Dixie Bedroom Set

My friend, Suzanne, was selling a beautiful set that had been in her family for a long time. There were six pieces total, stamped on the back with Dixie, a furniture builder since 1901, operating in Hildbrand, NC. There were six pieces all together: Twin Bed with headboard, footboard and rails; a tall six drawer dresser; a long six drawer dresser; two dressers with book hutches; and a short two door dresser.

The Wedding Collection.

This spring, Bailey joined me to up cycle two dressers for a friend that was getting married. They showed up to deliver the dressers and I was reminded how marriage is a blending of so many things-- including cast off furniture from your family.
They unloaded two dressers that were really needing some TLC. They had handles in odd places. One was sponge painted. It was time to bring these two dressers together in harmony, unity and to live happily ever after. Amen.

We used Webster's Paint and mixed with Valspar Woven Jute color. Then waxed with a blend of brown and clear wax, to add some warmth. 

It's amazing that just having nice drawer pulls adds so much to the look and unity of the two pieces. We reused two of the large pulls on the bottom.

Bailey is adding the Bible Verse.

1920's Style Dresser

This dresser was in beautiful shape, it had already been sanded down and I sure didn't want to cover up the woodgrain. The biggest challenge for this dresser was the hardware. The top handles had been re-drilled to be 3" on center, which is fine. The bottom six handles had wooden handles that were 2" on center. It's pretty tough to find handles that are 2" on center, even online. So, I eventually figured out that I need to use the wooden handles, so I repainted them using the Krylon Hammered Steel spray paint.
The woodgrain is preserved because the colorwash is created from watered down chalk paint, then sanded a bit. The final step was to use furniture paste wax and seal it up!

A Pair of Peaches!

When my friend gave me these two end tables, I saw the color orange. I knew they would look great - but would other people like them, too? Well, they are still for sale, so that part remains to be seen. I love the shape of the tables and the hardware was in great shape, only needing a spray of Krylon's Hammered steel spray paint. I mixed my own chalk-type paint for these using some orange from my local Ace Hardware, then used beeswax for the smooth, satin finish.

The first warm day of spring and I took advantage of the weather to put a coat of poly on this elegant side table. Originally, the table was a nice size and shape when I found it at Goodwill for only $2. The top had a thin verneer that was damaged. After sanding, the top was still not perfectly smooth, but at that point, I had sanded right through the verneer and was hitting particle board. I think there had been water damage.
A light grey coat of Cottage Paint (Chalk Paint) did a great job of filling in the particles and the cracks. Once I added a stencil across the top, the damage was undetectable. I sprayed the brass handle with Krylon's Looking Glass spray to give it the silvery color that matches the grey of the table.

 I usually line all the drawers with old maps. This one is a map of Paris!









Below is the stencil process. I started in the middle and worked my way to the edges.

Hexagon - not just any polygon!

Remember all the polygon shapes - like hexagon, heptagon and octagon? I do, and I like to laugh when I see these old brown end tables from the '70's. They old a whole lot of phonebooks. Well now days, maybe board games or Wii games or anything that a person would like to stash away. No longer brown and boring, these tables have been updated with some trees and buildings in pale blues and greens.
Now for sale.

Tone it down!

Sometimes I love color so much, I forget to use some neutral paint to tone it down. I'm referring to the wild green dresser in the past post that is NOW toned down to look a little more normal. It won't light up the room on its own. I've added some pale gray Cottage Paint on the sides and between the drawers. Black Cottage Paint is now on the top. It looks fun and earthy, but not so GREEN as before!