Happy Spring!

Well I'm back. I've not been lost in the winter void...or was I? OK, maybe I was a little. I have a few makeovers to show you today and hopefully you'll like at least one of them. ;p

Alright, so I guess I'll go backwards because that's how my memory is working today. This desk was neglected. Oh so neglected. It was covered in mold and was grimy and gross. The poor woman that owns it had sanded her heart out to try to get rid of the mold but all she needed to do was call me. Well, she did, but not before she wore her arms out, I'm sure. It just needed a litle TSP...or A LOT of TSP and A LOT of paper towels. Cleaning pieces is not my favorite part. Here is the before picture of the poor thing.

Some of the not white parts you see is wood grain but most of it, folks, is grimy white. Yeah...it was kinda bad. So she decided she wanted a Chinoiserie style and that's what I did. I painted the whole thing red, then black on top and distressed so that the red showed through. The hardware, which is obviously not shown, was painted gold. Now I do not normally like gold anything but it really popped against the black and I'm quite fond of how this desk turned out. Of course, I'm biased I suppose. I did paint the thing.

The pictures aren't great. It was too sunny, I think (aww, for shame). Great for painting, not for taking pictures. Anyway, you get the feel for it!

Let's see, this next one is pretty straight forward. We have a plain cedar chest and a side table. The side table had been painted previously and even looked like it had been antiqued but it looked more like a lot of stuff had been spilled on it and didn't get cleaned from the crevices. Yeesh...it looks much better after. She just wanted a clean, simple yellow for both.

OK, this last one was some work. I should have known better but apparently I didn't. It is a mahogany vanity. What does mahogany do? It bleeds. It bleeds like no other piece of furniture has bled before in the history of furniture. So I painted it white, la di da. I come back an hour later and the whole thing is pink. I go about things the stubborn and hard way and paint it white again. There, that should do it. Nope...it's just a little less pink. Oooooookkkkkk, fiiiiiiiiiine! I guess I'll get in my car and trek five whole miles to Lowes to get some shellac...what a burden!! So I do and then I shellac it, and then I paint it white. Lord knows it was better but gosh dang it if there weren't a few places with a delicate shade of pink. So I shellac it again....paint it white....again........and then put the poly on. OK, finally, it's white. The whole thing....Oh, and I gave it a new cushion and upholstery job. :) OK OK, here is the before and after.

I antiqued it a little bit to bring out the details which were lovely.

That's all folks! Now that I'm back in the game I'll be posting much more regularly. Hopefully weekly if business gets good! See you soon!

Well, this will just have to do!

I finally have the after pics of the 1930's Typewriter desk! Ain't that somethin'? Took me long enough, right? Yeah, OK. So when I bought this desk is what pretty beat up. I mean you try living 70 or so years without a few scars, right? Once I started working on it, though, I realized that it was in worse shape than it seemed. I had my hands full and spent several more hours than I projected to have it done! But I did it and I learned some things along the way. One being that wood filler is great but you may have to apply and sand two or three times to get the results you want. Also, do not buy the wood filler in the tubes. It's just not the same even with the same brand name. Buy a tub because you're probably going to use it eventually. Also, I suggest getting "paintable" AND "stainable". They're right next to each other...do yourself a favor and get them both.

Here he is before:

And here he is after:

The body is painted Royal Navy, the top was restained in Cherry, and I gave him some new hardware. He was missing a knob and the client who bought this likes vintage with a modern twist and I thought these were perfect. I also reupholstered her old chair to match the desk. Here are befores and afters of it.

 

It's amazing how paint or new fabric totally transforms!

I've got a BUNCH of new stuff coming soon that I'll be taking to the fair this coming Saturday so be looking out for them!! I'm so excited!