musical chairs

in my quest to get the scale of things right in our little cottage

i made some changes around our table this week.

we've had windsor back chairs around our farm table for several years

now. and while i like them they just weren't working for us in

this house. they felt too heavy for the smaller space.

so, i craigs listed them on tuesday and they were gone 24 hours later.

i knew i wanted something lighter in feel and in weight. and something that would

tuck under the table a little more. i narrowed it

down to the two below.

i threw it out to friends on my personal fb account and the majority

voted for the wood chair.

but i couldn't get images like these out of my head. . .

images above are from my pinterest boards.

so, i went with the metal tolix inspired chairs. how awesome are they in yellow

by the way?!

i like the retro look and the pairing of a more industrial chair

with our distressed farmhouse table. i also decided that wiping

pasta sauce off these chairs would be way easier

than the caned seating of the wood chair. kid friendly

is at the top of the list around here! 

i got ours at a local place called southern salvage. they were literally a quarter

of the price of an original tolix. they had several colors and i was tempted by them all

but settled on a matte gunmetal grey since the colors

in my house are in constant flux.

i did keep the wood french bistro chair. i just couldn't part with it. :)

i envision it in the kitchen when we get our "one day" banquette built.

~ stacy ~

nursery bound

a couple posts back i showed you a piece i am working on for a client preparing for her first child.

we decided to take a hand-me-down piece of furniture and make it the changing table.

no need to spend money when there is a perfectly good piece of furniture around that will get the job done, right?  this post gives the lo down with some of the before pictures and my plan to spruce it up.

between the heat and other orders i took a bit longer than planned on this but it is finally done.

i'm really digging it! the color is farmhouse blue from valspar's signature line and the knobs are from

hobby lobby. love hobby lobby.

here's what i did.

1. sanding. this piece had  some pretty rough spots, including water damage on top that needed to be evened out. (i chose not to prime this piece as the wood was pretty dry)

2. first coat of paint. i used a sponge roller for big surfaces and small brush for tighter areas.

3. light sanding with 220 grit.

4. another coat followed by a very light sanding.

5. the fun part - distressing. my client likes distressed pieces and set me free to do as much or as little as i wanted. knowing the overall look she's going for in the nursery and the other pieces and fabrics that will be at play i decided to keep it minimal, with some light distressing around the edges and heavier distressing on the feet.

6. wipe-on polyurethane for a protective coat - i normally stick with a lacquer or polyacrylic for lighter pieces to avoid yellowing. i think this blue is dark enough to handle the polyurethane, though.

7. another light sanding

8. final coat of poly.

the only hardware i changed out were the knobs.

I also left the keyhole plates alone because after trying to get them off it was clear they were going to leave massive holes that i didn't want to deal with filling. my client was cool with leaving them so i moved on. they bugged me at first but are growing on me now. i think they give a little nod to the piece's former life as a liquor cabinet. :)

ahhh, the wonder of paint.

i'm joining the fun at domestically speaking, the shappy chic cottage, mustard seed creations, funky junk interiors, and  life in the fun lane.

the magic of paint

Do you have any pieces of furniture in your house that you look at and ask, why? Why did I get that? Why do I still have it? Why haven't the ugly furniture police come and taken it away?

Of course you do! We all do, right? Pieces that we acquired in college that have made every move with us. Pieces that entered the marriage with our spouse. Pieces that were passed on by family members when we were trying to furnish our first home.

Fortunately, there are no ugly furniture police and, fortunaely, paint can do wonders for some of the sad pieces sitting around our home!


One of my favorite re-do's from my own home is a honey colored Thomasville dresser that my parents passed along to us. This piece is not ugly, the color was just a bit dated for my taste. I knew with her great lines she would look great all dressed up. Here's an example of what a little paint can do.

This very easy change totally updated the dresser, the room and the total cost was a can of paint. What? $30 or so? I don't remember. The color is Behr's Paint and Primer in One, Creamy White. The top is stained with dark walnut and the handles I spray painted a hammered bronze. I love this dresser now, it's one of my favorite pieces in the house. And it's oh-so-satisfying to know that I was able to get the update I wanted without spending much money. It was also what really set me off on my love of painting furniture.

So, look around. What do you have that could use a face lift?

One of my client's is taking the plunge with painted furniture. She is expecting her first baby and wants to create a beautiful nursery with pieces she and her husband already have, many of which have been collected through the years from various sources. I stopped by a couple weeks ago to take a look at her space.

We decided to take an old liquor cabinet and turn it into a changing table.

The cabinet was being used as something of a catch all anyway and is the perfect height for a changing table. It's a little dated and not very babyish so we loaded her up to get a makeover. After two weeks in my studio, aka garage, I am getting to work. Let's take a look at this thing.

Look at that. The top opens up. You know, so you can mix and serve the drinks. Not really necessary for baby's room so we are just going to ignore this little feature and leave it closed. The top is in pretty rough shape but that's nothing a little sanding and paint won't take care of.

Here's a look at the inside. On the left is a pull out shelf thingy for. . . drink paraphernalia, I guess? I thought about removing the whole thing but then decided it will make for nice organizational  space.

I think the right side is big enough for a small trash can and the cubicles are perfect for small baskets to hold diapers, burp clothes, etc. And I'm on the hunt for some small cups (would love to find something silver) to drop into the holes up top for cotton balls, alcohol pads, cotton swabs, etc. won't that be perfect?

I'm excited about fixing this up for my client.

I brushed Valspar's Farmhouse Blue over one of the doors today to see how I liked it. Here's a sneak peak.

I think it's going to look great! And I have the perfect knobs, too!

Now I have to get to work. Monday is my self imposed deadline, but I know three little guys who might have something to say about that.