Dipping a toe in the water

For the first time, I'm attempting to participate in one of the weekly 'parties' that I see on so many of the blogs I admire. This week, I'm posting the latest completion over at French Country Cottage. Hope you enjoy it, along with all the other beautiful work linked up over there for Feathered Nest Friday.

Secretarial goodness...

"Before" pictures are on my phone so I'll have to pull them later to show a comparison but for now... just take my word for it. This desk was in a lot of pain when I picked it up. I think I had it for a week or two before figuring out what colors to use here. I'd considered just restaining the whole thing, then thought about white/stain combination. But when I saw this "Skylight" blue, I knew it was the One. 

 Handles have been left alone, other than cleaning them up a bit. I think the pitting adds character and charm to the vintage look.

 This moulding is great. There's a chunk missing out of the front right corner but I don't think it really diminishes the over-all appeal.

 Drawers have been painted inside and out to look clean and fresh. The grey is mixed from a blue 'oops' paint sample and the Skylight on the rest of the desk.

Asking $200 for this charmer. It's got lots of life left in it and would look great in any home office.

Newly finished

This poor table couldn't decide what color to be. After priming with white, a coat of a vintage looking white was applied. That made the whole thing look TOO white so I did a coat of Pins and Needles  blue on the surface. Still not right. I think there wasn't enough contrast. So I did a layer of Sequoia. It looked... more contrasted. Still didn't look finished. So after splattering the legs with the Sequoia, I slathered on a rough coat of the vintage white and then just sanded the areas where the paint went on kind of scantily. I think it looks much better now. Definitely better than the blase blond wood it started as. 

$80

Showing some distress here. :) 

Yup. Until this sweet table finds a home, it's going to be our new school table.  I foresee it lending a hand at being a fort, too.

 Chester the magazine table... he's finally done! I love the bright turquoise color and after adding the little embellishment on the front, this fella is dressed up and needs somewhere to go.

$45 makes this handsome chap all yours!

My garage is looking a little emptier now but thankfully, I found a desk to work on. So that brings my un-finished total to...6 pieces. Better get to work!

Current project and some new finds...

I know, this one looks awfully pink right now. It's not going to stay that way, tho. It may end up taking 3 coats to get it to be as dark as it's supposed to be, tho. I wish I'd have thought to get a dark primer. Doh. I think with enough coats of the Garnet on it and a black glaze, it'll look pretty handsome.

 This magazine table was a fun find at a local CCA ReSale shop. It's been collecting dust for a few weeks but now that it's primed, I'm hoping to find just the right color to make it shine. Thinking about the Bauhaus I used on the octagon table a while back. Maybe a small embellishment on the front would help dress it up a bit?

 Another CCA ReSale find. Twin head/foot boards in really decent shape. A small wood embellishment on the headboard and a bright turquoise should really make it a stunner. I'd like to sell these but if it turns out the way I envision, I may have just found a new bed for Lily.

 This little guy was hanging out with a couple of side tables... I didn't pick up the side tables but thought replacing the top of this would be fairly easy and then it'd make a really cute piece by itself. I think I'll replace the handle with something sparkly. Maybe like this: Anthropologie Bubbled Glass Handle

 Ugh. This one is just not doing what I want. When it was all white, it was TOO white. So I added a coat of blue on the top. Still not quite right. On went a layer of Martha Stewart's Sequoia. Argh. Still not right! So, after distressing it very carefully, I slapped on a coat of the original white and left some thin spots to go back and sand down later, to reveal the Sequoia. I'm really hoping that's good enough. I want this fella to be done and ready to go!

French style buffet/sideboard

I do not remember if I ever gave this piece a name. I suppose I should look at older entries. Anyway. She is DONE! The new palm sander I got for my birthday came in handy right away for getting the nasty paint off the top. After briefly considering sanding the whole thing down to its 'altogether,' I called it a day at the underside of the top. 

One thing I haven't figured out is why this has an open face. I'm assuming it used to have drawers because there were some dips on the inner side walls that could be filled nail/screw holes. I think it would look great with small curtain rods installed across the front to 'hide' whatever you would store here. Maybe rods top/bottom so the curtains wouldn't just blow around and would really conceal. 

 This shot really shows off the rich red of the stain. Now I just want to find lots of naked furniture and stain portions this color because it contrasts so well with cream/white. On the fronts of the 'legs,' I sanded down to the wood in a few sections and stained it to match the top so it would kind of tie the whole thing together when it was distressed.

 Too bad the lighting in our front room is almost TOO bright. It kind of washes out everything when it comes to picture time.

$200 makes this YOURS!SOLD!

April is more than half over???

This lovely little piece has gone on to a new home. I hope it's happy and loved!

It took for-ev-er to sand through the paint on the top of this piece. Seriously. I wanted to give up about halfway through and just resign myself to painting the whole thing again. But the deep 'Red Mahogany' is gorgeous so I suppose it was all worth it. 

Magazine table - Tiffany

My friend Sunny picked this up for me on her way home one day. It wasn't much to look at right then but a fresh couple of coats of Duck's Egg makes all the difference in the world, I think. I haven't found a replacement lamp for it but I don't guess it's totally necessary. I suppose I could use a hole cutting bit and just cut a plug for it... hrm. Anyway. It's cute now!

$50

 Gently distressed on its 'knees' and 'ribs'. The first coat was actually something called "Cavern" from Behr, I think. I liked it but thought it should show thru rather than be the dominant color. What do you think?

Any fun finds lately, blog-land?