Mariah Dresser Before and After

You can never take enough pictures and that's how I feel about the Mariah dresser. I know I took more pictures of her, but I just can't seem to locate them. Oh well. The ones I do have are post cleaning, so they don't do her justice.

Many of you have asked where I find the furniture pieces that I redo... My most favorite finds often come on trash day. The kids already know the drill on Tuesday and Friday mornings. They have good eyes for Mommy! I have sweet friends who spotted this dresser in their neighborhood (thank you).

At the time, I thought I would just have to re-trash it, but after lots and lots of cleaning, sanitizing, and cursing the gods, I started to see something. Most of the time, I don't know the story behind the furniture piece I am working on. I like to let my mind go as I'm painting and create a prior life for the piece. It's weird, I know, but fun. It had good bones and nice curves- which equals perfection, in my book. This dresser had a shady past with scars to show for it. One of the drawers had "Mariah" carved into it, which gave me a name for my made up story. Of course you can't see it now, but it's there. Underneath all of the pretty and fixins, there's a scar. It made me think about all my scars and stuff that made me who I am. Some pasts are shadier than others. Sometimes things happen to us that we had no control over. Other things we did intentionally at the time, never realizing they'd come back to bite us years later. With all that said, the way God's grace covers all of our imperfections is incredible to me. They're washed away, not just covered up. In that, there is no shame, just an abundance of forgiveness that will forever change us. 

Here is the dresser/buffet before:

 

 

This was my original color choice, English Yellow.

 

It looks like a dull yellow here, which would have been perfect, but in reality it was incredibly bright, even with antiquing wax. Mariah was nearly neon and I knew that wasn't what I wanted, so I decided to give her a coat of Miss Mustard Seed's Lucketts Green milk paint and I am happy with how she turned out.

 

Drum roll...

 

 

 

 

 

And here she is, full of soldiers, cowboys, and princess stuff! I'm loving all the storage space. I can't wait to paint something else in Lucketts Green! Isn't it the most happy color ever?

 

China Cabinet before & after

This has to be one of my most favorite projects so far. Thank you so much, Geimer family for giving us this beautiful piece of furniture. I am so pleased with the china cabinet's new look, that I just can't picture our home without it. Like honey says, nearly every piece of furniture in our house is for sale. He's probably right :) But I really do love this piece. Being able to display some of our treasured heirlooms makes me so happy.

 

Here are some pictures of how this china cabinet was transformed from simple oak to French country.

 

It started out in two pieces, like this. No worries, though. We have it attached securely now.

 

bottom

 

top

 

After~  

 

I painted the cabinet ASCP French Linen. I only ended up doing one coat. I liked how it looked more like a wash and screamed "French" to me. I lightly distressed it and did I mix of clear and antiquing wax.

 

 

linens

 

Instead of putting my crystal out for show, I decided to put it in the bottom cabinet and keep the cabinet shelves more casual.

 

The china was a wedding gift and the chintz is on permanent loan to me from my mom. The wine on the bottom shelf is a dessert wine that we'll be opening on our 10th wedding anniversary. Gotta keep it safe!

 

 

I included corks from the special events in our life in this teacup and a small chintz pitcher.

 

 

Now, the only question is...What do I do about the hardware? I just can't decide. So, for now, it'll be like this :)

 

 

Happy Monday!

So blue

I am so excited about the new look for our dining room table. It has been in my husband's family for a very long time. In fact, he grew up at this very table. It was where I had my very first meal with his mom and dad (the time his dad forgot my name during the prayer). But most of all, it was our very first table. It felt so big to us for those first few years. I always had a table cloth on it and had it staged "just so." A tough piece to part with...But, as I've learned over the years- you change...your family grows and certain pieces just last for a season or just work in a particular home. If I had a big house with a breakfast room and a separete dining area, this table would be just perfect, but I don't, so I think it's time to part with her.

 

This dining table represents a lot of happiness for our family, so I wanted to paint her in a happy color. What's more happy than duck egg? The original color is oak. I first painted it in the color grain sack, but it wasn't right, so I put a coat of duck egg on top...rubbed in just the right places, stepped back, and knew it was the right finish.

 

 

I love this table round, but it has 2 leaves, so it can easily seat six. Email me if you're interested.

Dining table

My friend Brittany asked me to transform a dining table that was given to her. Free! Don't you love free furniture? I find it's extra special when it's free :)

Her family of five is about to move. They are selling their current dining table and was looking for more of a farmhouse-style table for their new home.

Here is a picture of their current dining table. You'll see that this is a totally different step for them. An exciting one it is!

I am so honored to have been able to paint the table where so many wonderful family memories will be made...stories shared...a table where three little brothers will grow up around. I love it!

Here are a few pictures of the transformation process...You can't tell from the picture, but this table was covered in glitter and stickers :)

 

Distressed, waiting for a nice, clear coat of wax.

And here it is complete. What a beauty she is.

I encouraged Brittany to write each of the boys names in sharpie underneath the table where they will sit. Each boy is sure to make their "mark" in their very spot with sweet little rub marks. I need to do this :)

Thanks, Brittany! This was a fun project for me.