Throw it on the Burn Pile!

My grandma called me the other day.  "Your mom said that you have been buying old furniture and fixing it up.  I have a little old table you can have, but if you don't want it, just throw it on the burn pile," she said.

I had no idea what to expect but of course told her that I would gladly take it off her hands.  When she pulled this sweet little piece out of her truck, my heart sank.  Throw it on the burn pile?  If I saw this little cabinet on a burn pile, I would crawl through soot and debris, risk spiders in my hair and scraped up knees and elbows to rescue it!

The story is, at 5 years old, my grandma was friends with an elderly neighbor man who was selling the contents of his house and moving to Pennsylvania.  She walked into his home and announced that she wanted to purchase his antique secretary (keep in mind, she was 5 years old at the time!)  When he asked her what she would do with it, she said she'd hoped to have it for her doll collection.  He then asked what she would be willing to pay, to which she replied, "five dollars."  He sold her the secretary and threw in this little cabinet, just because he was so fond of her.  She has treasured the beautiful Victorian secretary and it has been a prominent fixture in her home for as long as I remember, but she said she had never cared much for the cabinet and that her mother used it in her room for many years but most recently it had been tucked away in the storage garage.

My best guess and first thought was that this little cabinet was intended to be a child's washstand.  I am curious to know if anyone else has come across a piece like this and can offer any more insight.

I just love the beautiful, intricate hardware!

 

Chances are, this sweet little cabinet will soon be receiving the royal Annie Sloan treatment.  One things for sure, it won't be going anywhere near a burn pile!  I am thinking of using it in my new studio space, maybe to store rubber stamps or small boxes of embellishments.

 

Thank you so much for your sweet visit!  I hope you are having a lovely week! 

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Sharing this post with these fun link parties:

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Inspiration Friday at The Pickett Fence

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed
Potpourri Friday at 2805

French Country Cottage Cupboard

Say that five times fast!

I feel like I spent the whole weekend with either my paint brush or wax brush in hand!  It was well worth it!  I am really excited about how my French Country Cottage style cupboard turned out!  Sadly, I cannot find a before pic to share (I know you're shocked!  I am usually all about the before and after pics)!  However, it looked a lot like the hutch top desk that I painted back in March.  I am sure that they came from the same era, maybe even the same manufacturer.  This one even had the same gold diamond pattern in the glass.

(The CraigsList Posting That Sent Us All the Way Around the Block!)

For this piece, I started with one rough coat of Annie Sloan's Versailles followed by one coat of Old White.  Next, I distressed all of the edges with a fine grit sanding sponge to reveal bits of the green as well as the wood grain.

I think Versailles is the most subtle, elegant, old world green and it works so well with Old White and many of the other ASCP colors.  Well done, Annie!

I had fun styling this one, can you tell?

As of last night, this piece is all set up in my space at the shop!  It's such a great piece to use as a display, I secretly hope it doesn't sell too quickly!

I am now going to take a little break from the painting projects and enjoy some summer fun with family and friends for the next few days!  I have such a passion for furniture...it would be easy for me to get wrapped up in projects for days on end and let the summer slip by. Sometimes I get so caught up in it all that I have to stop and remind myself that there is so much more to life than furniture and decorating!  But what a fun outlet and hobby it is...and I feel so blessed to be able to share my passions with you, building new relationships along the way!  Enjoy your summer, love on your family and treasure your friends.  Be grateful and be blessed!

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Sharing this post with these fun link parties:
White Wednesday at Faded Charm
Wow us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Open House Party at No Minimalist Here

Restored it Wednesday at Restore Interiors
Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Party at Shades of Amber
Primp Your Stuff Wednesday at Primp
Creative Things Thursday at The Vintage Farmhouse
Link Party at Redoux Interiors

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Inspiration Friday at The Pickett Fence

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed
Paint Projects at Primitive and Proper
Potpourri Friday at 2805

Weathered Folk Art Style

One look at this dresser and I knew just what I wanted to do with it.  The scalloped finish was something that had been bouncing around in my head for weeks, and when I saw the fun, curvy trim at the bottom of this piece, I was excited to accentuate it by replicating the pattern onto the drawers.  .

I didn't have any special formula or tools for transfering the pattern onto the drawers.  In fact, I used a large piece of craft paper to trace the trim piece, cut it out and then layed it directly on each drawer and painted over it.

The knobs are new, painted with Paris Grey, dry brushed with Old White, distressed and waxed.

I did a little more distressing on this piece than I usually do and was generous with the dark wax.  Somehow I felt like the style of the dresser and the pattern I painted on the drawers called for a more rustic look.  The end result reminds me a bit of a well weathered piece of early American Folk Art, which I think is fun.  This dresser would be sweet in a child's room or nursery but would also work well in a bathroom or art studio.  I love that people are thinking outside of the box with dressers these days.  They are such functional pieces, and there is really no need to banish them to the bedroom, especially if they can make a statement and serve a purpose in another room of the house.

Courtney of French Country Cottage shared some great tips last week for making your own chalkboards.  I had already purchased the supplies, but needed that bit of motivation and inspiration to get going on my projects!  Thank you, Courtney!  This was a piece that I had picked up at a garage sale.  I painted it with a mix of Paris Grey, Old White and Aubusson Blue, added the letters with stencils in Old White, distressed it and waxed it with dark wax only.

With the little key hooks and compartment for mail along with the chalkboard for leaving messages, I could see this being a very useful piece for someone's home.

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!  I don't know about you, but I am tired today!  Hopefully I can regain some energy soon because I have so much painting to do!  I am anxious to get some pieces completed and moved out of the garage to make room for more treasures!  My mom and I are headed out to some estate sales bright and early tomorrow morning!  I can't wait!  I hope to have some fun finds to share with you next week and will probably post sneak peeks on my Facebook page tomorrow afternoon or Saturday, so if you haven't joined me there yet, be sure to do so!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Best Wishes and Blessings,

Amanda

Sharing this post with these fun link parties:

Restored it Wednesday at Restore Interiors
Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Party at Shades of Amber
Primp Your Stuff Wednesday at Primp
Creative Things Thursday at The Vintage Farmhouse
Link Party at Redoux Interiors

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Inspiration Friday at The Pickett Fence

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed
Paint Projects at Primitive and Proper