Quick project

    I love these nice wooden trays.  They are so plain, but are so much fun to give a make
over.

    I painted the tray with white chalk paint and then used an image from The Graphics Fairy.  I have used polyacrylic a couple of times to transfer an image and it has worked really well.  After spraying with a sealer it is done, and at the cabin

Drexel Mid-Century Makeover

    This mid-century modern dresser had been in storage for a very long time.  These legs may not be original, but they fit perfectly.  This dresser has a really low profile, which means that it would be a great piece for a child's room, where tall dressers are sometimes dangerous and present a climbing hazard.  It would also be a good piece in a living room, or family room, as an entertainment center.

Not sure what I was thinking with this before shot....sigh...  One drawer was beyond repair.  I kept the bottom from it and it can slide out so could be used for a dvd player.  I wanted to give it a look that would coordinate with its military, campaign style, so chose this very dark blue and then gold for the feet and handles.  I added some cute shelf paper with anchors to complete the look.  The dimensions of this piece are 27 in tall, 54 long and 19 wide.

Keeper

    I acquired this hutch for $50, right after we tore out some of our cupboards, and luckily for me it fit the space and had lots of storage room!  It is massive, all solid wood with no veneer.  I am so glad it has wheels, it is very heavy.

    BP Bond was a German immigrant, born in 1874, who moved with his family to America as a young boy.  As a teenager, he  began working at another furniture company  but eventually came to own his own company which was very successful.
  The style of this piece would be called Colonial Revival, with its railings and spoon holders.  It was manufactured in 1964.  Not an antique by any means, but it is really a great piece of furniture.  I updated it with paint, left off the small doors and did a bit of stenciling and transferred a rose on one door.  I think the

update was just right for this piece!

Mahogany bar, Entry piece, Small buffet....You decide!

    I love this piece!  I love mahogany anyway, but I think it is stunning.  I bought it from a friend a while back.  I'm pretty sure it is another military mahogany piece that came from one of the nearby bases.  Sturdy and beautiful, these stand the test of time and I almost always prefer to refinish these beauties instead of painting them.

    I was especially happy to find out this had rubber wheels and rolls easily from place to place.  I think the original shelves were replaced with plywood, so I lightly sanded and refinished them also.  I usually use red mahogany, but this time used Minwax Bombay Mahogany Polyshades.  It is really dark, and I think it really has an elegant look.  On top of that I used a fast drying poly for protection.  I am really happy with the way this turned out.  It will

be headed to the cabin tomorrow!

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Beautiful Buffet

   If you have ever read this blog then you probably have the impression that I love Mid-Century Mahogany furniture, and you would be spot on.  It is so pretty and elegant.  It can always be given a modern twist with accessories and I think the pieces are far more beautiful when they have not been painted.  In order to paint it properly, there are also extra steps that need to be taken so unless I am doing  custom work, refinishing is always my choice for mahogany.

    This buffet had some damage and was in need

a good cleaning.

   

    After the buffet was cleaned and sanded, I applied Minwax Polyshades.

I used several coats of Minwax fast drying Polyurathane for extra protection.

The handles needed some cleaning up also but I try not to remove all of the patina.  I am really not interested in making these pieces look new.  I want them to look good, but not erase their history. 

    This beauty is on hold and pending

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Blue and white bench

   Ok another before picture fail.  But can we talk...microfiber?  How about beige microfiber?  Honestly, I really don't like the stuff.  I don't like the way it feels, spots and collects hair...eeek.  This bench was well made and just needed an update.  I love the combo of the white and blue fabric with the european feedsack fabric❤
   

    Of course all re-upholstery, or what I refer to as "expensive wrestling matches" with large pieces of furniture, begin with the requisite removal of about 3 billion staples.  I also removed the legs, sanded, chalk painted and waxed them.  All of the padding and foam was in great shape and re-usable.  The frame was nice sturdy wood.  I used the pretty blue and white fabric on the arms and apron.  I backed the fabric on the arms with a heavier canvas type material for re-enforcement.  The feed sack fabric is 60-100 year old european handwoven fabric.  I love the look and feel of this!  One of the challenges on this piece getting the fabric folded nicely on the arms.  I covered button blanks with the blue and white fabric and sewed them on with waxed upholstery thread.  I wish I had done a couple of things differently, but over all I am happy with it.

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The Piece I almost passed up

    I did not get any before pictures of this nice piece...again.  I nearly passed it by.  Usually pieces that are similar to this are not made of wood and not very well made.  This is nicer, made of wood and quite a bit heavier than I expected.  The finish was a bit worn and the knob was a dated white floral porcelain knob.  I wanted to give this a more stately,  distinguished look.  The finish was freshened up with Minwax Polyshades in my favorite mahogany of course!  Two coats of a top coat for protection and a new knob and this piece is ready for a new home.  This could be used as a telephone stand, an entry way piece, with a lamp and a basket for your keys, or a table to hold a special statue, or even your silver tea set!  This will be at the cabin tomorrow!

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New Look for a Rocking Chair

    As the summer gets busier I seem to get worse at taking before pictures.  This is a platform rocker, some people call it a cricket rocker.  It was most likely made by a company in Indiana, named Tell City Chair Company.  The company went through a couple of name and location changes, but remained in the same area which was actually named after the company eventually.  It closed its doors in 2011, after 147 years.  This particular type of chair was made from the 1940's to the 70's.  Many people remember having them in their homes, but the fabrics and colors used would not be popular these days.
    This chair had been painted green, while its original state would have been a clear finish over the maple wood.  I wanted a brighter finish, so after stripping, painted it white with a matte finish over it.  I covered new cushions with this handwoven European grain sack fabric.  It is an oatmeal like color with two aubergine stripes.  I am fascinated by these fabrics, which are between 60-100 years old.
    Before the skirt

    After

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French Provincial For a Princess

    When I am this quiet on the blog, you can count on the fact that I am super busy!  My cabin at the Farmer's Market opens on Wednesday.  I have a lot done, but will be there tomorrow finishing everything up.  I replaced the too large front counter with a display case that fits the space better, will allow for a display area for special items, and still have essential storage space.  Now, on to this cute set that will be at the cabin on opening day.
     This desk is typical 1950's-60's French Provincial, that had an original color scheme of gold and white.  As with all of the pieces of this era that I have worked on, it is not all wood, so it takes more than usual prep time, to get a lasting finish.  Someone had painted it black.....so I had that to deal with also.  I forgot to get a picture...but I can testify...it was bad.  I chose to paint this in Blush Pink and Linen White from Rustoleum Chalked Paint.  Cute butterfly stencils decorate the top.  The chair is an ice cream parlor type painted in Linen White.  Both pieces were sealed with Rustoleum Matte Finish.
The seat has been reupholstered in a canvas type material and stenciled with rosebuds and roses.  If you are in the area the Market will open Wednesday, May 17th from 10-5.

 

,

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Waterfall Night Stand

I was contacted and asked if I could repair this piece.  Once I had a chance to look it over, I realized that it actually had once been one side of a vanity.  Its pealing veneer and a one inch square hole on one of the sides was a give away.  The veneer is quite a bit worse than the picture shows.  Some was very brittle, some was barely hanging on, and some was covered in glue.

    The before pictures were taken by the owner.  The after pictures were taken here and show my constant struggle with lighting.  This piece has not turned red despite my picture!  I cleaned the piece and sanded where I would need to adhere veneer and patch.  I had hoped to find veneer that was a close match to what was already on this and was not successful.  I used what was usable on the piece, took some from my stash, and patched other places.  I reglued what was usable back onto the piece, then soaked the veneer I would add to make it pliable.  Next step was to glue it on and weight it.

When all pieces were dry I sanded and filled in the gaps with plastic wood.  There were a lot of gaps!  There was also the hole to fill.  Since the plastic wood is white, I used small amounts of brown paint and stain to try to blend the areas of repair.  A couple of coats of Polyshades followed.

Lots of glare in this picture.

    I hope the owner will be happy....I am happy that this piece is now usable!

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Barley Twist and Hand woven European Grainsack Chair

   Any time an antique piece of furniture is painted there are many naysayers who are horrified.  I believe this chair is from the turn of the century.  It does have screws in the braces underneath but I do not think they are original to the chair.  Everywhere else the chair has pegs holding it together.  This originally had a caned seat and back.  This is where we get into whether to try to restore a piece or would it be acceptable to change it.  This is the condition of the caning and finish.

  

    Hours and hours of stripping and sanding revealed a still uneven tone to the wood and very deep grain.  I would have preferred to restore this piece but it was just not possible to do so and also have a chair that most people would want in their home.  I have seen some people with strong negative reactions to antiques.  They had a relative that had a houseful, and many times the furniture was dark, dirty, and untouched for fear that it would damage the value.  I found refinishing addressed with reactions from some of the experts from Antique Roadshow http://www.refinishwizard.com/refinishing_antiques.html
To be honest it does not cover painting the piece.  Most of us, though, will never encounter a craftsman made piece that is several hundred years old.  The question is whether to let a very nice piece of furniture continue to rot away in a barn, or whether to turn it into something someone would want.  This chair was painted with Rustoleum Chalked Paint in Linen.  I replaced the cane with upholstery webbing, and foam.  I wanted this to be a statement type piece.  I used handwoven linen European grain sack fabric, 60 to 100 years old upholster it with.   I made double welted piping to trim the seat but used a different type of trim for the seat back, because the double welt was too bulky.  I feel like this lovely old Barley Twist chair has a crisp, clean, pretty new look.

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French Provincial Cabinet

      I acquired this about three years ago.  Typical for the time period and type, this reproduction French Provincial piece, made sometime between 1950-late 1970's, is not all wood.  It ended up at the back of my storage area until I decided to give it a make-over.   Dark and light gray chalk paints were used to update it, and then silver was used for accents.   I found some wonderful graphics on Etsy, at a shop named GraphicsMarketplace.  There were so many to choose from I had a problem narrowing it down.  A total of five were chosen and I transfered the graphics to the cabinet.

A clear matte finish has been added, and these cute knobs finish it off.  The measurements are 30 inches across the front, 31 1/2 tall and about 17 inches deep and this piece will be available for delivery next week.  It has a few bumps and bruises, but it is a lovely piece that could be an entry way piece, coffee station, or serve a variety of other purposes.

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