GRAIN SACK HUTCH

I went through a pretty severe china cabinet phase. It's not the worst, but they really are beasts to paint! 

This hutch was dark and kinda grimy. I was immediately excited about the missing glass because it was the perfect excuse to add chicken wire! Plus little "flaws" like that mean good deals!  

I really like pairing MMS Milk paint grainsack with MMS ironstone. It is subtle and classy. 

All the details were lost in the sea of grubby old brown stain. Now it's a showstopper. Had to fight the urge to keep this one!

THE MOUSE HOTEL

So anyone who has joined me at n auction knows that I get carried away. Not just a little. A LOT! And the checkout is a nail biting experience. I bought too much at an auction in March and this was the last piece I worked on of the haul. It got put on the back burner because it was...gross. A barn find that literally had a mouse nest in the bottom drawer. It was well worth braving the ickyness! 

It was so dark it looked almost black. Everyone I showed it to couldn't even see the great character.

I knew that this little vanity/desk needed to be green. As a go to color, MMS Lucketts Green was used for the base and MMS Boxwood was used in the stripe detailing. I sanded down the top and rubbed in a little hemp oil. Nice and rich! 

I wanted it to look nice and spring-y and added white wax to get in the grooves. It turned out exactly as planned and looked sort of like a frosted succulent leaf.

VANITY ADDICTION

I have an undeniable vanity addiction, and after a late night estate auction, this became very apparent. I brought home two, and they were rough! Like one had a mouse nest in the drawer rough! But this one was rodent free but certainly not without its issues. 

Peeling veneer, water damage, and.....an iron burn?! Yeah, I had my work cut out for me. 

Cut to the "After" where you don't have to see the buckets of bleach water, scrapers, fillers, paint splattered shorts....the fun stuff!

Not a great picture, but it turned out blue and beachy! I used MMS milk paint in Eulalie's Sky. I decided to use the white wax and was hooked! It hit all the right places and added effortless highlights, all while adding a protective waxy coat!

HI AGAIN!

So, I haven't blogged in FOREVER. But I'm back and although it hasn't been well documented, I've been crazy busy! And a lot of furniture refinishing got done. So without further ado, some before and after pics. I'll just work from oldest to newest. (Not including the slew of projects that only got before or only after pics!)

So the oldest project in my phone was a cute little art deco dresser.



The wood finish looks just fine, but trust me, it wasn't! It was poorly refinished with a rough poly-stain blend that didn't suit the wood and was streaky. It was so bland, I almost walked past it!

Some pieces stump me, but this one was a no brainer. I knew it needed to be Miss Mustard Seed's Lucketts Green. The perfect knobs jumped out at me in the craft store and everything went right with this piece. A rarity I'm tellin' you!

She turned out perfectly! The variation in color from the milk paint really gave the piece an authentic vintage look.

BLACK!?

When I started painting furniture, everything was white, off white, and oh yeah more white. But I ventured. Baby steps at first. Light blue, pale pink, seafoam green, even yellow. But this piece demanded something dark and masculine. It needed to be black!

STAGE IT!

One soggy Sunday afternoon, I decided to bring in a little piece and do a quick before shot. 

Typical, dimly lit, unstaged before picture. I always equate them to the weight loss ads that show the before person poorly dressed, poorly posed, and sad looking. Not a lot of effort goes into a before shot. 

Obviously there is a little bit of damage. It's thirsty old wood that has been a little neglected. But Something felt wrong about slathering it and paint and beating the crap out of it just for the sake of being shabby. Maybe I should give it a chance and see how it looks just as it is.

 

 A quick coat of oil and vinegar....it's not a salad I know, but it works! It photographs well and looks lovely without a drop of paint.

Some handy accessories and a little staging prove that maybe some things are better unpainted.

 

It's over 100 years old and hasn't been painted yet...that's something!

MAHOGANOOO THANKS

Pictures can't do just ice to how messed up this poor buffet was. It had holes drilled in the top, peeled veneer, and a Harry Homeowner polyshades gloss finish. Yuck. 

But It has a classic shape and good handles so it was my project for one warm December weekend....I live in Florida so don't think I'm nuts!

Tah dah! It's blue, beachy, and surrounded by dusty garage mess. It got a new home in two days!