Charcoal Side Tables

Long day. Short post. 

These were pretty standard maple end tables.  They are solid and were in good condition but I decided they could be a little more chic. 

Before

After

I took a FB poll and charcoal won, so charcoal it is.  I actually love it as being so cose to black but softer and just as grown up. It says tres chic!

 I can't believe it, but I didn't distress these at all.  I wanted them to look sleek and clean. 

 Love these antiqued silver knobs . 

Sorry this post is so short and blah but these are #4 and #5 this week and I am tired. :)  

ANOTHER Antique Sewing Table

I think this is the 4th antique sewing cabinet I've posted in the last two months.  I'm not sure why but all of the sudden they seem to be popping up everywhere.  

Funny story though...I was in a tiny little thrift shop and the lady asked me what I was looking for.  I told her furniture and she says, "Oh, honey!" And, then yells to her significant other, "Fred!  Take her out back!" I can't really remember his name, but you get the idea. :)  So, he tells me to follow him (and, thankfully, Craig was with me because I was a little unsure about this whole thing).  Well, behind this tiny little thrift store was a HUGE warehouse full of all kinds of "stuff" including lots of antique furniture!  You bet I was doing my little (inside) happy dance.  I was practically salivating!  We could barely walk through the building it was so jam packed full.  I'm looking around (and under) stuff and I turn to my right and see a whole stack of antique sewing machine tables!  I asked the guy about how much he would be asking for them and he says, "Oh, she's so tired of all this stuff, I'm sure she'll pretty much give it away!"  Pinch me please!!  Was I dreaming?! Nope!  Unfortunately, the truck was pretty full already and I had two more stops to make, so I picked the best one and told him I would be back for more. ;)

He said people are just throwing them away because they don't know what to do with them. 

 Lucky me!!  La-la-la love them!!

Last night I told Craig I was going to paint something purple today.  It was dark but I know the look he had on his face.  I said, "It's not really purple, it's plum (which to a man is purple), so it will be ok, right?" 

 Chirp, chirp, chirp.  No response. 

Craig doesn't like any color but black so I wasn't too put off. :)  I decided to be BRAVE and go for it!!
Plus, this piece was small so if it turns out meh then I'm not out too much. ;) 

Before

I've posted almost 300 furniture re-dos and I still write before underneath my pics. Lol.  I'm sure by now you know it's the before! ;)

 After

Sorry about the pics!  I had to put up a sheet behind it to cover up the ugly wall underneath it and then "iron" the sheet by airbrushing it. :)  And, it's hard to tell the color in this pic, but the one below is pretty accurate.  I love how deep and rich it is. This is one of those "you have to see it in person" pieces.

I thought this little table was looking more upscale so I chose some pretty crystal knobs for it.

The top turned out so pretty.  There's a lot of depth to the wood and I think it compliments the color nicely. 

That's three pieces in 3 days this week.  My goal is 5 pieces this week, so I'm on track so far! :)
 Hope I have enough for the show!!

By the way, I don't even think I mentioned it on here!
My first show (I'm teaming up with two other lovely ladies) is on
April 26th from 10-2 @ 254 Allouez, WI!!

Black Cedar Chest

This cedar chest is such a great, solid piece and I've never seen one this tall.  

It's very rustic and due to it's blocky shape and geometric designs I decided to redo the top and paint the rest of it black.  It would be awesome in an entry way to sit on while you put your shoes on and to store extra hat, coats, mittens, etc. 

Before

Please excuse my garage.  It has to wait until nice weather to be completed so all of our stuff is just stacked against the work bench right now.  I'm sure you could care less, but I kinda do. ;)

 After

I never get tired of black with warm wood tones peeking through!

 It's got lots of little details that add interest.  I thought about doing this one two tone, but decided it would look too busy, so basic black it is!  

Antique Waterfall Cedar Chest

I found this cedar chest in a cramped little thrift store.  I'm so glad it went unnoticed!  I wish I knew who it first belonged to and how many people stored their treasures in it over the decades. 

