mini secretariat.............

One of my customers ( this sounds strange to me still ) had a baby girl - and they decorated her room in an antique style - hence the purchase of one of my dressers - I mentionned that I had a rocking horse if they were interested - they were - and so here it is.  The colors match her dresser.
It is hard to tell in the pictures but this is a very soft gray - gently distressed to show some pink undertones -
with a stenciled pattern on the seat ( where a tiny little bottom will sit )
This was completely sanded down to the original wood - primed - painted soft pink - and then painted soft
gray completely - the pink was only so that when I sanded the gray slightly you could see a little pink peaking through.
It is adorable - and I must must must get a decent camera - because the phone is just not cutting it!

Have finished another piece - pictures tomorrow

xxx

Latest one ready to go..................

My Latest Shabby Dresser

The dresser was first painted Old White - and then Paris Grey was lightly dry brushed over the surface

to give it layered old " worn " look

I love this pc and wish I lived in a bigger house to use this somewhere.............

Such beautiful details - and the colors make the details stand out - I painted the
wooden handles in both of the colors - white - then the gray in the middle - and
then sanded them to expose some of the original wood color.  Hope she
sells as quick as the last one, do not want to have to look at her for too long or
I may never be able to say goodbye ;(

xxx

oops - here is the before shot - minus the drawers because I had already gotten
my greedy hands on the paint before I remembered!!

and this is what the drawers looked like - I was still working on the middle one in this pic - lol

It's a small blog world, after all

Because I am on so many sites - and because so many of us have the same obsessions - ( and I am starting to notice the same styles ) here are a couple of my finds - that I have seen others redo as well..........

Here is a secretary that Julia from 551 East Furniture Design redid

and here is mine - not done yet - and I am embarrassed to say that the colors

I chose are the colors she used - now I feel guilty to use them so have

decided on something different - isn't that silly?

I swear to God - everything I am about to show you

was only discovered after I have bought my pcs -

UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Great minds think alike, lol

 These 2 pcs are identical - right down to the handles - the only difference is mine still has
 it's original feet - Julia had to change hers ( not sure if they were missing when she purchased them )

 Next on the list, Michael and Keely from European Paint Finishes created this

Now I know this is going to start sounding like " ok Suzan - yeah right " all I can say is it's the truth,
I had thought about keeping the top on mine wood and just painting the body ( although there is a
lot of wood on this one )

Here's mine

it is almost identical, really - the top section of mine curves like theirs - but my lower drawers
are straight - but they are so similar - and unique - that it's hard to believe that 2 people
in different countries could find the same pcs at roughly the same time....... ( albeit we are
both in North America and I suppose that makes a big difference )

and then there are these............but these are a lot more common - and something that you can
find everywhere I think - although I feel very very lucky when I do come across one of them




Alison from The Modern Cottage Company



Elz and Rob from House Pour



Miss Mustard Seed


there are tons and tons of these ones out there -
and here is mine ( not finished )
I am really bad at before shots - I am usually in such
a hurry to dig in, that the before shot is an
after thought - sometimes too late!

This one has needed one hell of a lot of TLC -
lots and lots of wood filler - and I may
have to change out the drawer bottoms - not a big
expense - but a pain really...........
But it has lovely details -
and you can see how similar it is in shape, size and form
to the ones above

Now I am off to sand - paint - wax -
what else is there to do on a beautiful warm
Saturday evening - when you live steps
away from Downtown?

xxx

 


Another one for sale.....................

Here we go - being listed today - only the smaller one - here is the after

Hope it sales as quick as the other!!!

xxx

Sidetable - Before and After

what do you think? sigh.................

before

and after

Wow am I loving Annie Sloan..................

Have another before and after - but the handles are not dry yet..............

xxx

SOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

beautiful vintage teacart - I wanted to paint it white - and distress it slightly - but have
not had the time.............and it sold in it's original state - which is really beautiful
anyways.................it opens up to create this

and now I am contemplating selling this piece

I bought this some time ago - and painted it black with the intentions of converting
this into a new bathroom vanity - with vintage black and white honed marble
tiles............but bathroom renos have been put on hold due
to working on my mothers place for the past couple of months - so the bathroom
will now have to wait for the spring...............should I let it go?
The picture does not do it justice - it's really a handsome pc ( isn't that funny - I call
anything painted white a she - and black pcs are definitely " he " )
I have to think about this one.

xxx

Sunday Blahs...........

What a miserable day it was here in good old Montreal...............raining and cold and dark - and no firewood to speak of - have to pick some up - another long winter is about to descend upon us.......

But someone left me a message that they want to buy these 2 pieces

The dresser was supposed to be sold to someone else, but she tried to go too low - ridiculously low because
she saw something similar ( no way, this was hand done by moi )  at Home Sense for 100.00 dollars,
hmmm, this was made in Canada - did not come off of an assembly line in China.
Anyways, the person who is interested is looking for something that will go in a pale blue and silver bedroom - a match made in heaven I think!!!

And so - now I have purchased 2 more items - ( picking up this weekend - as they leave - so they
will arrive lol )

OMG - this one makes my heart palpitate so strongly I just may have a heart attack - this one
will be going all white..................wow - another one that will be hard to let go of - and it kind of goes
with the one I bought a couple of weeks ago - perhaps I should sell them as a set, Mr and Mrs?

I also purchased this beauty....................

this is the sellers photo ( not my house - my God I am vain )
and this is her when she is open

I know it is not normal to be so passionate about furniture - especially old junky pieces,
but these are exactly the pieces that I love working on so much...............
To bring them back to something beautiful to look at is so rewarding - especially when
the buyers are as passionate as I am.

The young man that came tonight to purchase the dresser from my previous post told my it was absolutely gorgeous, and that he would be interested in seeing pieces before they are listed, he is building a home
in Vermont, farmhouse style and will be needing a LOT of old refurbished pieces.
I am sourcing a wardrobe for him actually - antiqued like the bureau he bought.

So little by little this just may become the small business I was dreaming of.

xxx

I'm at it again........................

I think my latest beauty has been sold

Not a long love affair at all, finished it last night - and posted it this morning -
Good - bye lovely............

Now I am going to be working on this

and this one really excites me - I think it is absolutely beautiful -

plus I am in the process of finishing a buffet for a client..................

I love the details - the top of the buffet has some relief work in it - which stands out when
painted and lightly distressed.....................

Off to clean my paint brushes -

xxx

Lots of " after " pictures

Ta Da !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

xxx

Before and After with Annie Sloan Paint

I still have to wax the pc - and put handles on it - but this transformation took me a total combination of
15 minutes so far - 10 minutes last night - and 5 minutes just now.............

before

after



 Looking for the perfect handles - and will post the complete finished look

xxx

I think I love you

I'm sleeping - and right in the middle of a good dream
like all at once I wake up, from something that keeps pounding at my brain
before I go insane, I hold my pillow to my head, screaming out the words I dread,
I THINK I LOVE YOU..................

this is going to make my life so much easier - I want to paint everything with it - my furniture - my walls -
my floors, my dog, 

Annie Sloan - where have you been all my life?

xxx