ANTIQUE DESK AND BOOKCASE MAKEOVER

I will be honest and say that I almost had second thoughts about the purchase of this desk. It needed a lot of extra TLC and while I am not afraid of the extra work, I tend to pass on the ones lately that need extra, EXTRA lovin simply because I do not really have thetime, nor the space.  But I really liked this little desk…so he came home with me!

Yes, I know…HORRIBLE 'before' picture Julie! I can't remember everything ya know!

This originally had a leather top inserted that had been completely ruined.  I had removed that and Marc cut a piece of ply to replace it.  I tend to be really bad a cutting straight lines, so instead of spending more money on more ply, I usually let him do the long cuts:)

Because we are professionals…this is how we weigh down the top until the glue dries:)  It was also pin nailed as well. 

I was not able to get 'after' pics at my shop because my client had the hardware at her home, which was out of town. So she was nice enough to send me a photo after she put them on.

I also did the bookcase that she had. I removed the back and added the new bead board.  Spraying it before it was installed was a MUST!  She picked really great colors for a little boys room!  Fun and functional!

MCM DRESSER TURNED MEDIA CENTER

Just wanted to share this old post again…because I have been so busy lately I have not had much opportunity to blog like I would like.  Nothing wrong with sharing an 'oldie but goodie'…rights?!?!


I am sure Marc had other things he wanted to do ALL DAY Sunday, but because he totally ROCKS MY WORLD...he build 2 new slide out, tilt down drawers, complete with new sturdy boxes for my customer, instead.

First, lets show ya the before picture...Hmmm

It all started with a vision I already had for this piece and was playing around with on my own.  Then one of my customers caught on to what I was going to do and jumped on board.  Knowing she was going to be our "guiney pig" project of sorts, she was cool with whatever we whipped up.  Thanks Jessica!

What we (Marc) whipped up was a pretty sweet situation!  First we removed the front face of the door with a sawzaw.  Not the most professional way but after building and renovating houses, this guy can cut a straight line with this thing like nobodies business! 

We wanted sturdier boxes for the tv components, so he built new ones.  I am not really sure how as I went Christmas shopping:)  But I am sure it had something to do with some wood, table saw, router and a nail gun.

Instead of one the original middle rail, as you can see from the bottom middle drawer, we opted to do two glides to support the heavier box.

Really, the hinges are the trickiest part of all.  You have only about an 1/8" on all sides to make sure it sits in there perfectly.  

He decided to use the back of the glides, that we did not need as temporary brackets after we measured where the drawer front should sit, which we did by removing the back off the unit, with the box set in place in the dresser, I was in front holding the door front perfectly where I wanted it up against the box while he made pencil lines from the back.

After we liked where the drawer front were sitting with the temporary brackets, he was able to attach the hinges.  You don't want to have to move hinges 5 times to get them perfect, so this is a great way to do it.

TIP-- as you can see I didn't finish the inside of the drawer front till AFTER everything was set perfectly, BIG MISTAKE!  Once you have it perfect you really don't want to remove those hinges again.  It took about an hour to get everything lined back up perfectly and had to basically repeat the whole process over again.  So finish the drawer, front, back and box (which I clear coated) BEFORE you get it all installed.

It turned out beautiful and we learned a LOT on this project of what to do and what NOT to do next time around. 

VINTAGE FRENCH PROVINCIAL BUFFET WITH MODERN CORAL FINISH!

I have to apologize for my lack of blogging lately. I am super busy with custom orders and have not been able to take time to do any fun DIY projects but have decided to start posting more great "before and afters" of custom pieces.

I am in LOVE with this piece!  Seriously, I have a 'buffet crush'!  I will miss is hanging out in my shop with me when my clients pick it up:(  I have not even told them it's ready yet because I don't want it to go!

This bad boy is HEAVY!  I will have to make sure to eat my Wheaties before I bring this up the flight of stairs.

The color is Martha Stewart Terra Rosa with a high gloss clear coat over top.  

