Antique Buffet in Coquille

I have this friend.  She is an amazing woman.  The kind of woman that should write a book about her amazing life.  The only thing is I'm sure she doesn't see herself this way at all.  I'm sure she thinks of herself as "just a mom" living an ordinary life. I hope, one day, she can look back at her life from a different perspective and see what a difference she's made in this, often times, ugly world.  She has a pure heart and a beautiful spirit.  She has raised amazing children.  Children whom have deserved extraordinary love and care and she has blessed them with it. She is talented, generous, and kind.  Qualities I hope to possess in half the abundance she possesses. 

So, on this day, Nancy, I am giving you a huge shout out for being some kind of 

WONDERFUL! 

Nancy and her husband were fortunate to buy their neighbor's land, which had a house on it.  This house was in pretty rough shape and they decided the best course of action would be to tear it down. I took pictures and can't find them now, but it was pretty spooky looking from the outside.  She was very brave for cleaning this place out.  She messaged me one day and said she found some things I might be interested in.  So, I braved this dilapidated house. climbed the rickety stairs, and saw this beauty on the second floor!  My hats off to both our husbands for breaking their backs getting it down the stairs.  

It sat in my storage unit for the last year and a half because the top drawer was missing and I wasn't quite sure what to do about that.  Well, I already told you about the Superman I have stashed away and he never fails me.  He made a few false drawer fronts for me and away I went. 

I recently tried French Lime paint from Maison Blanche and knew I just had to try it in another color.  I wanted it soft, modern, and sophisticated, so I choice Coquille.  It's a light greige color, a little more on the gray side than beige. 

I thought I was going to die waxing this beast but it was worth every stroke. ;)

 BEFORE

This is my husband's shop, not mine.  It's a good thing, by law, that half of what's his is also mine. ;)

 AFTER

Isn't she lovely?  Isn't she wonderful?  Imagine me singing that.  On second hand, don't.  I can't sing worth a crap. 

There are so many amazing details on this piece and I'm going to show you all of them, so sit back and enjoy the view!

 The detail on the "backsplash".  This piece is solid, including the back piece.  

 Thankfully it had a gorgeous top, so I sanded it down, gave it two coats of Java Gel, and 4 coats of Varathane. 

 You know the hardware is my favorite part.  I've had my eye on these babies for a while now, but needed a piece that was big enough to carry them off.  This buffet was perfect.  I normally stick to only two kinds of hardware, but there are three on this baby and I think she pulls it off swimmingly!

 Gorgeous detailing on the doors and the bottom molding. 

 Aren't these legs yummy?!  I love how the ball feet look waxed.  Yes, I'm weird. 

 This makes my heart thump. 

I couldn't resist doing a pop of color on the inside and she has these cute little drawers behind the door that were perfect for it. 

 I also had this left over fabric from Hobby Lobby.  I absolutely love the huge print and that it's not matchy matchy (which I have a hard time not doing sometimes).

 This buffet is actually going in a nursery and she's having a little girl.  I wanted to do something special for her so this is on the inside of the left door. 

 You would never expect it from looking at the outside. ;)

I drooled on it, but cleaned it up....

Antique Chest of Drawers in Parchment

Believe it or not, this dresser was another candidate for the dump.  I'm telling you men some people just have no vision! ;)

Of course, I had to rescue it.  I'm just so grateful the same man that wanted to throw it in the dumpster is also the same man that is super handy in his shop!  It had some major issues that I could not have fixed by myself. In comes Superman (I am talking about my husband, and, no, he does not wear nor even own a pair of tights or a cape,..that I know of). 

Diane over at The Paint Factory (do you know her? If not, you are seriously missing out!) posted about a couple of pieces she did in French Lime Paint from Maison Blanche.  I fell in love with how they turned out.  So, here's a little peek into my double personality...

I absolutely love (I mean it does funny things to my insides) the look and feel of paint that is unblemished,  A smooth surface that feels like glass and looks flawless gets me every time.  BUT, I also love the look of textured paint, like Old World style.  It makes my heart go pitter patter, too.  So, I am always at war with myself over what kind of finish I want.

Well, let me tell you, this paint gave me both!  There's a lot of movement, depth, and texture to the way the paint looks (more so than even chalk paint in my opinion), but to the touch it's like silk (after sanding and waxing, of course).

I recently redid my kitchen and had tile done for the backsplash.  It makes me happy and it was the inspiration for how I wanted this dresser to look.  So, I just wanted to say

THANK YOU!

to Maison Blanche for making my fantasies dreams come true!

BEFORE

This isn't the true before, meaning this is not how I found it. When I found it it had 6 small drawers on the top, but half the drawer faces were busted in half and the drawers were in terrible condition.  I did not want to ask my better half to fix them (there's just so much he can take, ya know), so I decided to ditch them and turn it into an open space for components or baskets or whatever suits whoever buys it. 

