GENEROSITY, HARD WORK, and PROVENCE

 

You hear the stories of ppl donating time or money to a good cause and the perception is they will get

 it back two fold. Pay it forward is what we call it these days, and this is my story of paying it

forward and my perception of getting it back.

 

 

One day while out picking I came across a voucher in my wallet for money off at a popular clothing

 store. I had forgotten all about it and it was due to expire that day!!! I didn't have the time to go

 shopping for clothes so I did the next best thing. I found the store, waited a moment in the parking

 lot until the next customer approached, handed it off to her, then I was off.

 

At my very next stop I found this beautiful French solid wood dresser. In these parts I can't afford to

 buy a dresser like this to repaint and sell, they are just too expensive. Well this one was priced low

 enough for me to get really excited about and for me to afford. So I paid the man and got it loaded in

 the van. I didn't put 2 and 2 together about the free money I had just given away and the great deal I

had just found until later when I was happily painting away. It made me smile.

 

 

I worked very thoughtfully to achieve an amazing color combination for the finished piece, but

 this photo shoot needed some very hard work. This piece was so big for my little showroom most of

 the other furniture had to be moved out of the room. I stacked 4 tables in front of the bathtub, the

hallway had less than a foot for me to shimmy down one side when I had to get the camera, and the

 front door couldn't be opened for the stack of furniture I piled there.

 

 

The color is ASCP Provence with a brown 4 layered color distressing on top.

 

For those wanting to learn more about how to achieve this look I will post information this week.

For those interested in purchasing this piece it is now listed on the SHOWROOM page

with price and dimensions.

 

*********************************

 

 

 

 

Would you like to receive a copy of my daily posts to your inbox? Subscribe here

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

If you are looking for specific information you might like to:

check out the FAQ page

THE THRIFT STORE PRICING GURU

 

 

 

When you are looking to buy a pair of something second hand they can be fairly expensive.

Especially with nightstands, ppl want pairs and the pricing guru in the back of the thrift store knows

 it. Well consider buying single nightstands at a fraction of the cost and paired them together.

The pricing guru also knows single nightstands take much longer to sell.

 

 

If you look carefully at the details, the edges, and the curves of these nightstands you will see they are

 NOT identical. In fact they were bought at 2 different thrift stores 2 months apart at half the cost. I

made them look the same by drawing your eye away from the differences and focusing it on

similarities I created. The left one is 1" wider than the right but both came out the same height with

the addition of new legs from another second hand purchase.

 

 

The soft turquoise color, mixed from ASCP Florence and white was repeated over all 4 drawer faces.

The ornate embellishments are antique metal door knob plates that originally sat vertically. I antiqued

 around the plates with AS dark wax and a small brush.

 

 

A comprehensive tutorial on using dark wax can be found here:

http://4theloveofwood.blogspot.ca/2013/01/aging-your-finish-tutorial.html

 

 

I hope you have been inspired!
  

****************************
 

Stop in to see what's new in shabby chic white hardware available at firstfinds.

 

There are over 1000 pieces of used hardware to choose from

Etsy Shop.

 

 



 

 

Would you like to receive a copy of my daily posts to your inbox? Subscribe here

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

If you are looking for specific information you might like to:

check out the FAQ page

SHABBY CHIC PAINT LAYERING

 

 Each one of these little side tables came to me painted already in a vibrant color.

The paint jobs were poor and rough with runs here and there but this makes for

great paint layering and fun distressed technics. I sprayed all three white and then

played with each to get a unique look with distressing over the original colors.

Rough areas add texture and layers of paint add age, but because I sprayed and

waxed them they now have a nice smooth finish.

 

 

This little Venetian table was painted in a royal blue.

 

This solid wood half moon side table had a strong moss green underneath.

 

And this antique 3 tiered table was painted in a sea foam bluish green

 

Each of these tables is listed on the SHOWROOM page with price and dimensions.

