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!

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

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!

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.

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!

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!

Reloved Window

I’ve always had a thing for old windows.  Years ago I dragged my dad out with his pick-up truck when a local nursery had changed out their windows and there was a stack of the oldies outside.  He was always game for my nonsense and we loaded up his truck.  I hoped to one day make a greenhouse with them but dad is now gone so…. so is that dream. 

I’ve since dug into the stash and done some upcycling.  You can see some of those projects here. 

My latest project is similar to this one that I have over my bed….

I did this one for the shop……

I used waistband elastic to hold the pictures in place.  I glued two strands across each pane on the sides (you can see them below) so that the pics can be easily changed out.

NEXT!

True Confessions of a Lamp Lover

 

I have a fetish.  For lamps!  Lighting is so key to setting the feel in a room because it creates so much ambiance.  I even have a routine for when certain lamps are turned on in my house.  

 

Like furniture, old lamps can be recycled too.  The old ones are usually quite nice and solid, and heavy !  Like this one.

 

This is a big one!  For reference, that the covered BBQ in the background!

Nice lines.   Ugly finish. Nothing a little spray paint can’t handle!

 

Maybe a little sump’in else?

 

Silver Guilder’s Paste maybe?

The old shade seemed a little off scale.

 

How about a hand-tyed rag shade?

 

Despite the shadow in the pic, I like it!

From Yucky to Meh….Not too bad

 

When it comes to furniture I am all about curves.  I love ‘em!  I am not a fan of mid-century modern nor Eastlake.  That’s not to say that they aren’t nice but hard lines are not for me.

 

There is one ‘style’ (and I hesitate to use that word because it certainly is ‘stylish’) is 70’s chunky pine with a dark stain.  Like this…

 

Uh-uh-uh-ugly!  I would never have picked this up but it was dropped off in my driveway.  Free is good.  As I pondered how I would get rid of it, I thought that since it couldn’t look worse than it already did, I would play with it.  Out with the grey paint….

A little distressing.

A little better.

Add some appliques?

Hmmmmm……. I thought this one couldn’t be rescued but it’s not tooooo bad!

Spiffing Up a Silver Tray

 

I love silver.   I would pick it up whenever I came across it and have accumulated a few boxes.  Well, now it’s time to give it a little love.

 

So I pulled out this lovely, ornate tray and gave it a spray of white.  Then sanded the raised parts.  (Of course, no “Befores”, I’m working on that.)

 

I applied a graphic using the wax paper transfer method which can be a bit challenging.  Very slippy, slidey.    When I tried to apply the image the first time, I smeared it.   I quickly wiped it off and tried again.  Success.  I then let it sit for two days thinking it would ‘set’.  Not so.  It was still wet.  What now?  I had some Mod Podge spray sealant so I applied several very, very light coats.  (If you use this, make sure you use it outside.  It is the most toxic smelling stuff ever.  Effective but smelly.)

 

I used a final coat of clear spray and voila!