Cast Iron Piano Stool

Have you ever heard of the term Addiction Transfer? Basically it's when a person gives up one addictive tendency for another equally addictive habit. A few years ago I couldn't drive past an antique store without wincing. I could spend hours just walking the aisles looking at everything. Now it seems I can’t go 24 hours without looking online at Pinterest, garage sale sites, or my favorite decorating blogs. I can’t help it. I just love to look at “stuff”.

This week I decided to makeover one of the cast iron piano stools I bought during my hardcore antiquing days. The stool served as a small side table for several years, eventually retiring to the storage closet.

To start the process I stripped off the old stain and varnish

and sanded the seat down to bare wood.

Then I refinished the top with Dark Walnut stain and
gave the cast iron base a silver leaf treatment.

Here's the finished product...

What'cha think?

I love it.
It looks so fresh and clean.

Here's a close up of the cast iron base.
Silver rubbed over the black finish creates a look of pewter...

and is a beautiful contrast to the Dark Walnut stain.

The wood seat swivels and extends up to 22.5 inches in height.

Oops...photo bomb by Blanche!

The stool would work great as a side table,

a plant stand,

or just a piece of artwork in your home.

Let me know if you are in the market for piano stool! I'm selling this one for $145.

~Wendy 

NAPOLEON BLUE Baskets

I’ve had a lot of different collections over the years. There have been wooden spools, Red Wing crocks, McCoy pottery, and vintage picnic baskets to name a few. I doubt I’ll ever get rid of the wooden spools or crocks. I’ve slowly down sized the pottery collection and sold off the picnic baskets. Well, all but one.

This one. 

 I saw it sitting all alone in the garage last night and
decided to slap some chalk paint on it...Napoleon Blue to be exact.

I wasn't sure how easy it would be to wax over a weave 

but I worked in thin layers and it was fine.

Here's the final product.

Cute, huh?

  It's a gorgeous shade of blue.  
Makes me anxious for Easter!

I was curious to see what Napoleon Blue look like with a dark wax.

I decided to experiment on a basket that's quite sentimental to me.

This one.

My sister actually MADE IT for me.
IKR! Who does that???

Very talented, stay at home, Army wives I guess!!!

Here's how the Napoleon Blue turned out with dark wax.

Instead of a blueberry shade it's more of a smokey blue hue.

xoxo

I love them both!

 It's definitely a blue crush day.

The picnic basket is on sale for $20. Obviously I'm keeping the one De made for me;) Be sure to let me know if you have any old baskets you'd like me to pep up with a little chalk paint and wax. I'd love to help you!

~Wendy 

 

ARLES Chest

I want to introduce you to Annie Sloan's ARLES. It's a rich buttery color, presumably the namesake of a well known city in the south of France. Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles from 1888-1889. He produced over 300 paintings and drawings during his time there, including Cafe Terrace at Night.

Cafe Terrace at Night depicts the warmth of a cafe in Arles.

I've been wanting to refinish a piece in yellow for quite some time now. It's a tricky color though. A little bit of yellow goes a long way. I felt like I'd found the perfect test subject when I came across this boxy chest of drawers at a garage sale last summer. The edges of the drawers were pretty dinged up but I brought it home with me anyway. Once in awhile my search for furniture is less about finding a buried treasure and more about rescuing a few stray dogs.

I waited nearly five months for a SNOW DAY before I found the motivation to tackle the project. The wind chill factor was 37 degrees below zero so I had to sand everything inside. Ughh...cough, cough, cough! Not smart but I still have all of my fingers and toes so I guess it was worth it.

After I got the piece completely stripped, I stained the base with Dark Walnut and applied a couple coats of Semi-Glass Spar Urethane to highlight the wood. Then I refinished the drawers with ASCP Arles and clear wax. Finally, I added some new oblong knobs.

Here's the final product...

I paired it with my NOW IS ALWAYS THE PERFECT TIME sign.

What'cha think?

It's no Van Gogh but it's my master piece for the week.

I love yellow.  Period.

It's the color of the sun and it warms my heart.

 

It's my happy color.

I'm going to spread the joy and make my husband really happy, too, 

because the piece is FOR SALE!!!