You already know I'm not a huge fan of waterfall furniture, but this had a great scalloped base and a beautiful top (and the inside is perfect) so it went in the back of the truck to come home and be loved again. :)

 Before

 After

I decided I wasn't going to take the wardrobe I recently finished to my furniture show, so I wanted to take something else that color (because I love it!).  This is Drizzle from SW mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with another turquoise I had on hand.  

 Such a pretty piece of wood on the top.  Stained in Java Gel from General Finishes.  Love the light and dark in the grain!

I can see this piece at the end of some little princess's bed!

Linked up here:

French Country? Hutch

Every once in a while I will get the bug to do a hutch.  And almost every time I wonder why in the h@#* I wanted to do a hutch.  I get about 1/2 way through and start hating life.

I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with this one, so I went to Hancock Fabric for some inspiration.  I found the loveliest print and then it just came to me.

When I say it came to me, I mean I knew, in my head, what I wanted it to look like.  BUT, fate usually takes it's course and what's in my head doesn't always translate to real life.  Thus is the case with this piece.  It kind of morphed about half way through because I started with the bottom and seriously thought I was going to have to make a trip to the ER because of the way my arm felt.  Ok, ok, that's a slight exaggeration, but it was A LOT of work!! I don't like using an electrical sander because you have so much less control and it tends to look like you did it with a sander. So, this baby was distressed by hand (and arm and shoulder).  Won't be doing that again for a while!

Before

 After

This is a little out of my comfort zone, so I'm curious to know what you think!

 I'm still looking at it. 

 I do absolutely adore this fabric.  It has that french country vibe to me.  I love how it's soft and casual, but girly and upscale at the same time. 

 Oh, this makes my arm hurt just looking at it! BUT, I do love how the distressing turned out!  It's just a lot heavier than I normally do. 

 I could not find knobs that I was happy with so I finally went to my local lumber store and found these.  They were originally black so I sprayed them and the pull with oil rubbed bronze so they would all match. 

 She's pretty!

Have a great weekend!

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Oak Secretary

Last Saturday I made a furniture run (desperately trying to find pieces for my upcoming show!) and drove 1 hr 15 min to pick up two pieces.  Well, I was feeling a little guilty for going so far for two pieces so I got on my CL on my phone (Craig was driving, so no worries!) and looked up a few more pieces.  I think I might have mentioned that CL has not been kind to me lately, so I was surprised when I found two great pieces!  I called them up and both of them were available for me to come by! 

 Score!  

When I walked into this guys garage I was so happy because this was such a solid, beautiful piece.  Ah-those chunky legs!  

 Before

 After

I really could not picture this in anything but black.  It looks so stately now!  

 I had some feminine knobs, but they just didn't have the right feel.  So, I went with these black, distressed metal knobs.  Love the little detail in them. 

 The inside was immaculate so I decided to leave it be.  Just love the little metal library pulls on the drawers!

Linked up here:

Antique Highboy with Butterfly

The man I bought this from said it belonged to his mother.  She loved collecting antiques and bought this little beauty at an estate sale.  She took very good care of it which I am very thankful for! :)

I knew I wanted to lighten it up and, of course, I knew I wanted to accent the cute oval on the middle drawer.  

This piece is all mahogany and the bleed through was bad again.  I just took a deep breath and gave it several coats of shellac throughout the whole process.  Does anyone else have issues with bleed through even when using shellac or a primer like Kilz?  Have I ever mentioned it is my biggest  pet peeve (I'm sure I haven't ;) )!

 Before

 After

I'm so into gray right now!  I love how clean and crisp it feels paired with the white.  It's such a great neutral, too!

 I wanted the oval to really stand out, so I heavily white washed it and then used the wax paper method to transfer this lovely little graphic I found.  I like how it's eye catching, but still subtle.

 I haven't used these in a while and forgot how much I adore them!  Love the warmth of the antiquing with the cool hues of the shiny silver. 

 The legs and skirt are the only places I really distressed this piece.  I saw all those ridges and couldn't help myself. 

 She's got a great finish!

Have a busy week so on to the next one! :)

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