A True Trash to Treasure "Alley Cat" Desk

 A friend spied this desk in her alley a couple of weeks ago………..

and texted a photo to me...

Yep, a cast off right there in the trash.

It deserves better!!

It's a little retro 60's looking desk...

 Simple lines...

crappy finish…

missing a drawer...

A dog chewed leg…….

So when I was in Greenwood last week, 

I tackled it one day out on my mom's carport.

Here it is after a little elbow grease:

I painted in Annie Sloan Chalk paint Paris Grey..

then lightly distressed and waxed.

Added these kitchy "alley cat" knobs.

How appropriate.

Wilma gives her seal of approval.

Then I added a plywood bottom to make a shelf where 

the drawer was missing.

And paired it with this vintage "Convert-a-chair"

valet storage chair. 

I used an old dog food feed sack to cover the seat.

Love these two pieces together.

I found the perfect basket to fit in the space.

 For sale in my Greenwood Antique space. 

Desk: $129.

Chair: $99

My Ever Changing Kitchen: Retro Green Kitchen Cabinets

I finally made some progress this past week 

on a project of my own! 

For a change….

You know things around my pad 

are always the last to get done.

But with all the snow and wintertime blues of late, 

business is rather slow.

So it was a good time to finally tackle 

another chunk in the continually changing 

SheShe kitchen redo..

The beginning:

When I bought my little house back in 1987, 

the kitchen looked like this:

Yikes! It's hard for me to even look at it!!

Those honey oak cabinets…white formica counter…..

such limited storage that I added cabinets and shelves

all over the place.

 Almond colored appliances….

not enough counter space.

I HATED it…..

 So back in my high rolling days of producing,

I designed a new kitchen and had it renovated…

so it looked like this.

I knocked out the pantry and replaced it with a built-in fridge, 

reconfigured cabinets along the back base wall 

with open shelving above.

I had beadboard and extended counters of recycled douglas fir installed.

I did all the painting myself.

It was my very first cabinet redo project 

and I used an off white distressed finish 

with stain and glaze overlays.

I loved my kitchen!!! For awhile…..

And then last year, 

I decided to "funk it up" a bit.

I painted the bead board behind the top two open shelves.

I displayed all my turquoise and cut glassware on the top shelf,

and all my white dishes below.

 I started painting the upper cabinets white with no distressing.

A cleaner look.

And for the bottom cabinets, well, hmmmm.

I couldn't decide on a color.

I tried many……...

 Here you can see that I have about eight colors on the various bottom cabinets,

plus I had brought in this old radio cabinet for an island.

 And I got stuck.  

And since then, 

I've had this patchwork kitchen….

 But FINALLY, I decided I wanted to do the base cabinets in a retro green.

So I headed to Lowes and selected 

what I thought was the perfect color: 

Enchanted Green.

 NOT!! 

What I really wanted was more the color of the crock on the countertop in this photo.

See how far off I am?

The color has more turquoise than I thought.

Even Wilma is sort of freaked out by the palette.

I know I am...

 Here's the other section, under the sink.

I also changed out the hardware to these great 

vintage style cup pulls and green glass knobs.

These are staying! I love them.

And I painted the island to match the cabinets.

At least I can hate everything in unity.

But wait, it's not over.

I decided to experiment with adding some stains,

to see if I could brown down that turquoise...

So I did the island first.

It worked!

See the difference on the paint chip?

Above: Paint Color

Below: With stain added.

So I added stain to all the cabinets.
I used a combo of Colonial Maple and Special Walnut.

See the difference?

Now the color reads green.

And goes nicely with that emerald green sink,

the only thing I kept from the original kitchen.

See how much closer the cabinet color is to the crock now?

Next up, the upper cabinets…..

I wonder how many years that will take.

But some progress has been made.

And I'm rather happy about that!

Revisiting the Urn Chair with Verdigris turquoise patina and peacock fabric!

This past week, 

while I was doing more of my "simulated verdigris patina" 

paint treatment on some cast iron pieces,

(after paints)

(after stain)

 I decided to revisit this urn leg chair I did a few weeks ago:

When I originally redid this piece,

I was OOT so had limited fabrics with me, 

and I just never was in love with it.

 So for this chair makeover's makeover, 

I first repainted the frame.

 I painted with a variety of colors 

to simulate a turquoise aged look,

 then I added a dark stain.

Legs are SO yummy now.

 Next, I re-reupholstered in this fun 

graphic peacock fabric I scored at Ufab………

 And for the back, 

I used a moroccan themed remnant I had on hand.

Now it's definitely a work of art.

I'm proud to call it my work!

For sale at my new booth 

at Rockfish Gap Country Store.

$189.

Oh Dear, I've gone and done it again…I've opened another booth at Rockfish Country Store……..

Yep, here I go again.

I've opened another space...

this one at Rockfish Gap Country Store, 

at the intersection of 250W and Rt. 151 

at the foot of Afton Mountain.

(This is a sister store to Greenwood Antiques and Uniques,

where I have my larger space.)

 Come on in!

 I definitely have a thing for chairs...

 I'm loving this white console table/desk

 and the peacock fabric chair!

Rockabye, baby...

 baaaaaah

I think it looks rather sweet!

So when you've had enough of the gloom and cold, 

and you need a little spring and a smile, 

head out to the country and check it out!

My booth is right beside the lovely lavender lady's, 

on the 2nd floor.