French Side Table: Before and After... sort of

Last week our new neighbors threw this French Provincial side table out to the curb. When I saw it I ran in the house, got the dogs, and took them for a walk to get a better look. Like a nice neighbor I waited until it was dark to sneak over and take it.. but it was REALLY heavy so my loving husband went over and got it. Do I sound crazy? I though I took a before picture of the table but I couldn't find one so I guess I forgot. It was painted a glossy black that was pretty banged up. It even had the drawers still full of socks..

I decided to paint it cream and strip the top and stain it but the top turned out to be heavy plastic. I thought it was odd since the rest of the table was wood. I started to paint the top but didn't like the look. So I thought for a little bit about what I wanted to do and remembered a picture I had seen on Pinterest. Antique sheet music! I had been collecting it for a while to make some wreaths as gifts and It sure came in handy for this project too.

I used a mixture of glue and water to apply the sheet music to the top of the table and decided to add it to the drawer fronts too. After the glue mixture dried I used a very sharp paring knife to trim the excess paper off the table top and drawers. I sealed the top with a good coat of light and dark wax.

I loved the way the original hardware matched the color scheme..

Pretty curvy legs...

Here is a glimpse of the top...

I had quickly snapped all the pictures above right before I took this table to the local antique market so this was a not blurry picture of the top I took a few days before.. 

I hardly had the side table out of the truck before someone scooped it up. It turned out so pretty and I'm happy I saved it from going into a landfill somewhere. I would say this little table had a very happy ending!

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Refinishing Hardwood Floors: Part 2

After sanding, we crawled around to look for holes and gaps that needed to be filled in. This is where all the bags of saw dust comes in handy! We took some of the left over saw dust and mixed it with plain wood glue to make a paste. We filled all holes and big gaps with the paste and it dried to the exact color of the natural wood. We smoothed out the filled holes with a palm sander. After cleaning up all the dust for what seemed like years we finally started to stain! We chose Minwax stain in Dark Walnut to match with all of the original trim. 

We started from the top of the stairs and worked our way down to the first floor. We wore latex gloves and used terry cloth type staining sponges to apply the stain. We applied the stain on the wood planks in rows of 2 or 3 and wiped up any excess after letting it sit a few minutes.

I love the way the floor took the stain in the dining room! It took a day to stain the floors. Can you believe it only took a gallon of stain to finish the floors! We bought six gallons thinking they would just soak up every drop but they didn't! We let them dry for a week, we could have started the polyurethane sooner but since we only had weekends to do projects we had to wait. 

We used a fluffy "sheep wool" attachment  to apply the polyurethane. Since it was in the middle of December opening the windows weren't an option. So we wore respirator masks because polyurethane is STINKY and put large fans in the doorways to keep air moving.

After two coats of polly we were finished! It took three weekends to finish the floors. After renting sanders, buying stain, sealer, and supplies we spent under $300 dollars. It was hard work but so worth it! We saved thousands doing it ourselves and it looks great! We refinished the floors before we moved our furniture in the   house and I highly recommend it if you have that option. 

We are so happy with the floors. I cant wait to show you complete decorated rooms one day!

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Antique Iron Child Bed: Before and After

Hello! First off I would like to apologize for the blog being so quiet! I finally bounced back from the long Labor Day weekend and just being plain old busy. Last week my husband and I went to some yard sales, flea markets, and antique fairs! I bought so much stuff! One of my favorite finds was this antique iron child bed. I think it's from France after searching for similar ones on the Internet. I got it for only $3 dollars.. Score!

I think the bed would look so pretty in a little girls room.

I love the original green paint showing through..

I used milk paint with the bonding agent to get the flat soft finish. I used rough sand paper to rough up the previous finish to get a good bond. I wasn't sure how it was going to work out because I have never used milk paint on metal before. The crackle that happened all over is so pretty...

Here is the before..

