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

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.

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…..

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!

A Door I Adore

 

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!

Beautiful Blue!

 

 

I have been experimenting with Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint and I must say, I like it!

 

I chose to strip only the top of this one and not the ‘body’.  I love the look.

I did the same treatment on this. 

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!