Talking Chair

I have not ever had that much luck finding good chairs, until recently.  Remember these two barrel cane back chairs?  They were a great find in pretty good shape.  So often the caning is broken in the cane back chairs and that's why they are being sold.  Lately though, and I know I probably will now jinx myself, I have found some nice sturdy chairs in good shape.  I've learned not to question why the change in luck...just go with it.
Who knows what next week might bring me!

Here she is, another chair finish.  I just love her lines.

I don't think any of my photos captures the true beauty of this fabric, but it's a lovely, lovely shade of navy that I like more than a lot!

It plays nice with the Old White Chalk Paint.  It's Super comfortable too!  I should probably be bringing this back to my home shouldn't I?

As a bonus...nice legs too. I am such a sucker for turned legs on furniture.  This piece is for sale at NJ & Co.  You can find it in the window saying, "Come in, tell them to get me out, sit on me, take me home."  OK, not really, but she would if she could.

Stay warm this week!
Deb
Linking to:
http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com/2013/01/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-53.html

Going Green Again

Green, oh how I love thee.  It's just hard to find a color as refreshing as green.  I honestly don't think there is a shade of green that I plain don't like.  I like it mossy.  From Olive to Teal, and everything in between, I love it.  It should be no surprise then that the first 2 colors of Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint that I ordered were the 2 greens, Lucketts and Boxwood.  My Lucketts dresser sold (several times, long story), as soon as I finished it.  Here is Boxwood in all it's loveliness.

She chipped and flaked and distressed beautifully...like magic!  It's rather funny, because the parts where I think it would not flake off, sure enough it does.  Not much predictability here, and wow what a fun risk to take on some pieces.

This dresser still had all of it's original hardware, and it was tarnished and dented a bit.  In my eyes it was PERFECT!  I will say this time, mixing the milk paint was super easy.  I had purchased a new better hand mixer for myself and I dedicated the old one to the workshop.  The paint turned out so much smoother.  Now, when I painted the Lucketts Dresser I hand mixed that paint.  It was a bit lumpy, but the lumps brushed out just fine when I was painting my dresser.  So really, I don't think it makes a difference in the end result, but it helps those of us who are probably a bit OCD handle using milk paint.

I love how well received these pieces are!  The shoppers at NJ & Company have been very complimentary about these pieces.  Needless to say, I placed another order for yet more MMS Milk Paint and have more chippy pieces (maybe) in my future!  And I think there will be more green in my future too.  It just makes me happy.

Warm Wishes to you!
Deb
Linking to:  http://missmustardseed.com/2013/01/furniture-feature-friday-favorites-a-link-party-15/

Winter Sky

It's Winter, it's gray, it's cold...most days that is.  The older I get the harder it is to find the joy in cold weather.  If I borrowed a page from my friend Kathleen's book I'd find something to be grateful for in Winter.  Hmmm, maybe the extra refrigeration my garage provides, or the lovely jolt I get when one of my kids runs in from outside and sticks theIR hand up my back!  Yikes.  Ok, maybe watching the bright red cardinals as they dart from the bird feeder to the spruce trees and back.  They look pretty against the bright snow.  The sky was blue today, which briefly fooled me into thinking it wasn't really that bad out.  Many days out now though I see nothing but a gray, gray sky.  So what color do I choose to paint, why Paris Gray of course.

A few weeks ago I ran across a nice mid-century Drexel step-back hutch.  Solid cherry, pretty, but so very dated looking and enough nicked up that I decided paint would be the best way to bring it back into vogue.  That cherry wood will still be there if someone/someday wants to strip it down and refinish it all.

This piece has storage and then some.  The hardware was in really good shape and we opted to reuse it as it fit the scale and style of the hutch.  I love Paris Grey, and to be honest that surprised me as I'm normally more into warm tones.  I'm really learning to appreciate it as the great neutral that it is.

I painted the back in Old White to lighten it up a bit.  Some distressing shabby's it up just enough to give it a nice farmhouse feel.  And if you don't happen to need a storage piece for the kitchen or dining room, it's a 2 piece unit and the bottom half would make an awesome console cabinet for an entry hall or family room.

It's tall, it's SOLID, it's solid cherry wood, it's Drexel made quality, it's FOR SALE!!!  For my local Nebraska peeps you just need to let me know if you'd like to stop by and take a peek.  They don't make them like this anymore!

Have a great week!

