Human Lifestyle: refinishing furniture

Showing posts with label refinishing furniture. Show all posts

Room Service Atlanta: Using Thrifted Furniture

As promised, here's a peek at 3 pieces of furniture I'm refinishing for my RSA room at Nicholas House. As with most of the bedrooms, my room is super short on storage, so I searched for a solid & sturdy 9 drawer dresser to replace the tiny 5 drawer one they previously had. I found this on Craigslist for $40...

Aren't the lines amazing?? Very modern and very solid. The only downside is that it's very heavy, even without the drawers in, so getting it up the 2 flights of stairs is going to be quite the challenge. I also found these great faux bamboo (which you know I love!) headboards for only $16 at Goodwill this weekend, one of which will be attached to the adult bed (which is a twin) in the room. Total steal. I actually got 2 headboards (and no footboard) but at only $8 a piece, I'm not complaining!

Last is this desk that I've had in my garage forever. I love it & wanted to use it for something really special, but I've had it for over 2 years now and haven't done a thing to it. I know that the families that use my room will really make good use of it, so I'm donating it to the cause. The desk is also a Goodwill find that only set me back $22! Even though I'd already removed the hardware for prep when I took this photo, I love it's vintage style and will be keeping it (in it's original state) to reuse.

I was initially a bit concerned that the styles of furniture don't all go together, but after a coat of glossy white paint, I expect that everything will look great once it's in place in the room. Next week I'll be back to give you a full before & after and share some of my refinishing tips.

Wish us luck for Day 2!

When A Photographer & Stylist Get Together...

In preparation for my stint at Scott's, I called my genius photographer Christina Wedge and had her stop by my house to shoot a set of 1960s Polish Thonet Bentwood chairs I found a few weeks ago while thrifting.

The set was in near perfect condition with a price tag to match! After searching my paint decks, I found the most perfect shade of yellow, Forstythia Blossom (212-4) by PPG Porter, filled my paint sprayer and went to town. I used the existing table in my eat-in kitchen, added a recently purchased beautifully detailed antique mirror and let Christina do her thing.

I'd like to think that magic happens when a photographer and a stylist get together...

Vintage Bamboo

I have to say, I'm super excited about the newest addition to my growing collection of great pieces! This vintage mid-century bamboo dresser is just the type of piece to make a so-so space sing, and because I don't have an immediate need for it, I'm storing it until the right occasion (and idea!) comes along. I'm excited about the endless possibilities of my new find and I'm wondering . . .

Have you found anything worth screaming about lately??

Before and After: Office Chair

I've been planning on organizing my office for quite awhile, but the last few months of school made it nearly impossible to get anything of substance done. I have a laundry list of projects/goals that I need to get done including adding shelving to the closet (to hold the majority of my books & magazines), painting the top 1.5 inches of the wall (thought I would be installing crown moulding, but it doesn't look like it . . . ), and sourcing and refinishing a new (to me) desk & chair. Well I found and finished the desk, and recently finished a dining chair I've repurposed as an office chair. Here's the before:

I chose this chair because it was in excellent condition and had just the lines I was looking for! I wanted something with a straighter back (to provide support while I'm toiling away at my desk) and yet still have classically feminine lines.

My favorite details are the fluted legs and the scalloped back, and if I had to guess, I would say this chair is what I imagine a modern Sheraton chair to look like (if you added leg stretchers), but unfortunately I have no clue where/who it's from! Regardless of its origin, for only $12, this fit the bill perfectly.

After a quick application of primer, I sprayed the chair a bright, glossy white and decided to use Kravet's Sommers fabric in the Atlantic colorway.

via barclay butera

I love the modern print, and the variations of blue in the fabric are the perfect complement to my wall color (think Benjamin Moore's Brittany Blue). After adding additional batting and reattaching the cushion, here's a look at my completed chair.

After allowing it to cure and off-gass for a few days, my office chair is finally ready to go, and it's the perfect complement to my campaign desk. My next project is making (or sourcing) a large bulletin board for the area above my desk--stay tuned!

Before and After: Campaign Desk (finally!)

Today's the day I post it.

The desk.

Completed.

Finally.

This process ended up taking a bit longer than I expected, but I couldn't be happier with the results. One benefit to the extra time is that the desk has been allowed to fully cure, so I know it's now ready for the furious scribbling of all my ideas and late night typing sessions. Here's where it started.

I wrote more about it here.

The transformation for this piece required some cleaning, wood putty, and a few layers of primer, paint, and urethane. This, of course, is in addition to the Brasso for the hardware.

It wasn't as bright as I would've liked this afternoon, so I had to use the flash on my camera which cast some funky shadows. Don't worry--the walls in my office are not baby blue. In reality, they're more of a blueish-grey, and it makes for a great place to read and study. I have another project I've been working on for above the desk, so hopefully I'll be able to get it done and blog about it next week. My office makeover is far from finished, but I'm on my way!

Know When To Hold 'Em, Know When To Fold 'Em

Kenny Rogers was right, you need to know when to stay and when to run.

As I'm coming into the tail end of my latest project (this Campaign desk),

it looks dark and dingy here, but the hardware really wasn't that bad!
I've run into two separate issues, both of which I'll be blogging about this week.

