1970's French Provincial Makeover and an Epiphany

So I am still learning this whole buying and selling business, which means, I still get caught up in the "I have to buy some more stuff to pile up and makeover."  Did you notice that I didn't say "I have to carefully choose pieces that I have looked over carefully and buy them at a super cheap price?"  Yeah, that wasn't a mistake.  I have gotten my hands on some incredible deals and a few clunkers.  Recently The Nana and I went junkin to hopefully find some more incredible deals.

Apparently, it is very easy to get caught up in the whole bulk buying thing as well as to forget you are not an expert and not pay attention to detail or worse pay too much.  I managed to do all of the above on this particular buying trip. 

There is a small town near me that was having a community wide yard sale and I was hot to get to it.  My blood was pumping before I even left home! lol The first couple of neighborhoods were a bust.  The third one was a charm.  I found lots of goodies at great prices and then got overly confident ambitious and thought I was a pro not a newbie.

We were at a yard sale that had some very nice pieces and they were priced accordingly.  Due to this I was really just glancing and planning to walk away when I realized their garage was packed with stuff...good stuff.  They had set up the sale in the driveway and had the garage taped off but I glanced in and saw a bedside table piled on top of other stuff.  When the lady hosting the sale asked if I needed anything I told her I was interested in something but it was in the blocked off area.  She kindly invited me beyond the tape (boy, I was feeling special, I must have looked like a pro) and I pointed out the table.  What do you know...there were two of them as well as a matching headboard and footboard.  Woo hoo...I had been looking for a couple of these very tables to makeover....it looked like I had hit the jackpot.

Let me just say, looks can be deceiving and being on a buying high is not always a good thing.  The headboard and footboard were buried and I bought them sight unseen and I could only see one table.  I talked the lady down $20 off her asking price and prepared to return later to pick up since I had been so successful already my 4runner was full.  But, I was so giddy I ran out and unpacked the 4runner and somehow magically made room to go ahead and cram my finds in.  I drove home counting the money I would make on these babies.

That euphoria lasted until I unloaded.  First let me apologize for the pictures.  I shot them willy nilly, even the final ones but you will get the idea of the transformation.

 It was while unloading that The Nana discovered one of the legs on the headboard was split.  She quickly decided it was not a problem since Wonder Hubby is quite handy and could make another.



 

She was right and he crafted a wonderful new leg, which I failed to photograph. Sorry, honey you did a great job!  Now, let's take a close look at the photo below.  One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just isn't the same......since I purchased the bed without even a peek at it I wasn't surprised that I didn't see it at the sale....but after 2 hours of looking at the split leg and discussing paint schemes you would think  I would have caught it.

 

 

Yup....major problem.  What to do now?  Wonder Hubby is good but I didn't think he was going to be happy to hear he would need to repair this.   I considered trashing the headboard and footboard and just selling the bedside tables but then I had an idea.  I kept feeling the paint for this should be Paris Grey with darker grey accents and for whatever reason I instantly knew a Vera Bradley type fabric would look great with the greys.  So the idea for a padded headboard was hatched.  Possible solution?  We shall see.

Before I could celebrate my genius, I discovered a split/bust in the top of one of the tables.  Naturally, it was the one I couldn't see at the sale!  It was easy not to have spotted flaws with these pieces since (a) they were buried and (b) they were super dirty and covered in stickers...lots and lots of stickers.  The zero's were dropping off my profit quickly.

 

Well, like the pig at a barbecue I was committed, so I rolled up my sleeves and got started.  After spending an hour and a half cleaning and applying lots of Goo Gone on stickers, it was time to start the real work.  First task was to remove all the decorative pieces in the headboard to prepare for a padded headboard.

 

Oh boy, I really hope I can make this hair brained scheme work.

 

 

After a little wood putty here and there (grrrr..like in the split)

I got to work painting.  The body of the headboard, footboard and tables were painted ASCP Paris Grey and I ended up with 3 different greys that I turned into chalk paint with Websters Chalk Powder to trim with. 

 

The Paris grey went on perfectly and I was able to roll most of the pieces. In fact, it went on so quickly and easily I was done in half an hour.  I was feeling pretty good and decided I was such a genius that despite the unexpected surprises I would have this complete in a day!

 

Uh huh....not so much.  Although there isn't a lot of trim painting it took WAY LONGER than expected.  I tried taping off the trim to make for quicker painting but unfortunately when I removed it, I also removed the paint underneath.  So....then I had to lightly sand and repaint those areas and trim again by hand.  It took forever a great deal more time than I could have imagined.  Finally, I had managed to finish all the trim on all the pieces (did I mention days elapsed before this was completed?).  I was standing back admiring my work when I thought something didn't look right. Do you see it?

