Auction season has begun!

During the summer months I get out a lot and search yard sales and I have a few contacts I gather furniture from. Which is wonderful! I love it. 

But during the colder months there are no yard sales.

BUT there are auction sales. Which I also love in a totally different way. 

This week I was able to hit a couple of online auctions. 

And I have to share my finds with you. 

Check out this bedroom set. 

What a great tall boy..with all those hidden drawers and do you see those legs? DROOL! 

Then the matching Dresser 

With the same legs of course...

And then...........

The bed I fell in love with! 

I always love these beds!

 The details on top are just the cream on the top

And of course more leg love! 

At the second auction I found some more amazing things. 

 Another bedroom set in a totally different but equally beautiful style.

 This one will be going to a little girls bedroom, where I'm sure she will love it for years to come!

 I don't normally buy lamps, but I couldn't resist this solid brass one. HEAVY but wait till you see what I do with it.

 And who doesn't love bare lamp shades....Can't you picture this one with a vintage light done in an industrial way?

 And stools...they are so versatile.

And chairs...going to do something fun with these. 

Have you been to auctions lately? What did you find? 

Desk Top Organizer. Before and after!

 A couple of weeks ago I came across this wonderful piece. 

At one point in it's life it lived inside a desk where no one but the owner could see it. 

What a shame! 

Ok yes...rough shape, but look at all those drawers. Don't you drool over drawers? I know I do. 

That and legs (but that's a story for another day, focus with me ok?) 

You can read the before story HERE

After a bit of ripping apart, sanding and putting a back on it. Paint and lots of new glass knobs....

I'm DONE! 

Ohhh and I added legs.

Super happy with how she turned out. 

 I cleared the store out of clear glass knobs. I may have to go back for more, or switch out some of the clear ones and replace with more blue. So conflicted. What would you do?

 Grain sack stripes, a bit of distressing to keep it authentic.

Ohhh and the secret compartment. I love it! 

Now to fill it up or sell it. 

So happy with it, I think I may just drool for a bit more before deciding ;) 

Sharing:
The dedicated House
Miss Mustard Seed 
  

I used to be a Piano!

Not me obviously. But my morning project. 

I picked this up last week and knew instantly what I was going to do with it. 

It was at one point in it's life the front of an antique piano. 

I love that. 

Of course I only bought this portion. (someday I want a whole one...I have an idea for that too) 

But today I will satisfy my creative juices with just this one piece. 

 Such a simple job.

 Tape off...paint, sand, seal...tape some more..

 And you get a chalk board/coat rack!

 Use some antique hooks from your stash, add them into the mix.

And you get a wonderful wall hanging. 

Perfect for this time of year! 

Sometimes you just have to do the simple things in life. 

:) 

Sharing:
Miss Mustard Seed
  

As if time stood still

Not really, but let me explain. 

 I bought this beast last summer. I have no idea why except I knew it was old. It was in ROUGH shape.

 I didn't actually take the drawers out of this. I did take the drawer fronts off the top for these pics. See it came without the top three drawers, just came with the fronts.

But look at those side pillars. Aren't they pretty? 

But it was rough. Soooooooooo Rough! 

I knew it was old. I mean very old school old. 

As I was working on it I took some clues from this girl as to age. I'm such a history geek that I've done a LOT of research in to age of furniture. Every inch of this girl was hand made. Now hand made does not automatically mean old. But the materials and cuts of wood and the nails all add up. Did you know that nails can give you a pretty good guess on age? They can. And this girl was giving off plenty of clues. 

I estimate this girl to somewhere before 1790. (on the shape of the nail and nail head alone) 

She's had a lot of repair over the years. There were nails from the early 1800's then some from the mid to late 1800's. Those lasted till I found some modern nails in her. 

She was well loved. 

Now...after some more repairs. 

She is ready for more love. 

 Thankfully she only had one coat of paint on her. After all that time only one coat. Amazing!

 Obviously I added new hardware. But I picked something that not only kept it looking original, but they will also fit in with what the new owner hopes to achieve with the look of her bedroom. 

 I honestly didn't think I could bring back the natural wood top. I can't tell you how much time I spent on it. Thankfully it all paid off.

That back is made with two pieces of wood. I should have gotten a pic of the inside. The bottom is the same as the back, completely solid! 

So from this. 

To this. 

I wonder if she will last another 250 years.........I sure hope so. She's worth it :) 

Sharing: 
Miss Mustard Seed
  

FOR RENT

As many of you know I've been in a bit of a bind lately. 

My business has been growing by leaps and bounds, and has quite frankly outgrown my house. 

I've been moving things around and trying to stack furniture, but it wasn't working. 

My little business was taking over. 

Bit by bit. 

My home was no longer my home. 

And it made me sad. 

So a few months ago I started my search. Not seriously, just looking at what was available out there. 

We came across one I could afford a while back, but it's wasn't exactly right. 

So I thought I would stop my search for a bit. 

Then got back to it this week. 

I found two. 

We went and looked at both today and guess what?

I'm moving!!!

My shop that is. 

My house will once again be my home and my clients will now have a place they can come to that does not involve stairs!!!! 

I can do MORE! 

I can serve more! 

And I can hold more classes! 

So excited!!!!

Latest find....what would you do with it? (updated with a surprise)

Sometimes I come across things that I just know I have to have. 

I have no idea (at the time) what I'm going to do with it, but I just had to bring it home. 

 At the beginning of it's life it belonged inside a desk. A rather large desk I would imagine

 18 drawers and two open shelves.

 Great craftsmanship and design.

 But the leather was a bit rough.

The hand cut dovetails tell me that this piece was made sometime before 1860. I love it. 

now to figure out exactly how to finish it. 

Ohhh the possibilities :) 

Updated!
This morning I wanted to see the inside of the middle section, so I pushed from behind to open the drawers without a knob

 See that middle section?

And the missing knobs?

 The whole middle section came out with 4 drawers in one

 And behind it is two more drawers, a shelf and spot where one drawer is missing!
SUPER COOL!

Sharing: 
Coastal Charm
The Dedicated House