The State of the Workshop

It might APPEAR that I have been idle for a whole stinkin' month, but I assure you that is not the case!  Things shift and grind and move around and get painted and delivered and more brought in.  My world goes round and round!  Here's proof!

The Mr.'s gift of a heater out here has kept me purring right along throughout the frigid Winter.  I need to show you a photo of the mondo heater sometime.  It looks like a giant oven coil.  Should I worry?

Anyway, here are a couple of custom finishes from the past month.

This is a huge table top with a couple of prayers stenciled on.  We were not going to be able to recover the stained finish so my client wanted a sage green (ASCP Chateau Gray) top with two of their favorite family meal time prayers.  What a cool idea!  The base is black and it looks fabulous again now.

I also have worked on, and am finishing up 7 pieces that I call PAX.  That's because I started to work over all these pieces when Winter Storm Pax was making his way across the country and leaving another polar vortex in his wake.  Thanks Pax...

These cottage styled 1940-1950's pieces had spent many, many years in a storage building in Florida heat and humidity.  So there were many little things to repair and re glue.  This is piece #5.  All will be painted in ASCP Pure White with very little distressing.  Nice and clean for a new season in their life.  I just love making the old tired pieces look fresh again!  Still working on a bed with a lot of repair work and a mirror that was almost forgotten.

And because the pollen is flying and evidently I should be better about masking up when I sand down furniture tops, I have another sinus infection that is making it hard to get much done.  New meds should be just the trick and I'll be back to my old self soon!  Watch for a couple more reveals this week.  I might even get back into the swing of blogging again.

Have a beautiful week!
Deb

Sochi Dresser

Hello friends.  Would you believe me if I said it has just been too cold to write blog posts?  Well, it has been.  Or at least to get photos that would go with the blog posts.  But I am back at it today thank heavens and the sun is shining and we are supposed to get above freezing temps with little to no wind (thank the Good Lord above!).  I'm officially turning into a total wimp.

Anyway, I have been enjoying some Winter Olympics and so this dresser had to be named Sochi.  Not to mention that it is 60 something degrees in Sochi and I am extremely jealous of that.  This dresser had such beautiful bones and details and lots of little rough patches in between.  Some veneer damage, some trim damage, some bad paint and glaze jobs, but sound dovetailed drawers, and pretty darn clean.  The Mr. found this one and brought it home and he is extremely proud of how it turned out.  He's so cute!

Sochi is tall, and has 6 nice drawers, some of which have nice dividers built in.

Unfortunately it was too cold to get out in the sun for the photos so they are workshop background and fluorescent lighting.  I can not figure out how to get a decent photo in this lighting so I apologize for the weird yellow effect that I tried to edit out.  I didn't want to lose the color though, and this beauty has some serious ASCP Provence going on.  Underneath are layers of Florence and Versailles too!

I also dry brushed on some Old White and used both light and dark waxes for some effect.

Because of the nicks of time, and the bad paint jobs I deliberately layered my paint up with brush strokes willy nilly and a bit heavier in spots.  Might as well use the natural layers of age to create a piece that, while refreshed, still shows the patina of a piece that has been around for a long while.

I deliberately went with 2 different styles of hardware because I thought this piece could use a bit of whimsy.  Aren't these flowered knobs so pretty?!  Here's some of that great detailing.

Here's some more of that detailing.  So delicate and pretty, and I love that the flower in the medallion mimics the flower in the lower knobs.  It reminds me the medallions you would see in the old palaces.

Sochi is such a pretty girl I think.  (Even with the evil yellow tones)  Eventually she'll make her way to NJ & Co. where I consign some furniture.  In the meantime I have much to keep me busy as 6 nice pieces were brought to me by a customer to have restyled.  I'm leaving color behind to move to Pure White for a time.  I'll post some photos when I can!

Stay warm and with all the snows back East again, stay safe!!!
Deb

Linking up to:

In Search of Teal

Do you get a particular color in your head for a piece and you just can't let it go?  Good to know.  That's the way I sometimes rock and roll too.  When I first purchase this particular dresser I just knew it needed a deep rich color and I kept picturing it in a dark teal.  I found it on lots of paint decks by many different companies, but I really wanted the ease of one of the natural clay or chalk based paints.  So I mixed my own.  Yes, I did.  I consulted with our local Annie Sloan stockist to see if she knew of any recipes for teal.  After playing around a bit with her paints I knew I could do this and by the time she called me back to confirm that we were on the right track I had already mixed up a batch in a shade that made me happy.  I will say that shortly after that I saw where American Paint Company  had a new color "Peacock" that is would have worked, though my color has a bit more of a green base than theirs I think.  (And yes, I have used American Paint Company paints and I do really like them.  We just don't have a local stockiest yet, so I have to order them.)

I looked for the before photo, which I know I took, but have yet to find it.  Picture a brown on brown , tired, worn out looking mid-century modern dresser with some fantastic original hardware that was almost beyond tarnished.  Here is what she looks like today.

And I'm sorry for the poor photos, that were taken in the workshop because it was some Arctic Vortex kind of day…again.  I have a horrible time with lighting in there, most likely due to the 30 florescent lights my helpful Mr. installed to make it nice and bright!  Love him!

Isn't that hardware with it's new shiny finish lovely on this piece?  I love shiny things.  Those intertwined circles are just the bomb!

Here is the close up.  The color turned out exactly as I had dreamed it would, and I hope it will make someone supremely happy with its 8 spacious drawers and newly refinished stained top.  

