Cow cupboard no more

When I found this cupboard at a tag sale last weekend it was hilarious. Someone had painted it chalky ugly powder blue and glued small wooden cows and chickens all over it. One of the cows even had "country" printed below it in big letters. I saved that one, after prying it off, because, I mean really, who does that sort of thing to furniture. I sanded the cupboard down, and gave it a new coat of a nutmeg colored paint, the door panels are painted my favorite and antique white. It turned out very spiffy, very French country. I had three craigslist offers within 12 hours, and it sold on Wednesday evening. It'll now have a happy home in a bakery in Northern Connecticut. See sometimes it's not just about buying and selling, it's about rescuing perfectly good furniture from being covered in cows.

with the cows removed. I am kicking myself for not taking a picture of it with the cows still on...

Don't mind the pink cat toy next to the foot. My cat Toni thought it was a good addition to the picture. 

What I want now- Industrial and rusted

One of my favorite things to search on craigslist is work benches. Though I could probably use one of these for my furniture refurb work (and a workshop to put it in for that matter), I love the look of vintage work benches as kitchen islands, or even dining tables. There is a lot to be said for the allure of many years worth of grit and grim, what I call "earned patina". I like when vintage and antique pieces show their age, and have a little character. Placed carefully among more typical cottage decor- industrial found pieces can be room-makers. Here are some of my favorite looks.

fabulous rusty wheel from etsy

A wonderful series on industrial islands and stools from one of my favorite blogs, Willow Decor

A great use of a vintage work bench as a table here

Imagine this table in an entry. So beautiful.

And here's a spectacular one for sale on 1st Dibs

The neat thing about the industrial items is that when you stumble upon them 'in the wild', they're usually pretty cheap. Once they're in a retail setting though- holy cow those prices are high!
I found a great vintage work bench about a month ago on craigslist. It was being kept next to a shed. I thought it was magnificent. The owner, and my husband, thought I was crazy. It became my project to prove it could be an awesome kitchen island. After scrubbing it from top to bottom, many coats of fresh white paint, and a fair bit of sanding, staining, and sealing (to make the top kitchen worthy), as well as adding a new lower shelf made of antique barn board, it was complete. It's getting picked up on Sunday by a college friend who will be using it as an island. Pretty chic no? She obviously has excellent taste.

A mini desk

It's rained almost every weekend since July it seems. This is one of the reasons I am so looking forward to the tag sales and flea markets this weekend. The weather is, finally, supposed to be beautiful. Two weekends ago, when it was damp and unpleasant, I found this sweet little child's desk at a tag sale in Colchester. Probably dates to c. 1930-1940. Maple, and has its original factory tags on the back.
It was structurally sound, and just needed a new surface. I painted it the softest light green with a white interior. I think it turned out pretty cute! Great for a kids room, but really you could put it in a kitchen or entry way, or even use it as the coolest night stand ever in a guest room. So many possibilities! It's on the Hartford craigslist now- hasn't been bought yet, so this one could still be yours!
Before and Afters below~

The white brick dilemma

I'd been kicking the idea around for a while. Our fireplace was dark and stained from 100 years of use, and was like a dreary dark cave in the corner of our family room. Loath as I am to change anything original about an antique home, after looking at many many pictures from other brave homeowners, I decided to take the plunge. I kneeled before my fireplace, brush laden with white paint, frozen midair with the inner turmoil, until the paint began to drip onto my knee. I shut my eyes and blindly swiped at the old brick. Once the first broad stroke was done, I knew there was no turning back and so soldiered on. The result, of course, was divine. The room seems ten times larger and fifty times brighter. A success! And I'm already plotting the Christmas mantel arrangement. A few inspiration pics and then my before and after. Thoughts?

You can see how horribly dark it is here

much better, much lighter.

It's like there's suddenly a spotlight in the room. hurray!

Aaaaand we're back!

Updated with a much better computer- I think we should get this blog up and running once more. It's been a long summer of flea-markets, tagsales, and buying and selling on craigslist-and there's so many great vintage finds to share!

 Today I want to show you the transformation of a c. 1910 vanity bench. I found this little gem on a soggy clammy flea market Sunday morning a few weeks ago. After a bit of haggling, I talked the vendor (who had wild frizzy black hair) down a little, and the bench was mine. I was just planning a quick re-paint and some new fabric on the seat, until I realized on my drive home that something ( THE BENCH) smelled not so fresh. A bigger project than anticipated, but it did give me an opportunity to strip the bench down to the bare wood. There were four layers of fabric on it, and taking them off one by one was like traveling back through time. Weird flocked floral was outermost, a Hawaiian floral under that, and art deco pastel, and then finally the original fabric- which was once a lovely peacock blue silk, now shattered and faded. And believe it or not, the original padding was straw and raw cotton (the source of the funky smell). I used new quilt batting for the padding and a bright and crisp white and green floral for the seat. The frame was painted antique white- and tada- a beautiful bench! See the after below~