The first is polishing brass. The hard lesson I've learned is knowing when to polish, and when to leave good enough alone. The first disclaimer I should mention is that I'm a visual person. Often times it's very hard for me to imagine something unless I can see it in it's entirety (think paint, wallpaper, etc.), which, as you can imagine, can sometimes create difficult situations. I noticed that some of the hardware was dark in spots, and I decided to try my hand at cleaning it up--the only problem is, there really is not in-between. Either it's super shiny and clean (which has absolutely no "aged" appeal), or it's tarnished and uneven, which isn't always aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I took a chance on cleaning it up and pulled out my Brasso.

And now a note on this. I know people swear by it, but it's not something I would swear by. It works (often times in varying degrees), but stinks and requires a bit of effort. I found that a good combination of elbow grease and alternating between applying the product directly on the brass and applying it on a cloth (as the directions state) works best for me. I need to let you know that applying Brasso to a cloth and then to your item is what's recommended by the manufacturer, so please use your own discretion if you'd like to try my method. So I used this method, tried it, and it worked . . . but now I think it's a bit too clean and shiny--I wanted a clean, aged look, but that's not exactly what I got. I got this.

And since I started, I had to go ahead and finish it.

It's a bit too brand new, which is definitely not what I was going for. Don't let the pictures fool you--it is shiny. I found that it really is hard to achieve that in between look, so I went on ahead and cleaned the rest of the hardware.

Don't worry, there's no need to pull out the violin for me.

Woodworms make the best violins

It will still be fabulous and beautiful in the end, but I just thought I'd share my observations & experiences.

How do you feel about brass? If you're a person who likes it clean, what's your go-to method for getting down and dirty???

**I know Jenny from Little Green Notebook uses salt & vinegar--any other reviews on that method?

refinishing furniture |

Sneak Peak!

This past (gorgeous) weekend gave me the perfect opportunity to start working on one of the nightstands, and it's already coming along fabulously! I'll have a great tip to share on refinishing when I'm done, so stay tuned!

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway for the custom stamp from Lettergirl. Your opportunity to win ends Friday, April 9!! You know you want it . . . . :)

refinishing furniture |

Up To My Eyeballs . . .

I'm up to my eyeballs in projects around here, yet I'm taking on another monumental one--I'm headed back to school for Interior Design! It's something I've been thinking about for awhile, and I recently found a program that's a perfect fit for my needs and desires. I'd like to think it was meant to be, because I found the program on the last day to apply at about 11 pm and barely submitted my application in time. I'm excited to be back in school because while I've completed my BA, it was in a subject I was interested in, but not passionate about. I'm eager to get back in the classroom and share what I'm learning. I hope you'll continue to follow along--great things are coming, plus I have a fabulous giveaway planned when I reach my 100th follower milestone!

And as for the list of projects I ned to tackle around my house?? Here's a peak at some of the things that are on my list . . .

Finish these pieces that I now REALLY need for my office. Don't be afraid, they'll both be fabulous!

Repaint this headboard, and start tackling these BNE's (best nightstands ever) for my in-progress bedroom makeover.

List the many fabulous items I've been finding for sale on Vintage Styled Home, my Etsy shop.

Decide if this is going in my bedroom, or going on the market. Either way, I need to get going and get it finished!

This reading qualifies as a project because I can't put these magazines up (and get organized!) until I've read them. Yes, some of them are old, but most of the old ones have come from thrift stores and have fabulous features that I'd like to revisit. I have a huge stack and now it's starting to feel like a chore, so I need to get it done.

Am I the only one with a never ending list of projects???

Weekend Wrap Up

Are you scared by this photo? Don't be. I love it because it represents progress but more importantly, what I believe is my purpose.

I've been putting off getting one of these things for awhile, but I finally went ahead and took the plunge this weekend. I love it, and it makes spraying and polishing and urethaning (made it up) SO much better. It's absolutely worth the investment. I love what I do, but I don't want to die for it. I really needed it since things have been picking up around here, hence the reason why my cuticles look like that (and my eyebrows)--I've been busy working. Good things are happening.

So I picked this little baby up this weekend. Doesn't it look contemplative staring out into the neighborhood like that?

I was super excited to pick it up, and although it wasn't quite what I thought it was going be when I picked it up, it's going to be hot. It might be ugly now, but you know I'm all about giving life to the things people throw away. It's tall too, like 2 feet. I started on it yesterday, but it's not quite finished so I can only show you a peak.

Aren't these feet freaky???

I also picked this up this weekend, and as much as I love it, I already know it won't be staying with me. I'm still contemplating the color, but I'm thinking it will be something fabulous.

Found this stamp inside the drawer, but I couldn't find any information on the company. I thought for a minute that it might be a style name (like a knock-off of campaign, so "campaigner"), but that's silly. If you know anything about this, please leave me a comment.

Hope you love the bigger photos . . . I finally updated the editor.

**i made the photos smaller and hopefully that works. I don't know why they were cut off . . . .

FOR SALE!

Remember this?

Well a couple of beautiful warm weather days here in Atlanta gave me the ability to turn it into this:

I love this table. I mean LOVE. It's taking everything in me not to keep it, but I keep reminding myself that if I keep everything I find, there won't be a business! So it must go to someone who will give it the life it deserves.

If you're in the Atlanta area and in the market for a fabulous coffee table, email me for dimensions and details. Act fast before this one's going, going, GONE!!!

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