearance table!  The pattern is called ‘Latika’ by Echo.  It’s nice and soft and has some weight to it.

Now the white paint wasn’t working.  So I dry brushed over the white with gray.

I think we all know the power of paint.  We can transform just about anything!

 

With about a 1/2 hour of effort, I’m glad I didn’t get rid of it.   It’s a keeper!

I May be Crazy!

I wasn’t even sure how to label this post.  It was a colossal amount of work.   I kinda, sorta knew what I was getting myself into when I bought it and if it hadn’t been so cheap I would run away in a heartbeat!  I thought at very least it would be an education in what NOT to do.

The appliques on the doors (which were my favorite part) had pretty much crumbled.  I glued the pieces that I had back on and then used Bondo (used for repairing auto bodies) to make the missing parts.  When that was dry (it dries very quickly) I used a blade to carve the parts to blend in.

(I don’t have any before pictures because I started working on it before Christmas last year and then it was put away for the holidays.  Then my computer died…pictures were lost….yada yada.  Plus, I needed to build my stamina to tackle this one!)

The top was a mess and rather than try to repair the veneer (been there, done that…not fun), I chose to take it all off revealing the most beautifully imperfect top.  A little dark stain called Kona (I think – it’s been a while) and the top was beautiful.

The veneer on the upper right recessed panel was bubbled so I sanded it as best I could and called it a day.  A couple of years ago I would have obsessed over it but not anymore….I‘ve learned that people embrace imperfection in beautiful old pieces.

Thankfully all of the old hardware was there and it just needed a bath. 

With that, it was off to the shop where it took up residence for a week and then sold!

The Frumpy One

I picked up this dresser a few weeks ago.  It was rather plain and frumpy but it was good and solid.  Kind of on the masculine side and the knobs were a complete mismatch.

Tres girly!

So with a little paint, some wood appliques and glass knobs….it was looking more feminine and shabby.  Maybe not for everyone but much more to my taste.

It’s in the shop but I am somewhat tempted to bring it back home.  It would work great in the kitchen with the shallow top drawer for silverware and the two deeper ones for linens, etc.  Hmmmmm…..