furniture ~ you can do this!

I have a very dear friend who asked me for some tips & tricks lately… she wanted to paint some furniture in her home to make it more 'her'.  And I've got to show you what she did, because these two pieces are gorgeous!

Sadly, we don't have a before.  But you can imagine dark, pickled wood.  That pretty much sums it up. These pictures were taken with my iphone, I promise I'll bring my good camera next time & get some better shots!

Drum roll for Alison's beautiful work, please…

This piece is in her dining room.  It was very heavy & traditional before, but Alison is going for a more clean & modern look now.

Isn't it gorgeous??  She used a Benjamin Moore color that she had on hand from painting her son's room a while back.  Love love love it!

The next piece is in her family room… I practically drooled over it, I think you will too!  They are about to move the tv to be installed over their mantle, hence the equipment & wires you see.

I love that Alison took on the challenge & want others to as well… you can do this, friends!!  Turn something that you own but don't necessarily love into something you treasure… in a day or two :)

thanks for stopping by!
kathie

one huge ornate piece

This piece was another doozy ~ seems like I've had a lot of those lately.

Before:

As you can see, I was drawn to the solid wood top, great deep & functional drawers and the ornate cabinet fronts.  If you could have seen the dust/junk under those hideous pulls ~ eeeewwww, it gives me chills just thinking about it :(

I stripped & then heavily sanded the top to get down to bare wood.  Primed & painted the piece in color matched Heirloom White (in a Behr premium paint, just trying to use it all up!).  Kept the original hardware on the drawers & added some new, *much* more simple hardware for the cabinet doors.

During:

And, after:

I LOVE it.  I may have trouble parting with it :)  We shall see!

*Updated to add:  At the right price, I didn't have too much trouble parting with it.  Ha!  I LOVE Miss Mustard Seed's recent post about her attachment to her stuff since starting her business.  She shared that she's sold things she *never* thought she'd sell since she now has the right access to replace her pieces with even better ones.   I had to leave her a comment & share that I have the exact same sentiments!  I've had neighbors & family members aghast at some of the things I've sold (no family heirlooms or anything, just favorite pieces) but I know now that there will be others down the road.  My husband likes to tell folks who come to our home that "everything" is for sale except the children :)  And although that is not entirely true, there is not a lot I wouldn't sell for the right price!

thanks for coming by!

kathie

linking to these great parties:

Restore Interiors Restored It Wednesday

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

My repurposed Life's Catch as Catch Can

Primitive & Proper's Piece of Work Wednesdays

Perfectly Imperfect's All things Furniture

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia's Tuesday's Treasures

yummy side table

This table was brought to me & I had my doubts.  It was coated laminate pressboard.  Not my usual thing.  But I gave it my all & I LOVE it.  Good-bye original shiny brass hardware & shiny white finish!

Before:

After 2 coats of Paris Gray, clear wax and then dark wax, plus perfect new hardware:

The drops are from HL and although I love them, they are much too small for a lot of my projects.  But they're perfect for this piece.  And the pulls came off of a desk I got at the GW eons ago… I literally bought the desk (for $7), took the hardware off (the piece was hideous & in awful shape) and donated the desk right back!  Oh yes, I did!  But you can see why… I got 6 of these gorgeous pulls out of the deal :)

Thanks for stopping by!
kathie

Can you help?

Hi friends,

This post is not about furniture, decorating, makeovers or colors.

It is about a family who is in need of some serious help & prayer.

I do not personally know this family, but have received their caringbridge page from several friends who are 'friends of friends' or who know the family personally.

From reading their story, the gist of it is this:

 On July 1, while on a family vacation in Blue Ridge GA, their family's van was struck from behind (at 100 mph) by a drunk driver.  One of their daughters died at the scene.  Two daughters were very badly injured (with injuries like broken legs, shattered pelvis, etc.).  And their only son suffered a catastrophic spinal chord injury and is now not only paralyzed but also ventilator dependent.

They've been receiving care in Chattanooga and the sisters have been discharged to the local Ronald McDonald house for outpatient rehab.  However, the young boy is in need of more comprehensive inpatient care and they have chosen to bring him here to Atlanta to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta ( CHOA at Scottish Rite, on the north side of town) for that care.

Here is the link to their site:

Caring for the Johnsons

When we have needed urgent medical care for the boys, I have been brought to my knees in gratitude to have CHOA  literally down the street.  In the middle of the night, with no traffic, we can be there in about 7 minutes ~ door to door.  I've often been thankful that IF we ever needed care for a serious long-term problem, we could probably stay in the neighborhood and get the best care possible for our children.

I cannot imagine what it must be like to have suffered the loss & injuries that this family has.  And now that they are switching care providers, they are still not able to go 'home'.

I would love for this post to create awareness of this family ~ even if only one prayer is said for them, that is enough for me to have shared it here.

