I {heart} dark wood

After years of moving, I have finally decided to make my home, MY home. I've always avoided decorating. I would even go as far to say, "I don't have an eye for decor". It does NOT come natural for me. Sometimes I search Pinterest for hours, just for a little inspiration. I admire the colors people pick to do their pieces. I always wonder....how did they know those two colors would look so well together? {maybe they used Pinterest too}

SO I bought a curio last week. It was a good price at my local thrift store. I manned the piece into the truck, tied it down with bungees, watched it in the rear view mirror on my way home, and unloaded it into my front entrance. Knowing that when my hubby came home he would take a double look and shake his head. You see, I have a collection of unpainted things in our basement. Instead of working on an item I already own, I go and buy more. I think I enjoy the thrill of finding a good deal. Or am I afraid of missing that one unique item? Regardless. I have one more piece of furniture now.

What to do with it? I've been creeping on a ton of blogs lately, trying to narrow down the look I want for my house. I like rustic, industrial, chic, crisp and dark wood. Sunday when I came back from grocery shopping, I found it tucked in a corner by our entrance. It fit perfect in the corner! Hubby claimed it for our house. Yay!! {good thinking}

This is what I have found for my inspiration from missmustardseed. 

I'm thinking, the dark wood color for the shelves and inside. Then Ironstone for the rest. I {heart} 2 tone pieces, especially when one is wood color.

I have started tonight, and will post the finished product soon.

Take care.

Out with the oak, in the with the new

Ever have those days, when things just go right. Today was my day. I had a few hours to entertain myself in the city, this morn from 9 am to noon. Not ideal times for a Sunday? But the stores I wanted to hit, open early. 

First stop...Home Depot. I'm working on a bench made from an old headboard, and needed the Kreg Jig.

This cool tool is going to help me {hubby}, attach the sides to my bench. 

Anyways... I was also in need of a new Purdy Paintbrush. Following the isle.. I checked out the stains, but have yet to try any. Can you believe it? I have not re-stained raw wood. Until today. I bought a can of Varathane Gel Stain in Dark Walnut.

This is the shelf.

Nice yellow oak.

I can't tell you how easy the stain was to apply. When you open it, the gel is quite thick. Kind of like sour cream or yogurt. I bought a foam brush and dipped straight in the jar. Using an even brush stroke, I spread in one direction the length of the shelf. It really is easy to apply. I also taped off the edges, as I'm not a great line cutter.

This is first coat. {i did 2}

I let the gel do its thing for 5 minutes, before wiping {softly}. I used a dry painters rag to wipe off the excess stain. Then followed the same directions for a second coat.

This is the finished shelf.

I also did the small shelf under the bathroom window.

Feeling a bit more ambitious, I did the stair railing to our basement.

Before

After

I love this stuff!! You can't see the thickness of the clear coat on the railing. It made my husband a little weary of how well if would cover. I can't believe how well it did or how fab it looks. You can still see the wood grain. I would recommend Varathane Gel Stain to anyone who wants to change the look of anything. This stuff is excellent for beginners, like myself. Next is the other two flights of railing and any others items I decide to go Dark Walnut.

Take care.


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Vintage White End Tables

Happy New Year!! 

Okay, I'm a little late on that one. You know when time seems to fly by, story of my life. I've actually been patiently awaiting an order of paint to continue on a few pieces. I'm really not one to complain, but my local ASCP supplier is always out of stock. Twice now I have placed orders through a Vancouver store. I have been in need of Graphite since the week before Christmas. Ordered it December 21, and still not here :( Decided to move on to a few new pieces, needed a another color. Returned to my supplier, still no Graphite or Emperor's Silk. Argh!

Oh well.....I received these tables in the beginning of December.

I wish I would have taken a picture of them both before. One had been painted baby blue previously, and was quite difficult to cover. I did take an inside picture, and you can see the blue.

One of the tables had been left in a garage for an amount of time, and the wooden doors expanded.

The difference was 3/8 on each side, thus the doors would not fit. {step in my handy husband} He was able to plane down the doors and get them to fit. YAY! If you notice on the previous picture, I painted a strip of black around the edges. I wanted a black contrast to be consistent on both tables, as one was blue and the other brown. My plan didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. After sanding both pieces, the persistent blue kept coming through in places. I don't think it was as bad as I thought it was. I sent some finished pictures to the client and she loved them.

I love the country charm.

I also did my usual touch of Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint to the handles. You just can't go wrong with that stuff. 

Next project....

My goal

Stay tuned for this transformation....I hope.

Take care.

Party Time

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Big Red

Oh the weather outside is frightful

But my furniture's so delightful

And since we've no place to go

I will paint! I will paint! I will paint!

I love the feeling of Christmas with 3 feet of snow to go with it! 

Right now I'm busy finishing up some end tables, which I will post next week. So in the mean time I thought I could follow up on a picture I posted previously.

Found it at my local thrift shop in summer. Beauty, right? It sat in my husbands man cave garage for 2 months. Towards the end of summer it was being threatened with eviction...so I decided to tackle it. I first tried to use MMSP Tricyle Red, with the hopes it would chip. 

Nope. Decided not to chip. {don't you love how that works?} 

Then I tried to wax it. Nope. Looked all blotchy. For some reason  the wax absorbed in some places and some places not at all. If anyone has an answer to this, please share.

SO, then I tried some Annie Sloan Emperor's Silk. Went on great. Perfect finish, etc. Waxed the mammoth and buffed her out. I should include this was still in my husbands man cave garage. Two days later I go out to take pictures and there is a giant scrape the size of a playing card on the top. ARGH! 

Needless to say, I was back at it.

Sand out the scrape, paint, wax and buff! {third time} and get it out of the garage quick. I think it was worth the effort.

This is my favorite angle.

The handles kinda remind me of bamboo shoots.

This piece went to a great home to be used for a tv stand. {crammed and transported in a Rav4}

Till next time, stay warm and take care.

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Back on

Hello...I'd like to start by apologizing to my followers. I have not been very committed to this blog. I discovered this spring, that I don't like to paint in summer. Not even a smidge. Second, I give credit to the people that post every day! {not me} I won't give you any excuses, but commit to posting my furniture upcycles until summer.

I don't have a before for this one. I love the curves and handles. This was my fav dresser thus far.

I found this sofa table. Pretty bland, and I wasn't sure on what to do with it.

Voila! Kind of a beachy color? The lady that picked it up, was using it for a photo shoot, my table will be shown off in many homes.

Here's another one, with no before. I am lovin the teal and rich wood tone. 

Here's one more night stand, I LOVE the tone in the picture.

Take care.

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