Custom navy and gray dresser

 Sometimes I win on Craigslist. I see a great piece for a great price, email the seller, and sometime later that day end up with my station wagon crammed with more furniture. And that makes me happy.

Sometimes I lose. I see a great piece and email the seller and am told, "Sorry! That piece just got sold."

That's what happened when I saw this dresser listed. I emailed. "It's sold." Sadness.

Except the buyer happened to be a client of mine looking for the same dresser I was trying to find for her. Happiness again. And I didn't even have to pick it up.


My client chose the navy blue with gray accents to accent her little boy's room makeover. I am absolutely in love with how this color scheme modernized and masculanized (is that a word?) an otherwise soft and antique-style piece. I can claim no creativity or design smarts in electing this color scheme.  Also, I'd never worked with navy before, and it's a pretty tricky color to get just right, especially when attempting to match it to fabrics. But I think it turned out just peachy=)

The before pictures lost out to cuter ones of Hurricane Hazel (yes, I need a bigger camera card). Just try to image a tired wood dresser with lots of pockmarks and double-hung hardware.

The double holes were finished out with wood filler and the hardware was replaced with child-friendly wooden knobs. As an added bonus, the vintage dresser also came with a vintage smokers-smell residue. I experimented with a vinegar rinse and plenty of sprinkled baking soda. It didn't banish the smell entirely but it did help.


Look at those legs!

Such a fun transformation and an amazing client to work with. Now I need to make myself one just like this to keep...

Introducing Chairs by Hazelnuts

It's an impressive-sounding title for a rather mundane reveal. But I do love how this pair of chairs turned out. The blue is tempered so perfectly with a pretty heavy glaze, and the black and white print makes it pop so nicely.

And I just adore all the detail in the woodworking that lend such an antique chic flair.

I have a couple of these chairs left if you would be interested in doing a custom color and glaze!

Sold!
Thank you for stopping by!

The Process

Upcycling appeals to my rather impatient nature. I have the attention span of a sleepy clam. I wouldn't
stick with a hobby that involved lengthy tasks. Transforming a piece goes from glum to glamorous in a relatively short span of time--and that's why I love it=)

Take these chairs I just finished as an example. Filthy, rickety, and covered with hideous red flower-print fabric. The bones and the soul of the chairs, however, were perfect.

So I stripped (the chairs) and sanded (the chairs and my knuckles). And primed. The cushions were de-covered, revealing a shocking grandmother print on one and a distasteful fake leather on the other.

Peacock blue is back to shine again. And what pairs better with this blue than a dramatic black glaze? Notice the difference the glaze makes when I put a glazed and unglazed model side-by-side.

Then comes recovering the seat cushions. I chose a bold black-and-white to balance all that color and to draw the black glaze out even more. To again highlight how far from professional I am, I had to get the Home Depot guy show me how to load more staples into my old-school staple gun. "They still make those?" he asked.

Talk about drama. From glum to glam in about a week of evenings with Mr. Darcy smoldering from the nearby screen. This transformation left me impatient for more--just as a perfect upcycle should do. Be sure to come back for the Big Reveal tomorrow!

Another peacock blue coffee table--sold!

 I'll admit it. I am growing a tad color-jaded by peacock blue. But then, this is a mercenary blog. And my hobby is a rather mercenary one. I upcycle what sells. And this color sells!

I do love the fleur de lis hardware on this piece (I know that bottom knob is skewed in the picture--it will be fixed shortly!) and the striking black glaze that tones the blue down to jeweled perfection. This table is square with curved legs, a mock drawer in front, and very sturdy, long-lasting construction. It's actually an old table that I bought from Goodwill right after I got married. It's been through plenty of Friday night dinners in front of a movie and late-night popcorn and limeade trysts. But I have a new coffee table now (see my previous post!), so this one received a much--needed facelift and is available to grace a new home with flair!