 

 

Look again

 

 

Guess I need to pay a bit more attention to the can in my hand when I paint.  The sad part is one grey paint was in a round container....the other in an oval! Seriously how do you not notice that!  So........I ended up painting all the trim again (and in some cases, again and again).  Actually that isn't true, Mini felt sorry for me and spent a couple of hours painting for me.  Sweet girl.

 

Weeks later Eventually, all the painting was done and we were ready to cover the headboard.  The Nana has done upholstery professionally so I trusted we could handle this.  She even managed to find the perfect fabric on sale!  Wonder Hubby cut a board to fit, The Nana and I figured out a bed eggshell worked perfectly as our padding so we fired up the compressor and nail guns and got busy.

 

I don't see straight so I definitely don't cut straight, thankfully The Nana handled that part.

 

We covered 3 large buttons (love those) and she taught me what a bodkin was, how to make one and to use it.  Pretty handy knowledge.

 

 

Ah....finally it was all done.   I had truly grown to hate this set and was sooooo glad to have it finished that I threw it against my car snapped a few pictures and sold it in hours.  I priced it to move cause I wanted it GONE.

 

 

 

It turned out better than I had hoped considering all the flaws that had to be repaired or worked around.  I blogged here about having a relationship with an object.  Well I thought the relationship I had with this set was a hate/hate relationship...I just wanted it out of my garage and my life.  So, I was quite surprise by my reaction to what happened when my buyer picked it up.

 

The lady that purchased the set came in a pickup...okay no problem there.  While I stepped inside to get her change she began to load.  When I came out, I grabbed the metal bed rails and rushed to put them in so they would be on the bottom under the painted pieces.  I was stunned when I saw the bed of her truck will full of leaky bottles, bags of trash and several busted pumpkins! 

 

 She had just put the headboard of top of all this!  I tried not to freak out but helped her better place the fabric covered headboard on top of a broken baby gate and out of the way of wayward pumpkin guts...whew.  She managed to get one bedside table in the cab of the truck and I placed the other in the back and crazy as it sounds......tried to pad around it with trash.  I asked if she had anything to put over it to keep the rails from scratching it or to keep it from slamming into the tailgate or side of the truck bed. Thankfully she had a baby blanket (which made me wonder if that would be washed before use again) that I was able to partially cover the table with. 

 

I suggested that she drive VERY SLOWLY to keep things from shifting.  She agreed and then proceeded to gun it down my drive and turn onto the street on two wheels.

 

I realized as I stood there in shock that I didn't hate this set after all.....in fact, despite the hours I had spent working on it and all the frustrating flaws....I felt sorry for it!  I wonder just what type of forever home it went to? 

 

 So that is the story of panic buying, a French provincial adventure and a twisted relationship.  Thanks for stopping in and joining my adventure!

 

 

I am joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

and Marty @ A Stroll Thur Life for Inspire Me Tuesday, join me there!

The Tale of a Terrible/Terrific Table Makeover

Is it possible to have a relationship with an object?  Does that sound a little bit crazy?  No, it sounds a lot crazy but I have figured out that my best projects are the ones I fall hopelessly in love with.

When I began searching for pieces to makeover for Lottie & Molly, Lottie and I had different opinions on how to choose pieces. Lottie likes to pick pieces she loves, just in case they end up living at her house.  I tend to want to buy pieces that are the opposite of my taste, therefore insuring they WON'T be living at my house!

I showed you the coffee table I landed recently at Goodwill in this post.  As you can see she was a real challenge.  Strangely I kept wanting to walk away from her in Goodwill but Lottie was determined one of us would own her.  I didn't  see her beauty under all the junk piled on her and when we did clear off the top she was in terrible shape.

 As I wavered and waffled Lottie pulled her tag and announced if I didn't buy her she would.  Why do I fall for this?  Lottie literally has a house full of really nice antiques ready to head to Lottie & Molly, why would she buy this?  Have I mentioned we are very competitive?  Did I mention that we had just spent 15 minutes discussing how we DID NOT need to buy any furniture for a while? Well, all of the above is true.  So....anywho...I bought her and I really didn't even like her.

After I got her home and studied her further I kinda got a crush on her and I called her Carlotta.  Then I spent forever a good bit of time having a wood putty party and then it was time to paint.  I went with an off white paint and planned a look similar to the tables I blogged about here. 

I loved the way she looked when she was painted and couldn't wait to start distressing and waxing.  But, a funny thing happened.  I went from having a crush to falling head over heels for her beautiful legs and curves.  It was at this point I realized she needed to live in my living room and Old

White just wouldn't work.  Wonder Hubby didn't think she would fit and he didn't want a coffee table but I was in love, who was he to stand in the way of true love?

So after a paint buying trip I repainted her.  I love how she looked with the warmer shade of paint. 

Then it was time to wax and wax and then add dark wax.  Lots of dark wax.

