How May I Help You?

Well, shoot!

OK, so it's no secret I have a hard time writing these posts. I am not a writer. It doesn't flow easily. I began writing this post several days ago and came back to finish it up this morning...only to find that it hadn't been saved!!! Oh the frustration :-)

Here's what I'm thinking...keep is short and simple.

I painted this desk with the it's final destination in mind. My friend, Melanie, is opening a new office here in town and asked that I help her decorate the space. A blank slate...how exciting!!!

 

She had picked out an inspiration photo, which helped define the color palette.

These colors work so well together. I like bright, vibrant colors and Mel really needed a more subdued look for her office...gotta keep it professional :-) The cream and charcoal keep it neutral and the blue adds that subtle "pop".

This is the third desk I've painted in the past year. The color-combo possibilities are endless and so much fun!

Rope detail...yummy!!!

What would a project be without a little distressing? It always adds character and interest.

Congrats to my friend Melanie. It's so exciting to watch your professional career blossom! I hope to have pics of her finished office space soon. It's coming together very nicely.

On a side note: my camera finally died. It's been a long, slow death. I'm looking for any suggestions you might have for a new digital SLR.

Have a great week...keep cool!

I'll be linking up to a few parties. Check them out!

Pretty Pretty Chair

I love chairs...I mean I really love chairs! I wish you could see my basement. At least half of the storage room is filled with chairs in many different stages of repair or shall I say dis-repair.

This cute little chair has literally sat in about seven spots in my house. It's so darn sweet. The size is perfect because it doesn't take up much room. It can be added to the table when an unexpected guest arrives, pushed up to a desk to write a quick note or used to brighten the corner of any room.

I painted the chair using ASCP in Old White and distressed it a bit to add some character. And then...the fabric...I LOVE this fabric!!! It just makes me happy with it's bright colors and flowers. Who doesn't smile when they see flowers?

I'm working on another project using this fabric. And I must say...it's fabulous!!! Stay tuned!!! Have a wonderful Easter!

Drop Leaf Table

Happy Leap Day!!! An extra 24 hours in your year!!! Did you treat it like any other day or do something special? I hate to admit that to me it was just other day. My husband did something special...he got the flu...poor guy. But to look on the bright side...he didn't waste a whole day being sick :-) Love you honey!!!

Here is my latest project. I have been wanting to do a treatment like this on a drop leaf table for a long time.

It is inspired by vintage dish cloths. Why No. 12? I really just picked it out but my daughter saw more significance to the number...she is 12 :-) Then I got to thinking...my husband is the 12th child in his family. Maybe there was more to it than I realized.

I never know how much I will distress a piece until it begins. I don't think I've ever distressed one quite this much. Did I go too far? That has been my fear, however, the more I live with it the more I like it. Lots of texture...yummy! It looks like it's been around for a long, long time.

With old tables like this, I find myself wondering about it's history. Who has previously owned the table? What were the happy times that took place around it? How many fabulous meals were eaten here? Oh, if this table could talk!

I continue to keep my word of the year "GROW" in the back of my head. And with that in mind I have some new, fun and exciting things happening in the near future. I will expound on those more in future posts...stay tuned!

Have a great week and thanks for reading!!! I love comments so leave one if you have the time.

Madame Secretary

This is my first desk redo and I really enjoyed it. It seemed to take a while to finish but actually it has been done for several weeks. What took so long was hauling it out of the basement to get the final pics! I kept forgetting to ask my hubby for the help and wouldn't think about it until late at night and by then he's tired and it's dark outside. Perhaps I should invest in some flood lights for night time picture sessions :-) The neighbors would be thrilled!

I must say she was pretty scary when I picked her up at my favorite thrift store. Most of her knobs were missing and the ones still left were mismatched. Of course I was able to see right through that and snatched her up for a song.

I had to purchase new handles. Needing 9 of them and being cheap, I turned to eBay and bought those for a song as well. I got the idea for the 2-toned dresser from Miss Mustard Seed (of course). She's a very talented lady. Check out her blog.

I used paris gray and old white Annie Sloan chalk paint. That paint is so wonderful. No priming or sanding needed to begin. Just start with the fun stuff...painting! I'm planning on purchasing more colors of chalk paint this week and am so excited to try out some of the brighter colors!

What do you think? I love comments and read everyone with a smile on my face. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week!

I'll be linking to several parties. Have a look at these other great blogs!

To Name or Not to Name?

This table and chairs have to be one of my favorite makeovers thus far. The table is the perfect size for so many places. It can go in a small kitchen, one your front porch or even in the entryway of your home.

When I first got the set everything was painted a bright gloss white...thank you Annie Sloan. I used the chalk paint again and saved myself a ton of time sanding.

I also thought it might be a good idea to paint the chairs a different color. I don't really know why. It just felt right.

One thing I can tell you is that I'm loving going to the fabric store and digging in the remnants bin. I do this for two reasons. One is to save a bit of cash on the fabric and two because whenever I go into a fabric store my heart starts to race and I see stars in my eyes. I get so overwhelmed. So many choices, so many possibilities. I don't want to have a full blown panic attack in the store so I stick to one section...the cheap bin :-)

Anyway, I chose several pieces of fabric so later I could decide what would work best. I liked this one because I thought it felt "good" with the set, kinda shabby, kinda vintage, kinda fun.

I've noticed some furniture bloggers name their pieces. What do you think? Should I start naming my pieces? I think I'd name this one "Jenny". That's my grandma's nickname and this piece reminds me of her. Let me know what you think!

I'll be posting this in my "Items for Sale" section. Check it out and have a great day!

I've linked up to Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday...head on over to see what others are doing. You will surely find a ton of ideas!

Chevron Coffee Table

WOW! Have I had a hard time getting into the swing of summer. The kids and I have been having a ton of fun but the work sure isn't getting done very fast. I've had several projects in the works for a few weeks, so now that they are complete I'm planning on posting a bit more regularly.

Here's my latest project.

Once again, no before pic. I promise one of these days you'll get a peek at what something looks like before I touch it! I painted this coffee table using the Annie Sloan chalk paint that I LOVE!!! My first thought was to paint it cream and be done. I mean the legs were cute all on their own and those scallops...be still my heart!

But then I started thinking (insert "uh oh"). That top is pretty plain, soooo... I added more to it! I've seen this chevron pattern on several pieces of furniture in blogland and love it. I liked the idea of having the opposing angular and straight pattern on the top of this cute, sweet-sided coffee table. I didn't want it to be overpowering so I painted it using another Annie Sloan paint called Paris Grey, not too dark, not too light. I then distressed the gray on the top letting the cream color show through. I really like the way the distressing turned out.

I must admit that distressing anything is hard for me. I've always liked the sharp clean look of a newly painted piece. But I'm trying to branch out a bit :-)

And then I've also done a bit of distressing on the scallops, legs and corners. As a finishing touch I waxed and buffed the whole piece for protection.

One last side note: I used FrogTape painter's tape for the first time on the chevron pattern. It's kinda pricey but totally worth the cost. And available at most home improvement centers. I bought mine at Noonan True Value Hardware in Springfield, IL (read: small plug for the family business). I've never been a fan of painter's tape. It's never worked for me. It seems like I still always had some seepage under the tape, so it was just easier to do freehand. But this pattern I knew had to be more precise. FrogTape is WONDERFUL and worked like a charm. Not one seep on the whole top.

This coffee table is for sale so take a peek on my ITEMS FOR SALE page. Thanks!

I'll be linking up to Metamorphosis Monday at: Between Naps on the Porch
Check it out. It's a lot of fun to see what others are doing.