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!!

Singer Sewing Machine Table

This Singer sewing table belonged to my client's grandmother.  She wanted to keep it for sentimental reasons, but it was looking pretty rough.  The varnish on the top was peeling and it had been in storage for a while (*side note, I hate spider eggs, but as my husband pointed out, they're better than spiders!)

I love the base.  I mean, what's not to love about old rusty wrought iron?  She wanted a classic look so we decided to go neutral which I think is perfect for this piece.  We chose Linen from General Finishes and I chose to simply distress the details to keep it understated. 

I've always wanted to paint one of these, but I never committed to buying one because they seemed like a lot of work.  I was right. :)  I had to remove the base from the top and remove the side pieces from the top as well.  I also had to remove part of the top to be able to do inside.  I was so relieved when it all went back together again!

 Before

 After

 This table has so many pretty details.  

This is the side panel.  Sorry, I had to crop all the ugly (my garage) out. 

The top is Tiger Oak and the finish was very rough.  I sanded it all down (this was tedious because I did the inside, too, and all the edges had to be sanded by hand), gave it two coats of Java Gel and 3 coats of Varathane to finish it. 

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?