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!

GOT THE BLUES

 This little dresser looks beachy and cute now, but it was in a sad state when I got it! One of those, "maybe I should forget this one..." type of pieces.

Here's how I got it. And I didn't pick it out of the trash, that's what I've done to the garage! I'm a bit messy.

After half a tub of wood filler and some serious patience, it appeared that this little guy was going to make it.

The top veneer had to be peeled off because it was rippled and water damaged, a scary sight for sure.

It still has some evident ripples in the veneer, but it adds character!

'TIS THE SEASON

Whew, it's been a busy week! I went with my fella to get a few last minute Christmas gifts on Tuesday. While in Stuart, I popped in to check out the new expanded Junk Dog Salvage. By Wednesday morning we were painting my soon to be booth and Thursday afternoon I had all my goodies set up and ready for new homes!

My handsome man helped me patch and paint the space! I was so glad to have a blank canvas.

No overcrowding here! Everything has a place and it all coordinates. I nabbed some of my favorites from my Okeechobee location at The Unique Boutique. That's ok though, I left plenty of vintage goodies!

This glorious mahogany mirror was sitting on the floor in Okeechobee, I just didn't have the room. But here it is the center of attention!

I love propping old photos up on equally old furniture. Price tags are a necessary evil, I think they distract from the display a bit. 

Lovin' this desk. I've never used so much black on a piece before, but I think it really works.

At times, I get a little selfish with my stuff. This catalog has been in my closet for months, but I decided it wasn't doing any good there. Now someone can give it a new home, but until then it's gracing my new booth!
All in all I love my new space and hope I can always add to the quirky charm at Junk Dog Salvage!

BEIGE BUT NOT BLAND

 I've admitted on multiple occasions that I have a furniture addiction. I sometimes buy more than I have room for, whether at the shoppe, or in my work space. But sometimes ya just gotta get 'em when you see 'em.

And I'm so glad I snatched up this Craigslist dresser! I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Certainly one of a kind. But when I picked it up a few days ago, it wasn't nearly as dapper!

When Mom and I hauled this home from a late night Craigslist purchase, it was pretty dirty....like left in a barn or garage type oily dirty needs a bleach bath kinda way.

Despite that, this piece is heavy, well built, solid wood, and has tons of character.

 

Oh! And one of the best things is that it has all of the original hardware!

After stripping the top and making a huge mess it was ready for priming, painting, and detailing.

Lets not forget that most antique pieces have missing delicate trim. Some people would just ignore this, but I am kind of a perfectionist, so I used wood filler like Play-Doh to replicate the missing trim piece. 

Have I mentioned how glamorous refinishing furniture is? If I haven't, here is an image of my sweet manicure!

Transfer paper is a cheap and relatively tedious way to get an image onto a piece of furniture. But alas, my vision included a Victorian advertisement graphic, so it had to happen.

Several hours and several Advil later, the custom paint job is done! It was a bit of a pain, but totally worth it.

It'll be gracing the shoppe as soon as there's room for it! 

GETTING FESTIVE

This post will be a little picture heavy, but everyone likes pictures! The lovely vanity I just finished fits in the shoppe perfectly! This was one of those pieces that had me considering switching something out of my room to keep it. But I kinda need a bed, so it's in the shoppe and ready for a new home!

I love the etched glass and pineapple detail on the top. It's so unique. Maybe a snow bird will want it for their winter home. With the new aqua coat it screams beachy glamour.

Of course, this piece was deserving of a matching chair, so I fished this beauty out of my growing chair collection and gave it new life with paint and a clean neutral upholstery job. 

 I had to throw some festive bits all around the shoppe, so these bright colored ornaments complemented the soft pastel vanity. You can see wood engraving peeking out, I couldn't bring myself to paint over it, so it's quite the accent

 

I have a thing for old bottles, so it's rare that any make it into the shoppe. But my collection has gotten too big to handle, so these guys are ready for a new home. Perhaps in a windowsill full of wildflowers?

I typically don't like artificial flowers, but these little cherubs can pull 'em off.

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I found room for a tree again this year. It's a Christmas miracle....a bit early, but a miracle nonetheless.

These are not my typical style, but they are just adorable!

Ironstone works for any season!

I love a good deal, so I've been holding onto this tree since a Christmas in July sale! So glad to have it out of the garage and in the shoppe where it an be appreciated.

There seemed to be too many balls on the tree and not enough variety, so I tied some mismatch teacups in and made this discount tree a shabby success.

 

I can never stop at just one tree! This little guy has also been hanging in the garage since July.

I customized this star with some tinsel and an image from the graphics fairy.

 

I love these vintage Santa mugs. I almost snagged 'em for myself to stick with my jadeite for a sweet vintage red and green Christmas. But alas, I can't keep everything!

I'm not ashamed to admit that this Santa creeps the crap outta me! He's a little terrifying, but there is something super charming about him at the same time. It didn't help that his hand clasps a paring knife perfectly and we made full use of that fact for Halloween! 

 A lovely pair of candle holders from another Christmas in July sale!

 I can't believe I found a pink Santa! It was in March, but hey, when you see a pink santa, you can't pass it up! So on that note, I leave you with this: it may seem ridiculous to shop for Christmas year round, but the July sales feel like they just happened! Christmas rolls in quick and if you're always on the hunt, you can avoid a pricey retail decor nightmare!