{createinspire}: November 2013

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Set of Drum Tables

My client brought me this set of drum tables and asked if I could give them a little makeover. I love drum tables, and don't come across very many, so I was more than happy to! I'm sure anybody who paints furniture has been told, probably more than once :), they should not, especially if it's nice wood.

But, here's another great example of why I paint "good" wood. Although these tables are pretty, they are a dark, and uniform, color and you notice none of the great details.

Painting them a light, blue/gray gives them a sophisticated look and helps bring out their great lines.

Before

After

They were made out of beautiful mahogany so we opted to refinish the tops. I stained them Espresso, but you can still see the natural red in them. Very pretty!

I love the patina on the original hardware, so I left them as is.

Here's the base of the second one. I hear people say "Why would you paint a piece of furniture and then make it look beat up?" Distressing doesn't necessarily make a piece of furniture look old or "beat up". If done in moderation it simply defines the lines and makes those pretty details pop.

There are some days I ask myself why in the world I do this.

I finished up the second table and went to put the second coat of poly on the top when I noticed there were funny 1 inch streaks in the top. I didn't have any idea what they were from and had no clue how to fix them (they looked like they were something in the original wood, nothing wrong with the stain or poly--too uniform). It's been one problem after another lately and I wanted to throw in the towel! I probably would have if it would have been my own piece.

So, I got out my sand paper and sanded all the poly off by hand. Then stained it again, and did another coat of poly (with my fingers crossed!). The color turned out so much richer the second time and it's perfect.

So, it was just a reminder to me that God works in mysterious ways, and sometimes things go wrong the first time, so we have a chance to do them over and make them even better the second time around. :)

Just wanted to say how much I appreciate you for visiting me. :)

I'm so grateful for the many blessings God has given me, for the wonderful support I've been given, and that I'm lucky enough to be able to do something I love.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and take time to "count your blessings"!

color = Silver Gray BM

Monday, November 25, 2013

Sweet Spring Green Dresser

I needed a quick and fairly easy makeover to make up for all the pain-in-the-butt pieces I've had lately! So, I picked up this little cutie, and guess what??

Yep, it was a pain in the butt!! :)

I sanded the top down to stain it, but it looked horrible! So, I decided to paint it (which I have painted over stain a thousand times before!). Well, the stain kept coming up through the paint. I have never had that happen!! So, after sealing it twice with a water based poly and doing two coats of paint, I finally decided to walk away and let the whole thing dry really good and then came back and sealed it with shellac. Should have just done it in the first place as it worked like a charm! Nothing is ever easy! :)

Before

Winter is biting at our noses here in WI already, so I thought I would give this little guy a coat of spring green. Would be so cute in an entry way or a nursery!

After

The color looks a little washed out in this pic because of the lighting. It's more of the color in the pic with the knob.

I love these little white knobs against the crisp green.

Funny how the color doesn't look the same in any pic!!

The inside needed a little TLC, too, so I sanded all the drawers down and painted them, too.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Freshening up a Target Table

I do a lot of antiques. Almost all antiques! I love them, but sometimes it's nice to get a newer piece of furniture that needs no work, just a facelift.

I wanted to do a little post on how you can make a generic, store brand piece of furniture your own with a little paint. I love how it has a modern, clean feel now. And, no distressing--that doesn't happen very often!

Before

After

This color is so fresh looking. Love how it gives a little pop, but is still subtle.

I just sprayed the original hardware in Oil Rubbed Bronze so it would stand out.

Hope ya'll are having a great week so far!

color = Blissful Blue SW

Monday, November 18, 2013

Almost Duck Egg Dresser

I have a thing for ASCP Duck Egg. It's not gray, or green, or blue, but an absolute perfect fusion of all three. Every time I see a piece done in this enchanting color my heart melts all over again.

This little hutch is showing her blue side here.

BUT, I am a big 'ol cheapskate and can't bring myself to pay $50 for a quart (after shipping). So, my mission this weekend was to make my own. I got out my leftover paint and started mixing.

You know this scene in Ocean's 12, right?

Tess: "That's too oxblood."...

"I worked at an art gallery, so, I uh, love art obviously...and paint. That's too brown."

"I'm sorry. Do you mind?"

Guy: "Hey. It's your paint."

Love it--especially her facial expressions while he's mixing! :D

I ended up mixing 3 different colors and when I held it up to the inside of the lid of my ASCP paint can I was so impressed with myself! :) It's a tad bit lighter, but pretty darn close!

A sweet friend was getting rid of this dresser and gave me first dibs at it! How could I turn this cutie down?? And, guess what? It was the perfect piece for some of my new homemade duck egg blue!
Look at her poor, mismatched pulls (and all her drawer bottoms needed fixing!).

Before

I've been doing a lot of customs lately and was itching to do my own thing. My hubby walked into the garage and stared at it and I said, "I'm doing what I like." ;)

After

Makes my heart ache a little it's so pretty. Is that weird? It is, isn't it! :)

I turned on the heater in the garage, staged the dresser, went inside to grab my camera, turned the heater off, threw open the door, snapped a few pics, and threw down the door again. I am seriously such a BABY when it comes to the cold!!

It had such a great texture on it from the old varnish. I didn't even scuff sand, just painted right over the top of it. It's solid oak, so instead of complaining how the grain is too open to get a nice, smooth finish, I just went with it and moderately distressed it. I love how worn it looks.

*Tip: Hand distressing tends to look more natural than using an electric sander. Using an electric sander can also gum up your paint (because the paint gets too hot from the friction) and can discolor it. I'm wondering how many of us have used an orbital or hand sander to distress and had a big "Oops!" moment?! :)

I love the contrast with a dark top against this soft color.
(I think I should have dusted it before I took these!) ;)

A serpentine drawer gets me every time. These have such soft curves and add a little femininity.

I couldn't decide if I wanted to go light or dark with the hardware, so I did both! I love the contrast each gives.

I sprayed the cup pulls with Oil Rubbed Bronze (and the screw heads!).

A Lesson and a Quick Fix:

Before I painted I filled in the holes from the original hardware. When I went to put the cup pulls on I accidentally placed the hole in the cup pull over the old, filled in, hole. When I went to put the screw in, it wouldn't hold because the wood filler was too soft.
Oh crap! Seriously!
So, I simply stuffed match sticks (without the heads) and toothpicks in the hole to fill it up with wood. I pushed them down so they were flush on the top and then broke them off flush on the backside. Then screwed the new screw right it! Quick and easy, and no waiting for putty or whatever to dry! And, since it's wood, it's way stronger than putty or filler!!

Always love finding the original key holes intact. This one was missing one, but the rest of them were there.

I'm not usually a paisley kind of gal, but I loved the colors in this print and thought it added just a little bit of fun. :)

These little sunflowers help me pretend Jack Frost is still holed up somewhere and decided that nipping at our heels this year was just going to be too much work!!