Wednesday, June 29, 2011

DECK out my HOME: Vintage Buffet & Hutch

DECK out my HOME: Vintage Buffet & Hutch:

Please click on the above link - this is absolutely incredible - cannot believe what was done with a garage sale find - AMAZING

xxx

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Top section completely primed



Once trim has been painted by hand - I use my small roller to paint the entire pc -
I am painting in stages - top first - than bottom - because my kitchen is so tiny I have
nowhere to put everything while I am painting - so bottom is packed with items!!!!!
I am cheating also ( would not do this on a pc for someone else - but this is for our
place and so I am taking a shortcut ) I am not doing the bottom and top separately -
I am painting them both while in place - so whenever it is removed there will be a
rectangle of old ugly wood - but honestly this pc is so heavy that if I were to paint
it separately we would probably scratch the hell out of the bottom one anyways trying
to put it in place -
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!!
Total amount of time spent on project so far?
1 hour -

More tomorrow
xxx


Once furniture has been thoroughly cleaned -I use my brush to go around all the corners and edges -

TOOLS OF THE TRADE!!!!!!!!!!!!
















3 items - and lots of elbow grease

TSP - cleanser solution -








Paint brush -

I used to use the cheap disposable ones - but am now using a brand called Purdy - on the pricey side ( compared to the cheap ones ) but very easy to clean - and wow what a difference a brush makes -


Small paint tray and sponge roller -


could not live without this = always have 2 or 3 spare ones ( just in case )


Next step to follow!







Newest Project - Buffet / Hutch







It's a beautiful day here in sunny Montreal - the city is alive with the sounds of summer -
The international fireworks have begun - we are in the midst of the Jazz Festival - all of the
terraces are packed - shoppers are in and out of the stores - Old Montreal is spectacular with all
of the street performers celebrating the warmth and sunshine - boats are drifting in the harbour with music and laughter floating in the air............. there are more tourists than natives.......and what am I doing????

Well I have another project of course - involving painting of course - involving spending these
beautiful days in the house with sand paper of course - am I certifiable? Most definitely.

I found this piece at the Salvation Army - our salvation army is way overpriced - ( do not get
the " steals " our American friends seem to get ) but every now and then I come across something that makes my heart pound - my hands start to sweat - my eyes darting around
like a deer in the headlights - thinking I could do wonders with that...............

Last week was one of those instances - walked in not expecting to find anything at all - and lo and behold - I saw this buffet and hutch for 75.00 and when I inquired about it I found out it was a 50% day off sale!!!!!!! So picked it up for 37.50 ( along with 2 coffee tables - 40.00 each and an antique buffet which could easily be a bureau for 75.00 - more on those projects later )

So................just to let you know I live in a Victorian flat - over 100 years old - and my kitchen is smaller than most people's washrooms - and that is really not an exaggeration - that is simply the truth. I have 3 upper kitchen cupboards - and 2 lower ones - and am in desperate need of storage - so this piece is going to be painted ( maybe antiqued - not sure at this point ) and turned into a county type of buffet.............tons of room for dishes. glasses on the top and pots and pans hidden in the bottom part.
I will post pics of progress as I go along -

This is a picture of it's current state in all of it's 70's glamour ( ugly as sin I know ) Hubby says it's a pc of &^%&$ but says that about everything until I finish them - then falls in love with them every time.


xxx

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Sorry do not have the before.................










I am notorious for not taking "before" pics - have to start remembering to do that
before every project -
This chair was a very dingy brown - full of nicks and scratches...............it was
upholstered in a cream ( filthy ) and brown/orange floral fabric - picked it up from
Craig's list for peanuts -

Cleaned it with T.S.P - an extremely important step - this product removes
grease, cigarette smoke, and any other kind of undesirable residue left on
furniture ( great for cupboards too - prior to painting )
It is as important a step as priming is...............

Then removed all of the old upholstery - I cannot tell you how difficult it was
to remove the top part, had to get hubby to chip in with that - there were
aproximately 10,357 staples - and once they were removed we discovered
the piping had been attached with some kind of epoxy glue - there was
a lot of cursing going on for about a week!

Next step was to prime it - followed by a coat of white paint.
Once that was dry - I dry brushed gray paint over the entire
surface - rubbing it in ( and off ) as I went leaving a sort of "antiqued"
affect.

Then I reupholstered - black satin - the seat was very easy as I have been
doing seats for years - but the top!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! again a lot of very bad words
were muttered under my breath. I decided to tuft the top with small silver
buttons for a touch of glam - and then finished it off with silver cord ( this
is a step you have to do to hide the staples )

Although I am happy with the outcome - I don't think I will ever attempt to
do a chair with backs again. Absolute hell on earth actually -

And here we are - drum roll please ( if ever I have deserved a drum roll it is for
this piece ) TA DA!!!!!!!


First and last attempt at this I'll tell you.


xxx

Saturday, June 25, 2011

RAINY DAYS &....................



Talkin' to myself and feelin' old Sometimes I'd like to quit
Nothing ever seems to fit
Hangin' around Nothing to do but frown
Rainy days and Mondays always get me down -



Wow the Carpenters really captured my mood today..............Pouring today - bouncing off the streets one moment - and then
the sun teasingly shoots out a ray or two - just enough to give
us some hope - and then off it disappears for another torrential
downpour, ugggghhhh, sometimes rain does my soul good -
cleanses it out as it washes down the city - releases a lot of what
should not be there - leaves it feeling all shiny and new -
but this kind of rain?

this is the kind that drowns your soul, leaves it feeling tired
and cold.................and empty

I need me some sun.



So went to my favorite fabric store and picked up


the above fabric - I will show you later on what it

will be used for,

Off to search for some yellow

Suzan
xxx




Sorry you are going to be a part of this learning process - just wanted to make sure I could figure out how to download a pic from the web!!!!!!!!!!!!!


So thought I would try it with one of favourite chairs - the Barcelona............

I love it in white - but the PINK is pretty spectacular - think very modern

little girl's room - loving it


That's all for now folks -

Will continue this journey tomorrow.


xxx