A Lesson Learned...

    In real life, I seem to have the happy ability to learn from others' mistakes.  Not that I don't make plenty on my own, but in general, I watched others be idiots in high school and thought "that seems like a pretty dumb idea to ____",  fill in the blank with a stupid high school choice of your liking. (Some choices might include "Do drugs.  Drink.  Arrive at school drunk. Cuss at your parents.  Drop out of school").  I, on the other hand, was so clean I squeaked.  And so square I had corners.  I digress.   The point is, learn from others' mistakes.
     I have lost that ability when it comes to furniture!!  I have ruined other pieces of furniture from not covering them properly while working on another piece; I have given people quotes without asking for measurements and done huge pieces of work for not near enough; and  I've plowed ahead with new products and have had to figure out what I'm doing on the fly.
   So here's my latest escapade.  I refinished a table for my friend Allison.  She's opinionated and knows exactly what she wants - which is great because then I get a clear picture of what she wants.  Many times people just want me to "do something" with it and that's great, too, because I can do what I want. The inbetween is the hard one - when people kinda have an idea what they want, but can't describe it.   Then I'm hoping what I do matches what's in their head!  So, back to Allison.  She said she wanted a dark grey for the bottom.  I told her no problem, I could whip up a custom color.  She said she wanted Old White for the top, and the whole thing to have a lightly distressed/rubbed look.  Here's what I did:

I sent her a pic (SOOOO glad I did!) to see if she wanted any more distressing. It was already waxed and everything.  She texted back: "Is it too late to say I wanted grey for the bottom coat?  And Old White for the top coat?" What?! NOT cool. Total miscommunication!!  Now I know - I will always ask if they want it two tone or top and bottom coat.  I do both all the time!  We had a good laugh, and I redid it.  So glad it was a small piece!!  The bottom was easy to redo, since it already had grey on it, but the top took a bit longer.  And because she's awesome she gave me a Charming Charlie gift card for my trouble.  And I learned a lesson!

Welcome!

I am starting a new blog, separate from my family blog to display all my furniture projects.  I love repurposing furniture, taking something you were ready to throw out and making it a conversation piece.  Layering and distressing furniture is therapy for me and my style falls somewhere in the cottage, shabby chic family.  I sell my pieces in an etsy shop, but I also do custom work.  Please contact me about refinishing furniture for you!  The process is simple: email me pics of the piece, tell me what you have in mind, and I'll get back to you with a quote.

Here are some things I've already finished:

Before:

After:

Before: Sideboard left in the cabin we bought.

After:  I kept the original hardware, but painted it Behr's Mermaid Net, then distressed and glazed in Minwax Golden Oak, then waxed it.  This was my first attempt at refinishing, so I'm pretty pleased with it, but if I had to do it over again, it would look much better.  I've learned so much since then!

A friend liked the color so much I refinished her China hutch in it.  I forgot to take before pictures, but imagine it a smoky mustard with grey glass.  Bleh.  Much better now!

 My mom and I went through her barn a few months ago when I was looking for old furniture to fix up and sell.  She pointed this out and said it was from her grandmother's house and it was the only piece of furniture her mom took from her childhood home.  I had to keep it!

After:  This was the most fun piece to refinish!  I have been introduced to the world of Annie Sloan Chalk Paints and I used it on this.  Chalk, not chalkboard.  When you sand it, it just falls right off in a powder as opposed to pilling like latex paint does.  It's perfect for layering because you can really control the distressing.  So, I painted it Paris Grey, then I swiped a few spots with Primer Red, then dry-brushed Old White over the whole thing, then distressed and waxed.  When you look at it, it looks primarily white, but the bits of red really give it depth.

Another table:  Forgot to get a before pic, but suffice to say it was pretty beat up.  Love it now!