Vintage Chic

In between all the moving insanity, I squeezed two upcycles in. Quite honestly, they were welcome respites from the craziness. I would sneak away and do a little painting or some glazing to calm my Nervous Wreck tendencies.

My client, a new friend who saw Karen's coffee table on this blog, requested a similar style.

This coffee table is the typical vintage 70's throw-away piece that everyone is dying to get rid of...until now! This is one I had in my furniture stash available for upcycling:

With a base coat of white covered with a heavy burnt umber glaze, those details just pop. And this client has THE PERFECT ROOM for it--I wish I could do a blog post about her whole room...

Then she found a cedar chest--because who doesn't need a good blanket chest for these cozy evenings coming up?!--and I turned it navy with a heavy gray glaze. Well, it was a little too blue at first, so I reglazed it with custom navy and black glaze. That's why it's fashionably situated on a drop-cloth:

A very fun upcycle and a very sweet and VERY patient client. Thanks for stopping by!

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...