The chest of drawers is $70.

 

I'm asking $110 for BOTH the chest and the sign.

Sorry...I'm not interested in selling the sign alone.

If it doesn't sell with the chest, I'm going to be selfish and keep it for myself.

As always thanks for reading 13CCF! I hope this post has inspired you to rescue a few stray pieces and cover them with your happy color.

~Wendy

Aubusson Blue Chest

Happy New Year!!! I'm so excited to start a fresh year. Like many of you, I find myself pondering what life changes I should institute in 2014. I've always been one to set new year resolutions. There seems to a general, reoccurring theme of less spending and weight, and more saving, patience, and prayer each year.

Last year I gave up drinking pop. It took me until May to actually start but it's been 8 months since I've had a Coke! This year I'm going to try to add hot tea to my diet. I also told my kids I'm going to be using the phrase, "Thank you for choosing to be helpful." We'll see if these changes cut down on 90% of my mommy melt downs. I want to spend more time cooking and baking with my daughters this year and make time sit in the deer stand with my son. I also want to teach my children more sign language this year.

A couple years ago, I started asking my kids what new year resolution they would choose for me. At first they were pretty cautious about not wanting to hurt my feelings, but then one by one they voiced their honest opinions. You should try it with your loved ones. It's pretty sobering (and inspiring).

I made a 2014 To Do List for my blog. The list could go on and on but these are the big 5:

1) makeover the sunroom (without Don noticing)
2) make an upholstered head board for the cabin (without Don noticing)
3) build a farmer's table for the sunroom (without Don noticing)
4) build a sofa table for the cabin (without Don noticing)
5) paint my front door (move to #1 position)

First things first though. I need to get my garage cleared out. I found this chest of drawers at a second hand store for $30. I was immediately drawn to its modern design:  clean/simple lines, boxy design, extra wide drawer base, etc.

Say hello to my faithful assistant, Blanche.

In my experience, hidden surprises are a guarantee in most restoration projects. When purchasing used furniture you really, really have to look the piece over for structural flaws, especially if plan to resale the piece. Take the time to open and shut every drawer. Don't forget to look inside the drawers, too. Check to make sure the legs are sturdy (kind of like kicking the tires of car). It was clear to me the chest had been refinished by the previous owner but I thought it was made of solid wood based on the dove tailing, drawers, legs, back, etc. Wrong!

 After I sanded off the funky varnish, I realized the base of the chest
was made of solid wood...

 the drawers were solid wood...

but the top was a laminate. Not veneer...laminate:( Yuck.

Laminate is not porous like wood or wood veneer so you can't stain it. Fortunately, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint will adhere to almost any surface so I painted the top and sides Aubusson Blue. I coated the paint with clear wax and may follow with a dark wax down the road if I decide I want the color to be more teal.

Next I stained the drawers with Minwax Dark Walnut and applied two coats of Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane to draw out the beauty of the wood.

Removing the varnish on the drawers unveiled a second hiccup. Apparently the previous owner decided to putty the drawer holes so he could convert them to single knobs. *!#*!*#! I really wanted to use some brass Sioux Nation knobs I came upon last summer....but unfortunately the putty holes were very obvious without the dark varnish.

My solution? Redrill the original holes and create a rope handles. I spent less than $2 at our local True Value to purchase hemp rope. I explored different designs. Then I bought some inexpensive drawer brass plates to give the rope handles a more finished look. Guess what? I didn't like it. Well, I liked them. They just weren't "keepers". I ended up buying some 'soft iron' pulls from Target. They'll match the stenciled chest I took to the cabin this summer. I will find a way to incorporate the rope handles on another project.

Here's the finished product. What'cha think?

I love the look. 

It reminds me something you might see at West Elm or Crate & Barrel.

It's perfect for our cabin and it will look great with the other pieces 

that have made the pilgrimage from our home to the river.

I'm going to use the chest as a TV stand.

xoxox

As always thanks for reading 13CCF and good luck with those new year resolutions. For those of you contemplating the idea of giving up soda...Lord have mercy, DON'T go there! I've missed it every single day since I quit!*#!*!

~Wendy