Desk in Gray Matters

I met a very nice couple a few months back.  They were cleaning out a relative's home (always a hard and tedious job) and I ended up with a few great pieces of furniture from them.  Remember I told you about the rule I had for myself (the one where I don't buy it unless I absolutely love it)?  Well, I broke it on this little desk.  I saw it and didn't love it, but it was a solid piece in great condition and the price was very right.  I just couldn't say no to it. 

And, I ended up loving it when it was done so, technically, I didn't break my rule at all! :)

BEFORE

It's pretty run of the mill.  I had to buy it just to rip the hardware off, lol.  It is solid wood with dovetail drawers. 

**You'll have to excuse me a moment.  I'm listening to my neighbor bellow at his dogs.  This happens regularly and it cracks me up.  Obviously, the dogs don't have any idea what he's hollering about and if they do they absolutely don't care. :)

 AFTER

I chose Gray Matters from SW.  It's a medium, true gray.  Very neutral and I think it's suitable for any age, any gender. 

  I've had these library pulls hanging around for a while and I thought they fit this piece very well.

So cute! :)

I changed out the knobs on the middle drawer.  I decided to leave it wood because I had to paint the top.  It's so hard for me to paint a piece of furniture all one color.  I'm not sure why.  I just like the contrast of something natural or organic against the paint. 

 Pretty simple redo but I really like how it turned out. 

Desk/hutch in White

 My client picked this desk and hutch up at a rummage for $50.  Pretty good deal if you ask me! :)  It is an MDF piece but it is solid and in very good condition.  It's for her daughter's room and she wanted it white.  When I finished up the desk we were talking about how going from off white to white isn't a huge change, but a fresh coat of paint makes a world of difference!  It was a little outdated with the floral motif and the light oak top, but now it's crisp and clean looking and I love how everything just pops against it.

 I love staging with metal, wood, and organic elements and they all look great against a simple, clean background. 

BEFORE

 BEFORE

 AFTER

I love this soft green against all that white, too.  

When painting MDF if you want to be careful not to go through the material covering it.  I lightly sand with 220 until all the sheen is gone and then use a good adhesion primer.  Then two coats of paint and a top coat and it's good to go! 

 I don't know why I don't use a crisp white more often.  Yum!

Her daughter wasn't thrilled with the dark hardware so I changed it out for white and like it just as much!  (hard to photograph the white against white, it's cuter in person!)

Roll Top in Renfrew Blue (Fusion Mineral Paint)

Thank goodness for classifieds on FB!  I've been sick for the last month (and, it's progressively gotten worse instead of better) so haven't been in the mood to do any kind of furniture picking BUT my local classifieds page on FB makes it pretty easy, and for that I'm so grateful!  

I saw this cute roll top and couldn't pass it up.  Seriously, it is the sweetest little thing!  It's got the cutest little cubbies and legs. 

This is the worst I've had spring fever...EVER.  So, I decided in lieu of impending warmer weather, flip flops, and sunshine I was going to do something fun with it!  

Fusion Mineral Paint recently got a hold of me and asked if I would like to try their products  (be sure to check out their gorgeous website!).   Really?  Do you think it is even possible for me to turn down new paint?  And, free paint at that?!  No way hose, so I picked out a few colors and waited for my box to come in the mail.  It came and it was BULGING.  I'm dead serious.  The top had to be taped down to keep it from popping open!  I couldn't believe how many awesome colors they sent me to try out!  I was doing my happy dance in the living room. ;)  

I chose Renfrew Blue and Ceramic for this cutie and decided to layer them because the springy green scared me a bit. It's actually a beautiful vintage green, but beautiful vintage green is out of my comfort zone, so I took baby steps. 

BEFORE

I have resigned myself to the fact that I will never have a magazine worthy garage, so you will just have to deal with looking at the crap like I do. :)  But, do you see what I mean?  Isn't she just adorable??

 AFTER

The color is not quite this bright and I am in love with it.  It's rich and vibrant and perfect for a pop of color.  

