An Antique Empire Secretary in Cream

I love this piece SOOOOO much! I really do wish I had a spot for it in my house, but alas, every single spot has at least one if not several painted pieces of furniture shoe horned into it. In all the years I've been refinishing furniture I've never had the chance to work on an empire secretary. Funny enough, this past weekend I saw the twin to this piece in an antique shop for $1200. But it had lived a better life and was immaculate. This beast? It had been 'barned', which is almost as permanent and deadly a fate for a piece of furniture as being burned. Yes, this empire secretary had surely been living in a barn for some time, and those punishing years had left their mark. The felt on the interior of the lid was GROSS, the surfaces were marked, scratched, chipped and worn. One of the drawers needed to be repaired, and I filled seven thousand spots of missing veneer. But now, Oho! She's perfect, and I daresay far prettier than her fancy schmancy $1200 twin!

A Vintage Cherry Dresser in Salmon

Now this is a color I can honestly say I've never ever used before! I've been working in a lot of sea glass shades of blue and green lately, and so it was especially refreshing to paint a piece in a bold salmon red. The color is inspired by the cheeky salmon colored front door of an 18th century house near the center of Middletown, CT. I was stopped at the intersection waiting for the light to turn and BAM I saw that color and knew I wanted to do a piece in it. I selected this lovely vintage solid cherry sideboard for the new color since it's classic quiet lines naturally lend themselves to a slightly more outrageous color scheme. This piece might be boring in white or black, but in salmon? Sublime.

     I swapped the drawer pulls out for antique bail brass pulls I bought last weekend while out antiquing. The drop pulls on the doors are also antique, salvaged from a late 19th century desk. I painted the interior in a soft white, refinished the top, distressed, and dark waxed. I had some hesitation about using such a bright color but I could not be happier with how this piece turned out!

A Vintage Mahogany Dresser Turned Kitchen Island

How about a break from hutches for a little bit. I feel like I've had them coming out my ears lately!
This piece was a custom project for a client. She spotted the vintage c.1940s Queen Anne style mahogany dresser on craigslist and asked if I thought it would be a good candidate to be turned into a kitchen island. I said it certainly was, and she brought it up to me for its transformation. I added a poplar top with generous overhang on the back to accommodate barstools, and removed two poorly working drawers to create open shelving. I filled the holes from the old drawer pull holes and swapped the vintage pulls for softly burnished nickel cup pulls. I painted the case in a custom mixed teal that I've named 'Copper Kettle', and is inspired by the color of that very kettle sitting on the island. I finished the case on all four sides and added a bit of molding to the sides and base of the back to give it a finished look.

A Vintage Hutch in Mint Green

I purchased this hutch out in Cheshire, CT two weeks ago from a very nice lady. It got lots of attention on my Facebook page when I posted the 'before' picture and offered it for custom refinishing, but I was so anxious to start on it, that I only waited about six hours before I started slapping it around with my paint brush. And then that evening a client approached me about refinishing the piece custom. I explained that I'd already gotten one coat on the outside and inside, but that I could still do it in any colors she wanted. But when I told her I had painted the exterior mint, and the interior cream, she liked the idea, and so I got to carry on with my initial plan. And I was wicked pleased about that. I really really wanted to paint this sucker mint green, from the moment I saw it!
       The mint is a custom color (of course) which I've named 'Julep' and the interior is a cream with just a bit of warmth to it. I distressed the case and sealed it with dark wax.

A Vintage Hutch in Spring Green

Last night I heard the peepers for the first time this year. For those of you who aren't New Englanders, peepers are the sweet singing frogs that populate our woods and bogs. They sing at the first sign of spring, and keep singing, often crescendoing into a maddening racket in the summer, and finally peter off in mid October. I always forget about them until one magical evening when it's been lovely warm I'll hear the first few peeps from the wetland that's five houses up, and then there's this wonderful thrill, spring SPRING!
         I picked this vintage two piece hutch up last week and worked at it at a ferocious clip. I sold my own stepback cupboard and delivered it on sunday, which means all my glassware is stacked unceremoniously across the entire dining room table. I needed a replacement, and fast. I spotted this hutch and knew it would be just the ticket. I sold my other one because it didn't offer enough storage for my growing glass collection, and being a bright blue green, it didn't look terrific against my newly painted tan walls.
          I painted the interior of the hutch in a thick cream with a hint of pink to it, and the exterior is a custom mixed spring green, fresh and vibrant. I started with a darker more intense shade of chartreuse for the first coat, and then cut the color back with white for the next two coats, so the deeper shade would come through with distressing. I used vintage brass hardware recolored in a bright shade of verdigris for a playful pop of color. Finally, the piece had originally come with glass shelves. I hate glass shelves, so I replaced them with pine. Hopefully I can get my husband to help me carry it inside this morning. I'm dying to see how it looks in situ.