A Buffet Makeover

Take a look at this incredible old buffet I purchased from a dealer recently.  It was in really bad shape, legs were just about broken off, lots of chewed and chipped wood....no back or shelves or door inserts....

 But it had such incredible detail and lines...I had to have it and ended up probably paying too much for the condition it was in...And then....I got to work!

 Oh my, this is beautiful.  After reinforcing all the legs,I lined the back with a piece of beadboard I found in the alley.  It gives it the perfect vintage feel....I sanded down all the rough spots, used wood filler as needed. Then I painted using my favorite paint for furniture, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  The outside I painted in Graphite, the trim in Old White, and the interior in Versailles.

 Next i lined the door inserts with chicken wire which I simply cut and stapled to the inside of the door.

 On this top detail, I first painted with the Graphite, but then I went back in and dry brushed with Old White until all the carving pops.

 Then I added shelves for storage.  I painted them as well as the chicken wire in Versailles.

 Then I distress sanded and gave all of the wood a nice rubbing of wax.

 This one's a keeper.  I just can't let it go...........!!!!!!!!! Yet.........

To Paint or Not To Paint (Those Ugly Wood Cabinets!!)

Why is it that some people have such an aversion to painting ugly wood cabinets? I don't understand it. If they're ugly, they're never going to suddenly be NOT UGLY.....unless of course you paint them!!!!!!  Listen carefully:  It is not a sin to paint ugly cabinets. You will not go to hell or pull all your hair out one day saying, "Oh my god, why did I PAINT my cabinets???" Just do it and enjoy a beautifully transformed space for years to come............Take a look at some of my past kitchen makeovers....

(Okay, I'll be honest....I don't have a before shot of this kitchen, but you can see a bit in the background...........bet you can't guess what time of year this was...) All the original cabinetry in this ranch home had been painted years ago in an off white.  Bronze appliances, and a really ugly faux dark wood formica countertop completed the totally dated look of this space.........Homeowners didn't want to invest a lot in this kitchen because the property will probably end up being sold as a "tear down."

Here's what the kitchen looks like after painting the cabinetry in a two tone treatment.  By painting the base colors a dark brown, it allows that ugly countertop to blend right in.......Stainless backsplash, appliances and vintage hardware give the space a great retro industrial feel.

 

 Next example:  A rental kitchen.  You've seen these stock oak cabinets.........Nothing fancy, solid, just not very attractive........Rather than replace them with new boring stock cabinets, why not............PAINT THEM???

 Here you go:  I painted the top cabinets in khaki, and the base, a navy blue. New hardware, and it looks right out of Pottery Barn. (The 2nd person who looked at this apartment rented it...Yay!)

 Here's a kitchen where the homeowner had glazed the top cabinets, but she wasn't happy with the look, and the tone didn't quite work with the tile backsplash.

 I did a two toned treatment: Navajo White for the top cabinets, Silver Sage for the base, and then added a distressed finish with sanding, stains, and a mauve glaze.  Now the upper cabinets blend in beautifully with the tile.

To look at this kitchen you might think the only solution is to gut it........

Well that just wasn't in the budget! I added a beadboard backsplash, and painted all the cabinetry in a sage green to integrate the countertop and added new hardware. Amazing. (Oh, I also got rid of the tape on that cabinet under the sink!)

This next one might get the truly ugly award........This kitchen probably hadn't been touched since the 40's/50's.  Plywood cabinets with a horrible dark wood stain.

Paint is your friend!!!!!!!!! Incredible transformation just by painting and adding some inexpensive new hardware. 

 

 Another dated dark kitchen with pine cabinetry......

Totally improved and opened up with paint.  Next up, stripping the wallpaper......

Here's a little kitchen area at a client's riverhouse.....

...that has been totally freshened up with some beadboard and paint.....even the nasty exhaust hood was painted.

Dark kitchen...........................


Bright kitchen!!!!!!!!!!!

 This client wanted to reduce all the wood in the kitchen but didn't want to deal with having to paint all the moulding throughout the house......

 So I painted only the base cabinets.......A new backsplash and countertop unifies the wood tones that were kept on top and in the trim.

This kitchen wasn't bad but opened up to a great room, and the homeowner wanted more warmth...

So I gave the cabinets a tuscan treatment by layering paint/stains/glazes/distressing, and new hardware, wood countertops and tile backsplash make the space feel like a room now and not just a kitchen.

