2 GREAT PRODUCTS TO HELP RESTORE WOOD

It's no secret that I love the product Howard Feed and Seed or Weed and Feed, or Seed and Weed, whatever it is…I love it! It's a bees wax.  I do not like most waxed because they look so 'waxy' but this is more liquid but not greasy and so easy to spread and work with. I've told many people about this product when they ask how to freshen up their wood furniture.  Seriously, the first time you use this you will run around your house wanting to wax everything that is wood.

I recently used the newly discovered product 'Restore A Finish' while working on a set of chairs for a customer.  I loved it so much and wanted to try it on a few random pieces.  They have a few different colors to choose from.  I used the Oak on the chairs but most pieces I have would most likely require the darker walnut shade.

Here is a piece I chose as a little 'before and after' on these products

This is the 'before'.  I am just doing the top.  As you can see, it has a LOT of superficial scratches and discoloration.

 Holy Cow!  Look at this 'after'!  I simply wiped on the this product.  Athough it didn't take out every imperfection, it certainly made this top significantly nicer!

As suggested on the back of the can, I followed up with beeswax after waiting at least 30 minutes. So far I am impressed, so I decided to try another piece to see if this was real….

SUPER scratched up and few odd stains going on.

I decided to try steel wool on the top (going with the grain) to help prep it for the restore product.

Not sure if the steel wool helped or not but you can see from the picture below that the product does help significantly.

The 'after' when using the Restore and Beeswax.  These products will not work on water marks or remove major stains but for a piece that has a few imperfections, I definitely think it's worth a shot!

DRESSER TURNED CREDENZA AND TAKING OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING FUN!

After seeing pictures of my clients fun and colorful home, I knew she was going to come back with an awesome shade for this piece…and she did!  It is a Benjamin Moore color called Alexandrite.  Pretty, glamorous and a different combination of strong, yet soft, shade of green. 

I really like the antique brass hardware she picked.  Has 2 of my favorite looks…vintage and modern!

We thought for a while on what to do with the inset behind the door, knowing the panel was removable and a good opportunity to do something different.  I loved the mirror idea from the beginning and think it adds a bit of glamour and elegance to the piece.

Nothing better than a good 'before' picture!  Although it was pretty at this stage, the update makes all the difference!

PRETTY DRESSER TURNED GORGEOUS MASTER BATH VANITY!

Well didn't this turn out pretty great?  My clients did an amazing job on the entire bathroom.  Love their sinks, faucets, tile, colors…everything!

I loved this piece before I even took a sander to it!  Just unique and curvy and so pretty!

The customers ordered the sink and faucet first so that Marc could drill holes in the top EXACTLY where they wanted them BEFORE I started working on the piece.

Getting there!  Because they did not plan on using a solid surface top, I did a LOT o coats of lacquer to protect it the best I could.

FUN UPDATES!

In case you are not connect with me through Facebook (and you really should be:)), I wanted to share some super cute pictures of a bedroom update I just finished up for a friends daughters bedroom.

Isn't that finish yummy!

Chair didn't originally come with the desk but I happened to have it and it happened to go beautifully with the set.  I upholstered the seat with an extra sham my customer had that matched her daughters bedroom set.  It was corduroy and looked darling.

Before photo of dresser.  Unfortunately I couldn't find the photo of the desk.  Probably because I didn't take it:(  I am very forgetful these days.

We were going to try to keep the original finish on the dresser hardware glad my customer was on board with updating it all to white since I was changing out the hardware on the desk from some extremely outdated pieces to some french provincial pieces I had left over from an old piece.

GRRRR! FIXING DRIPS!

The dreaded drips!  I would be lying if I said it never happened to me.  Over the years I have learned that it's never worth going heavy to try and speed things up, it will just create a mess that will end up taking time to fix.

Step 1…slap yourself in the face for even letting it happen!

Step 2…if it is already dry or close to it, take a FRESH blade and 'slice' off the heavy drip best you can.

Step 3…at a 90 degree angle, 'sand it down'.  If it is still wet or semi wet, do this gently!

Step 4…sand with a lower grit paper

Step 5…sand with a higher grit paper

Step 6…Hopefully your done and can continue with your life. If not, slap yourself in the face again and read below.

Sometimes you may even need to end up filling it in with filler to even it out.  Because I am VERY picky and want a perfect seamless look, I end up doing this much of the time.  When this happens you have just added another hour or 2 to your work because now you must wait till the filler dries, hit it with primer, let that dry, sand, THEN you can paint.

Bottom line…DON'T LET IT HAPPEN!  But in the event that you think your extra awesome that day it won't happen to you, these tips will hopefully help:)

MAKING RANDOM PIECES A "SET"!

It isn't always easy to find a matching bedroom set that comes together so many times a client and I have to find pieces that will work together and make them a set.  This really isn't so difficult to do if the styles are similar.  I think it keeps things a little interesting as well.  After we do the pieces in the same color and either do matching hardware or keep the hardware finish the same, it works!

Here is a perfect example….

The long dresser and nightstands are both french provincial so they naturally went together well but the tall dresser was a little harder to see as part of the 'set'.

This color is by SW called Mediterranean and I LOVE it!  Pretty, pretty shade of blue:)

FROM DINGY TO DARLING!

I love this color!  It's a BM color called Tropica Cabana. It screams "put me in a cottage"!  It would actually look awesome anywhere but because it happens to be going to a clients cottage, I just seems extra "cottagy" to me right now.

Didn't start off all that "cottagy" at first.  It has the beige/pink factory finish on it.
But even with the ugly current finish, you could definitely see the potential it had to be darling!

 New finish, glass hardware and some distressing gives this set a beautiful update!