 

******************************

 

 

 

 

 

Would you like to receive a copy of my daily posts to your inbox? Subscribe here

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

If you are looking for specific information you might like to:

check out the FAQ page

PROVINCIAL CHAIRS

 

 

I found a couple of good chairs over the weekend and started painting them as soon as they arrived home. The weather has been quite nice and sunny lately which makes it possible for me to spray

 outside. They are classic French Provincial dining chairs great for a desk or bedroom vanity. I tried

one at George's desk and it looked amazing but there are already so many chairs here that

the law has to be put down regarding what stays and what goes. And these chairs must go! After

all that's why I bought them.

 

 

I sprayed them in a 50-50 mix of ASCP Old White & Pure White.

 

 

The seats got new foam and new French script upholstery.

 

 

Check out the SHOWROOM page for details.

 

*********************************************

 



Would you like to receive a copy of my daily posts to your inbox? Subscribe here

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

If you are looking for specific information you might like to:

check out the FAQ page

I HACKED THE HEMNES SECRETARY DESK

 

 

I'm not sure what constitutes an official Ikea Hack but check out what I did to

an Ikea Hemnes Secretary Desk.

 

 

Below to the left is what an original Hemnes Secretary Desk looks like (older model)

On the right is how it looks after I replacing the legs with curvy dining table legs.

 

BEFORE                                         AFTER

 

 

The Hemnes Secretary Desk is all pine wood and the top portion is all complete and can be

 separated from the bottom by undoing eight "L" brackets.

That will leave you with a simple base frame to work with. You can see each of the

brackets sitting at the top edge on the inside of the frame.

 

These metal corner brackets are original and held the straight leg in place. I moved them

down to line up with the threaded rod of the replacement leg. 

I then reattached the top to the base and painted it in a creamy distressed white.

 

 

There is a bankers chair that goes with the desk. It is a modern oak chair with a really

high lift that works perfectly with the desk. I cut out areas for the chair arms to tuck right

under the desk when it's not being used. 

 

This IKEA Hacked secretary desk with bankers chair is listed on the SHOWROOM page with

price and dimensions.

************************************

 

 

Would you like to receive a copy of my daily posts to your inbox? Subscribe here

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

If you are looking for specific information you might like to:

check out the FAQ page

THE PORCELAIN & BRASS CHINA CABINET

 

 

I see nice china cabinets that I want to paint all the time but moving them and finding the extra space

 for them is horrible in our small quarters. This one came on a sunny day so I start to work on it

outside. A friend had been trying to fill a dining room nook and this turned out to be the right piece.

 It's made of oak and has some of the coolest details. I took off 3 doors from the top and repurposed

 them into kitchen signs.

 

 

I sprayed the rest of the cabinet in ASCP Old White and added a black and white wallpaper interior.

 

 

The aged oak did lovely things to the paint color and I get a nice shine when I buffed the wax.  

 

 

 

 

Each section of the backer boards were different pieces of hard board, so I remove the finishing nails

 holding each in place and wallpapered them one at a time. Much easier than one large piece.

The porcelain and brass knobs and handles are original but some parts were missing.

When I took the doors off the top I was able to steal 2 of the porcelain knobs for the bottom.

 

 

 

I'd like to do more china cabinets but we'll have to see how much space is available this winter.

 

************************************

 

Shared with:

 



Would you like to receive a copy of my daily posts to your inbox? Subscribe here

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

If you are looking for specific information you might like to:

check out the FAQ page

TIFFANY BLUE NIGHTSTAND

 

 

My Tiffany Blue is AS Provence mixed with Old White.

 

 

Once upon a time I found these curly legs at a yard sale. They were all by their lonesome

sitting a top a pile of junk. The aren't really legs they are called harp arms and held a mirror

on top of a dresser long ago. They are made of solid wood and perfect for lifting this small cabinet.

 

 

The nightstand is Canadian Made solid maple.

 

I found a door at the Restore. They have tons of doors with all the measurements handy so I went

prepared with my numbers and found one the exact size I needed. The hole was already in the door

 for the knob so I went with the placement. I know it is off from where we are use to seeing it

but I like it there.

 

 

 

BEFORE                          AFTER

 

I hand painted all the trim detail with AS Old White and distressed all the edges.

The knobs are amazing, the centers are crystal rhinestones and the gold and blue pedals are metal.

 

 

 

 

Would you like to receive a copy of my daily posts to your inbox? Subscribe here

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

If you are looking for specific information you might like to:

check out the FAQ page