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!
I picked up this curio cabinet last Saturday at an estate sale on Cape Cod.
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!
I love the soft curves of Art Deco style furniture. When I saw this piece, I had to have it! For me! I thought it would be perfect a sideboard in my kitchen/dining area.
It could have been used ‘as is’ but there were veneer issues so I decided to deal with them and then repaint it.
It turned out it was too big for my kitchen and so off to the shop it went. Boohoo! Such a beauty.
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
I’ve been deep in the throes of home renovation for the past year. We are doing it on a budget and I have been fortunate enough to have someone who has been in the renovation business for 30+ years who is willing to squeeze me in when there are lulls in his regular business for a much better rate. Works for me and works for him. It takes some planning and patience but that’s OK.
One of our our latest projects was replacing the old hollow core doors with solid wood. I intended to replace them with vintage doors but that only happened with 2 of the doors – the rest were bought new. That’s just how it worked out.
So…..
This crappy old hollow core door to the attic went from this….
This is what it looked like mid-way through the process….
Broken glass, yucky paint, not pretty.
The original hardware did not align with the existing hardware so we had to make some adjustments. We had to close up the old hardware cut-outs to make new ones that aligned. We filled the space with a chunk of wood and then used auto body filler (one brand is Bondo). This stuff dries quickly and is a dream to sand.
I decided to replace the glass with two panes of plexiglass with a piece of lace curtain in between.
Love it!
I was also blessed to receive 8 sets of 1940’s crystal door knobs from a friend as a Christmas gift. They have a story behind them. Her father was building a house in the 1940’s and midway during the construction the house burned down so they were never used. She kept the knobs for all these years and when she knew what I had planned, she surprised me with this gift. A very special gift from a very special friend. Thank you Betsy!
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!
