Wardrobe Reveal!

It's just about Halloween! 

When the kids were little I used to decorate and make costumes and take pictures, leave a bowl outside on a chair and hoped the "honour" system worked (it did!) and take the kids out from house to house. 

Now I seldom decorate since I never know if I'm going to be here at home or at the cottage. 

This year I'm home. 

I love seeing all the costumes and hearing what the kids say. 

One year I wore my jammies and a kid didn't say trick or treat he just looked at me and asked rather loudly "are you wearing your pjs?" His father was soooooooo embarrassed! LOL I just laughed and said, why yes I am :) 

I hope I hear some cute things tomorrow as well. 

At some point in the evening, before or after the kids come by, I'm going to be saying goodbye to the wardrobe I finished. 

It came to me in many many pieces. 

You can read the whole post HERE

Well after doing a lot of figuring out what goes where, taking parts off that didn't fit the design of the client and cleaning, stripping, gluing, screwing (in a good way) 

We were able to finally start putting it back together. 

 My husband was sooooooooo in love with this piece wanted to have a hand in putting it back together again.

 I took every bit of all that detail off, stripped it, sanded it and put it all back.

 These pics are after priming it.

My hubby claims to be tall, but even he has to use a stool to reach ;) 

In the end all that hard work was so worth it! 

 Isn't it perfect for a little girl?

 All those details just pop!

 Stars for special dreams

 This was big enough that we were able to put in two clothing bars :)

 And of course pink is amazing!!

Since this is such a wonderful white I waxed it with a clear wax to preserve the finish. I wish you could touch this...it's just sooooooooo smooth! 

Can't wait for them to see it in person. 

Till then I will just sit back and enjoy it while I can :) 

Sharing here:
Coastal Charm
The Brambleberry Cottage
Elizabeth & Co.  
Savvy Southern Style
Miss Mustard Seed  
  

A diamond in the rough.

What a busy busy Monday. 

I was blessed enough today to have my husband by my side. :) 

I seriously can't wait till he "retires" so we can spend every day together! 

I know all day every day might scare some, but not us. We can work in the same space without bugging each other. We can take short trips "to town" or just relax...ok the relax thing is something I'm working on, but we can do it together. 

He's really getting into this whole furniture things and loves helping me out. Today was no different. He has been working on getting a couple of doors together and I hope to share it all before the end of the week. 

While he was working on that, I managed to knock off two projects. One I'll share today and the other I will share on another day. 

I came across a library table similar to this

I apparently don't have a "before" picture. I get so mad at myself for no before pics sometimes. 

I stripped it down. Stained the top painted the bottom and then let it sit. 

It just didn't seem right. 

so it sat

and sat

and sat. 

 Finally a light bulb went off in my head and I knew that it needed more. 

Something to set this apart from the crowd. 

I looked at all my old pictures and came across this. 

It's a Harlequin dresser I did. You can read about it HERE

I liked the shape of the design, but wanted to kick it out of the park. 

And I came up with this. 

 I did the design. Actually I was a little ticked off that the taping off took more time than the painting. Reminded me of thanksgiving. SOOOO much work for something that is eaten in no time..lol

 But like Thanksgiving, it was so worth the effort!

 All of this is totally original.

 But paint doesn't hurt it even a little bit, along with a bit of glazing.

 A bit of distressing and more stain and it's all ready to go!

Now to finish that wardrobe! :) 

Sharing:
Someday I'll Learn 
The Dedicated House
Knick of Time Interiors 
Coastal Charm 
Elizabeth & Co. 
Domestically Speaking
The Brambleberry Cottage 
Miss Mustard Seed   
  

Wardrobe (part 1)

Brrrrrr

It's getting cold out there and I'm not happy about that. 

But I'm really happy to have my daughter home for a week. She is in her final semester at college and this is her reading week. 

I haven't gotten to spend as much time with her as I had hoped. Apparently she has "friends" who want to see her as well. 

This is what I get for dedicating my life to raising kids...they seem to think it's ok to grow up and move on with "their" life! 

LOL 

Seriously I love her, and am blessed with all my kids. 

Life goes in cycles doesn't it? 

Each stage in life has a time and a purpose. 

A while back I blogged about how I came to redo a Hoosier. Read it HERE 

As part of this deal, I had an antique wardrobe come into my possession. The couple were/are in the process of clearing out her grandmothers old farm house. They are redoing the whole thing and will be living there themselves. I love when a home continues in a family! 

When we were going through the house the husband said something about an old wardrobe in pieces. My heart started beating just a bit faster. The wife said to her husband "oh no Stan, she wouldn't want THAT old thing" 

I didn't want to push, but I did say I would love to see it. 

