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. 

Reproduction Music Table

I was "kind of" "talked into" buying this unique table (thanks Sandy!) ;).

I didn't really know how I felt about it.  Neither here nor there, I guess.  It's very unique but the whole cherry/gold thing was throwing me off, along with the base and the gold feet.  I guess I was just thinking, "It's really not my thing."  But, no matter, she gave it to me for a good price and I was happy to take it off her hands for her.  

I thought I knew what I was going to do with it right up until I got my paint out.  Then I totally changed my mind and went in the complete opposite direction.  AND, am so glad I did! 

Btw, this is just a reproduction so I didn't have any qualms about painting it (as if I ever do, ha!).

BEFORE

I was going to do it antique white, with a dark top, and do the feet and "strings" in ORB, but decided I wanted it to look a little moodier. 

 AFTER

I ended up mixing what I had left of my Ash from Fusion Mineral Paints with my stock black from SW.  It turned out to be a very dark graphite, which I am loving more and more. It's not as stark as black which I'm liking. 

I did prime it in black though, so when I distressed there would be some variation in the color.  It was still lacking a little something so I got out my gilding cream!  It's hard not to go crazy with this stuff!  I love how it glides on and how you can manipulate it with dark or clear wax.  I just played with it until I had the look I wanted. 

You can see the contrast of the gilding creme on the middle here and then on the base below. 

I sanded the drawer fronts down to the bare wood, then dark and clear waxed them.  I love the grain in cherry and I absolutely love the contrast with these awesome library pulls from D Lawless Hardware.  You really should check them out if you haven't yet.  They have a wide selection at really good prices.   

Vintage Server in Chappel Green

I am just getting over a case of shingles (half of people that get shingles are under 60 and if you've had chickenpox you have a 1 in 3 chance of developing them sometime in your lifetime).  My doctor said they are brought on by stress and low immune system.  I decided to make a change and to quit taking custom work for a while.  I love doing it but it can be very stressful, especially when I have so much of it that nothing else gets done (which is exactly what was happening).  

So, I made the decision (which is huge for me because I have a very hard time saying no) and by golly I was going to stick to my guns...

UNTIL...

Little Ms Michele shows up in my driveway with the cutest little beastie hanging out of the trunk of her car.  How in the world could I say no to that?!!  I just love her to pieces, too, so we talked over what she wanted and I totally and completely caved....again.

But, it's a good thing because I am so thrilled with how it turned out and so is she, so it was a

 WIN WIN! :)

 BEFORE (kind of)

I had already started sanding the top down.  You can't see in this pic but it has 3 big cracks on the left side of the top.  She liked how rustic the rest of it looked and I told her then why not just accept it for what it is and we'll just roll with it. :)  

It's all oak and it was pretty dry so the grain was even more open than oak usually is. I knew it would be perfect for a very "used"  look. 

 AFTER

I've been dying to use a new color I got from Farrow & Ball.  It's Chappel Green and it's a lovely shade of blue/green.  

It seriously is the sweetest little thing!

She is using it in her bathroom and has another barnboard cabinet, so we decided a dark stained top was too formal.  She loved how the wood looked worn out.  It does have so much character!  So, I sanded it down, but not too perfectly and then just gave it three coats of Varathane in satin.  It compliments the shape of the piece, the color, and the distressing so well!

This pic is pretty accurate for the color.  I distressed it a bit heavier, in keeping with the feel of the piece.  We were going to keep the original knobs, but when my hubby was trying to fix the one in broke completely in two so I substituted these cute things.  I like how they mimicked wood.

It'll be time to plant flowers soon here!  Can't wait!

You'll be seeing this color again soon!
:)

Vintage Server in (almost) Linen

I came across this little, vintage server by someone tagging me on my local FB classifieds page.  I just love that people are so thoughtful. Thank you! :)

The girl who had listed it did list the dimensions, but when I saw it in person it was a tad smaller than I had envisioned it.  It's such a sweet table.  I had a vision for it prior to seeing it, but upon seeing it in person that all changed. 

