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!

Grey Table

This is the table that matches the grey hutch I just completed.   Can't wait to see what hardware she puts on it!  I also finished a black armoire for Jacqueline and completely forgot to take after pictures!  It turned out great, but it wasn't distressed, which is really the fun part about refinishing to me, so I think it just didn't occur to me to take pictures until it was too late!

Here is the before pic:

 And some close-ups of the after:

The only difference between the table and the hutch is that it was originally red instead of bare wood.  I primed it with BIN Zinsser, which I am liking better than Kilz, so that it wouldn't affect the color.  I chose to expose it in a few spots, though, and I really love the character it gives the piece.

Partying here:

Grey Hutch

 I am so pleased with they way this turned out!  The Grey is a custom mix of Paris Grey and Graphite and it has hints of Provence peeking through.  This is my first time to use the Provence color and it is gorgeous!  Can't wait to do a whole piece in it.  This is what the hutch looked like originally:

Good bones, tons of possibility.  Just needed a little glueing and clamping.

After painting the Grey over the Provence, I distressed, waxed, and then highlighted some spots with dark wax. 

 The shelves inside show more of the blue - I painted them Provence and then dry brushed the Grey on top.

This is a custom piece for someone and I will be starting tonight on a hall table to match it.  Can't wait!!

Grey Mirror

I found this mirror in the cabin when we bought it and it really needed updating.  Plus, I didn't have a space for it.  So, I completely forgot about its existence until we moved stuff into my new workshop (pics coming soon, promise!).  It is an antique mirror, the frame and backing probably weigh 25 pounds, even though it is just 2 ft. square!  Here is the before photo:

 First I painted it with two layers of Primer Red chalk paint:

Then I covered it with one coat of a grey I made by mixing 3 parts Graphite to 1 part Old White.  Then I distressed and clear waxed.  Not being very detail oriented, I starting taking "after" photos before realizing all the masking tape was still on!  I went back and took it off and took more pics!  Here it is AFTER:

It is currently for sale!  To see the etsy listing, click here.