Blog Archives
Rocking Chair Makeover
Have I mentioned before that I dislike painting chairs? I think I have, but if not I’ll tell you why… they take FOR-EV-ER! All those little spindles to paint, distress, wax and buff… very time consuming. I haven’t painted any chairs in a while but I have a TON coming up, 2 dining sets worth! Before I get to those chairs though I had a client of mine bring me this really nice Windsor style rocking chair to update for her baby’s room. So here we go…
BEFORE
Lucky for me she fell in love with and purchased the chest below which will coordinate with her vintage walnut bed that will be in the bedroom eventually.
She wanted the rocking chair to be finished the same as the drawers on the chest. So first I sprayed the chair with a white primer, not because I needed to but because we wanted a secondary color to show through when the chair was distressed. The top coat formula is a 50/50 mix of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Provence and Florence, such a pretty color!
This is what the color looks like after I distressed and oiled it with Watco Rejuvenating Oil.
Here is the same arm after an application of Briwax dark wax, it changes the color to a very pretty soft green-blue. You can clearly see the difference when compared to the seat.
WOW! I just think this rocking chair is a stunner now!
All these great lines accentuated with the distressing!
This chair has the look of a much used and loved antique now!
Even though this rocking chair is going in the baby’s room it would look great anywhere… even in my Sunroom 
Hopefully this chair will get to enjoy lots of rocking time with the baby!
Hope you enjoyed this makeover!
A Couple of Cute Table Makeovers
Thank goodness we didn’t get any of snow from the big storm that has hit the Northeast… but I feel for those of you who have! Stay safe and keep warm!
These are a couple of little tables that I finished up a few days ago…
I remembered to take a before shot of this one… maybe because it was so hideous I didn’t think you would believe me! It looks like the top Formica but it really is just marbled contact paper, VERY classy!
BEFORE
I was able to peel the contact paper off rather easily, but the glue residue took me a while to remove… I used paint thinner and steel wool to remove the residue and let it dry before I painted it.
Look how cute it is in a fresh new coat of CeCe Caldwell’s Carolina Sunshine Yellow! I just love this yellow, it is so perky and bright! While I wouldn’t paint my walls this color an accent piece in this shade is just fabulous! On a side not check out my Daffodils coming up through the mulch… I’m so excited and ready for Spring!
This little table is very similar but I don’t have any “BEFORE” pictures. I did have to remove the veneer on the top and sand it down REALLY good, but structurally it was in good shape.
I wanted to use this one in my oldest daughter’s “new” room so I decided to paint it in Provence Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, this color is still one of my all time favorite colors!
Now she has a perfect little spot to drop her purse, put on her shoes or have a place for a friend to sit other than her bed…
You can usually find these kind of tables super cheap, I think I got both of these for $10. Most of the time the tables are in bad shape and/or wobbly, if so they are VERY easy to disassemble and fix so don’t pass them up as they can be perfect tables for a small space!
We are keeping the blue one, but the yellow one was sold before I could even get this post written!
Thanks for stopping by as always…
Until next time!
A Perfect Catch All Piece for the Kitchen
My client Tina recently brought me this peitite buffet to make all pretty for her. She found the buffet on Craig’s List, it was the perfect size for the catch-all spot in her kitchen… you know a place where you can hide all of the “crap” you don’t want to look at! While this piece fit her needs size wise… it was not cosmetically what she wanted in her beautiful kitchen.
The buffet did have quite a few minor problems (and a lot of gunky buildup) which I took care of prior to painting but overall it was in pretty good shape for its age…
BEFORE
She wanted the buffet painted in Old White and the drawer fronts is a mix of Duck Egg & Old White (3:1), it truly is a very pretty combination!
I didn’t distress it too much… and I used Briwax wax to seal the paint.
She had purchased these cute acrylic knobs from Pottery Barn, I like them so much better than the original knobs… they add a touch of whimsy to the piece…
The buffet didn’t have a lot of detailing to it, but where there was detail I wanted to highlight it.
I also carried the blue up to the top back…
I hope she will enjoy seeing this buffet in her kitchen now!
I really adore this petite buffet and could totally use it just about anywhere in my house… hmmm… now I need to look for one like this to update for myself!
A special thanks to Tina for being such a wonderful repeat client… you keep bringing them and I’ll keep making them look awesome!
Thanks so much for stopping by…
Until next time!!!
Linking to these parties!
Domestically Speaking, From My Front Porch to Yours, French Country Cottage, Redoux Interiors, Miss Mustard Seed
I Am a Little Obsessed with this Chest of Drawers
How can I not be obsessed with this tall chest? Look at all of those yummy drawers, the multiple sizes, the mix of pulls, the lovely legs not to mention the wood details… just fabulous! Ok… so maybe she looks a little worse for wear, but that’s the way I like them! Maybe it’s because I think that no matter what I do to it the end result HAS to be better than what I started with 
This particular chest is in very good shape, it had some small areas of missing veneer on the drawer fronts and some scratches on the side but it is extremely well built!