Because it is a smaller piece I wanted to keep it light and soft, but unique and maybe just a little bit fun. I am so drawn to soft turquoises (like Stefan to Elena, does anybody get that reference?) and I realized I've been doing it a lot lately!  Maybe I will finally have it out of my system. Ha! 

 Before

Cute, but a little ho-hum (ok, maybe a lot ho-hum!)

 After

When I finished it hubby came in the garage and I told him I wanted to keep it.  He had his back to me, but I could just hear the words he was trying so hard to contain and the look on his face.  He said, "Funny, cuz I think you should sell it." ;)

 I am still in love with Linen from General Finishes, and just lightened it a tad with some white paint I already had.  I wanted the drawer to compliment the paint, but to be different and stand out. I was a big scrapbooker before I started painting and have a ton of paper left over.  But, wouldn't you know in those drawers full of paper I couldn't find just the right one and had to make a HL trip. 

I'm glad I did!  

I also tried a couple different knobs, but liked the presence this pull had against these muted colors. 

Someone had previously refinished this piece.  When they did the stain they didn't wipe it all the way off and it hid the grain in the wood.  I sanded the top down with 150 and stained it with two coats of Java Gel (because I am completely, totally, and irrationally obsessed with it!).  I finished it off with 3 coats of Varathane in satin.

 I had this wooden applique left over from a different project and thought it would be a nice addition to the blank space on the back piece. I just did a wash of French Blue from Old Towne Paint and wiped off the excess.  Craig said, "It's subtle and ties the back in with the drawer. I like it. "

Who knew? ;)

 I also did the top edge of the drawer with the paper and I think it's my favorite part of the whole piece. It's the finishing touches I like the most!  It's so stinking cute! :)

Antique Pedestal Table in Linen

This table was another piece destined for the dump,  It had been sitting in a storage unit for a while and it was pretty rough.  It's quarter sawn oak and was really dry, so the grain was really open.  I don't like oak to begin with and when it's dry it's even worse!  The drawer was stuck tight and took some major muscles (not mine!) to open it.  Once open I had to sand down the top edges and sides so it would slide freely again.

I had a vision for this piece and when I was part way through was not liking it at all.  I finished it, stared at it, hemmed and hawed about it, fretted about it,  and then decided to undo what I had done.  I was so much happier when I did and new inspiration struck.  Love when that happens.  

I haven't distressed anything too heavily in a while and got a little carried away on this one and had to go back and repaint parts of it. Lol.  It's still more distressed than I normally do, but I like it that way. Especially with all that dark wood showing underneath the light paint.  Still makes my heart go pitter patter. 

I love how it is soft, but still has presence.  I'm loving the pedestals and chunky feet.  But, my favorite part is THE KNOB!  It's amazing!  It was the only one.  If any of you shop at Hobby Lobby you know they have their knobs in bins and on the front of the bin there is a little hole drilled with the knob (that's in the bin) attached to the front of it so you know what's in the bin (did any of that make sense?).  Well, there were no knobs in the bin, but I just could not walk out of there without that knob, so I unscrewed the one from the front of the bin and away I went.  I was looking around like a ninja because I felt guilty.  I don't know why, it was a sale for them that they wouldn't have had otherwise! :)

BEFORE

You can see the damage on the wood of the base (icky spots) and the top looked the same. My sweet hubby started sanding on it with the grinder (I normally do my own sanding but this table happened to be in his shop so maybe he was feeling a little possessive or maybe he just wanted to see what was under that nasty stain or maybe he was just being a super nice guy!) and stopped about 30 seconds in and says, "We didn't get a before pic!"  Awww...love that guy!

 AFTER

I can't believe how good it turned out!

 I had originally painted the drawer front, the feet, and the trim at the bottom of the pedestal a deep greige and heavily distressed them.  It just didn't look right.  The dark drawer messed with the slim profile of the table skirt (visually chopped it in half) and the dark trim at the bottom of the pedestal made the legs look short.  Kinda reminded me of the rules of What Not to Wear. Lol  I decided to use paper on the drawer front instead and found one in my stash that just happened to be the color of the table!  I love how there is a balance of the green and cream so it draws the eye right across the front without making it look like a block in the middle.  Know what I mean?

