A New Dining Set Project

Sooooo, we're supposed to have a hurricane tomorrow. I'll be painting chairs and dressers inside, safe and sound (hopefully) and should have some new projects to show you by the end of the day...assuming we still have power. On that same note, if we do lose power, I won't be able to post again until it's restored, so please be patient.
I picked up this wonderful vintage dining set on Friday. It's sold pine, six matching chairs, and two leaves. It's a style that we're all familiar with. I think everyone's parents or grand parents have a set like this. I'm planning to give it a new life as a much more modern, rustic set. If you separate yourself from that dreary old pine stain on it now, you can see that the set has gorgeous lines, and could be quite special.
What I'm toying with doing is sanding the table top, and then maybe using a pickled/whitewash stain, and painting the chairs either a medium blue or a deep red to give the set a swedish rustic look.
It'll be available on craiglist when finished, or I can refinish custom. So if you really like the set, shoot me an email and I can refinish is any way. Otherwise, I'd love feedback on whether I should paint those chairs red or blue....or possibly dove gray.
Have a great week and stay safe out there!!

The set is in immaculate condition, just needs a new look!

Here is a dining set with bright red chairs and a rustic table. Very pretty!

I love how the red chairs in this room pop against all the white rustic elements.

Red chairs add character to a long oak library table here.

Red chairs look chic with a classic pine farm table in this space

I adore the color of these chairs. They look so fresh against the white modern table.

Another beautiful set of chairs with a white dining table. I think the effect of the blue would be very similar against the crisp pickled pine of the dining table.

And here's a wonderful antique set with a gorgeous dove gray paint color. So stunning!

This is a set I did this past spring. The dining set was fairly similar. I did this one custom for a client.

Gorgeous dining set in a white, almost gray shade. This is just a beautiful room!

I would love to get depth and texture like this on my table, but sadly you can only earn it
over hundreds of years of use!

A Sideboard Re-do

You may recall a post a did a couple weeks ago on a nice sideboard I picked up recently. You can view the post here . Well I just completed the project and I thought you would enjoy seeing the before and after pictures. I didn't stage them with accessories etc because it was the end of the day and I was dog tired, but I think you can get the general picture. I have to say, it was wicked satisfying to have a clerk vision for a piece and then get to see it come to life.
I painted the case of the piece is Benjamin Moore's albescent (one of my favorite cream/whites), installed the new coved burnished copper drawer pulls, and swapped out the hardware on the drawers, the door pulls, and the hinges. I refinished the lovely pine slab top, stained english chestnut, and sealed. I sealed all the painted surfaces with water based poly to give the paint surface resilience, and add a bit more sheen. Finally, I switched out the top interior drawer with a shelf, just to give lots of storage flexibility.
Before and afters below!

Eclectic Decor

Sometimes people ask me for interior design advice. Being that I think about interior design about 98% of my waking time, I'm always happy to talk about designing spaces. One of the biggest difficulties people seem to face when deciding what to put in their house is the absolute dread that things will not "go together". To that I say, good. Your stuff shouldn't "go together". This is, after all, your home, not one of those fake showrooms at Raymour and Flannigan. Where's the fun in a house if everything is matchy matchy and on purpose. Homes and the decor inside them should evolve and change, and be just as multidimensional and interesting as the people who dwell there. Be brave when you decorate. There is really no way to mess it up, as long as what you see when you walk around your house makes you happy.
Here are some beautiful eclectic spaces to inspire you.
Enjoy!

The emerald green curtains in this room are phenomenal. I can't stop staring wistfully at them.

Nothing matches here. It's beautiful and restful and cheerful.

Again, there is no clear scheme, period, or style, but everything feels very harmonious in this space, mostly because of the slate and gray blues found throughout.

This is the picture that inspired this post. This room stopped me in my tracks. STUNNING. That's an 18th century Queen Anne drop leaf table, with mod furniture, and look at the little green 19th century hanging cupboard. 

I like that none of the chairs in this room match. The pheasant. The pheasant is brilliant.

International to the extreme. A little bit American southwest, a little Asian, a lot of classical architecture. You can tell every piece in this space was acquired individually, and that a fair bit of it has a good story attached.

A mishmash of styles and furniture, but a restrained color palette and a very curated collection of accessories make this bright dining room so pretty and prim. And I think I'm going to collect ironstone pitchers. 

This room has such a casual upbeat vibe. Bright artwork hung haphazardly co-exists so perfectly with a variety of vintage florals. Just picture curling up here with a cup of coffee and a good book on a Sunday morning.

See, this is what I mean about being brave in your decor choices. The art is all over the place. The floors are painted white (perhaps so the dog hair won't show?). The design is retro and rustic and unique and interesting. I can promise you that you could recreate this room easily with vintage and flea market finds for a song. 

New Acquisitions

Believe it or not, the flea market was fabulous this morning. I know it's getting pretty late in the season for it, and I didn't have very high expectations, but it was one of the largest I've seen! Soooo much great stuff! Sadly, I got there a little late, and since I have to be to work by 930am, I had to hustle through.

Despite the time crunch, I found some wonderful things! I've got tomorrow off and I'll be working on furniture all day, so I should have some finished projects to show you by then too.

Enjoy the pictures below, and I hope you all managed to get outside this weekend and enjoy the wonderful fall weather. It'll be winter before we know it!

I got this wonderful set of c.1920 solid oak Queen Anne style dining chairs. I have the perfect dining set to put them with. This is one of the projects that I'm hoping to finish very soon.

I picked up this breathtaking vintage sideboard. Just picture it painted with the hardware re-done!

Sooooo many curves. So pretty!

I got am awesome pair of vintage side tables. These guys are really substantial, and weigh a ton. I think they'kk look perfect painted.

For myself I picked up a vintage wooden weathervane. The base has been repainted, but the arrow itself is in fabulous untouched condition. It was $10!!

Close up of the arrow. It's about 17 inches long.

I also got this gorgeous antique hooked rug. Probably c.1920-1940, it's the perfect period for my cottage, and I love the colors. Look at the butterflies too! I'm going to hang it on the wall over the headboard in my guest room.

love the butterflies.

And finally I got this sweet 19th century picture frame. I really adore the old chippy paint surface. And it's such a petite size, It'll be perfect to hang in some little space.

And I couldn't argue with the price. Didn't even try and haggle :)

Drama Queen

Phew* the furniture refinishing gods just granted a wish for me and I found the camera cord for my new camera in a pile of leaves in my drive way. I lost it two weeks ago and was having to use my crappy old camera (did you notice the colors in the pictures were a little off?). I was convinced I lost that cable while out visiting tag sales, can't image how it got in a leaf pile, but seriously not complaining!!
Here's a fun dining set that I just finished and wanted to share with you. The chairs are antique, solid mahogany. The table is oak. I think I was a bit inspired by the drama of fall, and also the really wonderful turnings on both the table and chairs. I decided to go a little dramatic, and do the whole set in black gloss, with cream canvas cloth seat colors for contrast. I had initially planned to do white chairs/white table base, wood stained table top. I'm so so glad I went this route though. The results are pretty lovely!
First a couple inspiration pics, then before and afters. Enjoy!

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