 This is actually my own kitchen and the first time I painted cabinets.........Yep, there are those ugly honey oak cabinets................

Painted cabinets, beadboard backsplash, wood countertops and open shelving.
'

I call this my George Costanza transformation because it's the opposite of what I normally do.  These homeowners wanted to get rid of the formica white cabinets, and have an old world rustic kitchen.


Their son did all the tile work, and I painted all the cabinetry in a faux treatment to make them look like rich cherry. Each door is a piece of art...........I still think this is one of my all time favorite makeovers!


This kitchen was renovated in the 70's.  Again, the cabinets were in great shape, just ugly. Honey oak with brass hardware....

I painted everything.  Look how beautiful and clean this space is now. They absolutely LOVE their kitchen, and they hesitated on painting those cabinets for YEARS.

I rest my case.

Just Another Day in the Life of a Transformation Artist.......

Early this morning, after my walk and taking care of my friend, Julie's, cats, I had a hankering for some trash to treasure transformations......I can't help it, guys, it's an addiction;)
I already had one project to work on today, this pair of ugly chunky chairs I found in the alley....

...but i yearned for more exciting projects to sink my teeth into.........so I headed on over to Fantastic Thrift just as they opened their doors at 10AM.......I found......a couple of great quilts, a chest of drawers, and another (sigh) end table.........I headed home with the back of the car open, table legs hanging out.  Call me Jed Clampett, I don't mind...

 I spent all day out on the sidewalk assembly line.  There's just something about the instant gratification of furniture transformation that makes me happy.  I guess because I can see those tangible results by the end of the day.....Makes me feel like I DID something.

First off, I tackled the chairs..........I reinforced the seats, then used a cabinet door I purchased from the Habitat for Humanity Restore to become the "bench" seat.....I have a friend who has been looking for a white bench for her front porch, so I primed and used exterior white house paint on the bench.  It's  already packed up in the car ready to go to Charlottesville.

This is such a great idea for junk chairs........It's actually much more fun when you find a couple that don't match exactly, but have similar seat heights........

Here's one I did a few months ago that I hated to let go of...  It now lives at Tara's house;) 

I purchased this little chest of drawers for $7.  Everyone needs storage, right? So I figured this will get a little paint, and then go in my booth.

 Here it is after two coats of Annie Sloan's "Old White" chalk paint..........It's fine, but...well, not very interesting..........hmmm...

I love putting numbers on drawers, but this time I decided to go european! I stenciled "un, deux, trois, quatre" in blue and then dry brushed red on the knobs and edges.  After everything was dry, I waxed it.  I'll buff it in the morning before it goes to the booth.  Can't you just see this in a little girl or boy's room?  Oui, oui!

 Next up, this end table.
Love how the legs turn out.........Two tiers are great for storage, too....

So I painted this one in ASCP Old White and Versailles.........

Next, the fun part........Distressing, and waxing.  First I gave it a nice sanding all along the edges, and then I waxed.  I used regular Johnson's paste wax, and also Annie Sloan's dark wax.......I like to apply with a little chip brush, and then i rub down with an old cloth until it looks just right.

 Look at these scrumptious chippy legs now;)

 Next project, yup, two more chairs I snagged at Diversity Thrift...The cane is torn in both, but, well, you know what I'm gonna do with them.......a bench!!!!! I love that they are two different styles

 I started by painting one in a Annie Sloan Chalk Paint color I'd never used before: a red called "Emperor's Silk." It looks a little funky now, but just wait til I put that dark wax all over it and sand it. I bet it's going to have an incredible patina. I'm excited to finish, but too pooped to continue today, so  it will just have to wait for another day.........

Cleo Riley has the right idea.  She jumped into my new quilt just as it was coming out of the warm dryer........and she hasn't moved all day.

Who would have guessed she was an April Cornell gal?

My Non-Linear Approach To Work (Translation: "I can't remember what I was just doing.")

Hello readers..........Today I figured it out I think.............I've had a love/hate relationship with blogging lately, and it dawned on me.........the reason is..........I think....I'm putting so much pressure on myself to get a new piece done every time I blog that, well,  I'm not!
My work isn't linear, so why should my blogs be? "To thine own self be true" and all that.......
To do a "before and after" for every post, well, it just doesn't happen that way sometimes. So, starting now, I'm not gonna beat myself up when it doesn't!


