Hollywood Glamor

This vintage bedroom suite is the real deal, folks.

One of my dearest friends brought a tall dresser, a headboard, two nightstands, and a rather bewildered face to my house, where we talked through how to best give these pieces a new life.

They were the quintessential Hollywood Regency look with the original speckled yellow finish and brass hardware. 

Her parents gave her first pick of a couple different bedroom sets. Being the generous, heart-of-gold person she is, she let her siblings choose what they wanted first. She got left with the banana yellow set. Because, who wants that as first pick?

I sure do. Have ya'll seen what these sets go for on ebay and etsy?

Speckled yellow gave way to lacquered glossy white. And since Charise isn't much of a bling girl, I toned down the brass with a milder silver-champagne hue.

I plan for her to will me this set when she dies.

She was kind enough to let me show off a couple of pics of the rest of her room. The new pieces blend with her eclectic, colorful style so nicely...

I take back what I said a while ago about gallery walls. I've recruited her to come help me when I format mine.

And her cozy reading nook with the coolest clock ever.

And did I mention that she made this bedspread to coordinate with her new furniture? 

I always cherish working on heirloom pieces like this for my friends. I hope you enjoy this set for years to come, sis!

Family Gatherings

A few years back, when they moved, my aunt and uncle generously gave us a bunch of their old furniture, including a dining set. We used that set for a long time, despite the fact that the chairs were a dark hunter green and the stained top was worn through and marked with crayon in short order by grubby little hands. It was a godsend for us.

Until we found the ornate 1930s dark veneer table and chairs that are currently in our dining room. It suits our style better, at least until I find my elusive Hollywood regency mustard yellow velvet dream number. In the meantime, my mother-in-law expressed an interest in the old dining set, with an update. So for Christmas this year:

The hunter green turned black, and the cushions were updated with a classy country check that my in-laws picked out together. It looks great in their new kitchen.

The maple top gave me fits. I'm still learning my staining technique. On this project, I learned that you can't apply a dark stain to a light, domestic wood. Even with wood conditioner. Probably some of you wood pros could have told me that. 

Each stain pass, the top ended up blotchy and mottled. I ended up sanding it all down and starting over, after exhaustive research on shellac techniques and cutting. After a shellac half-cut and a reapplication, the stain went on like a dream...

And now I have a ton of shellac and alcohol, if anyone needs any.

It's got a handy drawer on the end for silverware or whatever. The knob got a glamor update, of course.

It's got such warm tones for fall, and it works in their country kitchen so well. 

We got to use the new table for Thanksgiving dinner when extended family was in town. Lots of people can fit down the sides and on the nice wide ends. 

Thanksgiving happened to also be my mother-in-law's birthday this year. With all the regular Thanksgiving pies, I opted for a mini cake for her. Because you still have to have a birthday cake, even if your birthday is overshadowed by pumpkin pie...

Also because cake always looks better on jadite

I'm thankful for my in-laws who opened their home for us to enjoy Thanksgiving together, and I'm thankful for my own two munchkins!

Hurricane Hazel

 

Our Amazon

A belated happy Thanksgiving, and thanks for stopping by!

Celebrations

The son of one of my dearest friends turned one this past weekend. Baby Z (who's not such a baby anymore) celebrated in style with a fantastic circus-themed party that his clever mom planned up.

The stage was set early on when these fantastic custom hand-drawn invitations arrived. My friend commissioned Shortcake Signs for the invites (ok, I may have sung the praises of Shortcake Signs since she happens to be my sister), and they turned out so cute!

My friend thrifted a great old, slightly rickety cherry high chair that she envisioned in antique white for Z's first birthday party. After a lot of sanding old cherry stain away and tightening old screws and adding new ones, here's the chair ready for the center ring! 

I used a soft ecru white with a dark espresso glaze over some pretty heavy distressing. It's a piece that won't mind seeing a lot of wear and tear!

This was a project that was so special and meaningful to work on. Happy birthday and much love, dear Z!

Catching Up

 New Baby is due in just a few weeks. Along with like ten other babies at church who are all coming within just a couple months of each other. Poor nursery workers. So I've been doing baby bump cakes instead of painting. And participating in the Great Zucchini challenge chronicled here.

Zucchini and feta scones

I don't do the whole pregnancy thing very well. I have memories of my mom effortlessly popping a new baby out every few years or so, with very little said between the time-span of the noticeable bump and the arrival home from the hospital with another sibling. No big deal, this scenario implied.

Sweet Cream

Here's the first of two dressers in this pretty marshmallow white that I'm doing as a set. This is how it started out--nice bones, just a little scuffed and outdated.

And this is how she ended up. A decided improvement for a cute girls' room.

The scrollwork is the icing on the cake...

And it came with a cute mirror...

A light tea glaze toned down the brightness of the white, and with a little distressing and the original hardware replaced, this piece has a new life to live!

Thanks for stopping by=)

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!

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!

Sold! Peacock blue coffee and end table

This is the newest transformation from Hazelnuts. A solid wood, very durable set which had seen better days took to this color and glaze fabulously. I applied the black glaze with a heavier hand this time, resulting in a toned-down blue and increased jewel tones. Time to add a dose of whimsy! Remember to Like Hazelnuts on Facebook for %10 off...