Sneaking in one more!

I just finished this little table last night and of course I don't have a "before" photo b/c I always forget to take one. I picked this sweet table up at GW for $6.99. She's not solid wood, but I love the curves and design on top.

I love the color even though I didn't know about it when I started. It's Vintage Wine by BM. I'm doing a chair for my sister in the same color and got lazy since the can was already open.





Since posting this, several peeps have said it looks brown and when my mother in law saw it in person, she thought it was brown. It's clearly purple to me...which has me wondering what others see...lemme know! ;)

Enjoy and Happy New Year!!
~Allison

Rockin!

I know...cheesy title. But I'm out of cute ideas and, this week, don't have time to over think things. Man, is this week killing anyone else as far as the "to-do" list growing and growing? Aaand, I might have accepted a large armoire from a client on Saturday that "needs to be done before Christmas". What was I thinking?

Anyway, on to the rocking chair. I am working with a photographer who's just starting out and is looking for props. She is always looking for kid's chairs...and I ran into this one for $4.99 at Savers. She was in rough shape (see the stain where someone had been sitting?), but very sturdy!



I cleaned it up and painted it with Aura White Dove ($2 in the mistint bin!! Score!). I kind of dry brushed it because she wanted it very "worn". I dropped it off yesterday to one very happy photographer!

That's my model...my 3rd son. Disregard the messy shirt and oatmeal in the hair.



~Allison

My Not-So-New Kitchen Table

I am so excited to finally post this...it's been a looong one in the making. You know the type if project...you buy the item off Craig, it sits in your garage while you finish up other projects, your husband complains about the room it's taking up and you say "but I've got a vision!". Been there, right? Right? (tell me I'm not alone ;)

Anyway, I found this table on Craigslist after searching (and searching) for a round dining table at the right price. I was willing to put in the work, but didn't want to spend over $50...and I didn't want chairs. It had to be 48" in diameter...not 42 or 52. Not an easy task. This is what I finally found for $45

Solid pine with a pedestal base...exactly what I wanted, minus the grooves on the top, but everything else was perfect. See the pedestal? Yeah...it had seen better days due to a dog chewing on it. Come to think of it, there was no dog around when I went to pickup the table. Guessing at the amount of wood he consumed, maybe that's why he wasn't around :(

Anyway, this is what we had in our kitchen space prior to the round table. WAY, WAY to big for the space. What you can't see from the picture is that the table butts up right to the family room and right to the island on the other side. Too.big.


On to the round table rehab...I saw my inspiration at Stories of a House . The look of this table was exactly what I was wanting. Christa was amazing with answering a few questions I had about stripping, wood color, etc. Check out her blog if you haven't yet!

I stripped the top with Citrustrip and even after scrubbing it with steel wool AND Citrustrip and lots of sanding, it was still pretty uneven. Enter Minwax Pre Stain wood conditioner...amazing. It really evened out the imperfections.

I stained the top with 2 coats of Minwax Fruitwood stain...I tried a few others first but this was exactly the color I wanted. Not too red, not too gray. Then I painted the pedestal and apron black and distressed it. I love distressing...it's so unpredictable and fun! After that, I did a wipe on poly on the whole thing. I love wipe on poly, but for a table top, it needed something more, so I did another coat of brush on poly on the top. Perfection! After the table was in place, I nearly teared up...it's SO much better in this space and gives it much more character. Even the chairs from the old table work!

As a refresher, here was my inspiration by Christa


And here is my new to me, kitchen table!

Wheee! I love it! Now, about that light fixture....

~Allison

Linking to:

BHG Copycat Wreath

Well, I was going for this:
http://www.bhg-digital.com/bhg/201012?pg=141#pg141

I tried and tried to copy the picture and put it here, but it wouldn't work.

I like how mine turned out, but it's not quite BHG quality, if you know what I mean. I did my own verson, using a few balls with burlap mixed in. Although it's not perfect, it's better than what I typically have on my front door...which is nothing :)



It was a fun project to do aside from the modge podged burlap balls snagging on the yarn balls. That was a drag! Ho ho ho!
~Allison

Put Your Feet Up!

Apparently I suffer from the same disorder as some of you all....I can NOT for the life of me, remember to take before pictures BEFORE I alter the original piece in some way. I get so mad at myself! Anyway, the below table was originally one of a pair that each had a thin veneer top. The first one was in great shape...I painted it white and distressed it...and sold it. But of course I didn't take pictures of that one.


This one, however, wasn't quite as easy. The veneer was really peeling, so I yanked it off, thinking that there was solid wood underneath. Not.so.much...this was underneath. Now I had a table that I really couldn't use. Meanwhile, this table would.not.stop.bleeding through whatever light paint or primer I put on it. Kilz, high adhesion primer...you name it, I tried it, and she kept on bleeding. She was just wasn't supposed to be a white, distressed table in her second life :(

So, I got creative...it had such a cute shape, I thought "why couldn't this be an ottoman?". I called up my handy father-in-law and asked him to cut a board that I could upholster and attach to the table. Then I painted her black...which I ended up REALLY liking!

Here is the finished product!

The paint really isn't as shiny in person...I really need to work on taking good photos of furniture. What are your secrets?
~Allison