 The. Knob.

.  It draws the eye down from the dark top to the intricate bronze inlay, and the rustic cream edge allows it to pop against the green paper.  I would sleep with it under my pillow if that didn't make me the biggest weirdo ever!

Chunky feet! 

 Thank you Sausha from Sweet Pickens for making me aware of chunky feet!

One of my most favorite things is light paint over dark wood.  

*sigh*

The top actually wasn't too bad once we sanded the bejeebers out of it.  We started with 80 on the grinder and then I smoothed it out with 150 on the orbital.  I hardly ever use two coats of Java Gel from General Finishes but this puppy needed it.  There were a few dark spots, but now they're hardly notiecable.  It's pretty Tiger Oak and the little hole in the top (see it on the left side?) just adds character. I didn't want to fill it because I wasn't sure how it was going to stain and with all the grain it would have just looked like a dark spot anyway, so I left it. 

 I'm happy. ;)

Side Table in Swiss Coffee

 I feel like I've been MIA for a while now.  I have a good excuse reason...ok, maybe I don't but I'll tell you what happened.

 

We moved into our current house 14 years ago.  It needed a lot of help and my amazing husband has done an incredible amount of work for me.  We've done new siding, new roof, new windows, added a garage and two decks, took out windows and added French Doors, new flooring, new appliances (some twice), new countertops, partial remodel of the kitchen and, of course, a ton of painting over that time period. 

 

The one thing we've never touched are the kitchen cabinets.  Our house is 100 years old and the current kitchen is actually a remodel and addition.  When they redid it they put in oak cabinets.  You know how I feel about oak!  Especially the color that was so popular in the 80's.  I've lived with it for almost a decade and a half and last year I asked Craig if I could paint them.  He is a typical man and likes "good" wood and, at first, told me he did not want me to paint them.   I acquiesced to his request and dropped it...for a while.  I've asked him several times since and he hasn't said no, but I know the look that says no. :) 

 

Fast forward to two Saturdays ago.  He's going to help a friend on his farm and is feeling badly about leaving me on a Saturday and says, "You could always paint the cabinets while I'm gone."  What?!  Now, I would be lying if I said the only reason I haven't tackled that project is because he didn't really want me to.  The main reason I haven't painted the kitchen cabinets is because it struck fear in my heart.  It's a big freaking project!  Just the thought of taking every one of those doors off and removing the hinges, and cleaning, and sanding, and painting multiple coats seriously made me want to cry.  BUT, I was going to take advantage of this current situation, so when he walked out the door, I turned to my daughter and said, "Let's do this."

 

An hour into it I was regretting that decision but there was no going back.  So, I started painting, and a week later finished those blasted things!  I am so glad I did!  I LOVE them!!  The problem?  It made everything else in my kitchen look like trash!  The floors looked horrible, the walls looked horrible, the countertops blended in too much.  Boo!  Well, the floor needed replacing anyway because it was 10 year old linoleum in a high traffic area.  Nuff said.  So, what started out as painting the cabinets turned into a full scale kitchen remodel. 

 

I'm so excited, but I've been busy with that and have not painted much.  I don't know about you, but once I get out of the swing of things it can be difficult to get back in, if you know what I mean.  We're talking a serious lack of motivation here.  So, yesterday I decided I better do something about that and had this little table stashed in my garage.  It was small and I thought it was perfect to get me back "in the mood". ;)

 

 

 Before

(When you read the "before" under the pic do you think, "My gosh, we knooow. Lisa!"  Haha, it's habit I guess cuz I'm really hoping you know it's the before without me telling you!)

 

 

 

 

After

 

There's not much to it, but it's a sweet, little thing and great for storage, too.

 

 

I painted it Swiss Coffee by Behr because that's what I used on my cabinets and it was still out! ;)

 

The top was another one of those faux cherry things, so I sanded it down and stained it with Java Gel.  The grain isn't very pronounced, and I like that it looks a little more rustic than cherry or mahogany would.

 

 

 

And, that's it.  Have a few bigger projects next week, so I'll be back at it. :)