My normal day consists of something like this:
I take a walk in the morning, usually dragging something home I found in an alley...
Make coffee. (This is an absolute MUST.)
Check emails, start researching a project or work on a quote or get into someone's blog or.........?????????!!!!!!
Then I realize it's 10 AM!!!!!!!!! I run downstairs and start sewing the trim that I'm pleating to add to the ottoman I'm trying to finish to put in my antique booth........Then I think, "Oh, you need to topcoat that piece outside before it gets too hot." So I go outside and set up my "outdoor painting station," sand and paint a piece of furniture. Then I remember something I need, so I run inside to get it, but I forget what it is once I get in, so I decide to design some new tags for my furniture pieces and print them off, then I remember the piece that I bought at a thrift shop yesterday.......
Do you see where I'm going here??


Here's what I did today......whether it's finished or not!!!!!!!!


I decided to tackle this piece that's been sitting in my living room for two weeks. It's a piano bench that my friend, Kim, gave me from her Dad's estate...............These are great for extra table seating, or at the foot of a bed....it also has storage!!!!!!

The top needed serious work, which I think was why I put off dealing with this for so long......but then it occurred to me: Don't paint it! Recover it! So I did!

 I finally used this piece of indoor outdoor fabric in a brown and white animal print........It was the perfect piece!!!!!!!!!

 I upholstered the top, and then I added these wonderful oversize pewter nailheads that I just got in from UFab.

 I love how this turned out......Plus, it opens for storage. I left the paint finish on the legs "as is."

Next up, this piece i bought at Fantastic Thrift yesterday afternoon.  I know, I know, I can't help it..........Salvage calls to me............Anyway, this piece had a mirror, two panels with some less than stellar artwork, and a little shelf, and nailholes where some hooks used to be........score for $2.98!

 Ewww, the artwork had to go, so I painted the outside panels in Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in "Graphite."  It makes the perfect chalkboard!

 I'm working for a client who wants to redecorate her granddaughter's bedroom with bees, so I thought this would be a perfect addition.  I added these great cast iron bee hooks on either side......

 In the center, I added a drawer knob that looks like a sunflower.  Perfect!

A little "bee happy" message in chalk, and it's totally ready to be added to Ayda's bedroom!

Next up........remember this piece? A two tiered coffee table with serious veneer issues, but awesome legs!!!!!!

 


I primed and then base coated it in a Valspar paint sample.

These legs are going to be AMAZING when I add stain.......It will get in all the little grooves and add so much character to this piece.........I think I have the perfect home for this. (Donna, do you hear me??)

Next, my client, Sharon, was looking for some porch furniture. I spray painted these pieces that have been in my garage since last year when a neighbor moved out..

Went shopping to find some fabric for cushions......Yep, where else, UFab of course!  I found three fabrics that I like...............This one is very "arts and crafts"..........reminds me of Wm. Morris...

 Wonderful whimsical print with flowers, birds and leaves.............but a little pricey at $26.99/yard..

 and this one, which I've been dying to use.........I don't know, something about this just CALLS to me.......so graphic with the vertical stalks and leaves............love love.........

 (Anyone out there have an opinion??)
I might have to check out Target and Homegoods for some shower curtains/tablecloths.  Sometimes they have great graphic prints, and cost per yard ends up being very reasonable.

Next, I moved on to this piece: A jelly cabinet I purchased awhile back from another antique vendor.......I have never liked these little faux tin inserts........and I'm dying to paint this piece.......



So, step one, I pulled off the trim and the panels.........yay!!!!!! I'm thinking perhaps chicken wire????? Maybe painting in a bold blue or green???? Maybe a turquoise distressed finish and wallpaper lined interior???????????? More on this at a later date....At least I'm starting the process, folks!

 Oh, and THEN the highlight of my day.........Good friends Jenny and Garry took me out for a belated birthday dinner. ( Hey, I'm milking this birthday thing as long as I can, folks!!!!)  We went to the new Stella's that just opened on Lafayette.  OMG, made me realize how much I had missed saganaki and Stella's spanakopita since she closed her Main Street restaurant a couple years ago.  All I can say...is....she's  B A A A A C K!!!!!!!!!! And I have L E F T O V E R S!!!!!!!!!!

So do we look sated??????????

Thanks, Jen and Garry.  It was K I L L E R!!!!!!!!!!!

 And that's what I did today.  

Tomorrow I'll be heading back to Charlottesville to check in on the patient, my sister.
Signing off for now! Goodnight from Miss Garlic Breath!
And thanks for reading!!!!!!!