I didn't really like the glossy, drippy, and ugly brown paint that covered the beautiful original green paint. Why would someone cover that up?! So I thought a light creamy finish would look so pretty. I'm so happy the milk paint took to the metal after roughing it up a bit.

Have a great Tuesday.

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Another pair of Cane Back Chairs: before and after

I picked up another pair of cane back chairs last week. This set is VERY similar to the last set that I had sold. Here is the before... I found one arm chair, and one without arms..

I knew what I wanted to do with the paint finish. And thought I knew what fabric I wanted but I ended up changing my mind once I got to the fabric store! I had a dark grey linen in mind for the upholstery but found a chestnut brown velvet fabric on clearance with a extra 25% off coupon! Score! I love a good velvet fabric and when its on such a deep discount I couldn't pass it up.

I used a buttermilk color milk paint for the base coat. White washed over the base coat, and finished with clear and dark waxes.

I sanded and distressed the frames.

I was worried the dark velvet would be too much so I chose to use an ivory burlap for the chair backs. I'm not a huge fan of using burlap for upholstery because it sheds, usually smells, and is scratchy. But since the backs of the chairs wont get used I thought it was a good way to go. And I LOVE the way it turned out and breaks up the dark velvet.

I'm loving the creamy colored chair frames and rich upholstery. I think they would look so pretty in a breakfast nook...

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Cane Back Chairs: Before and After

A few weeks ago I brought two of these caned back chairs home from my local Habitat for Humanity store. They were free so it made them even more appealing! I only grabbed two of the four... I'm still kicking myself for not getting all of them. You live and you learn! I found this picture in House Beautiful and used as inspiration for the painted finish but with different colors.

Here are the chairs before.. I also picked up that shelf for a few dollars to keep some of my paint and fabric supplies on in my work space. (Can you see the cat in the window?) The cane was loose and had holes in some spots so I removed it.

I used milk paint in the color slate for the base color. It looks dark when you mix it, but it dries to a lighter shade of blue. Once the base coat dried I dry brushed the color buttermilk over that. I sanded and distressed the chairs,and used a clear and dark wax to add some depth to the finish. I upholstered the chairs in a cotton canvas and made slip covers for the seats. Here's the after...

I loved the way they turned out and probably would have kept them if I would of brought all four of the chairs home with me! Lesson learned.. they sold fast at the antique fair and I'm so happy they found a good home.

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Antique Grey Dresser: Before & After

You never know where or when you will find something. On the 4th of July my husband and I were visiting with friends. My husband was hanging out with the guys and I was with the girls talking about antiques. We got on the topic of someone needing to get rid of some antique furniture that was in a barn down the road. A quick call and about a 2 minute drive we were there, and I came home with this...

Try not to look at the mess around the dresser. Were remodeling a hundred year old house so this "mud room" has become the holding area for all trash that's waiting to go out for pickup. Anyway, I started by patching her up in a few places with some wood filler and striped and sanded the top to refinish. I wanted to paint the dresser in a pale grey so I mixed 1/2 a cup of white milk paint with a table spoon of black milk paint. Here is what I got...

There are some blue undertones that came out and I just love that...

The top had the prettiest wood grain so I applied two coats of natural oil to bring out the details.

And lightly sanded all over.

 Finished it with a coat of clear wax and buffed it to a light sheen.

I kept the original hardware. I love the little urn and swag detail.

I love the way it turned out. This dresser is VERY heavy and a well made piece with dove tailing and tons of detail. I'm so glad I went to that barn and brought this old dresser back to life! You really never know what you will find!

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Hand Carved French Chair: Before & After

Last fall I stopped at a garage sale and found this beautiful carved french chair. The poor thing was completely  naked and had NEVER been upholstered before! Witch was great because I hate removing staples.. Oh the joys of upholstery! The chair sat around until a few months ago when I finally got around to upholstering it.

I upholstered the chair in a cream linen, trimmed it out in a cotton rope, and double piping.

Here is a before picture after I started putting on the webbing.

The detail is just beautiful...

I love the way it turned out. It looks so clean and updated now.

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