The Fall Facelift for Home

I've been busy with washing windows in these possibly-last-days of sunny and warm weather.

My living room was looking sad, so...I got out my sewing machine.

New drapes have given my living room a facelift. 

I made them!  Hobby Lobby:  I LOVE YOU!!!

The rods I found at a garage sale - $1 for 5!  Plus a huge sack of drapery rings.

After cleaning my windows, I decided it was time.  The Pier 1 curtains had been up for 15 years. 

before

And always painting furniture for sales, I never enjoy it in my own home, until now.  I found this darling antique table at a yard sale, paying $10, which is a lot for me to pay for a table.  But I love it!

I dressed  up my boring crystal lamps.  They went from this:

to this!

Yes, it's a different lamp, but both cute, but dull little crystal lamps.  It just takes craft paint on the base.  I dressed up this lamp with a vintage fiberglass shade. 

What a quick transformation.  And orange is my new favorite color.

Free, Like a Saint Bernard Puppy

From the curb during a neighborhood yard sale, I rescued four chairs - free.  The owner even helped load them into my truck.  They turned out to be as free as a Saint Bernard pup.

These pics above are the "after" shots.  I must say, the finish is now terrific.  I am happy with the outcome.  But they were a lot of work, more than any chair I have re-done.

They required lots of sanding, which I do by hand.  I went thru a lot of sandpaper!  Then I painted using a semi-gloss paint.  After a few days of curing, I sanded and distressed the finish, following up with Bri Wax in Light Brown.

Painting and finishing the wood frames was the easy part. 

I used a double layer of burlap, which is inexpensive.  However, the tedious process of finishing the backs was time-consuming.  I went through 18 yards of Chinese braid. 

While I like the finished product, I wouldn't attempt these again.  Typically, people don't want to pay very much for chairs at local venues and I feel like I should get $80 to $90 each.  We'll see what happens - they're at Good Company for this weekend's sale. 

Here's the before picture - they were covered in a polyester fabric.  They are solid chairs - Salem House Furniture pieces. 

French Provincial Child's Chair

I found this darling French Provincial child's chair at Good Company.  The bones are great - the fabric was shot!  So...I mod-podged the fabric to keep it from tearing further, and covered it with burlap.  Of course, the terrific legs must show! 

Heywood Wakefield - Is It Wrong to Paint It?

Okay, I may have been impatient.  But, this hutch top was abused by its previous owner - scratches, ink, water damage. 

Nothing that a coat of paint can't solve, I thought.  So I painted it with a gallon of "oops" paint from Lowe's.  Then after distressing lightly, I used Briwax with a light brown tint. 

I never think to take a "before" photo!  But you can see what the design is like.  I love it!  It is now at Good Company in Merriam, setting on a harvest table.  Kudos to Kelley, the owner, for recommending such a piece of furniture to anchor the space.