Ebony Greek Key Motif Table

A couple months ago - on her morning walk - my friend, Molly, 

texted me about a table someone had tossed curbside.

Fortunately my car was fairly empty at the time (a rarity), 

so I zipped on over to Northside.

The table was still there but the top was in bad shape.

BUT... it had two awesome pedestals, ugly finish but great detail.

So I promptly removed them with my handy power drill,

loaded them up, and hauled them to my storage garage.

And they've been there patiently

waiting for just the right project.

Bingo!

My friend, Tara, bought this awesome table top for me at a dealer sale recently.

Beautiful ebony table with gold greek key motif.

Nice and chippy finish.

 So I pulled out one of the pedestals and got to work.

 I first base painted it in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite.

 After it dried, I brushed on an ebony stain.

And attached the pedestal to the base.

GORGEOUS….

It's another one of those hard-to-part-with makeovers.

For sale in my Greenwood booth. 

$189.

Thanks, friends, for keeping your eyes open

for those abandoned pieces 

that just need a little SheShe love!

Random chairs + Table = Cottage Dining Set

So here's an old chair I found in the alley not too long ago.

It's been stored in my garage.

Pretty yukko, but it's sturdy….

Do you think perhaps the previous owner 

had a dog in the home?

Nothing a little sanding can't fix……..

I sanded, 

then painted the frame in Annie Sloan Old White.

Then I distressed and waxed.

Finally I rebuilt the cushion 

by adding batting and then covering in

a sweet pink Schumacher fabric sample.

So cottagey!

And here's random chair number two…

I think I paid a few bucks for this one at a sale.

Honestly, I can't remember!

 But it has really cool urn legs.

 So, I did a similar treatment: I painted,

then rebuilt the seat and covered in another

Schumacher fabric sample.

And then I used an old vintage scarf to upholster

the chair front.

 Sweet, sweet.

 Here's the pair, and even though they don't match,

they certainly go together!!!!!

Especially when you put them with a little cottage table!

I love this sweet little set!

I wish I had a place for it…it is so ME.

The set is for sale in my Greenwood Booth.

$189

Reupholstering an Empire Bench with Non-Traditional Materials.

One of my favorite things to do 

is to reinvent something in a unique way.

You know, 

take a leap of faith……

And pleasantly surprise yourself!

Here's a perfect example of a piece I had to rebuild recently,  

so I took the challenge!

I purchased this old antique upholstered bench at a yard sale.

It was covered in an old raggedy gold velour…

It had a glorious wood frame with lots of detail

But boy was it a mess!

I had to take everything off….

 

I removed the springs.

(Easily made 7 times my investment on this piece by just

repurposing the springs into candle holders…added some

fabric scraps and ball candles and put in my booths.)

But I digress. 

Back to the bench.

One of the sides had a broken frame 

so I wood glued it.

Then I removed everything from the seat. 

The original stuffing, burlap, etc,

I left the upholstered sides 

because they were still in good shape..

I rebuilt the seat using scrap lumber pieces, and

painted the frame in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Cream.

 After the cream paint had dried, I dry brushed an overcoat of Paris Grey

and then I distress sanded. 

 I rebuilt the seat with layers and layers of batting.

Here you can see the frame after I added dark wax

to all the nooks and crannies…

(Sorry for the dark photo…I was working late…)

Okay, on to the finish!

I found this awesome printed canvas rug at Ross.

I decided to use this for the upholstery.

 

I stapled and trimmed the rug…

(and treated myself to an IPA…)

And instead of using traditional gimp, 

I decided to just fold up and glue the raw edges.

Then I used galvanized roofing nails 

to adorn and secure the edges.

Getting close….now to the sides…...

 I used a grey and white ticking to upholster the sides,

after adding a layer of batting.

Then I used gimp to edge.

And it's done!

It's in my booth at Greenwood Antiques & Uniques.

$249

Papa Bear Chairs….(or are they Mama Bear??) With Painted Vinyl Seats

 So I picked up these two chairs recently off of Craigslist….

They have the strangest scale:

Massive Papa Bear seats….

 …with Mama Bear backs……..

The seats are a tan vinyl.

 And the front/back are an upholstered yellow swirly fabric...

 The backs are really cool, 

with this "x."

Okay, so how to make 

these weird chairs sing?

 This makeover started with a coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Grey.

I painted the seat and the wood frame.

 I also painted the upholstered fabric on the chair back.

Next, another coat of paint.

But this time, 

I top coated the wood "x" in Old White.

Then I waxed and distress sanded the chairs.

Here's a side by side of the back. 

Already an improvement.

So now it's time to tackle that nasty old chair front!!

 Which fabric will SheShe choose?

 SO many choices….

 Can you guess?

 (Actually, at this point in the process, I didn't even know!)

 It helps to take photos of the different options, 

and then review them….

 So…………

can you guess which one I went with???

And the winner…..

 is…….

 THE OCTOPI!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's just too funky weird not to use. Ha…

I love the orange with the cool grey.

And yes, you can paint vinyl.

The seats feel like butter 

after painting, sanding, waxing,

and buffing.

Here is the matching pair in my booth.

Incredibly comfy….(for Mama Bear.)

and roomy, (for Papa Bear.)

Or vice versa;)

At this rate, with such happy bears,

there just may be a Baby Bear soon!

For sale: $249 each or $450 for the pair.

(That's just the source light that makes them appear different colors…)