LOVE!!

I wish I had taken a picture of it in an old dirt floor garage where it had been living for who knows how many years. Covered in dust and in pieces.

 These pics were taken AFTER we had already started the repair on it.

 But obviously before I had a chance to clean it out (I left the mouse nest behind before I loaded it up in my truck)

 I love that it is antique, love the shape and size and love that it's going to be useable again :)

 See all the bits and pieces? Drool over the fancy front!

But what a pile of work. I took that front and all that detail came off, stripped, sanded it (by hand) and replaced. 

Ohhhh I can't wait to finish it. 

Still a ways to go, but oh my it's going to be pretty! 

Better finish my coffee and get back at it. 

Have a great Thurs. 

Sharing:
No Minimalist Here
The Dedicated House
Miss Mustard Seed  
  

Shelf anyone?

Earlier in the summer I went to a yard sale and found this. 

It sat in my garage with plans on getting it done. 

But like many many "little" projects I simply let it sit off to the side while I worked on bigger things that seemed more important. 

Every now and then I would look over at it and it always seemed to be calling to me, begging me to take a few hours out of my day to pay attention to it and just bring it back to life. 

I finally listened! 

I cleaned it up, sanded it down and brought new life to it. 

 Ok...seriously what is there not to love? 

My hubby came home tonight and saw this sitting in the kitchen...he stopped dead in his tracks and ooo'ed an awwwww'ed about it, exclaiming it's details were just right! 

He is soooooo coming around and I love him dearly for it :)

 Don't you just love how the drawer colours make the whole unit pop without screaming?

 I"m so thrilled with this one.

Now I keep wondering why I left it alone for so long. I need to get more of these little projects out of the way. 

Sharing:
Coastal Charm
The Dedicated House
Domestically Speaking 
Savvy Southern Style
No Minimalist Here 
Miss Mustard Seed  
  

Final reveal of Hoosier

I have the best clients. 

I just had to get that out there. 

When I started redoing furniture I never would have imagined meeting such wonderful people along the way. 

I really am blessed to be doing what I love and making people happy at the same time.

Now just a refresher on what the Hoosier looked like before. 

If you would like to see the "before" and "during" pictures you can read all about it HERE

I was finally able to finish it this weekend and return it to the wonderful couple who trusted me to make it beautiful again. 

And here she is complete. 

 Isn't she perfect now?

 That tin is positively shining now, and she hides an extra cutting board beneath her.

 That's the neighbours cottage in the background. I wonder if they have any idea how often I've accidentally featured it in my pictures? lol

 The inside is a pretty pretty blue! the owners favorite colour. :)

She is now proudly sitting in her home again. Ready to be used and shown off like she was meant to be. 

I'm going to miss her. But maybe I will be lucky to be invited back for a glass of wine and a chance to re visit this wonderful piece of history :) 

Sharing here:
Dwellings-The heart of your home
Knick of Time Interiors 
Coastal Charm 
Elizabeth & Co.  
Savvy Southern Style
Miss Mustard Seed  

Closing up shop :(

No...not forever and not even for a week. 

But closing up the cottage shop. 

It's sad, not sad as in frowning. Sad as in rip my heart out sad. 

You see, here in South western Ontario it's the middle of October and I've come to the realization that we aren't going to get really warm days anymore this year. As I sat shivering this morning and early afternoon getting the Hoosier finished I admitted to myself that this will be the last piece to see my cottage workshop till Spring. 

I love the cottage. I love the workshop I have here. I love it with every bone in my body, and I glory in the time I spend here working. 

But it's time

Time to close up shop and move everything left home. 

Where it's warm. 

yup...warmth wins! 

So lets see just a few of the things I've done here this spring, summer and fall. 

 This wonderful Sideboard!

The Barn Board Table

 This amazing Cabinet

 And the teal Desk

 A wonderful Buffet and hutch

 School Desk

This creamy dresser

 These wonderful Side tables

 This wonderful tall dresser

 An amazing desk

This duncan Phyfe side table

 Antique wash stand

 American Empire Desk

 Round coffee table

 BEAUTIFUL dresser

 Mid Century Sideboard

 Mid Century Buffet and hutch

 Eastlake table (for my husband)

 Round table (For my hubby)

 Occasional Table

 Headboard and bedside table in pink

 Purple desk

 Office table from record holder

 Two tone dining set

 Bowfront sideboard

Mexican bedside table. 

Ohhh there are more, but these are my favs. 

It's been a good summer. I loved it. 

Sadly packing up. But at the same time I'm looking forward to all the exciting pieces I'll be working on at home. 

Can I just move south? pack everything up and open shop where there is no snow? 

Ahhh I can dream can't I?