Funky Union Jack

Not sure if I've mentioned my love of the Union Jack. 

this past week I was lucky enough to come across two wonderful dressers. 

 The first one just melts my heart. I love bow front dressers and I can't wait to get started on it.

This second one was once saved from the "curb" by a woman who rescued it from her brother in law way back when she was only 17. She no longer needed it or had room for it. So I rescued it from her. 

At the same time I had a client who's son is moving out. He's in a band and she wanted something "funky" for him. 

And since she mentioned the union Jack...I ran with it :) 

Obviously I had to strip this down. 

I painted the majority of the body with a wonderful blue. No seriously. I LOVE this blue

Then instead of painting white..I left it natural. 

The paint was so deeply ingrained in the wood it would have taken a LOT to get it totally out. I mean I would have had to sand for HOURs. Since this was going to be "funky" I sanded it smooth but made sure to leave some of the paint there. Loving the effect. :) 

After taping off and painting, removing tape, then taping for the next colour and painting then removing tape again..I think you get the idea. 

I stained the whole thing...paint and all to get the deep colours. I'm so glad I left some of the white paint. I think it just adds to the feel of this dresser. 

 I'm also loving the contrast between the deep colours and the bright white porcelain knobs.

 I've seldom found an empire tall boy with a surviving mirror. So happy :)

I really hope Cody loves this as much as I loved creating it for him. Enjoy your new home and your new one of a kind dresser :) 

Partying here:
Miss Mustard Seed 
Coastal Charm
Knick of Time
Rain on a Tin Roof 
Elizabeth & Co. 
Savvy Southern Style 
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
  
 

Birthday Special.

Nope...it's not my birthday. 

Got that out of the way. 

Remember this set? 

You can read about it HERE

About a week later the husband from the couple this went to was doing some work for me and I mentioned that I saw another set that looks very similar to the one that I did for them...but that it was more money than I was willing to pay for it. 

He got very interested and told me how he still didn't have any drawers for his stuff...that his wife kinda took over all of them. 

He also mentioned that he would be willing to buy them if I could redo them and he could give them to his wife for her birthday. 

I'm sure you can see where this is going. 

This is what was brought home

 I know what you are thinking. This is not an exact match. You're right. It's not, but the top is and the legs are. And when done they will fit right in :)

How wonderful are they? 

Again, solid wood with a veneer on top. I love this. I can't wait to find a set that will be "mine" :) Someday...someday.

So I set to work. I posted before pics on my facebook page and the wife didn't say anything. 

Then I posted "after" pics yesterday morning when they were done. 

 I used the same colour and technique as the other set and loved how they turned out.

Almost right away she posted that she wanted to "buy" them. I ignored the post. See I hadn't gotten a hold of her husband to let him know they were ready for pick up. 

I sent him a message. 

Then she sent me a text asking to buy. So I called him. 

See I'm the worst liar on the face of this earth. I even have a hard time lying through text. Now that I'm thinking about it....hmmmmm they can't see a lie on the other end of a text can they. This should have been a breeze..lol 

Anyway, I did manage. 

I told her it was a custom order and sorry but they were spoken for. PHEW...made it. I lied! Well kind of. 

They were a custom order and they were spoken for, so technically I didn't really lie :)

The husband came and got them. 

Then last night I got a short text. 

"you are so sneaky! I love them!" 

Smile

Have a wonderful Birthday my friend :)

Sharing :
A Diamond in the Stuff
Knick of Time
Domestically speaking 
Savvy Southern Style 
Miss Mustard Seed 
  

Workshop sink

Good morning!

I'm just a bit excited this morning. 

I have a new sink in my house! 

It really is the little things in life that mean the world to me. You know like that late night phone call from one of the kids just because they were thinking of me. That morning kiss as my husband walks out the door to work. 

But a sink? 

Yup. 

I'm nuts :) 

You see we've been in our home now for just about 6 years. We had a plan to have a sink installed in my workshop so when designing the house we had the "rough in" for that put in. Never did I think it would take this long to get it done. 

In my defense I'm busy. I just never found the time. I know I know, lame excuse. BUT I'm so happy now I had to share. 

And it only cost me a "barter" :) 

I picked up the old cabinet 5 years ago and stripped it down and stained it.

3 years ago I cut the hole and put the wood on..and my hubby made me this amazing sink 

2 years ago I tiled it with slate. (free from a friend) 

And now...I have it hooked up. 

And all I had to do was paint a couple of pieces for a friend. 

Remember this? 

 And this?

I did these and her husband who is a plumber installed my sink..and did some more work in my basement bathroom in prep for getting that project done. 

Great trade I would say! 

.

Now for some trim!

Happy Thursday for me...and I hope for her as she gets to set up her dining and living room with her refinished furniture. 

Have a great day. 

Sharing:
From my Front Porch to Yours
Miss Mustard Seed 
Domestically Speaking 
Savvy Southern Style 
  
 

Going with your gut!

Spring is here. 

At least it is on the calendar. 

Outside, not so much. 

So what's a girl to do? 

Paint of course! 

Last week I went to an estate sale and picked up a few really nice pieces. 

You can see the buffet HERE and my plans for it. 

But I also picked up this set of mid century end tables. SOLID WOOD....oh yum :) 

Aren't they cute cute? 

Most that I've seen with drawers look like they have two, but only have one...this one actually has two drawers :) 

How cool is that? 

And do you see the brass feet on them? They are MASSIVE. Well massive for an end table that is. 

