Dorothy from Kansas

I saw this listing on Craigslist and raced over to pick it up. Fortunately, my son was home for spring break and he went with me because this dresser was so heavy!  The lady I bought it from said her uncle from Kansas made it by hand. It was in her back yard, the casters didn't work and we slowly inched it out and into my car.  The mirror was equally heavy, beveled glass, and looked really dirty, and I thought it just needed a really good cleaning.

I was amazed at when I was prepping it what a beautiful piece of craftmanship it was. It had never been refinished - which made my life so much easier. But it was dirty - I spent a full day prepping it - sanding, filling gauges and nicks, and spot priming.

The mirror, on the other hand, was a different story. It wasn't cleaning up with your standard household window cleaners. I took to the internet - as I usually do when faced with a furniture dilemma - and tried several different methods that didn't work. And I discovered that the mirror was "clouding" which can be typical with an older piece of furniture and was beyond help. So I primed the frame, took it to my local glass dealer and had them put a new mirror in it. I kept it simple - for frugality and practicality - because the original beveled glass was so heavy that I was afraid it would be too heavy structurally.

My son's friends were all home from college for spring break and were in and out of my house that week causing havoc and eating my food. I asked one of my son's friends to name this new piece for me. I asked him what his grandmother's name was, he said "Dorothy". So I thought Dorothy and the fact that it was from Kansas was especially fittting!

This was a true labor of love for me. It took many, many hours with the intricate contrasting colors on the appliques. I guess in hindsight, I could have pried them off and then reattached them, but I was too afraid I would break something. I painted the body of the dresser in a custom mix of ASCP Old Violet and Old White. It made the most beautiful blue color - reminded me of Wedgwood china! I painted the drawers in Pure White.

Once it was done we brought it in the house to cure - but forgot to take pictures! No one looked too excited to carry this outside again - so we took pictures inside. The pictures don't do this piece justice - it was in front of my baby grand piano and it was impossible to get a good shot -  the lighting was bad - and the blue is "off" in this picture.

But here is a close up that shows the level of detail, labor, and swearing that went into this piece!

The funniest thing about this story is that my son and the same friend delivered it to the lovely lady who bought it. He told her how he named it after his grandmother and she promised to keep calling her "Dorothy"!

Have a great week - it's getting really hot here - why does it always get so miserably hot in September in SoCal?




I'm sharing at:

DIY Sunday Showcase
That DIY Party/DIY Showoff
Metamorphosis Monday
Inspire Me Monday
Amaze Me Monday
Twirl and Take a Bow
Cedar Hill Farmhouse - The Scoop
A Stroll Thru Life: Inspire Me Tuesday
Wow us Wednesdays
The Handmade Hangout
Funky Junk Interiors
Elizabeth & Co. - Be Inspired
Furniture Feature Friday
Anything Blue Friday

Gorgeous Graphite

I had a can of ASCP Graphite for months that I was waiting to use for just the perfect piece. This has turned out to be one of my favor "Annie" colors. When you open the can, it looks black.

But after one light coat on this cute little secretary, I was really loving the blue hues peeking through and stopped.

I distressed this piece more than I usually do, because it felt like the right thing to do with such a rustic piece. I combined clear and dark waxes, put the original hardware back on, and I was done with this piece in two days!

I sold this on the third day (a new personal record for me!) to the nicest lady who was looking for a small piece for her entry hall to hold keys, mail and the dog leash. I was so concerned that it had not had time to fully cure that I begged her to not place anything on it for at least another week.

Don't you just love it when your vision for a piece actually works out quickly and easily?

On a personal note, my kids have informed me that I need to get more involved with social media, so I'm making a more concerted effort to keep my Facebook and Instagram pages updated! I'd love more "likes" and "followers"!

Have a great and relaxing Labor Day weekend! Where did the summer go?





