Thursday, January 30, 2014

Vintage Dresser

I picked this highboy up from a woman who told me she might have a little dresser fetish.  I just smiled and said, "Me too." :) :)

It was in great condition but just a little ho-hum.  I like the simplicity of it and wanted to keep that feel.  This isn't a true before as I got carried away and forgot to take it before I started working on it (yes, I still do that!). 


 Before

It's been said a thousand times, but here it is one more:  There is such power in a coat of paint and new hardware! <3!


After

It's a lovely, soft blue/green/gray.  I actually think this color works as a neutral because it can be paired with so many other colors. 




You've probably noticed I love to mix hardware, but I love the look of all these awesome knobs in a line down the front of this piece.  Simple yet eye catching. 









Cute little legs. :)

I did no prep work on the body of this piece--no sanding.  So, when I went to distress the paint had a natural chippy look even though it's latex.  It's what I was hoping for and I'm glad she delivered! :)


It had a beautiful mahogany top so I sanded it down, gave it two coats of Espresso stain, and 3 coats of poly.







Yep, love me a cute little dresser!!

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Monday, January 27, 2014

Antique Cherry Desk Redo


My client said she had picked up this desk a while back for $20!  It's cherry, solid wood, and has dovetailed drawers.  What a steal!!  She wanted it for her daughter's room and said she would like it white and pink.  I think I've said before that I don't do pink very often so this one was so fun!  I really enjoyed it and thought it turned out so darned cute!


 Before

It was still solid but the finish was horrible.  It had deep scratches all over it and the top was the worst.  I sanded it down to the bare wood so I had a smooth finish to start with (that sounds funny but you know what I mean ;) ).

From dark and a little dreary to this....

 After

I love the soft pink drawers with the dark wood peeking out paired with the crisp white.  Girly, but not too young. 

Ok, for anyone who has not painted cherry or mahogany the bleed through can be awful!  Especially if you're doing white.  This one was no exception.  I started with one coat of shellac, letting it dry for an hour before I did the first coat of white.  Within 30 seconds I could see that #@!* pink coming through.  Seriously hate that--it's my worst pet peeve!  So, I waited for it to dry and then did another coat of Shellac (you can do it right over oil, latex, milk, or chalk paint).  I then did another coat of white and waited until it dried completely.  There were just a few pesky spots where it still bled through so I just did those areas with another coat of shellac and then did another coat of white over the whole thing.  It's a good thing I refuse to let  a piece of furniture get the best of me (knock on wood!). :) 



I had these glass knobs from an "ooops" and they are perfect for this little desk.  BUT, I wanted something a little more eye catching for the middle drawer so I chose this awesome knob with the metal overlay.  
Don't be scared to mix and match your knobs.  It can look eclectic, fun, or sophisticated-they don't have to be match-y match-y to look pulled together. 




 I used two different colors on the drawers so when I distressed the darker pink would show but I didn't have to go all the way to the bare wood to get some contrast. 




 It was so cold in the garage (and I didn't want to use any more propane than I had to) so I brought the drawers inside to paint.  I had one huge mess on my counter from all the sanding I did!  There looked like there was pink fairy dust all over everything! :)  Then I took the drawers in the living room where my hubby was watching TV and made him run his hand over all of them! lol!  Yes, I'm nuts, but he's used to it.  





 This drawer had a big, ugly ink stain in the middle so I lined it with some left over fabric I had.  I get asked all the time what I line my drawers with and how I attach it.  I almost always use fabric and I use a spray adhesive to attach it.  That way, if for some reason they need to be removed, they can be with no trouble. 






Oh yeah, Ania and I made the tissue wreath today while she was home from school.  It's an easy project and fairly quick!  Just leave me a comment if you're interested in a tutorial.  :)


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