Isn't the hardware pretty awesome.  My client picked them up at Modern Hardware and surprisingly, they were not a bad price!  

Great high gloss, perfect, factory like finish!

The 'BEFORE' picture

IT HAD TO HAPPEN!

I just couldn't stand it one more day!  EVERY time I walked into my girls room, this is what I would see...a messy bed skirt!  How can something so little make an entire room look messy?!?!

My girls do make an "attempt" at making their beds every morning, (which of course I fix later), but every single time, the bed skirt is always a struggle.

I literally just ripped the bed skirts off, threw them away and was all prepared to just go buy some beds! Beds that had a headboard, footboard and rails so I didn't even need skirts.  Yes, I refinish furniture and I didn't even care, I didn't want to wait....I wanted new ones NOW!!!  But then I remembered I didn't have an extra $500, so I pulled myself together, grabbed the bed skirts out of the trash can and came up with plan B.

PLAN B

• cut "skirt" part off 

• with one of the best tools ever...staple that thing to the wood frame inside the box spring!

• stand back and admire your handy work!  Why didn't I do this years ago??!!  No more issues when making bed and tucking in sheets and blankets:)

DIY GALVANIZED PIP TABLE - SIMPLE AND MODERN

I can not tell you how many tables I have had in this little nook. It was actually a little joke with my family and friends…when they would come over they loved to see "what type of table does Julie have in her nook today"! I just could never find the right piece!

Before I built the seating bench, it was a round high top, but the kids kept beating up my walls with the back of the chairs, so I changed it to a rectangular top made out of a door.  Cute, but still not right.  Then, after building the built in seating, there came a second round of new tables.  None of them worked for some reason, plus but the "need" to make one myself still lingered.

I had seen this done a long time ago and stored it away in my mental file to use when I was to make a new computer desk down the road.  I loved the industrial look of it and wanted to mix it in with the other decor around the house.

I was working on refinishing a table when I realized it was not salvageable, but the inside leafs were really great and wanted to do something with them.  They became my table top. 

I wanted the matte, raw look so after stripping and sanding, I simply waxed the top.

I wish I had pictures of how I put this thing together, but when I made this last year and had the time to do these fun DIY projects, I had NO idea I was ever going to share them and need some good pictures for tutorials.

Here are a few close up and underneath pictures to give you an idea of the pieces of pipe I used and how it was put together.

I jotted down a picture and list of what I thought I would need and how I wanted it constructed, then headed to Lowe's.  Once piece of advice, DO NOT BRING KIDS ALONG ON THIS TRIP!!  I was there in the plumbing isle for a long time and got a little greasy while trying to puzzle things together.  I ended up figuring out that it was going to be cheaper to have one 8' piece cut down into 4 sections for the bottom legs of the base, so if your trying to budget this, check out all of your options.

This did not end up exactly being a "cheap" project.  I was surprised to spend about $75 on all the plumbing, but it was worth it!  

And I did have to have my husband really tighten the pipes with the wrench when he got home.  I bit of adjusting, tightening or loosening, might have to happen to make sure everything is balanced and level.

No gum under there I hope...

I attached my 4 planks to 2 other pieces of wood scraped from the old table (screwing underneath) and made sure to have them set the right space apart, so they would evenly and perfectly sit on top and of the plates, brackets, or whatever they are called that the table is resting on, then screwing into place.  

ANTIQUE TALL BOY WITH MODERN TWIST

This was definitely beautiful in the simple, modern navy finish we had going but because we wanted to use these fun wooden knobs, the dresser needed a little something.  My client, who I have worked with a lot this past year just happens to have amazing taste and fun ideas.  So I loved her idea of adding the boarder of gray around the drawers.

I have done a tutorial in the past on how to get perfect lines, not to mention they are all over the blog world.  I will never attempt to do stripes without the technique of after adding the green frog tape, going back over the tape line NOT with the new color, but the color under the tape.  Paint WILL seep under the tape a bit and when it does you want it to be the color that is under the tape.  This creates a barrier so that the new color, going next to it will not seep under.

paint the color that is UNDER the tape first.  Let dry and then do your new color!

