Top Ten of 2016

 It's not hard to pick favorites. I suppose I'm to tell you that I love all my work, and swagger away from each piece thinking it's a home run, but I'm pretty critical of myself, and of the furniture. Also I factor in heavily whether the piece was pleasant to work on. Sometimes a piece turns out gorgeous, and we all "ooh and agh" over it, but to get to that point I had to spend many miserable days muddling about with the most irritating finicky problems, swearing a blue streak, and stomping about. Furniture that pissed me off, no matter how pretty, does not make the cut.

           So you can rest assured that each of these pieces, my ten favorite in no particular order, were fun to do as well as pretty to look at! I've got about twelve new projects in my workshop right now that I'm wicked excited about, so 2017 is going to bolt out of the gates with some serious showstoppers- and also I have quite a bit of exciting news, multiple individual exciting news things, that I can't tell you about quite yet!

1. A Vintage Thomasville Armoire
       This thing was a beast, and when we delivered it to the client's house it took four of us to move it. Somehow in that moving melee' I smacked my head on the corner of their wall so hard I had a big purple welt for weeks- SO GLAMOROUS. But all is forgiven- this armoire is too good to resist. I love all that storage and the balance of high society curves, and country chic copper wire mesh.
You can read all about it and see more pictures here
http://heirandspace.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-vintage-thomasville-french-country.html

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2. An Empire Chest in Blue
       This sweet 19th century chest of drawers combines several of my favorite things- It's a very curvy bit of furniture design, with that wonderful over the top crest and those silly turned feet, and it's duck egg blue, which incase you haven't been paying attention, is one of my very favorite shades to paint a dresser. Now I don't always love the way stained drawer fronts go with a painted dresser, but in this instance it makes my knees weak. The bold graining of the crotch mahogany veneer was too damn good to hide under paint!!
To see more pictures- check out the blog post here!
http://heirandspace.blogspot.com/2016/02/an-empire-dresser-in-soft-blue-green.html

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3. An Empire Secretary in Cream
      Again, empire- I truly am SUCH a sucker for empire pieces. This secretary dates to about 1865/1870. When I got it, it was in rough shape- I'm talking one scrolled foot on a banana peel and the other three in the fire pit level rough shape. So it was extremely satisfying to nurse it back to life. And the form, GOD, so pretty. I kind of wish I'd kept it for myself.
To see the before and after pictures on this one, check out my blog post here!
http://heirandspace.blogspot.com/2016/03/an-antique-empire-secretary-in-cream.html

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4. A Vintage Hutch in Mint Green
        I've refinished about two dozen of these mahogany and walnut mini hutches over the years. They all date to right around WWII, and are super sweet. Of all of them, this is my favorite. The mint and white and cream suit it so perfectly. And the gal I bought it from was an absolute darling, as was the gal I sold it to. It was just a happy piece of furniture from start to finish.
To see more pictures, click the blog post here http://heirandspace.blogspot.com/2016/03/a-vintage-hutch-in-mint-green.html

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5. An Antique Oak Cupboard in Yellow
      It's always nice to work on a piece that's wholly unique from any I've ever handled before. I had done an ornate Victorian side by side last year, but this simple, humble oak piece, with its no-nonsense straight lines, was a much more down to earth take on the form. I LOVED this piece, and was so happy with how it turned out. It went to one of my favorite clients who owns one of my favorite houses out in a spectacular little corner of Western Connecticut.
This is another post it's really worth clicking over to, to see the before and after!
http://heirandspace.blogspot.com/2016/04/an-antique-oak-cupboard-in-yellow.html

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6. A Mahogany Sideboard in Greige
              I refinished this sideboard from start to finish in one glorious warm afternoon, while listening to an excellent book on tape. I bought it from a couple out in Marlborough who had one of the most glorious gardens I've ever seen- put my scraggly wild patches of unknown weed-flowers to shame for sure. But the sideboard was a jewel! And it had several inscriptions on the bottoms of the drawers from the original owner- all the more fun!
To see the inscriptions- click here http://heirandspace.blogspot.com/2016/05/an-antique-mahogany-sideboard-in-greige.html

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7. A Coffee Table from the Side of the Road
          Yes, that's right, I snagged this sweet vintage Thomasville coffee table off the side of the road in Hebron while returning from another delivery. I couldn't believe my luck! A great client of mine approached me to custom refinish it for him and we put our heads together to create this amazing piece. You WILL NOT believe the before and after on this one!
http://heirandspace.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-vintage-thomasville-coffee-table.html

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8. An Antique Tiger Oak Dresser in Cream
       This was a piece a very kind friend gave to me as he didn't have a spot for it any longer. I refinished the top and drawer fronts because: HOLY MOLY that tiger oak grain is out of this world. A dear friend and neighbor gave it to her husband as a birthday present.
To see more pictures- click the blog post here!
http://heirandspace.blogspot.com/2016/06/an-antique-tiger-oak-dresser.html

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9. A Pine Hutch in Shades of Green
       To be fair, these are my favorite greens: spring and a spicy shade of chartreuse, and I love a good hutch. This was a GREAT hutch. Huge, and well built and packed to the rafters with character. The modern nickel drawer pulls were waaaaaay outside my comfort zone, and I'm so glad the client selected them, they're perfect for the piece. It went into a stunning dining room in a stunning house in Glastonbury!
Check out the before and after on this one here! http://heirandspace.blogspot.com/2016/09/a-pine-hutch-in-shades-of-green.html

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10. An Antique Dresser in Cream
         Oh goodness, this was such a magnificent dresser, so wonderfully built and designed, it was an honor to refinish. I did it custom for a favorite client, and the simple combination of antique white and wood graining is superb. I would have happily put this looker in my home
For more pictures and a funny story of what it took to get it to this point, read the blog post here!
http://heirandspace.blogspot.com/2016/10/lets-not-fight.html

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Honorable Mention:

These two pieces are currently tied as my favorite piece I've ever refinished EVER, both of which I did this past spring. I didn't include them in my top ten only because I think I've shared both these pictures with you about ten thousand times already.

To read about both:

Blue hutch: http://heirandspace.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-shipwrights-hutch.html

Blue vanity: http://heirandspace.blogspot.com/2016/02/an-antique-vanity-in-wedgewood-blue.html