Vintage Waterfall Chest in Linen

One of my most favorite things about refinishing furniture is doing family pieces.  My client told me this vintage chest belonged to her mother. Her mother almost threw it out, but she convinced her to keep it.  Her mother passed away and she thought the cedar chest was gone.  She said she found it again, by accident, and wanted to have it refinished to remember her mother by.  What an honor for me! 

We discussed what she wanted and decided the front needed a little something and we both hated the blond wood.  So, we brainstormed and came up with a plan for a brand new look! :)

Before

After

Yes, it really is the same piece!! :)

I sanded down the front panel, same as the top, being careful not to sand through the extremely thin veneer.  I then stained it with Java Gel, two coats, from General Finishes.  We both thought the front needed a little extra something and I suggested an applique.  I love the creamy white against the dark wood. 

The rest of the chest was painted in Linen from General Finishes. 

 It is my most popular color now! 

I also refinished the top the same as the front panel. 

It truly is amazing what paint can do! 

Oak Hutch in Linen

I absolutely love a refinished hutch.  There are just endless possibilities with them.  So, don't ask me why I don't buy them very often.  Maybe it's the idea of how much work they are or how much space they take up, or that they're kind of a pain to haul around.  I'm not really sure to be honest with you. 

So, I was happy when Roxanne from The Rustic Shed asked me to refinish this one for her amazing little store (cuz her amazing hubby brings it right to my door, and he saved me from near death and crushing my grandfather clock, too).   Seriously, if you are in the area you must check it out! She has a great eye and a lovely, rustic style.  I always love working with her, too.  She is one of the sweetest gals I know.

She asked me what I thought about doing with it.  I know she likes more neutral colors (they sell better) and gave me the direction of "maybe something lighter".  Well, you know my new go-to color is Linen from General Finishes.  It's a color that borders between cream and beige and it's so versatile!

 Before

 After

I wasn't a huge fan of the leaded glass at first, but after putting it all together (and with a little affirmation from Roxanne), I decided I liked how it tied the top in with the bottom (total and complete coincidence, btw).  It looks so much better with the linen than it did with the oak. 

I decoupaged paper on the door fronts, then sanded them with 220 around the edges, sealed with Modge Podge, stained with Provence from Minwax, and sealed again  with poly. Phew! 

Yep, this is my favorite part!  Love, love, love the hardware!

I sanded the top down, did two coats of Java Gel (I usually do two coats on Oak and Maple because they are hardwoods and don't take the stain as well, meaning they don't get as dark as mahogany or cherry). I finished it with 3 coats of Varathane in Satin. 

I just wanted to tell all of you how much I appreciate you stopping by to read my blog and to take a looksie at my projects! :)

The Ugly Ugly Ugly Duckling

Over the past 3 years I've learned to overlook the ugly and the REALLY ugly.  It's not often I run across a piece of furniture that makes me want to gag. 

 I like details, curves, sexy legs,...you know the drill.  Sometimes I like clean lines, but most of the time I just really don't.  Mid-century isn't really my style (although Reeves from The Weathered Door does an absolutely incredible job with it and she almost has me converted).  So, when I run across these kinds of pieces every once in a while I hem and haw about buying them.  The price was right on this one and I already had someone looking for a dresser so I bit the bullet and bought it. 

It looks nice in this picture.  In real life it was green.  Yep, a ghastly, anemic, putrid, pale green.  With an undercoat of pale blue, which I'm assuming was some kind of stain blocking primer because when I started sanding on it guess what it was (well, technically still is)?  It is cherry!! 

Who in the world would put that putrescent color over cherry??  And, as if the color wasn't bad enough I can barely bring myself to look at the hardware.  Almost like Medusa's head.  Yep, it's that bad.  Now, I've said this before and have had people say. "I like that hardware!"  I just say to each his own because it is certainly not my cup of tea. 

My client said she was going to use it in her nursery and wanted it to grow with her new baby through the years.  She's having a girl, so I knew I wanted to go soft.  After staring at it (after I took that hideous hardware off) for a long while I finally decided I wanted to do something special on the bottom drawers to frame it in a little.  But, I still wanted it to be subtle, too.  

I had the biggest smile when I was done.  She turned into a lovely little thing. :)

 Before

Ummm, yuck.  That all there is to say. 

 After

I didn't actually tell my client what I was doing so when I showed her the finished dresser (minus the hardware) she said she was thinking of doing the nursery in a french country theme.  Could this be any more perfect for that?

