We are starting to get a little more spring light around here and I can start to take pictures in the house of all the projects we have tackled. Here are some befores of the office:
And now the afters:
I’ll post details about the transformation soon.
Happy Monday!
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I mentioned yesterday that Camille, Wendy and I are selling at the Alameda Antiques Faire again next month–It’s actually 2 weeks away and I am so unprepared! Usually at this point I have several large projects like dressers and buffets waiting to be sold but right now, I’m pretty cleaned out. I have several little things but no large furniture pieces.
Part of that is by design. I’ve gotten a little tired of moving all of those large pieces and nothing is more depressing than having to put unsold large items back on the truck at the end of the day.
But, I do want to have some fun, functional pieces to sell so the other day I found this well made, solid vintage cabinet at a salvage yard:
I had some green glass knobs left over from another project so I decided to use those and set them off with ASCP Graphite:
And I decided to go with something bright and summery as a surprise for the inside:
I used ASCP Florence and Antibes Green inside. It’s a departure for me and really plays off the knobs. I would love to see this cabinet over a buffet or in a kitchen setting off someone’s collection of ironware or white porcelain. It would also make a nice hutch sitting on a desk for extra storage.
And the little parrot pitcher will be for sale too! Couldn’t pass him up.
I hope to get to some other projects this weekend and next week and show them to you as I can. I have a table to strip and repaint which I hope to get done this weekend.
And tomorrow John and I are going to an 80s themed fundraiser at the boys’ school. I am borrowing some tutus from Becky’s daycare and wearing some black leggings and going with a Cyndi Lauper themed interpretation. I went to get accessories today at H&M and could not believe how everything in the store was 80s: neon, ripped t-shirts, shoulder pads, zippered jeans, etc. I truly thought most of that style would never come back, but what do I know!
And lastly, I finally got my Facebook page up and running so please be sure to sign up to follow me if you are on FB. Would love to connect!
Have a great weekend!!!
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Here’s a quick peek at a rocking chair I redid this weekend. It’s a child’s rocker and although it was really sturdy, it needed some help:
Here’s the before:
And here are the afters:
Excuse the blurry photo above. I was definitely rushing with this photo shoot…
It’s in ASCP Primer Red with Duck Egg Blue underneath. I thought it would be a sweet combo for the winter and also could be a little country touch in a nursery.
Also, just a reminder to all my Bay Area followers, Camille of The Vintique Object and I will be sharing a booth at the Alameda Antiques Faire this weekend, Sunday November 4th. We will be booth Q3 so please stop by and say hi!
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I’ve been storing this piece outside for the last couple of months and the rain is coming so it was time to photograph it before I store it for the flea market in November. I found this gorgeous large buffet that was just in need of some TLC. Here is the before:
After some refinishing and 3 layers of ASCP (Primer Red, Old White and Chateau Grey), here is the after:
This would definitely be a statement piece in someone’s home. It’s big and has beautiful lines.
I love the top! This wood grain is so amazing and makes this piece so special–That, and the thickness of the wood block top.
And look how substantial and beautiful these corbel scrolls are! They also have that beautiful graining pattern.
This piece will be for sale at the flea market or if you are local and want to pre-order it, check out my shop page. The same is true for anything listed there. If it’s not listed as sold, it will be going to the Alameda Pointe Antiques Faire with me on November 4th. Camille, Wendy and I will be hosting another booth and I’m so looking forward to it!
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Sorry to have been away for a week or so. We had a small break in last week and someone stole my laptop! The good thing to come of it is that we are finally investing in a security system. We’ve been meaning to for years…
I wanted to add another room to the house tour since it has recently undergone some changes. You may remember I found that barley twist four-poster bed at my favorite salvage store not too long ago. After dealing with the finish which was a pinkish beige stain from 1987, here is the new bed:
It’s hard to tell from these photos but the cover is actually a dark grey linen. The comforter at the foot of the bed is a faded ticking stripe.
Our bedroom is a lot smaller now as we moved from a double to a CA king but so far I am really happy with having a larger bed–especially since we frequently have little visitors. 
Although this room is about the same size as the boys’ room, it lacks the large bay window. We chose to make this one the master for several reasons though, one of which is this view from the window next to that chair above. Here’s our view:
Not as great as many around the Bay Area but we are at the bottom of a big hill and surrounded by so many large buildings that seeing roof tops and tree tops was a big bonus for me! I hope to someday make that window much larger or add a small roof deck with a glass door opening to it there.
This is the view facing the other way. The bed is painted in ASCP Old White. The dresser will probably go on sale soon. It was supposed to be temporary but here it sits 2 years later! The mirror was an old garden gate I turned into a little trumeau. The vintage brass light was an estate sale find.
The chair needs recovering but I love the green.
The swing arm lamps are new too. I ordered them from Lowe’s and they were really reasonable. Unfortunately, one doesn’t work! I didn’t want to return it until after I took some pictures though. Those curtains are also new–from World Market. I love the pattern but the fabric is very cheap feeling. One of these days maybe I’ll just add some lining to them to give them more weight. The prints are antique lithographs of insects I ordered years ago from ebay. I had to add a couple of weird things to the space so it wouldn’t be to sweet. On my side of the bed are beetles.
Also had to share these wood block prints I got years ago at an estate sale. I love these silly fat birds! To the left there is our master bath and to the right is a very small walk in closet–another reason we made this the master! That stool is an antique milking stool.
I found the green velvet of that one pillow at a discount fabric store here in Berkeley and I love it! I have got to go back and buy more since I want to add some of these pillows to the living room as well. It’s a versatile green that works well for fall and winter.
Click here for a small glimpse of our bedroom before the new bed and lamps, etc.