Finally, she was all finished and I was so excited to get her inside.  So this morning when I finished buffing her off, I quickly rearrange the living room and made room to see her in place.

I crossed my fingers that Carlotta would be perfect....but, well, she just wasn't.  I love her color and distressing and aging but I just didn't love her in my living room :(   When you have a great relationship like Carlotta and I did you know right away when it just isn't working and she just wasn't working in my living room. 

 Sadly she was carted back out to the garage to await her turn at Lottie & Molly.   I am sure someone will click with Carlotta and give her a forever home.  Despite not keeping her I really loved the process of redoing her and think she turned out beautifully.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.  I am joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday and Marty at A Stroll thru Life and Kim at Savvy Southern Style....join me there!

and Miss Mustard Seed for Furniture Feature Friday

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Latest Junkin Jewels

Last week junk buddy Tammy aka Lottie and I managed to get out for a day of fun.  It seems that since we decided to open a booth all our time is spent working on projects, talking or texting about projects or hauling and arranging projects.  We never just junk for fun....oh right, the whole booth thing is for fun, right?  It certainly is, however, it is so easy to get caught up in the "business" side and forget why you are doing it in the first place.

 

So Thursday, after we delivered more stuff to Lottie and Molly we managed to hit Goodwill to relax.  Yes, I know we just happen to relax at the same place we shop for the booth!   I went in looking for a sweater and Lottie headed to the furniture.  Not surprisingly I ended up with furniture and no sweater!  Lol  

 

I really did have a good junking day.  I ended up with some awesome Liz black pumps for $5.99 and a dozen of self adhesive lampshades for .99 cents each.  I have plans to makeover my pot rack lights and have some ideas for the booth using these as well.  I have already gotten started on one of the ideas. Hmmm....I think I may like the change.

 

I also ended up with this.....

Yes she is a beauty.  Wonderful detail and size but whew , she has lived a rough life.   She has great bones but she is in serious need of a makeover.  Stay tuned to see how she is transformed to greatness and perhaps moved to my living room if I can fit her in!

 

It was so nice to spend a day just hanging out together....we even managed to grab a bite of lunch.  I had never been to Quiznos before but we stopped in and I had their Harvest Chicken Salad.  Oh my gosh, it was SO GOOD.  I usually play it safe with a salad but I am glad I took a chance it was yummy.   If you are having a salad craving give this salad a try. 

 

Thanks for stopping by, please visit again soon.

Fabulous Fluer de lis Table Makeover

I am now entering my second month as Molly of the Lottie and Molly antique selling dynasty.  The first month was a smashing success and I have managed to accumulate many projects to be finished for the booth. 

 

On a recent afternoon Lottie and I were stalking prey at the local help center when she spotted this table.

I loved the table but wasn't sure how a single end table would sell, not to mention the drawer was wonky and would go backward and sort of fall down.  After a little snooping we spotted the matching table across the store.  Yeah! 

 

 Unfortunately, it too suffered with drawer issues.  As Lottie and I discussed the pros and cons and yanked and pushed on the drawers we were approached by an employee who basically said make an offer on them.  What?????  Really?

 

Yep, all prices are negotiable.  Did I mention that this particular store is beside my office?  No.  Okay did I mention that my window faces the unloading zone for said store and that I can literally watch as goodies are unloaded and then rush over and make an offer?    Oh yeah....how dangerous exciting is that?  I spend all my time at work now watching for great furniture!

After a bit of negotiating I purchased the tables for $10.00.  I was heady with savings and potential for negotiating future buys.

 

On the drive home I decided on ASCP in Old White with a healthy dose of distressing and lots of dark wax.   I sweet talked Wonder Hubby into repairing the drawers (just a shim or two, some wood glue some stops needed) and cleaned them up and started painting.  The more I painted the more I loved them.

Meanwhile....I was also working on another project that needed fabric so while looking for fabric for a headboard I stumbled upon this awesome burlap. 

 

Hello, burlap and Fleur de lis...what's not to love?  It was at this point that the tables spoke to me. Yes, furniture, fabric and some of plants just chat me up from time to time! lol  This was one of those times and I just knew this fabric would be perfect on the drawers. 

 

With that in mind I decided that perhaps the tops needed a bit of color as well so I painted them a slate grey.

The tops were not perfect and trying to get a really smooth, uniform finish on them in a dark paint was tedious impossible.  After 3 or 4 tries I gave up and repainted and repainted and repainted.  Amazing how it is easy to cover a dark finish but takes a zillion coats to cover a dark paint mistake. 

 

Eventually or after a two day delay (depending on how you want to look at it) I finally managed to cover all that grey and was ready to distress.  Don't you just love this part?  I love it but have to really rein myself in because I tend to go a little bit crazy with distressing and end up with pieces that look more primitive than distressed.

