A Not So "Easy" Chair

Have you ever bought a piece that you thought would be a quick easy flip, only to find you were so, so wrong?  This chair had a great finish, and seemed to be pretty sturdy except for maybe needing a couple of new corner blocks.  I figured after the corner blocks were fixed all I would need to do was apply a coat of Howard's Restor-a-Finish and throw some new fabric on the seat. Ha!  I walked into the shop to find this:

Hubby wasn't to happy, he said every piece was loose and needed re-glued, so my easy flip turned into a royal pain.  The finish got ruined in the process of re-gluing.  The beautiful detail on the back is what drew me to it in the first place, but that and the spindles would have stopped me in my tracks if I knew that I would have to refinish it.

 

Stripping and sanding all that detail almost had me wanting to throw it in the burn pile.  Oh well, it's done and I think it turned out nice, what do you think?

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funky junk interiors

savvy southern style

diy by design

Map Desk and Lamp

I've had a great summer!  My daughter and her family spent most of it with us.  I was so busy that I haven't blogged for months.  It's a little hard to get back into it after this long, but I really wanted to record these pieces.

I had the map and globe for over a year waiting for the right piece to use them on.  I bought the desk for $5 this summer while junking with my daughter.  It was pretty rough but I thought it would work.  The top was horribly gorged so I just turned it over, filled the screw holes and spray painted it a nice aqua blue.  The bottom had stickers all over and was pretty beat up.  I cleaned it up and put a couple coats of fresh white paint on it (already done in this pic).

The lamp had an ugly shade but I knew I wanted to use the top half of an old globe on it.  That was easier said than done.  My husband had to hacksaw the meridian (metal ring) off.  I was afraid he was going to cut his hand off, but eventually he got it.  Then we just split the globe in half, and I painted the inside and rim gold.

Then came the fun part, the decoupage.  I carefully positioned the map to fit the desk top, and get as much of the world on it as I could.  Then with hubby's help I applied the decoupage, carefully placed the map on and gently smoothed it out.

There were some great little maps left over so I put those on the center bottom.  Then my husband cut out small images of South America and Africa for the cubbies.  I think kids will love the little extras.

I really love this piece, I hope it finds a good home soon.

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funky junk interiors

savvy southern style
diy by design

From Big Bird to Chicken Wire

Have you ever seen a piece at a garage sale and knew exactly what it would look like when you were done with it?  This was my ah ha piece.

Saving an Empire

My sister-in-law traded me an empire dresser for revamping a couple things for her.  I've seen quite a few painted empires that turned out beautiful, but I like to restore pieces if they warrant it.  This is how it turned out.

Getting Ready for Fancy Farm Girl 2015

Wow!  It's almost time for the Fancy Farm Girl Vintage Market.  I've been working on pieces for the show for months now, but there is still the last push to get it all done.  Here is a peek at a few things I'll be bringing.

It looks like a pretty eclectic mix of stuff, but will be grouped in three different sections that will be shared between my sister and her husband, my brother and his wife, and my husband and me.  We will have a garden section with great plants from Ron & Phyllis, a rusty - vintage section, and a French inspired section.  I have had so much fun working with different techniques such as vinegar stain, chalk paint, dry brush, and Vaseline relief.  

Anyone in the Moses Lake Washington area Mother's Day weekend needs to check out this show.  This is the 2nd year, and it will be twice as big as last year.  So join us May 9th at the Grant County fairground for the 2nd annual Fancy Farm Girl Vintage Market.

Linking up to:

beyond the picket fence.

diy by design

a stroll thru life

funky junk interiors

Sleek Little Cabinet

I picked up this little cabinet at our local thrift store.  Someone had done a lot of work on it in the '80s, but it really needed some work to bring it into this century.

Better Than RH Coffee Table

I've had the same scratched up coffee table for about 20 years.  I know, it's kind of like the plumber's wife with the leaky faucet.  I've pretty much known what I wanted for some time, but there was no way I could afford this:

Restoration Hardware Pine and Steel Clamp Coffee Table 

        

 

So, to the rescue comes my awesome, wonderful, talented husband.  It started with a pine tree he sawed down three years ago, then his brother sawed it into boards on his sawmill, and planed the boards.  We bought about $80 worth of 3" wide steel, some lag bolts, spray paint and stain.   My husband calculated, dreamed, calculated some more and then started in.  Here is the wood and steel in the  beginning stages:

I love the knots and bluing in the wood.  My brother-in-law planed the wood for us a second time because it was still too thick to run through the table saw.  My husband then sawed them to length, doweled and glued the boards, draw planed, ground and sanded the top until it was as smooth as a baby's butt.  Then he measured, re-measured, cut and welded the steel base.  We tested out four different colors on a piece of the leftover wood.  This is always a good idea because our first idea, Jacobean ended up almost black on the pine.  We ended up with English Chestnut by Minwax, it's a good combination of brown and red. 

 

 He cleaned up and spray painted the base a black satin.  There are 6 lag bolts holding the top & base together so that they can be taken apart and moved.  This baby is HEAVY, I'm guessing 80 to 100 pounds.  So finally enough talk, here it is...

I really do like ours better than Restoration Hardware's, the wood is thicker, and the base a little less bulky.  Plus this was made literally from scratch by my wonderful, awesome, talented husband.

I'll be linking up at:

 beyond the picket fence
savvy southern style
diy by design
miss mustard seed
a stroll thru life 

Happy Mothers Day

"What" you say "is she nuts?  Doesn't she know it is almost Valentine's Day, not Mothers Day?"  No, I haven't lost it yet, as far as I know.  You see, I've been working for the last three weeks on pieces for the Fancy Farm Girl Vintage Market in Moses Lake WA, which takes place the day before Mothers Day.  I've got furniture, vintage pieces, and a few odds and ends like this.

So what do you think this ends up as?  It started as an old cabinet door I got at Habitat for Humanities Restore store, and a couple of Fleur de lis coat hooks which I have a bunch of.

Ta Da!  A cute chalk board/coat rack.  My husband was bored and stenciled on the bird and wrote the Mothers Day note while I was painting some other pieces.

I'll be linking up at:

savvy southern style

diy by design

a stroll thru life

beyond the picket fence

Sweet Waterfall Style Bedroom Set

Last summer I found this cute bedroom set for $40 at a garage sale.  Well I just couldn't pass that up!

It's a waterfall style with these great handles.  My husband says they look like Poirot's mustache.  The only problem with it is that the bed is a full, and it was this ugly 1980's blond wood.

Painters Prison Vanity

Have you ever bought a piece that you thought would be an easy turn around, but found out it was a disaster?  That's what happened with this vanity.  

Re-vamped Stereo Bar

Boy it's been a long time since I posted anything!  I guess with the holidays, and all of the pieces I've been working on, blogging just got left behind.  I found this stereo last summer at an estate sale.  Now I know that some people like to hit up sales the very first thing on the first day to get the best stuff.  I'm more of of the type that gets there later in the afternoon of the last day to get the best bargains.  This stereo was one of those late in the game purchases and only cost me $15.  I knew right away that it would be a great bar, and a good puzzle for my husband to work on this winter.