Pretty and Popular

It's been a busy week.  There's custom order pieces to be completed and pieces to put on the floor by opening on Thursday.

 This piece was my "floor" piece for this week.

 It started out with some problems, it was really rough in spot and needed serious help. Jeff did a nice job of filling in scratches and gouges and sanding imperfections. It's amazing how just a bit of wood putty can make such a huge difference in the finished piece.

I was very lucky that all the hardware and detail was intact. I love to work on any pieces that have carving or lots of areas that can be highlighted with dark wax or glaze.

For this piece, I used Valspar Fossil White in a Satin finish (mixed with Websters Chalk Paint Powder), Distressed lightly on the edges and some of the detailing. Then I mixed a Gray paint into Behr Faux Glaze to brush on for a tint and to bring out all the potential of the carving. When totally dry (I waited til the next day) I finished with a coat of Daddy Van's clear wax.

I have to say, I won't be using the Behr Faux Glaze again. It was very hard to get an even finish. From now on, I'll be sticking to Rustoleum - it's so much easier to use and gives such a smooth look.

Here's the completed piece....

There's a reason this blog was titled "Pretty and Popular". We posted a photo of it on  Next Act's Facebook page at 5:00 PM on Wednesday. At 10:00 AM on Thursday the shop opened, it was sold at 10:10.  Then, 5 minutes later another lady came in to buy it - she'd seen it on Facebook too.
 I have to say it surprised me.

 I'm now on the look out for another piece like it - and let the fun begin again!!!


Be creative,
Patti

French Fixation

There's something about French Provincial that I find interesting. I don't like the shiny finish or the usual colors - whites and yellows trimmed in faux gold.  

BUT... the lines and details are always fun to work with.

I found this piece at a thrift shop. It was in pretty good condition, a few nicks and chips but nothing that would take away from a nice finish.

The details on the drawer and the legs are great for what I had planned. I chose my  paint color, Valspar Pomegranate Seed and a Rustoleum Java Brown Glaze.

Websters Chalk Paint Powder and Daddy Van's Wax.

The detailed carvings hold the glaze and really let them stand out. The same for the drawers and the bottom trim.

The color on the drawer is off in this photo but you can see how the glaze gives the detail a soft outline.

And this is the completed piece.  Quite a pop of color, great accent as a dresser or a buffet.

Now, I'm in search of more of these pieces. 

Thanks for letting me share my work with you.

                                  Have a great week.

                                                                     Patti

 

In Love with Brick Red.

A few weeks ago, I finished a Desk/Hutch. It was done in Brick Red - my new favorite color.
I keep telling Jeff that I'm going to take it home and set up my guest bedroom. Well, today I got the dresser completed.... now I really want to take them home.

This is the before and after of the dresser. It was missing a few knobs and needed some serious TLC. I replaced the knobs, sprayed them a Rubbed Bronze to match the Desk/Hutch and then sanded all the scratches and filled the dents.

Ta-Da, the completed piece. Now I am in serious LOVE with this color. I like warm, cozy colors. Red being my favorite - any shade works for me. I have a feeling this set will sell fast - maybe I should paint my master bedroom set this color.

I'm now on to my next project, I know it's hard to believe, but its a Red Chair!!!!!!

Take Care,
Patti

The Swan makes a debut.

Today, I was able to complete the Ugly Duckling makeover.

  

Tomorrow, they will go on the floor. My hope is that some little princess will be lucky enough to add this cute set to her bedroom.  The nicest thing about these two pieces, they're not expensive, they're just simple pieces but perfect for a starter set. Our Goal is to keep our prices down, to enable everyone to be able to afford a new piece or complete sets. It's always fun and rewarding to see how quickly my transformed pieces sell.   Lets see how long these two last.

I'm in the process of completing a couple custom orders, then I'll post my next project.

Be Creative...... Patti

Ugly Duckling to Swan???

 For some time now, I've wanted to do a little girls bedroom. Today, while on a "search and rescue" mission with my sister, I found a really cute little 4 drawer chest. It's the perfect size for my project.

 

The best part is that it's in great shape.which makes it so much easier to work on and get nice results.
The hardware is always an issue. So many times you find a piece and it's missing some of the pulls or knobs. This is missing one of the pulls but I wasn't planning on keeping those anyway.

My plan is to use white porcelain knobs, very feminine and perfect with the soft colors I've chosen.

These are the two colors. The pink is called Sweetheart Rose and the white is one I made and had matched. The white matches the knobs perfectly... even though it looks a bit off in the photo.

Plan:  Body of the chest in the White & Drawers in the Pink.  Hopefully, I can find a desk and chair and paint it up to match.

I'll post the progress, hoping the vision in my head will be the end result.

A few more recent projects.

I enjoy doing hutches. This was fun to do because of the size. The photo shows it as a blue when it's really done in Valspar, Sultry Bay. It's a muted teal-blue. It's been lightly distressed on the edges and waxed to a nice sheen.

Great Country desk/Hutch. If I had a farm style home, I could picture it in the kitchen with cookbooks and jars filled with fun stuff.  I also think it would  be perfect for an office or child's room. This was done in Brick Red by Clark Kennsington. I seem to gravitate to muted shades. Once again a light distressing to give it the worn - cozy feel and then waxed. The nice thing about the wax I use, "Daddy Vans" - it's waterproof. If you spill, just wipe off with a damp cloth and dry. (note: the brassy hardware was sprayed with a rubbed bronze spray, BIG difference in the appearance)

My Album

I spend my days, reviving and renewing previously loved, well worn pieces of furniture. It's amazing how everything these days is disposable. I look at the piece I'm about to makeover and think of how proud the original owner was when they got it, new and shiny. By the time I get most pieces they are scared from years of love, outdated by todays styles and headed for the land fills.

I take pride in what I do, knowing that someone is going to purchase my work and love it all over again. The furniture gets a second chance and will continue to make someone happy. It's pretty much a win-win for all.

This blog is going to be more of an album for me. I want to share my work with you and make myself a record of all the revivals. I have a few project from awhile ago with before and after photos, some just the completed. My goal is to remember (that's the key) to photograph the pieces before I start and show how each looks with a bit of TLC and some Chalk Paint.

Many of my projects are custom orders and not for sale. I'll post some of those as well, it's always fun to see how different things look with a new color and texture. 

Before

 

After

 

My Favorite Hutch. It was in perfect condition so working on it was wonderful. 

The photo doesn't do this justice. It's gently distressed and has a real
"Cottage Feel"