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I know I have been a bit behind with blogging lately and I’m trying to get back on track these days. The end of summer and school starting has definitely made blogging a bit harder but really it is that I have several design related projects happening these days that are taking up extra time. It’s great, but I’m trying to find a balance because I enjoy blogging so much.
Some furniture finds have kept me occupied lately and since we are short on storage I wanted to go ahead and paint what I could so they wouldn’t be sitting out for too long. One was this antique dresser:
Pretty messed up but such good bones! It is so well made and has its original casters and hardware. Besides the finish it was in excellent shape. And here is the after:
Below you can see a close up of the original hardware with a beautiful patina…
And I love the way this old varnish accepted the paint. It made a nice speckly crackling in several areas…
The top has been refinished with tung oil but still shows some patina…
This is a really special piece and I will list it for sale on my shop page but will also plan to take it to the flea market in November.
The other project I finished was a pretty little pedestal side table. Here is the before:
The shape of it is really pretty–curvy but not too delicate. It’s in excellent condition but just needed some updating…
This would be such a fun side table next to a pretty upholstered chair or even as a display table in a hall or small bedside table. The size makes it really versatile. The top is now simple and warm with a wax finish.
This little table will also be listed on my shop page.
And finally I had to share these two photos because this is seeming to be a theme in my life lately:
This was my grocery cart at Costco the other day when I was just over halfway through! I really don’t know how I made it to the car and into the house with all this stuff. And then, where does it all go? We will eat almost all of this before you know it…
And besides the dresser and the table, I found a few other amazing goodies while out shopping the other day and they got delivered today so here is my front porch at this very moment…
Do you detect a theme?
Behind the bed is yet another dresser–that’s three dressers, a table and a bed! I think I have got to start looking for a workshop or something–my projects are taking over our house. But isn’t that bed gorgeous? Or at least it will be. I love the barley twist posters. I’m hoping it will be our bed but it might be too big for our room. I may end up listing it in my shop when I’m through if we can’t get it up the stairs.
Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more transformations!
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Several months ago I found this little upholstered bench at an estate sale. It was really cute and good quality but very dated:
You can see below it has that terrible faux finishing technique that was so popular in the sixties and seventies with the speckling. Most pieces I find with this are antique reproductions of a high quality so there must have been something to that kind of finish that was very “in” at the time…
The upholstery was actually in good condition and high quality velvet but the gold color of it with the antique white and the gilding screamed early 70s boudoir. I was basically dreading having to reupholster it so I stuck it in our storage shed all winter. Then, today when I brought it out, I realized it wasn’t really gold velvet, it was mustard yellow, it just needed a peacock blue to accent it the right way…
I used ASCP Aubusson Blue with a dark wax to give it that darker peacock blue tone. I left a little of the gilding for two reasons: First, I liked it. And second, it made painting up next to the upholstery so much easier. I basically didn’t have to paint right up next to the piping because the line of gilding made a little buffer.
This little bench has such great lines. And the upholstery has a ton of tufting.
Great carved details too.
This little bench will be going to the flea market along with all the other pieces from my recent posts. I had been thinking I wouldn’t take it because I had decided I just didn’t like it–but now I think it’s one of my favorites! The colors and style are so out of my usual box but I guess it’s good to push yourself now and again.
Also, before you think I traveled to Venice and took photos in a crumbling palazzo, I’m actually in the middle of replastering my living room walls. I can only do it in bits and pieces when the kids are out or sleeping so who knows how long I will have to put up with my living room in a shambles. Sometimes I just get a bee in my bonnet though and have to start doing something. Anyway, I thought the crumbling plaster fit the feel of the bench–sort of faded European nobility or something. Maybe I’ve been watching too much Downton Abbey…
Thanks for stopping by!
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I found this little chair a few weeks ago and have been meaning to fix it up for the flea market. Today while Becky was taking her nap and the boys were at camp I was able to get to it.
Here it was before:
And after some paint and new fabric, here it is after:
The fabric is a scrap I had left over from a few years ago called Oriental Traditions by Robert Kaufman. It’s a take on a traditional toile–but done almost like a line drawing.
It was perfect for a little touch of ASCP Olive on the spindles.
This vintage basket will probably be going to the flea market too although I’m having a hard time letting go of it–it has those great rails supporting it on the bottom and it in such good condition. I’m actually finding that to be the case with a lot of the things I’m supposed to be selling–I really want to keep them!
Thanks for stopping by!
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Here’s another project I worked on over the weekend for the flea market in August–a salvage store vintage mirror. The before wasn’t too bad but it had that speckled finish that drives me crazy and immediately dates a piece.
And here are the afters:
I’m running out of room to showcase things now so I had to hang this one in Becky’s room. It’s pretty large and would be more appropriate over a mantle or large dresser.
Here’s a detail of the paint. I used ASCP Old White with a new color called Florence underneath. I did tweak Florence a little with some Graphite…
Also, you may have noticed the website is changing a bit. A very talented graphic designer designed a logo for me (as a favor to John! I am forever grateful! Free interior design advice? Refinish some furniture for him?) and I am in the process of getting all the kinks with the current blog ironed out but it may take a while. I know the only way to leave comments is to click on the individual post and then find the comment form. Also, I have a lot of catching up to do with filling up my other pages. Thanks in advance for your patience!
And thanks for stopping by!
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I found these nesting tables recently and thought they would make a cute project. Very sturdy and in great condition–just needing some updating. I forgot to take before pictures so…
Here’s the After:
The tops are in ASCP Graphite and the legs are in Old White. Love the cabriole turn on them–so leggy! And they fully separate.
I know I have been posting almost all furniture rehab projects lately but I feel like that is all I have been doing! I did get some things done this weekend for a few clients so I hope to post that soon. We had a busy but productive weekend–how about you?
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