Vanity transformed; memories intact

Hi friends! Today I have a dramatic transformation to share which involved an exciting challenge. A very sweet client asked me to refinish her Grandmother's vanity; a piece which she had enjoyed playing on as a little girl and hoped her daughters and future generations would enjoy as well. She chose the color and fabric for the seat, and left me to it. But I wanted to give this piece a little something extra. 

~Before~

~After~

I have been asked from time to time how I feel about painting antiques and even challenged by some that it takes away the value. But, I sincerely believe that you can maintain the integrity and character of antiques even when transforming them through simple decisions such as color, where to distress, and hardware. My client wanted this piece done in a very simple black and distressed. Because of it's age I chose to use the color Graphite, by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, because of it's rich matte finish. It's a truly vintage looking 'black', though it is not a true, deep, black-hole of black, as we see in brands of more modern colors. And then I distressed it along the edges and corners, (the first spots a piece would naturally wear), and then around some of the beautiful details to bring them out a bit.

Love how the original hardware is brilliantly showcased now.

I wanted to do something special for this client that would be symbolic of all of her memories of this vanity as it was before the transformation. I cut a strip of the original seat fabric and created a little floret which I placed in a frame, (painted in Graphite just as the vanity), and backed by the new fabric she chose for the seat.

It was such an honor to be entrusted with such a special piece and I hope that it brings many more years of joy to those that use it.

The low-down:

-wiped piece clean with a damp cloth

-painted 3 coats plus touch ups of Graphite, (stirring the can frequently to keep the hue consistent)

-distressed using a medium grit sanding block and 220 grit sandpaper. I learned very quickly to move right into distressing rather than the clear waxing for this particular color; a color this dark does not enjoy being distressed. When you distress a dark color, you'll see the sanding dust settle in the areas you've distressed and will appear gray. In order to return back to your true color, wipe off the loose dust, then apply wax.

-Used a wax brush to apply clear wax, (brush the wax on in a circular motion followed by back and forth, then immediately wipe smooth with a cloth)

-buffed immediately after applying the wax, then again after 24hours

Thanks for stopping by!

~Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

One Saturday morning...

I woke up early and sleepily pulled on some jeans, a flannel, and slipped out early before the rest of my family was up. I drove across the street to the biggest neighborhood community yard sale I have ever attended. After only six houses, twenty minutes, and my allotted amount of cash was mostly spent, I had a car full.

Group shot of the morning's finds!

Tally:
1 large dresser
2 floor lamps
1 lamp shade
1 chandelier
1 play horse
1 zip lock bag of match box cars + 1 car racing track
3 stacking hat boxes
1 bakers cart on casters

The horse and cars/racing track we'll box up to give our twins as birthday gifts next week. Everything else had a makeover plan! Some things are finished, others are not, but I'll show you everything once they're done and photographed!

To start is this piece I showed you last week, refinished in Old White by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, gently distressed, and sealed in clear wax. It sold and I was happy to see it go to an awesome new client who is in the process of decorating her dining room!

Next up is the bakers cart on casters which now graces our kitchen!

Thank you for stopping by!

~Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Mismatched Chairs

Mismatched chairs are becoming more of a thing these days and I don't mind one bit.  {A} I've always been pro a bit of whimsy and beautiful disorder.  {B} It's economical!  Thrift for loners and you can get a great set you don't have to worry about matching.   And {C} I like to think of it as rescuing the "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" of sad and lonely chairs - find it, give it some shiny love, and put it with some new friends!

This summer I was helping out some great friends who just moved their home business into their first ever office space.  They asked me to thrift for some chairs to fix up and transform into their conference table chairs.  Normally, I would not recommend painting your chairs "Berry Pink" but these guys wanted their chairs to be the color of their business logo.  So I set out to find some lonely chairs to "Charlie Brown Christmas" ;)

The hunt did not let me down!  It can be easy to pass by such losers as these pieces when you are looking for to impress your clients with at the new office.  Although it is hard to believe that these chairs could ever look like they belong together, after a coat of paint and new matching upholstered seats - it's a mismatch made in heaven!

Ahhhhh.  That's better.

Now it's your turn,

~Cate

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.