Deb

linking to:
http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com/2013/01/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-52.html

Balance

I've been thinking about this for the last year really.  I loved how everyone boiled down their "word of the year" last year into a one word goal.  I have not made New Year's Resolutions for years and years now.  It seems like such a good idea, but the reality is that one little slip up and seems like you've derailed your whole year, and we all knows what happens then right?  Yep, you throw out the baby and the bathwater, the tub, and the rubber ducky all in one fell swoop!  Yet that one word goal/statement/hope/dream/affirmation/whatever you want to call it kept coming back to me.  And I've watched many of you bloggers out there look back at your year and find satisfaction and the desire to repeat it.  Cool!  So, this year I'm joining you with my own word for 2013.  My word is

BALANCE

 There have been many, many days I have felt a bit like this guy most likely felt.  It really is ALL GOOD to have your business take off and grow in many new and unexpected directions, to have healthy children with many varied and healthy activities to support, to have a multitude of hobbies that you enjoy and need to find time for, to have a spouse you adore and want to spend time with, to have friends that you also adore and want to hang out with, to have a church full of wonderful people and fantastic activities you want to participate in.  It's all good, really!  I actively count my many blessings on a daily basis.  God has been so good to me!

But keeping up with all those things can be a challenge for someone with my, ahem, personality!  Don't judge too harshly my compulsive/obsessive tendencies!  Towards the end of the year I found myself almost hyper-ventilating as I struggled to be happy with all the good things happening around me.  It was time to take a breather and just let myself be present wherever I was.  So this year, I strive to keep finding that balance.  The balance that gives me peace and contentment with all the wonderful things right in front of me.

When I began this blog I really only intended to use it as a means to showcase for local clients the furniture that I had restyled and was offering for sale.  I have a spouse who does enough with "security" matters that he really wasn't wild about parading the family and children and our activities all over the world wide web! :-)
I think that I will for the most part honor that, however if I'm honest, one of the things that I've enjoyed the most about the blog is the people I've met from all over and the glimpses that I've been privileged to see into their lives.  I'm one of those weird people who will drive by houses on my errands and actually do a mental picture of what those houses might look like inside, and wonder about the people inside.  And when I'm really lucky at night sometimes I get a glimpse inside of an unshuttered window and I can SEE the wall colors or some furniture.  It's that peek inside someone else's life that can be so fun, and sometimes so surprising!  I DO have a life beyond my furniture business.  I'm a wife, and a mother, and last year I learned how to ring bells for church, I'm a quilter, and a Rug Hooker, and a bunch of other things.  Maybe no one else really wants to know that much about me, or my family and life.  I don't know, but maybe I'll post some of the things that are happening here and give you that glimpse into our windows.  I think it might "Balance" my blog a bit too.

So, if you find me not posting for a bit, or posting on something other than furniture it most likely is me just searching for some BALANCE in my life.  Happy 2013 everyone!  May it be a blessed year!
Deb

Linking to:  http://551eastdesign.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-new-years-resolution-turning-my.html
 The Lettered Cottage Word of the Year Link Party
http://theletteredcottage.net/word-of-the-year-link-party-2013/

My New Furniture Obsession & Ladies Night Out

You can NEVER have too many chairs!  Really.  I have discovered that I was chair deprived for many, many years.  So recently I have become obsessed with simple side chairs.  I've bought some, restyled some lucky finds, bought some from my partners to use in my home (ahem, before they could even be brought into the house for the Prairie Market),**(correction, attempted to buy, Suz wouldn't let me pay cause she's super nice like that)** and scoured everywhere for more.  Many times they are difficult to find, well find in my budget.  Now I've decided that the rest of the world, or at least Nebraska, needs more chairs too.  Lucky me I was given 2 chairs by another partner, restyled those and managed to sell them before I even thought to get a photo taken :-(.

I finally found one cute little cane back the other day that was in the budget and snapped it up.  Then my newly minted "picker", the Mr., found 2 more budget pleasing chairs for me last week.  These 2 restyles went fairly quickly.  Sorry, no before because I appear to be hopeless when it comes to that, but I did get afters on these before they headed down to NJ & Co.!

These 2 ladies are very clean lined, well made and were in remarkably good condition.  I actually considered keeping the blue velveteen that was on the cushions, but I had fabric burning a hole in my craft room!  These are painted in Annie Sloan Old Ochre and waxed with clear wax only.  As hard as it is to find any good chairs at times, it is much more difficult to find a matching pair of nice chairs!

I love that open armed barrel style.  The caning was in wonderful condition.  They are distressed to give them a bit of shabby chic character.

Isn't this postmark fabric the bomb?!  Love it on these chairs.  Now, what if you paired these

with this.

Wouldn't that be fabulous in a small sitting area, or set up as a special conversation area in YOUR living room or family room??!  Yes, it would be wonderful....if I had a bit more space here.....

All 3 of these pieces are for sale at NJ & Co.  which is hosting their monthly Ladies Night Out tonight from 4:30-8 P.M.!  Come see us tonight and find me to say hi!

Happy New Year and New Blessings to You!
Deb

Merry Christmas!