 

 

After all that distressing I waxed the whole piece with clear wax and then double waxed with dark wax.  Hard to see with the sun glare and my shadow but I love the patina of the table on the left after waxing. 

 

 

Now it was time to add the beautiful burlap.  I painted a thick coat of Modge Podge on the drawer fronts and let it dry.  Then I tried 10 times carefully trimmed the edges and applied two coats of Modge Podge on top of the burlap, allowing for drying between coats.  The hardware was painted flat black and waxed.

 

 

FINALLY....they were all done and ready to head to Lottie and Molly's, and I was sad.  I tend to form relationships with the pieces I work on and want to keep them and these beauties were no exception.  But, alas they had to go.

 

 

Off to their temporary home at the store.

 

Thanks for taking the time to stop in and visit.  Hope to see you here again soon.  I am joining Susan at Between Naps on the won't you stop by?

Mid-Century Mess to Marvelous

Once the decision was made that Lottie and Molly would become a reality, the panic set in about what I would put in to sell.  Holy cow I had nothing more than an idea! The timing of the decision and the need to find goodies could not have come at a worse time.

We were preparing for BDJ to home come for a visit, a vacation, the start of my new job and Mini beginning her senior year of high school.  When would I find the time to find anything to even makeover?  It seemed that every weekend was either maxed out with activity, we were not home or it was pouring rain.

When I did manage to make it out to some yard sales I tended to panic buy.  Believe me there is a learning curve to this buying and selling business.   I was so desperate to build a stockpile and tend to be frugal (or as Lottie would say, CHEAP) that I was always seeming to bring home the dregs of yard sales.

Sometimes this was a good plan...others not so much.  The first day out stockpiling I spent with Wonder Hubby and we found some real jewels.  So many in fact, we filled the 4runner and had to go home and unload before we were a mile from home!  The second run of the day wasn't yielding quite the quality of things the first run did. 

Lottie had already been to this particular sale and reported there was nothing there.  Wonder Hubby spent a whole five minutes there before he declared it desolate.  I, on the other hand was determined to find something.  Tucked into the back corner of a carport was this beauty.

 

Ain't she purdy? The mix of dark wood and hunter green messily painted drawer fronts was just stunning!  Oh yeah she was a natural beauty and so together....not.   One leg fell off while I was looking her over and once I negotiated her down to $12.00 Wonder Hubby drug her out and proceeded to rip my shorts with one of her legs.  I should have known at this point she was going to be a difficult lady.

Once home I took off her legs and cleaned her up.  Since she was mid-century sleek I knew I didn't want to go the traditional chalk paint and distress route.  Her top had lived a rough life so going with a glossy finish wasn't a good idea.  Truly I was thinking she was a bad panic buy and I should just send her on her way.

The Nana and Mini took a look at her and decided she would look great if painted something really hip.  Since they tend to be way more modern and fashionable than I, they chose her color, deep purple.  Yes, you read that correctly, deep purple.

I decided I didn't have much money in her and The Nana said she would buy her if she didn't sell so I decided to give purple a shot.  I knew I wanted to do some stencil work on her drawers as well and thought that might break up the sea of purple.

Remember when I said I should have know she would be difficult?  Well, I had no idea just how difficult.  I do a lot of painting, small decorative pieces, furniture and murals all freehand but stenciling has never been not forte.  Freehand painting lets you hide your mistakes easily since the design is all you.....no sticking to patterns and rules.  I hate rules in painting!

Once the stencil design had been decided and the multiple coat of purple had been applied it was declared stencil time.  Have I mentioned that I really don't do math?  Well, I don't and as far as I am concerned any measuring less than a 1/4 inch is math so getting the stencil centered top to bottom and side to side was a tricky proposition.  Naturally this stencil wasn't large enough to cover the whole drawer front area and required a separate corner stencil....you know just to test your patience and stencil skills.

First go round I enlisted Wonder Hubby but he really lacked interest in this and suggested I eyeball it.  Really?  I have never hung anything straight so why this seemed like a good idea to him is beyond me.  Next up...Mini. Mini is a math whiz so I figured she would knock this out in minutes.....ummm math whiz does not = stencil placement pro.  Finally The Nana tried a few methods.  One of which ended up too far to one end...oops!

 

 In the end......I ended up taping off a "frame" to stencil within.  One drawer down...two to go.

 It worked well enough to get this Purple Time Eater done!   Although I ended up having to re stencil twice since I taped the first go round and the stencil was so thin I had creeping paint.  After a good dose of spray adhesive I managed to get the whole thing done.  I am such a perfectionist I ended up touching up nearly every line on the thing by hand but in the end (after days and days) she turned out to be a real beauty. 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!  I am joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Met Mondays...visit me there!