I took them into my workshop and tried...TRIED stripping them down. What a pain. Whatever this company used to seal it couldn't be touched with my stripper. Seriously people this stuff was hard as a rock! 

I gave up. 

I primed.

I painted.

I hated. 

I tried several different techniques and just wasn't happy with the results. 

I loved the colour I chose, but I hated the top. :( 

So I grabbed my sander and went to work. Man was it hard! 

BUT

 Here they are!

 I'm so glad I went with my gut and stripped them down! The wood grain is perfect!

 And goes so well with the vintage green/grey of the paint. 
The knobs were cleaned and scrubbed to within an inch of their lives.

 And they match the feet.

 Solid baby! and Beautiful!

 A bit of distressing and it's perfect! 

Sigh....finally happy with the results. 

Now to grab another coffee and get on with my day :) hmmmm bedroom set in white. Yup. Think I better get to work on that :) 

Happy First day of spring! 

Sharing:

Domestically Speaking
Not Just a Housewife
Savvy Southern Style
The Shabby Creek Cottage
From my Front Porch to Yours
Miss Mustard Seed  

Almost there...time to open the cottage!

Winter is just about over. 

Tomorrow is the first day of spring and there is no one who is more excited than I am! 

I'm not a winter person. I'm really REALLY not a winter person. 

I don't mind that others love it, that they love snow boarding and cross country skiing etc. It's just not me. 

I love spring and summer. I love being outside and not freezing my behind off. 

I love the smells and sounds of the outdoors in the summer. I love listening to the waves hit the beach

I love my cottage. 

This year is going to see a lot of changes to the cottage. 

I'm excited! 

I'm getting ready. 

This past weekend I picked up an old lamp. Basic brass but I loved the shape. After applying primer I realized that again I forgot to take before pics. 

But I do have after pics... :) 

 I may switch out the shade...but I love everything else about this. I primed it and then painted it with a grey/green colour. (oops paint I love you)

 Then I glazed it all with a black to bring out the details

 LOVE LOVE LOVE!

The same day I picked this up...Our local restore had a 50% off day and I snagged a couple of things I've been looking for for years. 

This glass sink bowl for .......ready for this? 

$25!!! What a steal! 

And the tap set was only $20! 

So far I've spent $45 for our bathroom redo. I'm hoping to spend less than $150 for our new bathroom.  

Know what it's sitting on? 

My new to me vanity!

 I picked this up at an estate sale the same day $40! 

Isn't it perfect? All bow curved at the front and the size is exactly right! 

So that's a total of $85 now. 

And then yesterday I picked up the colour I want to paint it...oops paint I love you. $9

We are up to $94

Still well under the $150 mark. 

Now to buy the proper things for install. 

We should be good to go. 

Can't wait to take proper before and after shots for you. 

So what do you think? I'm getting good at this waiting till things fall in my lap, even if it seems to take forever for that to happen. 

We open the cottage this weekend. I can't wait to get started! 

Have a fantastic Tuesday! 

Sharing here:
Coastal Charm 
A Diamond in the Stuff 
Elizabeth & Co.  
 

White!

Sometimes I just have to state the obvious. I'm surrounded by white this week. 

It's snowing outside. I'm so ready for spring. 

Officially it's only two days away, but it seems like forever with all the snow we've had in the last two months. 

I'm dreaming of this

And inside..White is the colour of the week. 

I just finished a white custom order and am working on a totally white bedroom set. 

The custom order is for a friend of mine. She is one busy lady and although she can do it herself she opted to have me do these two pieces for her. 

 I quickly snapped these pics when they came in because I know I'm horrible at taking before pictures. I love this dresser. What a lovely curve to it eh?

 And check out this vintage hutch? My friend makes stained glass and replaced the glass in this herself. 

She wanted it all white and distressed to match the chairs she did for her dining room. 

So that's what I did. 

 Didn't she turn out wonderfully?

 I did remove the glass and paint the decorative wood piece along with the entire inside.

 This piece has a fair amount of distressing to show it's wonderful age. 

Now why is it that we women don't want our natural "distressing" showing? (I know, random thought)

 I'm always in love with legs like these. They are just so majestic don't you think?

Funny story for a min. As I was taking this piece apart before starting I opened this drawer to find it still full of family pictures. I set it all up and took a pic to send to my friend. She groaned since she had asked her daughter to empty that drawer. I laughed because it exactly how my own kids would have left it if I had asked them....ohhh the joys of having pre teen and teen kids :) 

The second piece..the dresser was stripped and had the top restained. 

 I know the one handle is missing. This is my fault. For some reason after cleaning them (before painting them) I left one in the kitchen and so it didn't get painted with the rest. Talk about having a mini panic when putting it all together again and one piece was missing!

 The top drawer is one drawer but it's sectioned off. Very handy for those of us who love to organize things. When this dresser came it me the inside was pink. Great for a little girl, not so great for a piece that will find it's home in a living room. So I painted this a vintage green...so much better right?

 Aged in all the right places. :)

I'm not done with white for a bit yet. 

I have a complete bedroom set to do. Wait till you see it all :) 

Stay warm if you are where it's cold..which I think tonight is most of North America. 

Hang in there...spring is just around the corner! 

Sharing here:
Coastal Charm
Knick of Time 
Domestically Speaking 
The Vintage Farmhouse
The Dedicated House 
A Diamond in the Stuff 
Elizabeth & Co. 
Not Just a Housewife 
Savvy Southern Style 
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
Miss Mustard Seed