The veneer was also peeling and cracked on one side and on the bottom drawer front, so I had to remove it all. I then sanded most of the old, flaky finish off and that is what you're looking at in the pic. I love how raw it looks...perfect for a new finish. 

AFTER

You'll have to trust me when I tell you these pictures do not do justice to the finish.  I used their color called Parchment and it really is the color of old paper.  It reminds me of Italy and I adore it.  Because I sanded the drawer fronts down to the bare wood when I painted and waxed it it left the paint in the grain of the wood a lighter color than the other paint, so you can still see the grain up close. 

The finish is smooth as a baby's bottom. :)

I love the look of a dark finish under light colored paint, but since I sanded all the old, dark finish off I had to improvise.  I ended up using a can of Rustoleum's paint and primer in one in Espresso Satin for the first coat, then went over it with Shellac so there was a barrier between it and the lime paint.  Then I did two coats of paint and distressed.  It came off so easy I was a little surprised! It looks like dark wood underneath. 

Since I had to remove the top drawers I wanted to add a little detail.  I attached this wood applique using a pinner. It looks like it's been there all along. 

Thankfully it had a gorgeous mahogany top.  Again, I carefully sanded it down, did one coat of Java Gel, and three coats of Varathane in Satin. 

Same deal with the wood piece that separates the top from the bottom. 

I usually try not to paint drawers so there's no issues with sticking, but these were absolutely horrible.  They were filthy dirty, banged up, and had some kind of orange finish on them.  I sanded them down (including a little of the top edge and the runners to compensate for the layers of paint I would be adding), did two coats of shellac, and then painted and waxed them. They slide like a dream now and look about a thousand times better! 

This picture shows the variation in the paint color a little better.  This paint distresses so easily it was hard to control myself! 

I'm telling you, I need a bigger house!!  I want to keep this one, but no room so she's

FOR SALE!

Oak Headboard/Footboard

I came across this headboard and footboard by accident. Hubby was considering throwing it out.  I said, "Um, no." Lol

It is solid oak and in beautiful condition, but it was filthy.  I mean stuff dried on, hanging off, sticky, please, God, don't let any of that actually touch my hands kind of filthy. Nothing a little cleaning and some sanding couldn't fix and it was worth it. 

 BEFORE

I would say I was sorry for the ugly garage picture, but those bags of pellets are what allow me to work during our sub zero, mind numbing, arctic Wisconsin winter. Did I ever mention how awesome my better half is?

 AFTER

This week has been the week from hell and I was so glad this was a fairly quick and easy redo (besides the fact I thought my arm was going to fall of sanding all those slats 4 times!).  

 She's got lovely details. 

My hydrangeas still make me happy! 

I'm taking the weekend off!  Hope you have a fabulous one! 

1940's Chest of Drawers

I've been working with Roxanne from The Rustic Shed for about a year now and I just love her to pieces.  She is a picker and I am not so we have a fantastic relationship!  She loves to find projects and I love to fix them up, so I think we make a pretty fantastic team! :)

She had this chest of drawers (and it's companion which is coming tomorrow) in storage and asked if I could do something with it.  She liked The Ugly Duckling and wanted to know if I could do this poor little thing the same way.  Well, of course!  But, I've been wanting to do something with wood and library pulls so I thought it would be the perfect candidate with those smaller faux drawers on top. I couldn't wait to ditch the hardware, too.  It seriously was so awful.

Should I tell you the story of the hardware for this piece?  I think I'll skip it for now because it makes me a little bitter and I still have visions of the perfect choke hold....  I digress.  Needless to say I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for the hardware and when it finally came it was wrong....ANYWAY

Here it is in all of it's 40's glory.

BEFORE

AFTER

I sanded the top drawers down to the bare wood by hand so I didn't accidentally sand through the veneer, which would have completely crushed me and I prefer not to be crushed so I wasn't taking any chances!  I sanded the rest of the piece lightly and sealed it with shellac before painting.

After filling the holes with a stainable wood filler I did one coat of Dark Walnut from Minwax on the drawers.  Java Gel has been my go-to lately, but I didn't want the drawers that dark for this piece.  I then sealed with 3 coats of poly. I positioned the label holders over the holes so the label would cover it up.  Even though the filler says it's stainable it was also noticeable. I'm glad I was able to cover them up.

I just love these library pulls. The card catalog look has gotten popular in the last 6 months and I couldn't resist jumping on the wagon! 

I like the simplicity, but the added shine, of these beaded edged knobs. I think they compliment this piece well. 

Roxanne has the cutest things in her store!  I never walk out without a little something extra for myself. ;)  I seriously am so excited for spring and this sweet little plant was just what I needed. 

This piece will be available at The Rustic Shed next week!  If you are local stop by and tell Roxanne hello!!