But what I have heard from friends is that they would love to find a place to live while they are here.
Do you know of anyone with an empty house/condo/townhome that is relatively close to CHOA who would be willing to share it with a family in need?

While I don't have a home to share (I sure wish I did!) what I DO have is access to a lot of great furniture :)  If a place is found for them, I would love to help them furnish it so that it will be as comfortable as it can possibly be for them.

Please pray for this sweet family, friends!  And hug your children ~ gosh, it brings me to tears to think of what these parents have experienced over the last few weeks.

love kathie

FYI ~ On their site, there is also a link where you can give financially to support the family & their needs at this time, if you feel inclined to do so.

free-to-me credenza

It isn't often that you get a message from a friend (on my facebook wall, of all places) that says this:  

"I FOUND this piece of furniture in my garage.  Do you want it?"

As my husband said "How do you just FIND something in your garage?"  Ha!

But I was happy that she did because I made out like a bandit :)  She also ended up giving me a table & 2 chairs in exchange for painting & recovering 2 chairs for her.  I think I got a good deal.

Here is the before, in it's "found in the garage" state:

Somehow I totally failed to take any pictures of the top, which I stripped & stained.  It might have been the easiest thing I've ever stripped.  The finish just brushed right off, it was crazy.  I chose English Chestnut for the stain, which is out of my comfort zone, but its always good to go a little out of your comfort zone, right?

I painted the piece in ASCP Old White, then a coat of Louis Blue, then distressed pretty heavily.  I wanted the white to show through but I also wanted some dark to show through, so I did a good bit of dark wax once the clear wax was dry.

I also added some wood accents where the hardware used to be.  I attached them with gorilla glue, but since I didn't have any clamps big enough, I just sat full cans of Chalk Paint on them overnight to get them to dry.  I did stain the accents first, since as I said I wanted them to show dark when I distressed them.

During:

Why didn't I paint them before I attached them?  In a hurry, I guess.  I'm not a very patient person.  Of course, then my dad came over & had to add "You should have left those dark.  They looked better dark, before you painted them".  Thanks, dad!  Gotta love the honesty :)

Almost done here.  Still need to drill holes & choose new hardware.

After:

I hate that I didn't get any good, staged pictures of it, but it only had a chance to be in my kitchen for a wee bit before it sold.

It is a fun piece, for sure… and it is sold :)  Happiness!

thanks for coming by!
kathie

linking to these great parties:

Restore Interiors Restored It Wednesday

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

My repurposed Life's Catch as Catch Can

Primitive & Proper's Piece of Work Wednesdays
Perfectly Imperfect's All things Furniture

Paloma Chalk Paint :(

This was another commissioned piece.  The client requested gray ~ so obviously I went with Chalk Paint.  However, I wanted to try a new 'gray' rather than Paris Gray, so I had ordered Paloma… thinking it would be a nice break in my routine.

Uhm… not so much.  Has anyone tried Paloma?  Maybe it was just my can but it was turning out all pinkish/lavenderish.  Eww.  

So I did what any determined painter would do, I added a big dollop of graphite to the Paloma and this is the color I got.  And I like it!  Phew.

Here is the before:

It is a reproduction piece, so don't panic.  I didn't go & paint an old antique :)

After:

I thought it needed a little something extra, so I added this wood piece to the back.  I love the look it gave it.

thanks for stopping by!
kathie

matching in graphite

This one will be quick.  I might have mentioned a few times (or a hundred times) how hot it is here??  So yesterday & today I painted my kitchen cabinets.  In the air conditioning :)  I used Paris Gray with a clear wax and I am in LOVE.  I'll share pictures soon!

A client of mine brought me this piece & wanted it to look like the french dresser I did a couple of weeks ago:

You might recall that one was done in Annie Sloan's Graphite, with a dark wax.  So I did it.  Short & sweet!

Here is the before:

And after:

Thanks for coming by!
kathie

duck egg blue with a twist

So I've talked about my conclusion that duck egg blue chalk paint is just too bright for me.  But I still had almost an entire can left.  So I started messing with it.  A little old white, a little graphite, stir is all up, and this is what I came up with .

I love it.

Because this nightstand was originally such a dark stain, the areas I sanded through looked perfect without the dark wax.  So I only painted, sanded & used clear wax.  Short, simple & easy.

Before…

I did switch out the pulls, although they're very similar to the original ones.

After…

Finally, one more project to share.  I don't have a 'before' on this one.  Must have gotten in a hurry.  But it's a bar.  I painted the bottom in country gray & the top in graphite with a dark wax.  Here it is…

It was hard to get a picture of it in the garage, but it sold before I could bring it in the house!  Hooray!  Hope you all are staying cool in the heat ~ I was out in my garage for a few minutes and was pouring sweat.  It is HOT.

thanks!
kathie