Peek-A-Week #3 {Herringbone tabletop}

Hi guys! Dropping in today with another peek at a piece I'll be selling at our FIFTH Chelsea's Garage sale on June 7! In case you missed them, here are peeks #1 and #2. What these peeks really boil down to is that it's REALLY hard for me to keep secrets when I'm excited. I'd really just like to show you everything that'll be there, let's be honest. So, in a way these peeks are for my sake so I don't explode. Call it therapeutic if you'd like.

Anyways, this cute little table caught my eye at a thrift store a few weeks ago. It was nothing special; very plain and simple. (sometimes those are the best pieces to really have some fun with!) I didn't get a before picture because...well, I have no good reason. I just didn't. Here's a near identical table I found online:

And after some good fun:

Custom aqua + gold stenciled herringbone

Please stop by on June 7 if you're local, (or up for a drive), to Northern Virginia! Here's all the info you need:

Chelsea's Garage FIFTH sale
June 7
9am - 3pm
Contact me for address - located in Herndon, VA

Thanks for stopping by!

~Chelsea

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

Distressed white cabinet, ready for the guest room

Happy Friday, one and all! It has been a wild week complete with paint rolling, brushing, spraying, staining and jig-sawing. I'm pumped to show you the fruit of all that labor, but first, here is the first piece ready for my parents' guest room makeover!

Cate and I had been on the look out for a slim piece, (under 18" deep), that had plenty of storage and simple, clean lines. I snapped a picture of this cabinet, (measuring only 16.25"D), last week at our local Goodwill, sent it to Cate, and bought it after getting her thumbs-up.

Sadly, one of the handles was broken, but I had exactly three of these cool rectangular pulls leftover from another piece, begging to be used. I love their slightly masculine contrast with the softness of this cabinet.

I used Pure White by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint to refinish this beauty. I can't believe I've never used it before - I'm in love! I've used plenty of Old White, (a warmer, creamy white), but Pure White is really kind of dreamy; like a cloud or fresh fallen snow. 

One thing about painting over old, real wood pieces - be prepared for bleed through. What is bleed through? Bleed through is a when you get dark, discolored spots coming through your finish after painting. It's ugly, can be frightening, ("did I just ruin great-grandma Violet's beloved china cabinet??"), and can rear it's nasty self unexpectedly. This isn't the first time I've talked about bleed through before, but just to reiterate, it's annoying! But fear not. There is an answer, (well, there are probably several, but this is my go-to):

Please meet my handy pal, Zinsser Clear Shellac, (found at most hardware stores)

Fortunately, I anticipated this piece being a 'bloody mess', and gave it 2 coats of shellac before beginning to paint. I still had lots of bleed through! No problem. This stuff is clear and dries super fast, so I just sprayed spots as I saw them popping through, let it dry, and painted over.

Now, this Pure White piece is 'blood-free' and ready for the my parents' guest room!

As you can see from some of the up close shots, I distressed this piece gently, just following the edges and corners. Always start there if you plan to distress a piece! It's the most natural looking. Then, if you want to rough it up some more, you can move inward to some unexpected areas, like the top surface, or down the sides. Distressing is my favorite part of refinishing a piece - it brings out the beautiful lines and curves and gives even the plainest of pieces a bit of depth and character. And if you're refinishing a true antique, distressing is a lovely way to maintain the character and age of the piece.

Next week I'm excited to share the spontaneous room makeover that happened here at our house! In the mean time, have a great weekend!

~Chelsea

This post was originally published by Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Statement Wall... In a Bathroom?

It's just a bathroom - why bother?  Well I don't know about you, but I don't enjoy hanging out in unhappy places and the bathroom is just one of those spots you end up spending more of your day in than you'd think.  Thus after many weeks of using a sad and dreary toilet nook, I realized it needed sprucing or I'd be at risk of a permanent depression.  I didn't want to break the bank and I didn't want to hang anything irreplaceable that might succumb to steamy shower damage so naturally I started with IKEA.  

Here's my {not-so} secret formula: IKEA frames + FREE downloaded Art = affordable statement wall!

All of the prints were downloaded {FOR FREE} and printed at our local staples for about 50¢ a page.  We don't have a home printer, but let's face it: even if we did, quality of ink, the image resolution, and the color vibrancy is way better on those industrial copy machines.  If over time the art suffers from excess moisture, then I can always print more and replace!

The "Plumes" printable was one of my favorites.  You can get these prints and more from Graphics Fairy.

I liked the look of Chelsea's all-white dining room gallery wall {found here on her Gallery Wall Refresh post from last winter} so I kept my shopping monochromatic.  Some frames were rather large and unusual sizes to mat to letter-sized paper so I tore the trim off the printed pdf to get a more authentic "vintage print" look than the factory-edge paper.  I mounted it on some kraft wrapping paper I cut to fit the frame: giving my all-white frames some textural interest.

{ok, let's break it down}

1 11.75x15.75 {8x10 mat} - $10
2 8x10 {5x7 mat} - $5ea
2 4x6 {3x4 mat} - $2ea

2 13.5x17.25 - $4ea
4 8.7x11 {Document Frame} - $2ea
1 {pack of 2}  5x7 - $4 

1 11.75x15.75 {8x10 mat} - $8
1 4x6 {3x5 mat} - $2

1 8x10 {5x7 mat} - $7
1 4x6 {3x5 mat} - $4

All for a grand total of $65!

The pair of gold 3D art are simply two thrift store frames hung around floating objects.
{The top one is actually a gold broach in the shape of a feather.}

Here's a quick look at the rest of the bathroom.  As you can see I hung two more framed prints by the sink.

My {NEW} Happy Place!

What's your happy place?

~Cate

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