paint = magic

Ugh, I am so mad at myself for not taking a 'before' picture of these four chairs!! I was just certain that I had taken at least one, but after searching & searching in vain, you're just going to have to trust me that they were in bad bad shape. They came out of the parking lot at The Scavenger Hunt- they had been sitting out in the rain and the wood was discolored & flaking in places. The seats were... uhm... pleather? plastic? Black *something* patched with black electrical tape. A sight to see, for sure!

So, I sanded. And sanded. And sanded some more. Sound familiar to anyone?

Then a good coat of primer, and a spray of Heirloom white. I secured all of the joints, although the chairs were awfully sturdy to begin with, surprisingly. Then I replaced the foam and covered the seats with some leftover Ikat fabric from my dining room curtains.
I paired them with these cute desk/tables that I snagged at a hotel liquidation site- I have two of the tables and four of the chairs.
We'll see if they catch someone's eye!

french dresser

I knew when I saw this piece that I would love it's eventual-self. I'm sure you can all see what a gorgeous shape it has! I sanded the top a bit to see what was hiding underneath that thick honey stain, and was pleased to find a very pretty grain there. So, I stripped & sanded the top first, then covered it while I got to work painting the rest.In progress- sorry for the white dots showing up in the picture. It almost looks like snow?!
My fabulous & wonderful husband re-assembling it for me! Note to self: LABEL all drawers (top, middle, bottom) and cabinet doors (left, right) next time :) Phew!
All dressed up with her original hardware. All it needed was a little scrub!

I hope you like it!

**If you're stopping by from a linky, would you pretty please take a look at my most recent post... I am in need of some advice regarding a new china cabinet I'd like to paint. Thank you!!!**

the first piece

Well, I finally took the plunge & started a blog! I've gotten so many great ideas and inspiration from all of you bloggers out there that I decided it was time to join the party :)

I'll start by showing you one of my first pieces... a rescue from the goodwill. I loved it from 'hello' and knew it had great potential (again, from seeing all the 'before' and 'after' shots in blogland!).

Here is the before...

Please excuse the sander cord! The grain on the top of the piece was gorgeous, so I knew right away I was going to stain the top. However, the thought of stripping & sanding around all that woodwork on the front was a little to much to handle for me. So, after stripping & sanding the top, I covered it with butcher paper & tape to protect it, then painted the bottom.

The picture quality is awful, I know!

And now for the finished piece... I am SO proud of it, and also proud to say that I already sold it! Hopefully, this is the start of a wonderful thing :)

Thanks for inspiring me!

Kathie