The Before picture

ANTIQUE DESK WITH GOLD METALLIC FINISH

I typically do not buy pre painted pieces to work on but couldn't pass this one up!  Such unique and pretty detail.  Just need a makeover really bad.  Really, really, REALLY bad!

I have been doing metallic finishes a lot lately but this one has more gold added than the past few pieces I have done.

I thought the original hardware looked pretty and was a nice contrast with the lighter finish.

Love the warm sheen that the gold gives.  So many different options with this finish.  I have a big sample board with those options to not only help people decide which finish is best for them, when looking for metallics, but to also help me have an idea of what I need to do to provide that look. Because I am kind of forgetful:)

ADDING CHALKBOARD PAINT TO THE GLASS HUTCH

I sold this beautiful hutch to a young lady who will be using it as extra storage in the small condo she is renovating.

She loved the detail on the piece and storage potential but because she was going to be storing her food and kitchen supplies, as opposed to her 'fine china', she asked if I might be able to change the glass out for chalkboard.

I was unsure about being able to use the chalkboard paint on the glass at first but after doing some research, I found out that it was going to work perfectly after the paint cured for a few days.  

I also realized that the Valspar roll/brush on chalkboard paint would not cover the glass without 800 coats, so I started with Rustoleum spray on chalkboard paint.  I liked the coverage that the spray gave the glass but for some reason, it was almost too smooth!  After the spray dried , I then added a few coats of the Valspar roll on chalk.  It gave me just the bit of  texture I felt it should have for a good chalkboard surface.  And because I can't leave well enough alone, I finished it off with a coat of the spray:) 

After I let it sit for a day or 2, it was cured and ready to be put back together.  

VERY IMPORTANT…you must 'prime' the chalkboard before you start writing on it by covering the entire surface with the side of a piece of chalk.  Get it in there really well!  Wipe off and your ready to go! If you do not prime, the first markings or words you write on the chalk board will always linger...

DRESSER TURNED TV CONSOLE/MEDIA CENTER

This is one of my favorite projects to do for clients.  It is fun to transform pieces, intended for a particular use, into something that is stylish, fun and functional for another use.

My client brought me this dresser that she picked up and wanted to use as a media center for her family room update she was working on.

I love this classic mid century style, legs and built in drawer pulls. She wanted the 2 tone look with the drawers and base staying wood and the box painted in a pretty shade of orange that went nicely with her new sofa.  lucky for me that although they needed some attention, the drawers were in excellent condition and my client liked the current color/tone of the wood…THANK YOU BARB!  That saved me time and her money:)

 The plan was to remove the 2 top drawers and replace them with a new sheet of ply to house the media components.

I removed the back and drawer glides and cut the inside board to fit before refinished the box (covering the base).  Don't forget to paint all the inside areas that you normally wouldn't if there were drawers.  I had to focus on hitting the insides and around the middle bar.

M husband spent a few hours helping me this weekend and volunteered to cut the board for me, which was great because evidently I am unable to cut a straight line!

Notice the notch for the center bar…I wanted it to be a nice, snug fit and look like it was 'mean to be'.

I sanded, primed and sprayed out the board as well BEFORE installing…highly recommended.

After everything is dry it's time to glue and pin nail board into place.

love my little compressor and nailgun!  I use it almost everyday.

 Don't forget to the paint the back before putting it back on.  As you can tell, I only did the part that you would see from the front.

Cover those pin nails for a professional look:)

The drawers and base were cleaned well with Murphy's oil then I used my favorite Bee's wax to shine her up!

The color is BM- Pumpkin Creme
I still have to drill a hole in the center of each slot for cords but it sure looks beautiful!

Marc wasn't the only one to help me this weekend.  Natalie offered to help a while too, taking the fun and funky coordinating end table apart for me so that I could paint the metal feet.  I hope she knows how much even these 'little' things help me!