Show Stopper

I was so excited when I came across this antique highboy.  It was in beautiful condition, but was missing all but two of the original pulls.  I love the rope detailing and the corner pieces...not to mention the feet!  I drove an hour to pick it up (which I NEVER do!).  I had my own plans for it, but then my client saw it and asked if I would do it red for her.  I've been wanting to do something red so it was fate, right?  I chose the color Show Stopper from SW.  It's a deeper red (it looks brighter than it really is in the pics) and I love the contrast of the color against the darker wood underneath.  

Sometimes the hardest part (other than peeling stinking veneer!) of this job is finishing a beautiful piece of furniture and having to see it go out the door! ;)

 Before--you can see why it was love at first sight, right??!

 After

I wish I had bigger muscles (or could just drag my boys around with me) so I could have taken pictures of this one outside.   The pics just don't so the color justice!

I didn't want to prime because I didn't want another color showing when I distressed it (and apparently you cannot get a primer tinted red because it only turns out pink).  So, I used an all surface enamel and had to do 4 coats!  I didn't think I was ever going to finish it--but the results were well worth it!

 She's a looker for sure!  Just makes me smile seeing it!

 Just <3 all of these details. 

 You know I couldn't pass up a foot shot! ;)  I just LOVE these!!  Ok, I need to stop looking at it because it's still in my shop and I might not let it leave!  

 I let my daughter pick out these knobs.  Aren't they fantastic?!  I love when the hardware just "fits" the piece and these do!

Because I didn't prime, when I distressed the paint ended up looking chippy and I love it!

color = Showstopper SW

poly = Minwax in semi-gloss

hardware = Hobby Lobby and local hardware store

Linking up here:   Yea!

Buffet

This buffet was beautiful to begin with. I almost felt guilty painting it. But, it wasn't mine or my decision, so what's a girl gonna do (ummm...paint it, of course! ;) )? It turned out so beautifully that any guilt I had I got over. :) 

Before

It was too big to take pictures in my shop, so my client was nice enough to send me pics of it in its home. Love it against the black wall!

After

Black looks upscale and I love it, but I have a soft spot for the simple, clean, classic look of white.  Every girl should have a good piece of white furniture --just my opinion. ;)

Antique desk/vanity

I love this style of vanity!  Is it terrible to admit that I've secretly coveted finding one?  I had so much fun doing this one.  I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it and fortunately my client said I could do whatever I thought best.  Love that. ;)  It truly is a stunning piece of furniture.  I told her I loved it and she said she'd sell it to me--how's that for a twist! ;)

Sorry about this before--had to take it on my phone

You get the idea

Cade sanded the top off for me--love when I get free help!

 After

Super details.  I know you probably get sick of me saying this, but I LOVE it. lol

I always love a dark wood top against white.    

 These spindles have such a great texture (all crackly and flaky)--wish my camera was good enough to pick it up.  Im thinking that should be my  next splurge.

 This makes my heart flutter. :D  These drawers feel like a baby's butt. :)

 <3 <3 

The top is just gorgeous.  I used Dark Walnut from Minwax and then gave it 3 coats of poly in a semi gloss.

I really liked the shape of the original hardware, so I just gave it a light spray of black and then distressed it.

I think this one is my all time favorite so far!

Linked up here:

Carter's Cottage

TV Console II

This is the second dresser turned tv cabinet I've done this week.  I like it just as much as the first (probably because they look almost identical!). :)

 Before

 After

Had a mishap with the top of this one (it's actually a laminate).  Ended up having to peel off the top and start over.  Wish everything went perfectly every time, but it doesn't!  It was par for the course this week. 

Dresser to TV Console

I've had several people ask me to turn a dresser into a TV console.  So glad I have a handy man for projects like this! (I just have to say--he really is good to me!)  I didn't want to piece the inside shelf together, so we unscrewed the top and slipped the MDF shelf into the inside, after we (you know I use the term "we" loosely, as I usually am the assistant with tools while he does all the actual work) made sure there was enough support on the inside to hold the shelf.  Then I drug my family with me to Home Depot (where they ask me the entire time how long it is going to take me) and picked out a piece of trim to cover up the edge of the MDF.  If you know what you're doing (which now we do :) ) it's not a hard project, just takes some measuring and cutting.

I see these long dressers everywhere.  It was a nice dresser (Broyhill), just needed a little updating. 

 Before

 After

You have to run your fingertips across this one. ;)

The second one is coming up next....

She Loves Me....She Loves Me Not

Do I or don't I?  I don't know!  I loved the idea of doing a graphic on the front of this little antique dresser.  I think I will just take you through my journey of blood, sweat, and tears with her.

She started out like this....

Simple, clean lines with a little detail which happened to be a groove all the way around the edge of the drawers.  This got me thinking.....I love French Typography and I thought this would be the perfect dresser to try it out on....

I asked a friend if I could borrow his projector because it just hooked up to my laptop and I thought it would be easier than trying to print off my graphic on a clear sheet and then trying to get an overhead projector.  Well, 6 hours later I finally had the dang thing set up with the image the way I wanted it on the dresser.....except when I tried to trace the image my big, fat head was in the way the whole time!  That was fun...and my paint pen kept going dry, so I switched to a sharpie (which I've read dozens of others have used successfully!), only to find out that when I went to distress the graphic the paint came off and left blue lines from the black sharpie....nice!  And, the paint from the pen smeared and smudged all over and I had to spend the whole next day sanding off the gray...nice!  By this time I was ready to throw it over the railing of my deck!  I finished it, clear coated it, took pictures of it, and then stood back and looked at it and decided I hated it!!  

Here she is with the french graphic...

Now, you may think this looks ok, but trust me when I say it did not!   It just looked dirty, and "dirty" is not really what I was after. ;)  I suppose the idea was great in theory, but if I am ever brave enough to try this again I will.....oh, who am I kidding?  I will NEVER try this again.  (Or maybe it's like childbirth and after a while you forget how painful the experience was and give it another go--who knows?!)

Well, I still wanted a graphic, so I chose something much simpler.  I won't bore you with all the details (again!) but it did not go as I planned either and I realized I could have finished 5 normal dressers in the time it took me to do this one! 

I'm still not sure how I feel about it, so I need your opinions (but, please remember I do have feelings!).

If the consensus is not good then I will just paint it white and call it good!

Here she is now:

I can't even talk about it at this point so I will just post the rest of the pics. :)

I really like this part. :)