I'm sharing at:

The Interior Frugalista
Metamorphosis Monday
DIY Showoff
Inspire Me Mondayhttp://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/inspire-monday-22/#more-16504
Cedar Hill Farmhouse - The Scoop
Coastal Charm
Twirl and Take a Bow
Inspire Me Tuesday - A Stroll Thru Life
Elizabeth and Co.
Wow Us Wednesdays
The Handmade Hangout
Furniture Feature Friday
Catch as Catch Can

A Find that Surprised Me

I picked this table up from a lovely couple having a garage sale near me a few months ago. The husband said it was it his great aunt's and that she had used it as an end table with the leaf up and leaning against the wall. He sheepishly showed me the scratches he had put in it as a little boy with his toy cars.

I thought I was buying an end table. However, when I was taking it out of my car the top swiveled. My first thought was "Oh no, it's broken, how am I going to fix this?"

But then I started playing around with it. The entire top swiveled, and when you rotated the top and lifted one side of the leaf, it revealed a small "secret" compartment!

 I wasn't really sure if I had a valuable antique, so I did a lot of research before I started painting this piece. I ruled out that it was not a genuine Duncan Phyfe table, but a copycat that was mass marketed pre-World War II. It was used as a card table for bridge, pinochle and other activities. How cool that you can use this as an end table, then when the ladies were expected, pull it out and open it and have an instant table?

Because the gauges on the top were pretty deep, refiinishing and staining was not an option. I opted to go with ASCP Old White, because I wanted a neutral color that could go with many decor colors. Fortunately, there was no "bleed" after I primed it. I've found that when painting with white, it's best to prime first. This sometimes saves a 3rd or 4th coat in the expensive paint. I gently distressed the piece, waxed the piece, and sanded the top down with very fine sandpaper on the top to get a really lovely sheen.

After a few weeks on Craigslist it still hadn't sold, so I gave it to my friend to sell in her monthly flea market booth. She sold it within an hour! I'm told it's now living in a restored Victorian home. I bet it looks great there. I'd love to find another one of these tables to keep for myself in the future!

Don't you just love antique furniture with surprises?



I'm sharing at:

Metamorphosis Monday
Wow Us Wednesday
Embracing Change/Creative Inspirations Linky Party
That DIY Party Time!
Furniture Feature Friday
Cedar Hill Farmhouse

"Frances"

Sometimes the furniture "gods" smile down upon me. This past spring, I stumbled upon a Boy Scout rummage sale and spotted this beat up vanity.

I usually text my mom and sis pictures of my finds, because let's face it, the men in my family could care less. As soon as my niece saw this vanity, she claimed it for herself. The only problem was going to be how to get it half way across the country to her, but we figured we'd worry about that later.

There's a special story to how this vanity got her name Frances. My maternal grandmother's name was Frances, my niece's fraternal great-grandmother's name was Frances, and my niece's middle name is Frances (poor kid). This is a very good marketing tactic if you want to sell your furniture to family members!

This piece was actually in really good condition. There were some minor scratches on the surface, but they sanded out beautifully. My niece asked me to paint it white and put crystal knobs on it. I found a vintage Singer sewing machine stool to use for seating and covered it with pretty fabric that I knew my niece would like.

There were tremendous bleed through issues after two coats of ASCP Pure White. A simple can of Zinsser shellac spray came to the rescue. It was so easy to use, dried in minutes, and then I primed over the piece twice just to make sure I controlled the bleed. Then I sanded between my last two coats of ASCP, slightly distressed and waxed it.

After much back and forth discussions between my sis, niece and myself, I got the go-ahead to sell it. It would have been too expensive to ship it to her/might not fit in her college apartment/no imminent road trips. I have promised my niece that if she finds me a similar vanity, I would be more than happy to paint a similar one on my next visit.

I sold the vanity to a lovely lady who was remodeling her guest room. She recovered the stool using coordinating fabric with her decorating scheme, and was gracious enough to send me the "after" picture to share.

I'm so happy another one of my "rescues" went to a good home. I get such personal fulfillment making new friends and repeat clients and seeing the pics of the pieces once they're in their new home.





I'm sharing at:

Metamorphosis Monday
Wow Us Wednesdays
Furniture Feature Friday