Hutch in Millstone

This is another piece found by Sandy (oh, what would I do without her?).  I called about it and set up a time to go see it because the person selling it was selling it for an elderly couple.

When I got to their apartment I was a little disillusioned with the piece but the elderly couple was moving and needed to get rid of it and they needed the money.  Now, my wonderful Father in Law is always telling me how I can make a sow's ear into a silk purse (don't you just love that saying?).  So, as I was contemplating hauling this thing down the stairs (when I didn't really want it) I remembered what he always says to me and decided I would take it.  The man was so happy and I knew, even if it had to go in the garbage, that I had done the right thing. 

When I got it home I started looking it over and other than being covered in bird poo it was in really nice condition.  

Ever since I used this bird fabric to line some drawers a couple of months ago I knew it deserved to be front and center on a piece and this was the perfect little project for it.

I chose to go neutral with the color scheme so the fabric would be the focal point. 

 BEFORE

I hate those chunky monkey handles in the middle of the doors, so I filled the holes and replaced them.  And, guess what?  The moldings on the door fronts are actually plastic (they usually are on pieces like this), so I wasn't sure the wood filler was going to work, but it did fine.  :)

 After

The color is Millstone from General Finishes and the door fronts are done in Antique White with a little Millstone added in. 

 So cute!

Can't you just see this full of white towels?

 I replaced those yucky pulls with these rusty iron knobs. Much better!

Antique Washstand

Sorry, I don't have a before of this wash stand (apparently I was in a hurry!).   It had already been refinished in a dark stain and is in great condition.  I didn't want to tell the people I bought it from that I was painting it because I know how much work it is to refinish something!  Shhh...don't tell!

I have mass amounts some paint hanging out in my basement, so I thought I would experiment and mix my own color.  It has about 4 different colors in it from four different brands. :)  It's a little brighter than I normally do and it took a minute for it to grow on me, but now I love it.  

 AFTER

 It is very sweet. ;)

 I originally left the original pulls (I don't believe they were the actual originals but they were the pulls that were on it when I bought it) on it, but when I finished up and stood back to look at it I hated them!  They were very decorative and there was just too much going on on the drawers.  So, I had to remove them, fill in the holes, and repaint the drawers.  A fairly quick redo turned into a big ol pain in the you know what! 

I've said many times before how I love that a cup pull can instantly update a piece.  I love that it still feels vintagy with the color, shape, and details, but has a modern element with the pulls. 

 I actually didn't sand this top down to the bare wood, which is the first time I've ever not done that!  I simply took the old finish off by hand and then stained it with a coat of Java Gel.  I could get away with it because the top was in nice condition to begin with as it had been refinished once before.

 I painted the insides of the drawers with a pretty butter yellow and love how it just adds a little bit of fun when you open them up! 

I love the back piece on this stand too!  I wet distressed this piece so I didn't take off the dark finish under the paint. 

Antique Lowboy in Seagull Gray

Another great find by my CL friend, Sandy.  I love lowboys!  Especially the curvy ones!  What's not to love about this cute piece of furniture?

I don't do gray very often which is sad because I absolutely adore it.  It's neutral, sophisticated, and soft.   I couldn't help but use General Finishes Seagull Gray on this little cutie.  Once I got it in my head I couldn't think of anything else for it. 

I've done one very similar to this in the past and the veneers were like paper and very fragile.  Most of them had to be removed.  I was so glad to see this did not have that issue.  It's in beautiful condition.  It just had horrendously ugly pulls. ;)

*Side note:  Did I ever share with you the fact that I am trying my hardest not to totally freak out that I will have a Senior in 2 months and that means he is less than a year away from leaving home?  No, I didn't tell you because it is totally freaking me out.  I mean like I-can't-even-think-about-it-because-it-will-make-me-bawl-my-eyes-out-like-a-freaking-baby freaking me out.
We'll talk more about that later. 

BEFORE

Nice, but completely anemic.

Oh, that's something else I have to tell you.  All my hair was breaking off and freaking me out (do you see a common theme here?), so I finally went to the doctor and found out I was severely anemic and have been for years (yes, they diagnosed me with it 4 years ago and I didn't take it seriously until the whole middle of my head was 1/2 inch long, yikes!).  I am now on mass doses of iron until my blood work comes back normal again, so that's fun (No, no it's not, it's terrible.  My poor tummy.).  I hope my hair starts growing back soon!  Moral of the story, you're hair really can tell you a lot about your health!

 AFTER

It really is so cute!

The color is Seagull Gray from General Finishes.  It's a light true gray and I am so happy with it!

The top was in very good condition so I carefully sanded it down and gave it one coat of Java Gel.  I love the dark top contrasted with this beautiful gray. 

The drawers were kind of icky on the inside so I sanded them out and gave them two coats of Persian Blue from General Finishes. 

I hemmed and hawed over the hardware for 10 minutes before finally deciding on these pretty glass knobs.  I was a little worried about them until I got them on and then fell in love with them.  They are feminine without being too delicate and paired with the antique brass cup pulls they are absolutely perfect. 

I also did a stencil in bright white on the top drawer fronts and then really sanded it back so it was a lot more subtle.  It adds a little something without being too overpowering. 

Bassett Side Table in Tuscan Red

I was curious to know what I was working on at this time last year, so I went back on my blog and it's funny because I was working on a dresser for the same fabulous lady that this side table belongs to! 

I still love working with Roxanne from The Rustic Shed.  She is such a sweet soul and she has great taste and a lovely store to prove it!

She brought me a few end tables to work on and said she wanted something bold for this one.  I said, "Like red?"  She said, "Oh, we're on the same page!"  It's a such a great color for this beautiful FP Bassett piece.  She's looking feisty for the 4th of July!

BEFORE

 AFTER

The color is Tuscan Red from General Finishes (one of my favorite paints to work with!).  I love how the subtle distressing just highlights the great lines of this piece. 

 The top refinished beautifully with one coat of Java Gel and 4 coats of High Performance Top Coat from General Finishes.  It literally took me hours to sand the edge by hand.  I finally resorted to using a razor blade to scrape out the inside edge. I'll be happy not to do that again for a while. ;)

This is what I love about General Finishes,  It levels out so beautifully!  And, I love the soft sheen it has when it's dry. 

I love a French Provincial pull and these had the best patina, so I just left them as is.