Word of the Year

The other day I saw a blog post that asked...What is your word of the year? Word of the year???? Not a whole list of resolutions, just one word? That seemed easy enough...right? WRONG!!!

This word has to (or should) be the word that inspires, drives, and gives meaning to the year I would like to live. And the word I choose needs to work with my whole being...mother, wife, designer, painter, business owner...ugh! This is harder than I thought!!!

But is HAS got me thinking...and thinking...and thinking. And to be honest I'm still thinking, wondering, pondering. One word...for a whole year... I'll get back to you on this one.

On another note this is my latest project; a two-tiered side table with a harlequin pattern on the top. Like I mentioned in my last post, I just can't leave the top bare. It's a compulsion :-)

I painted the whole table with Annie Sloan charcoal chalk paint; then added a coat of paris gray on the top. I used the computer to draw out the harlequin pattern, transferred it to the top and painted the pattern using charcoal gray.

This gives me three coats on the top; charcoal gray, then paris gray and once again charcoal gray in the harlequin pattern. Chalk paint distresses very easily. I knew I would distress this piece and when I did so I wanted the charcoal to show through the paris gray. When distressing you always have to think in layers and whats under under your paint.

I've got a few great projects in the making as we speak. I really look forward sharing them with you over the next week. Now I'm off to wonder, ponder and think...scary!!! Oh, and let me know if you've come up with a word for your year.

As usual I'll link up to some great parties. Check em' out and have a great weekend everyone.

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!

Number 5

I'm sure I've said this before but this has got to be my favorite project so far. It was easy, fast and turned out exactly how it looked in my head.

This table has been my nightstand for at least (uh, hum) 20 years!!! I still can't believe I've had anything for twenty years. I'm only 19 after all :-) Of course I didn't get a before pic...why?...I forgot. But basically the top was stained wood. It was a little worn in a few spots but not bad. A few months ago I painted another table and liked it enough to use it as my new nightstand.

I couldn't decide what to do with this one so it sat, and sat, and sat at the foot of my bed. Finally I'd had enough and brought it downstairs to take to the basement. And you know how sometimes when you move something into a new environment an idea comes out of nowhere? That's what happened here. BAM!!! An idea!

First, I measured the top of the table then went to the computer to map it out. I chose the number 5 just because that's the number of people in our family. The shape of that number also looked great in the circle.

To transfer the design onto the table I used an old technique I learned many years ago. I took a soft pencil and colored on the back of the computer print out; turned the design over and taped it to the table. Then simply traced over the lines, removed the paper and voila there's a great imprint. It works like a charm!

I decided to paint the whole design a creamy white first. I knew I wanted to distress the table heavily and thought a layered look would give it more depth.

Next, I taped off the stripes. They didn't need to be perfectly straight but I did want them the same width all the way down.

To finish this off, I painted the number and circle border black. I was very tempted to distress this right away but waited until the next day so the latex paint had time to cure. Oh, I almost forgot...I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in paris gray for the table top. I knew this would distress beautifully.

The next morning I was so excited to get up and finish this table. As planned, I distressed the table heavily and applied two coats of wax for protection.

I'm sooooo happy with the way it turned out. And layering the paint worked beautifully. I love how the white paint peeks out from under the red stripes.

I will be linking up to Miss Mustard Seeds Furniture Feature Friday link party. Also, Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special as well as the Sister Sunday Link Party at Sisters of the Wild West. And last but not least Shades of Amber Chalk Paint Link Party. I'm real excited to see what everyone else has been up to this week. Take a peek for yourself. Have a great weekend everyone and keep cool!!!

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.

Is it gray or grey?

I know, not exactly a "meaning of life" question but let's face it, you are reading a design blog. However this is one of the small questions in life that I've never taken the time to look up. And although I'm more creative than academic, I would still like to spell correctly...at least most of the time! Since I needed to use the word "grey" or "gray" when writing about this wonderful night table it needed to be just right.

And the answer is...both are correct! But it does make a difference where you live. In the U.S. it is spelled "gray" and in the U.K. you better spell it "grey." So now that you've gotten your grammar lesson for the day let's get to the good stuff!

This little beauty came to me via a Craig's List post in St. Louis. I was down there visiting my sister and of course had to check out their listings. What I found was a gold mine. Herman, had a treasure trove of "stuff" in his garage and I came home with a van full.

This table started out with one of those early 90's pickled finishes. (I really do need to get better at taking before pics!) I painted this solidly built night stand/end table using Annie Sloan's chalk paint in Paris Grey. This paint is truly an amazing product. Once I've done a few more projects using this paint I will post more about it.

The great construction is evident with the dove-tailed drawers. I kept the original hardware and spray painted them black. Then waxed the whole piece and voila...new beauty. This table would look great next to your front door for keys and such, next to your bed or used as an end table in the living room.

Thanks for stopping by and have a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend!