Nouveau Trumeau Mirror

Gotta love Craigslist!  I picked up this mirror with matching bench this summer.

It was a 40 minute drive.  When I saw I liked the shape and condition but the finish was yucky.  Hand painted flowers that were raised (relief) and would require sanding to get rid of them.  Since it wasn’t a simple “paint and done” project, I offered the seller a bit less than she was asking and that kind of put her in a snit.  She said I should have told her before.  Huh?  How could I tell her anything before I saw the piece?   In any case, I ended up getting for what I offered.  End of that.

I removed the medallion at the top part and sanded away.  (No pics – I was busy!)

All painted in ASCP Paris Grey with wood applique painted gold.  Then waxed.

 

The bench received the same love.

And….tada!

Let There Be Light!

I love lamps!  I picked up a pair at a yard sale a few weeks ago.  The finish was dated but the “bones” were good.  They are nice and heavy but the finish was dated.

Nothing a little paint can’t fix.

Sprayed with grey paint. 

Then for a little more interest, I did somewhat of a whitewash with gesso.  It toned down the paint and added a little depth.

The original shades were definitely not a match for the lamps so I bought shades and added a beaded trim.

Installed in the shop!

Updating a Curio

I picked up this curio cabinet last Saturday at an estate sale on Cape Cod. 

It was in excellent condition but the golden oak had to go! 

Nothing a little white paint (Chantilly Lace) and toile can’t cure.

The original applique was kind of blah…..so I changed that too.  Something more in keeping with the with toile.

Already installed in the shop.

   Gotta love a quick flip!

Whispers of Color

Although I love color, I use a lot of white paint.  (Not because I don’t love color.  Because I do!)  White just seems to sell quicker.  But who can resist the “oops” paint section at the hardware store? 

I picked up this “whisper” color and went to work as soon I got home.  Just a touch of minty blue/green.  In fact, when I was painting in the dark garage it appeared to be a shade of white…until I took it outside and added the white handles. 

Since it was rather plain, I also added the appliques to spiff it up a bit.

The mirror and dresser were not a set but I think they are a good match.

It won’t be long before I look at these pictures longingly…..wishing the snow would go away!  For now, I’ll enjoy these days that Mother Nature has blessed us with.

 

Linking up with Making Broken Beautiful

Pretty in Pink

I had this deco dresser sitting in my garage without it’s partner mirror.

It was missing handles and lots of peeling veneer. 

Why oh why did they ever used veneer escapes me.  More often than not the wood underneath is every bit as nice… with a little sanding of course.  Veneer is a bugger to repair!

The back was warped so it had to be replaced. The original mirror sat in a recessed part on the top but the mirror that I chose to use with it had to sit on the top so I had to use a piece of wood to fill in the recess.

I tried Rustoleum’s new “chalky” paint on this.  Love the color!

New pulls and it’s good to go!

P.S.  The color is true in the close up not this photo.

Linking up with Making Broken Beautiful

Ahoy Navy!

I love white but it can become booooooring to do one piece after another in white.  Granted I do have several ‘go to’ whites (Woohoo!  How wild am I?)  but sometimes I just need to change things up.  So I cracked open some ASCP in Napoleonic Blue.  Gorgeous color!

No “before”, only a “during”.  A golden oak commode.  And I do mean golden.  Nothing a little sanding and stain + paint can’t fix!

Dark Walnut Howard’s “Restore a Finish” for the top.   Clear and dark wax over the paint.  Gold acrylic for the pulls.  Et voila! 

A Beastly Piece – The Toile Hutch

Sometimes I wonder what possess me to pick up pieces like this..

It was missing glass, full of worm holes, and lots of nooks and crannies to cover up that black paint.  Translation…a ton of work!

After many hours, this is the end result.

Itty Bitty Footstool

I haven’t posted in ions…not because I haven’t done any projects but more that life got in the way.  I find if I don’t keep up on the posts, backtracking can be a humongous task.  So I’ll start with the here and now and see if I can catch up.

This little icky’ish stool came into my life about 2 weeks ago.  I try to deal with small projects as quickly as I can.  So I did.

Popped the tacks and stripped the vinyl.  The foam underneath was pristine because the vinyl had protected it so I reused it and  painted the frame.

The corners were a little awkward so I used some Mother of Pearl buttons to fill in the blank spaces.

Not a work of art but better than it was!

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!