UPDATING A VINTAGE BED FRAME

 



Summer is bed season, or more clearly explained .... summer is when I have space to build beds.
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BETTY BLUE BED


The Betty Blue Bed Frame

Here is her before and after ...

She was one of those discarded mid-century single beds we all see.


I added some decorative drawer fronts I had,


and lifted her spirits with some ornate chair backs and some legs. 


She is painted in a very soft blue and highlighted with antique white accents.


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Here are some unique hardware pieces available at

 
 
 
 
  



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SECRETS TO DISTRESSING WITH SANDPAPER - shabby chic chalk painted bed




Distressing a paint finish successfully is an art. For me it isn't simply loading up a palm sander and attacking. Let me share some of my secrets.


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SUPPORTING YOUR BED




Here are some tips on installing cross supports for your bed. This frame is built for a box spring and mattress, if you wanted to use it without a box spring you would need a center support to the floor and twice as many cross supports i.e.. 16



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OIL AND WATER AND PAINT - crackling paint



Another beautiful summer weekend gone, but enjoyed immensely. A few projects started and finished.
Summer days are so darn long, work can be done for hours. 
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PAINT TUTORIAL - white washing over grey







To find a step by step tutorial on how to achieve this finish:
http://4theloveofwood.blogspot.ca/2011/04/just-primer-and-some-wax-white-washed.html



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TIL NEXT TIME



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THRIFTING IN WESTERN CANADA

 
 
 
Some of our ABC of thrifting on the west coast.


Ask ...
 
Don't be shy think of it as if you were the seller, they don't mind. George quite often asks the
 home owner if they have any candles they want to sell. Not everyone thinks to bring out their
 old unwanted candles to a yard sale but everyone has unwanted candles they would like to get
money for. I recall one lady going into her home and coming back with handfuls for him free
 of charge. George melts the wax down, cleans it, mixes it, and makes new candles.
Recycling 101!

Buy ...
 
I buy what catches my eye and even though I resell many items it must be something I would want
in my own home. Same goes for you, buy what you love, and only what you love. Hey if someone
 is selling your exact printer cartridge with a good receipt date you don't need to love it just make
 sure it's a smoking deal.
Chances ...

Not every home owner is as prepared as the next and not every item will be priced before you arrive,
so if you like something and it isn't been marked yet take a chance and ask for a price. These are the
 moments most sellers are grateful for and will give you an even better deal than you had thought.
We all think we can get a bit more for an item when we are writing out price tags. However
when we have someone interested right there in front of us there is no time to think ...
give them the best price to get it out of the garage for good. SCORE for both the buyer and seller!
 

Demographics ...
 
We get asked how and where we find it all. Over time you do learn key words to look for when
reading garage sale listings, you also learn the good areas, and if you consider what it is you are
looking for and target the neighborhoods with the demographic that uses your item you have a great
 chance of finding it. For example George's canning jars ...
Country homes have gardens thus the home owner might do some canning and have left overs.

 

Estate Sales ...
 
This morning one address we found advertised took us from our planned route. I grumbled and
we struggled to even find it but we persisted and ended up at the best darn estate sale this year.
Oh Glory Be the furniture selection was amazing and the van filled fast.

 
Fun ...

Make sure to enjoy the experience and have fun. Thrifting with a GF can be a great outing. Yard
saling with your best guy can be a fun date. Be open to a chat with a home owner if it presents it's
 self. Some times you learn a lot about an item they have for sale or some information about
the neighborhood you didn't know. They may even give you a better deal after a nice chat.

 

Hardware ...

Do not walk past those boxes of miscellaneous items, you never know what you might find in
 there. When you do find that little thing you need to make something work better at home it
 might cost you a quarter. It's way cheaper than walking the isle of the hardware store.
 
  
Goals ...

I'm here to say it doesn't always work, but do your best to set goals for what you want to buy and what you want to spend. I like to leave the house with a certain amount of cash and when it's gone
I'm done.





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BUILDING A HALL TREE FROM AN OLD DOOR - annie sloan country grey







This is a hall tree I made using a vintage door. I thought outside of the box on this project for all the small details. Let me shared where they all came from or what they use to be.

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SOMETHING AMAZING

 
 
 
No matter how bad it gets
something amazing can come from it.
 
 
 
To see more of this transformation:
 

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FRIGHTENING TO FRENCH - french étagère






Many years ago I took a yard sale
dresser covered in sharpie marker
and built it into a French étagère.
Come see the before photo that
shocks everyone and follow the
story of how I did it.  
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NEW CHINA, NEW BOOK SHELF, AND THE WAY WE LIKE TO LIVE

 
 
For several weeks we have been searching for some new bowls on our Saturday morning outings.
 Some of our soup bowls have broken and we found ourselves constantly frustrated without
 the same amount of dishes as we were use to. I'm happy to say that last Saturday we finally found
some new bowls we really really liked.

Our new English China bowls
 
Our every day dishes are mostly second hand finds that we fall in love with.
We have 6 of this and 4 of that and we prefer it that way.
We once bought a box of country yellow mugs with matching salad plates and for good measure 
two additional plates with the same pattern but in green.
 
 
 We have also found some unusually shaped pieces, including this ginkgo plate and cabbage bowl.
 
 
But most of all we like purchasing fun patterned pieces that we have learned
not to be afraid of and to enjoy using them every day.
 
 
We ended up paying $2 each at a yard sale for our new bowls,
we simple couldn't resist the pink thistle design.

Alfred Meakin - Marigold - Astoria Shaped
The weather here in BC has been great for yard sales and for painting furniture
 


 
 
 
 


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VENEER - removal part 4 of 4



Here's the fourth article of the VENEER series.
*links to all articles are listed at the end of this article*

This article is how to easily remove large sections of veneer.


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VENEER - bubbles part 3 of 4




Here's the third article of the VENEER series.
*links to all articles are listed at the end of this article*

This article I will show you how to get
bubbled surface veneer glued back down.


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