And I'm only a day late!  But in this crazy, whirlwind time we live in I don't think it is ever too late to wish you and yours Good Will and Peace and the Love of Christ!  The tragedies weighed heavy on my mind and heart as I muddled through the month. I think the only answer to those moments is prayer, and trying to treasure the moments I have with my family and friends.  Here is just a snapshot of what we have been up to here in Nebraska.

An elf named Trixie came to visit and kept us on our toes with her antics.

She is mischievous and added some lovely giggles to our troop every morning.



I think she may have a slight crush on Woody!

There were programs galore to attend.

And when the blizzard and power outage changed our Santa visit plans we made do with the Mr.'s favorite character Mr. Grinch, whose heart surely grew 3 sizes that day!  3 Lovely Ladies:  Madison 14, Michaela 16, and Ellarie 7. 

Every year the Mr.'s company in VA has sent us the year's White House ornament as a gift. We all look forward to seeing and hanging the newest ornament. This year's ornament features President Taft and the one of the first automobiles made by the White Sewing Machine Co. They are all so lovely.

 

I even managed to finish this piece while watching "It's a Wonderful Life" this week.  It's such a nice sized Coffee Table.

At first when we sanded down the top and refinished it I was quite dismayed by the lighter and darker shades that showed up.  After some consideration though I really loved it as it reminds me of a piece made with reclaimed pieces maybe off of a wine crate.  (Always go with your imagination right?!)

A visit to the Graphics Fairy blogspot provided me with a lovely French advertisement to adapt to my table top.  Now it is perfect!

I also found this Bassett Furniture beauty and had planned to paint her with some very modern graphics on her.  However, that wood, oh help me that wood, was just too lovely to cover in paint! Look at those original pulls.  This piece just needed preserved as best I could.

So, I hope she'll find her home with someone who enjoys her clean lines and lovely walnut wood that has all been reconditioned to bring out her glory!

These pieces were done at the same time that I finished 2 dining room sets that took up the remainder of my month.  The weather has turned frigid here and it is hard to do much out in the workshop even with 2 little heaters going.  I'm hoping the weather turns soon as I have more custom work to get back to in 2013 and plenty of my own pieces for my house and to sell in line for work also.  It's a blessing to be so busy with something I love! 

Merry Christmas!  And here's to a wonderful New Year, full of Peace, Health, and Prosperity for ALL!  God Bless!
Deb

Listening to Tracy

Hello again from the long lost painter who can't seem to get her blog groove going.  Or maybe it's just keep it going...

Regardless, I'm back today with another recent finish to show you.  In addition to forgetting to blog I've also had a bad habit of forgetting to take photos of everything that I have completed.  I have worked on several custom pieces and sent them on home with nary a photo.  I've been finishing things to take down to NJ & Co. and forget to take photos.  So, last week I tracked down one of my items and managed to take some really horrible photos that I'm going to show you today.  Lucky you!

Isn't she gorgeous...or she would be if she didn't look rather blue in this photo.  Poor photography skills aside she is a pretty deep black.  You see, one of the other vendors that is part of the Co.  at NJ & Co. has been requesting some true black (not the chalk/milk paint versions).  She has told me several times that she could have sold this piece or that piece if only it were in black.  I've drug my feet for awhile because black can be so hard to work with (IMHO).  So I'm going
to go with her on this one and see if the folks who were seeking black furniture pieces come out to take this baby home.  You rock Tracy!

This buffet is so solid and the storage in this piece is AMAZING!  In addition to the dining room I can definitely see this piece scoring big time in the family room to house the games and DVD's  The top was an easy refinish with some new stain and antique oil finish.  I tried out Benjamin Moore's Advance Waterborne Interior Alkyd in Black on the body.  I will tell you that I've had mixed results with Alkyd type paints in the past.  Some don't level well, some don't cover well.  I've never been asked to, but I would recommend this paint whole heartedly.  It went on beautifully and I got great coverage with 2 coats.  The down side of the paint is the dry time.  It is recommended you wait at least 16 hours before gently sanding, wiping down and painting your 2nd coat.  I'm thinking this is what I'm going to be using on my kitchen cabinets when I finally get the nerve (and energy) to paint them.

The downside to black, as I've told Tracy, is that up close (or in photos) you can pick out the wear and tear a vintage piece of furniture will have on it. (though I will say I don't even see these creases in person).    But even those she's a bit time worn she wears her bling proudly!  Aren't those gorgeous knobs?! 

You can find this lovely piece for sale down at NJ & Co.  If Tracy is working tell her "THANKS"!  As a matter of fact NJ & Co. is having their monthly "Ladies Night Out" this Thursday evening.  They stay open until 8, serve wine and snacks, and most of the vendors are there to help and meet you!  You ALL are invited to come join us.  There are some wonderful new things all over the shop to fill out your shopping list!  I'll be there to help you load any furniture purchases, wink, wink.

Deck the Halls!
Deb
Linking to:
http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com/2012/12/poww-117.html
http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com/2012/12/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-48.html