She's Outta Here

A few weeks ago a friend sent me a message on Facebook and asked me if I would like a desk and dresser. They were mine if I could come pick them up pronto. Lickity split I galloped to her house and picked them up. They were better than I imagined. It is funny how some people's idea of beat up and mine are totally different.

The desk was petite and solid pine. Gayle's husband had started to refinish it and aborted the mission. This made the desk even better for me. All I had to do was sand the top down a bit more and it was good to go.

I stained the top with a dark cherry and painted the bottom with Dickey's Chalk Paint (I need to trademark it ) in Watery, one of my favorite Sherwin William's colors. I stained the knobs to match and top coated it with wipe on poly.

I snapped a quick picture (ugh...) with my cell phone and posted it to Facebook. Within twenty minutes I had three people offer to buy it. I was happy the first responder was a friend whose daughter has been a buddy of Drexler's since preschool. They went to elementary school together for several years, played soccer together and will attend the same middle school next year. I am happy this cutie went home to Olivia!

As you can see I have been absent from Blogland lately. With both kids playing baseball right now we have our evenings pretty full. Additionally, we have had two beautiful weeks of temperatures in the mid-70s-80s. This is unheard of here in Oregon; no rain and clear days. As a result we were forced to get the pool summer ready a few weeks early. A lot of my time and attention has gone to yard projects. I'm not complaining, but I am glad this weeks forecast calls for rain. My plants need water and I need to get back to painting!

Peacock Dresser

I had a dresser that sat in my garage stuffed with various nails, tools, electrical junk and more for the last seven years. I recently purchased a dresser and it was a buy one get one free deal. I had to take this one in order to get the other. I almost took it to Goodwill. It isn't really wood and was horribly painted and stripping such a cheap piece was out of the question in my book...painting it would be a waste of time even in my world. I decided to keep it and trade my old catch-all dresser with it.

This dresser is solid wood, but it is very thin pine. The drawers all worked, but they weren't all that big. It would make a perfect dresser for those baby through toddler years, but after that they are just to small to fit much in the way of clothes. It would also be a good dresser for an office or crafting space.

Anyway, I painted it with the evasive Peacock (a $1 quart I found at a salvage store).  I will be honest, I would never put this color in my house, but I like it a lot in other's homes. It just isn't my cup of tea.

I realize again that this is a horrible picture. I struggle with photography. I have a decent enough camera, BUT...

1. The lighting in my garage/workshop stinks
2. The item sells and I have forgotten to get decent pictures
3. I'm lazy

No excuse for it. I am going to make a goal for myself this summer to become a better photographer. Honestly. No excuses.

Frenchy Part Deux

My last post was about a set of French Provincial furniture I purchased and sold. Prior to those pieces being finished I got a call from my sister-in-law asking me if I wanted a dresser her dad was getting rid of. My friends and family always know where to go to get rid of their junk. I of course said sure and arranged to go pick it up from her parent's house. This is what was waiting for me:

Now the last piece I did was a better made piece. This one is in fantastic condition, but it wasn't as well made. It was also bigger. Let me tell you if I was in the market for a new television right now I would be keeping this baby as a media console. However, I am not in the market so this is on the market. As I type this I am also answering texts from someone who wants to come see it.

Since the first piece sold so quickly I decided to paint this with Annie Sloan Paris Grey and Old White as well.

 I painted the entire thing grey first. I decided to keep the top wood. I didn't mess with the finish because I am not sure if it is real wood under that lacquer. I will be giving the buyer the option of having the top painted or left as is. The top is really in perfect condition.

I went back over some of the details with Old White to accent them.

I didn't paint the inside because I was being lazy and because it really didn't need it.

I advertised this piece as a media console, buffet, credenza, changing table and dresser. I like furniture that can be used for different purposes. Some people don't think the same way and need a little nudging. This piece would look great being a couch as a credenza or in a dinning room as a buffet. It would also be a perfect media console. Look at the storage!
I did not waxed this piece when I listed it on Craigslist because I have determined that some people aren't fans of dark wax and once it is on you can't go back. I like to keep the options open for people.
It sold in a day. The new owners came out and took a look. They decided to go with a clear wax and to keep the top wood. They also wanted to pick it up themselves. I was stoked about this because it mean I didn't have to load it and unload it. I have been making a lot of trips to the other side of the Portland Metro (not that I am complaining).
I had my driveway clear for exactly 24 hours. My neighbors were happy, but then I got a message on Facebook. Did I want a dresser and desk? Uhhhh, of course!

Sitting Pretty

I have written about my chair collection before. It is getting smaller, but is a long way from being gone. This chair has been holding a box of records in the garage for about six months.

I sold five chairs that matched it (without arms) back in January. I thought about revamping them all, but decided to get rid of them to free up some storage space. Also, I began to realize that the average chair would take me 45 minutes to complete, cost $5 (materials, etc.)  and I could only get maybe $25 per chair. This isn't the best return on investment if you ask me. I knew I could get more for a chair with arms.

This one was pretty straight foward. I sanded a bit so the paint would adhere, painted it with Miss Mustardseed's Graphite milk paint and top coated it with Annie Sloan soft wax. The seat was covered in a great Frenchy scripty fabric I picked up for next to nothing. It was a great one night project.

I actually sold this chair prior to finishing it. I posted another piece on Facebook and it happened to be in the picture. One of my friends bought it before it was even finished! I had a crazy weekend and forgot to snap a photo, but never fear my friend is a photographer.

A picture like this points out my need to take some photography lessons. She does wonderful work. You can check her out at: http://www.kimberlyorthphotography.com/. 

My entire Saturday centered around baseball games, but the weather had something else in mind. I am going to go ahead and start working on some projects!