Hope you are having a wonderful and warm week friends!  
Deb
Linking up to:

Frozen

Happy New Year friends!!  We're winging our way into 2014 full of hope and promise!  Hope you and yours have a joyous and prosperous New Year!

I feel like I haven't been able to truly warm up here since sometime in mid November.  Brrr!  It definitely has me longing for the days when we lived in Hawaii.  As frequently happens to me, I tend to paint in waves of colors that speak to my 'moments'.  That's not weird or anything is it?  Right now I'm thinking of all things frosty.  Perhaps even the new movie Frozen.  And since I want to start my New Year off right here is a reveal just for you!  This pretty little vintage Chest on Chest Dresser was purchased from a client when she decided she no longer needed it.  Other than some veneer chips it was in excellent condition.  

I mixed the palest of blues with some Old White and Duck Egg.  I love those feet!

Using only the Old White and Duck Egg I tried to give the illusion of a line of trees covered in a soft layer of snow.  I am not a fine artist by any stretch of any one's imagination, but I thought it worked out well in that lovely oval frame.  

New glass bubbly hardware only adds more of that frothy frosty feeling.  

On the upper drawers I found some cute silver metal knobs put opted to paint them with the Old White to repeat the snowy look.

I wish I had some better lighting to do this piece some justice, but it's just too cold to open up the workshop doors for a good photo.  And darn it, wouldn't you know we have a nice little coating of snow for a backdrop!

So tell me what you think of "Frozen", and I hope you are staying warm wherever you are!

Deb
Linking to:

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!!

Are we all hustling and bustling with the best of them?  I went into full blown panic mode around December 5th when everyone I met wanted to know if I was about done with my Christmas Shopping?
Say what?!  I thought I'd have all of December to take care of that!  Needless to say, I've been all over it ever since.  Little things get completed in the workshop over the Holidays.  Which is as it should be.  I've been spending time completing a few non-furniture rescue projects, working on a few hand made gifts, and trying to add some Christmas cheer to my home decor.  January, after I catch a few bowl games, I will be back in full production.  I do have a fun reveal though for you here at the end of 2013.


 Remember those Sorority desks?  They've been good to me this year.  When my Mr. was home in October due to the "Sequester" I kept him occupied bringing to fruition one of my ideas for some of the desks.  Here is #1, a lovely lady who transitioned from desk to bar/kitchen cart with an industrial feel.

She now has locking roller wheels for instant mobility, 2 removable shelves for storing some wine bottles, ice buckets, or extra serving pieces, and loads of drawer space for the straws, stir sticks, glass ware, and napkins!

This photo more accurately displays her true color, a soft cream.  And I have been in love with these chunky knobs from the beginning and can't seem to ever want to replace them.  Which really isn't like me at all!

And, pardon the dust that I forgot to remove before photographing, but the new top is sporting a dark walnut stain over oak, and many (MANY) coats of glossy poly.  What do you think of the industrial handles on each side?  Perfect for mobility, and handy for hanging up a bar/kitchen towel.  

This particular cart is spoken for.  She will be part of a raffle/door prize in January.  I have one more of these bad boys to work on someday and then there are no more.  I do have some of the great dressers from the house so hang onto your hats as I work my way through the last of those great pieces!  

As Christmas nears I would like to take this time to wish you and yours a very blessed Holiday!  Remember the Christ child born in the lowly stable and offering us His Grace and Salvation as the best and truest gift we may receive!  

Merry Christmas!
Deb

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Good thing I have a new heater in the workshop!  I'm finishing up a special order for my Dad and then about to start a fun new project and another special order.  Life is good and I am blessed!  Stay warm out there friends!  It's quiet here now for a bit, but rest assured I am getting ready to gear up again after Christmas!

Deb

Rip Van Winkle

Well, that was a nice long nap!  It feels almost awkward to come back after such a lonnnnnnng break.  There really is no great explanation.  Big sale, need to get to some fall activities with the kids, new computer to figure out, some custom work to complete post sale, some relaxing girl time and some days just to veg out finally.  I'm not saying I have a handle on it yet, not with the holidays suddenly upon us, but I do feel refreshed and ready to move ahead.  So, I'm sorry if you missed me, and I hope some of you actually noticed, ha!

Here is a quick finish that I had, a bit of a success and a bit of a fail.  I will probably end up redoing this puppy so just wait for round 2, but just in case someone thinks it's just so easy peasy, and that I always get great results the first time out here is my reality check for us all.

I tried a photo transfer with some photo transfer gel.  Let me just say that it was not the product that created my problems.  It worked just as it was designed to do.  Very fun, and relatively easy.  I just kept thinking that I needed to keep working off the back of the paper.  My bad, I ended up taking off a bit too much.  This photo reminds me of a place in Colorado, Central City, and the old saloon there with a painting of the "lady on the ballroom floor".  I think her name was Dolly, and that's what I've been calling my cowgirl with her six shooter, her poker chips, and the grin!

In my defense I will say that old photos are not the most color rich in the first place.  Then blow it up to such a large size and you can lose a lot of definition.  I just was a little too zealous with my 'cleaning' process.  I could probably be happy with her, but the face lost a bit too much in my estimation.  Darn it,  I love how this could have turned out.  So one of these days I'll probably take a sander to that center panel and reprise it and blow up another picture and try it again.  Wish me luck next time!

In the meantime she will just live here with me until I can work to beautify her a bit more.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving counting your many blessings!
Deb