I also loved working with the paint.  It's an acrylic so it doesn't dry as fast as a chalk or milk paint but that allows it to level out so nicely and it has a nice, smooth consistency.  It has a pretty satin finish and does not need a topcoat if not distressed.  So, you can save yourself a step!

 This pic is truer to the color than the others. 

Desk in Drizzle

I laughed when my client dropped this desk off and told me it was ok if I couldn't do anything with it because it's a piece of crap.  It's actually not!  It looks a little dated and rough, but it is solid and sturdy, so it's workable!

It's going in the same room as the dresser and nightstand I recently finished. There's not much detail to it, so I decided to do the door white to give it some definition and to help the hardware really stand out. 

Before

After

Much better! 

There was nothing special about it before, but now it's a cutie pie.  She'll fit right in with the rest of the set. 

This hardware just adds something fun to this simple desk.  Definitely the stand out feature.  They say good things come in threes and they weren't lying! "

Sometimes I think I like my staging props more than the actual furniture. ;)

Here are all the pieces together (besides the bed, it was just too awkward to take pics of).

I love how it turned out and so does she so we're good to go! 

Cherry Vanity in Stampede (BM)

This vanity gave me such a hard time I'm not even sure I can write about it! It's a beautiful, cherry reproduction vanity in Chippendale style with claw feet and gorgeous details, and that's all the nice things I can say about it. 

A friend had messaged me and told me she had it sitting in her garage with plans of refinishing it one day, but realized she would probably never get to it and wanted it out of her garage.  I'm so glad she thought of me.  She has beautiful taste, so I knew on the way over there that it was going to be good.  I was thrilled when I saw it and told her I would take it.  We were both happy campers and she told me she couldn't wait to see what I was going to do with it.  So sweet of her. 

When I got it home I told myself it would be no big deal, an easy paint. Ha!  I knew it was cherry, which is terrible for bleed through, but I was armed with my two cans of Shellac and was bent on showing it who was boss. 

I started by sanding it down to remove the flaky finish on it, and also sanded the top to the bare wood.  I then gave it (not the top) two coats of shellac letting it dry really well between coats.  That should do it.  Or not!  3 coats of paint and shellac later, and having to repaint all the details 3 times I was tempted to throw it in the fire pit!  I knew there was no way I could. ;)

I think my perseverance paid off. :)

 Before

Since it's a reproduction it was in beautiful condition, minus the fact that it was so stinking humid here that all the drawers swelled so badly I couldn't get them back in when I was done painting and ended up having to take my grinder to the bottoms of the drawers to shave a little off.  

Now, all you wood lovers, this was a beautiful piece of furniture, but it was just lacking.  Again, details lost in the color of the wood. 

 After

Isn't she a sight?!  Tweet twoo!

 I taped off all those details (3 times) so they would be crisp.  I knew I wasn't going to distress this one because I didn't want pink to show around all the edges when I clear coated it. I love the clean lines with the pretty detailing. 

 I did dry brush the details in the corners and on the legs at one point, but it just didn't look good.  Too froo frooy or something.  I opted to keep them the same color as the desk and pick out the more prominent details with Cream Silk by Behr. 

 I love the pulls, so kept them and gave them a few coats of Oil Rubbed Bronze.  I happened to have four of these knobs and they were so completely perfect for this piece I knew it must have been fate. ;)

 Love the applique on the bottom of the middle. 

 I adore ball and claw foot so opted to just paint the "ball" to let it pop a little. 

 The top is a beautiful piece of cherry veneer, so I carefully sanded it down, gave it one coat of Java Gel (wipe it on, wipe it off), and 3 coats of Minwax Polycrylic.

 Stunning!!!

 I dry brushed all the details on the mirror and love the soft look it gives.  I did distress the mirror slightly and painted the flowers a little more opaque. 

 Glamour shot. :)

So thrilled this one sold already!!

color = Stampede by Benjamin Moore color matched at Sherwin Williams

            Cream Silk by Behr also color matched at Sherwin Williams