I darkened the top for contrast and chose stripes two shades darker than the cream I used on the rest of the dresser for the bottom drawers.  I like how it defines the bottom drawers but doesn't overwhelm the piece.  I then did the stencil a shade darker than the stripes and kept it inside the outer border (if that makes sense). 

Antique brass pulls finished it off and I am in love with the monochromatic look. 

 She wanted something girly with a pop of color for the hardware. I thought these knobs were perfect, not too over the top, but still fun. :)

 My new favorite thing!!

 I always sand, never strip (mainly because I detest doing it).  Which means I have to be mindful, especially on these pieces as the veneer is really thin and you can actually sand through it.  Big boo.  So go easy!   One coat of Java Gel (cherry is naturally darker) and 3 coats of Varathane. 

What do you think?

Vintage Server in (almost) Linen

I came across this little, vintage server by someone tagging me on my local FB classifieds page.  I just love that people are so thoughtful. Thank you! :)

The girl who had listed it did list the dimensions, but when I saw it in person it was a tad smaller than I had envisioned it.  It's such a sweet table.  I had a vision for it prior to seeing it, but upon seeing it in person that all changed. 

Because it is a smaller piece I wanted to keep it light and soft, but unique and maybe just a little bit fun. I am so drawn to soft turquoises (like Stefan to Elena, does anybody get that reference?) and I realized I've been doing it a lot lately!  Maybe I will finally have it out of my system. Ha! 

 Before

Cute, but a little ho-hum (ok, maybe a lot ho-hum!)

 After

When I finished it hubby came in the garage and I told him I wanted to keep it.  He had his back to me, but I could just hear the words he was trying so hard to contain and the look on his face.  He said, "Funny, cuz I think you should sell it." ;)

 I am still in love with Linen from General Finishes, and just lightened it a tad with some white paint I already had.  I wanted the drawer to compliment the paint, but to be different and stand out. I was a big scrapbooker before I started painting and have a ton of paper left over.  But, wouldn't you know in those drawers full of paper I couldn't find just the right one and had to make a HL trip. 

I'm glad I did!  

I also tried a couple different knobs, but liked the presence this pull had against these muted colors. 

Someone had previously refinished this piece.  When they did the stain they didn't wipe it all the way off and it hid the grain in the wood.  I sanded the top down with 150 and stained it with two coats of Java Gel (because I am completely, totally, and irrationally obsessed with it!).  I finished it off with 3 coats of Varathane in satin.

 I had this wooden applique left over from a different project and thought it would be a nice addition to the blank space on the back piece. I just did a wash of French Blue from Old Towne Paint and wiped off the excess.  Craig said, "It's subtle and ties the back in with the drawer. I like it. "

Who knew? ;)

 I also did the top edge of the drawer with the paper and I think it's my favorite part of the whole piece. It's the finishing touches I like the most!  It's so stinking cute! :)

Antique Sewing Machine Table

I saw this table on my local FB classifieds.  It was sad...sad...sad.  Nobody wanted it.  Someone went to look at it and left it behind.  I went to check it out and realized it was in pretty rough shape. 

The hinges were broken on the flip top and there was some disgusting sticker peeling off the top.  I knew I could fix her up though. :)

 Before

Some of you must have a little faith in me because I listed this on my FB just like this and it still sold. :)

My client said she was thinking of something in Robin Egg blue, which is one of my favorite colors and along the lines of what I had intended for this piece when I bought it. 

*Little side story. I bought this about a month ago and it's been sitting in my garage.  I had a few custom orders to finish up before I got to it. When I decided to refinish it I knew what I wanted to do, but second guessed myself and ended up listing it on FB.  I thought if someone bought it and told me what they wanted it would be better.  As soon as it was sold I was so sad! Lol!  My hubby thinks I'm nuts and I think he just may be right!  I wanted to do what I wanted to do.  Well, upon talking with the woman who purchased it she said I was thinking something along the lines of Robin Egg blue and you can do whatever you want with it. Really? 

So, it all worked out in then end. :)

 After

When I finished painting it and doing the paper on the drawer front I put on the knob I had originally bought for it and just wasn't happy.  It just didn't look like I had imagined it would.  So, I made an impromptu visit to HL and found the perfect fix. :)

 It is so sweet.  I did dry brush a little Chappel Green from Farrow and Ball on it to give the color a little depth, but it's very subtle.  That color will be on an upcoming project, too!

This top came a long way!!  I peeled the sticker, sanded it smooth, and then gave it a coat of Java Gel from General Finishes. 

psst...I love my little milk bottles! 

Another successful rescue! :)