BEFORE
The picture below is my first attempt, which didn’t work for two reasons… the stencil was too small and the stencil cream smeared and rubbed off when I went to distress it… I’m going to have to call the company to understand why, but in the meantime I had to start all over again on the drawers… ARGH!!!
This final attempt worked soooo much better for me! The design was proportional and the paint behaved exactly as I knew it would…
I painted the cabinet in Graphite and the drawer fronts in a custom mix of Graphite and Pure White Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.
I laid the chest on its back and traced the shape onto the drawer fronts. I hand painted the design with Graphite Chalk Paint to coordinate with the cabinet.
I sprayed the knobs with Krylon’s Gold Plate spray paint, I think the gold / grey color combination pops!
I used a wet scrub sponge to distress the chest… again it is so cold in the garage that I had to finish this piece inside so sandpaper was out of the question.
I waxed the chest with clear Briwax… I normally would not use this inside because of the smell but I did it this time anyway… I’m living on the edge for sure…
I love the end results! I think she is quite the stunner now! Certainly a unique, one of a kind chest!
I hope you like her too, I think she is one of my favorite pieces so far! As always thanks for stopping by…
Until Next time!
Linking up to these parties!
French Country Cottage, My Romantic Home, Chic on a Shoestring, Miss Mustard Seed, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Between Naps on the Porch, The Dedicated House, Coastal Charm, A Stroll Thru Life, Elizabeth and Co., Savvy Southern Style
It’s Called Using What You’ve Got
Happy New Year everyone! I didn’t work too much over the Christmas holiday, but I did get this easy project done… and while I realize that most people may not have two vintage Singer sewing machine bases on hand, we did… actually I only had one, but I found an exact match at an auction and snatched it up in order to do this project!
We (really me) wanted to make a table for the kids playroom… I had just bought a low vintage chest that I’m repurposing as a window seat (with storage!) and I wanted a table to sit in front of it for the kids to play with their houses etc.… They love building towns and frequently have their “towns” setup all over the floor and will play with them for days!
This is the story of the build… (it TOTALLY looks like SAH is doing all of the work in these pictures, but he’s not… someone has to take the pictures right?)
We used 3 6×10 pine planks and lined them up on a flat surface.
We attached the planks together with 3 pieces of 1×2’s using 2 wood screws in each plank. We drilled pilot holes prior to screwing… very important or else the wood can split!
We left a gap between each plank, using a paint stir stick as a template, very hi tech!
We sanded the top and sides of the planks with 150 grit sandpaper and took all of the pieces to the playroom to assemble. We attached the top to the bases with wood screws and set the table in place.
I stained the top of the table in place, I REALLY should have stained the planks first because I had to use a teeny tiny brush to get the stain in between the planks… I will remember this for next time! The stain is “Kona” and I only applied one coat as it is a very dark color.
I’m so glad I had all of this help 
I knew I wanted to do something else with the top and this is what I came up with… The stencil shape just happens to mimic the shapes in the sewing table bases…
I used the same used the Moorish Trellis Stencil from Royal Design Studio I used on the stenciled bookcase transformation and some Benjamin Moore paint I had color matched to Provence ASCP… just a quick roll with the sponge roller, seriously it took maybe 10 minutes to do…
After the paint dried I applied a coat of Briwax Dark Wax to the surface which toned down the blue and gave it an aged appearance, it also added a beautiful richness to the finish…
After the dark wax had dried I applied a coat of Annie Sloan clear wax, making sure to rub it in really good. The next day I came back with some 0000 steel wool and buffed it… what a gorgeous sheen!
This is the perfect place for the kids to sit and play now! They can play board games or setup their LPS houses or whatever! My oldest daughter doesn’t understand why we went through the “trouble” of making this table look nice as she is certain the kids will “mess it up” but I have some faith… 
Anyway here is the breakdown of the costs & time in case you are interested:
Sewing table bases: $24 for both (what!, I know…)
Wood: $44
Total = $68
Total time = 2 hrs.
I think that’s pretty awesome for a one of a kind table that is custom made for the space!
I’m super excited and I hope the kids will enjoy using the table! I’m also hoping that the extra storage added with the bench will help the playroom stay more organized but I’m not holding my breath! I still need to make a bench cushion, but I tend to procrastinate when it comes to sewing projects so it may be a while before I get to it…
What do you think… is the table just too nice for the playroom?
As always thanks for stopping by!
Until next time…
Linking to these parties!
Domestically Speaking, French Country Cottage, From My Front Porch to Yours, My Romantic Home, Between Naps on the Porch, Coastal Charm, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, The Dedicated House, A Jennuine Life, Miss Mustard Seed
