Hoosier Part 1

I thought I better get this post in before our weekend here. 

It's Thanksgiving Day Weekend here in Canada, so you know it's going to be a busy one with my daughter coming home from college for the weekend and the other kids heading over on Sunday. 

Lots of baking and cooking going on as well. 

I'm sitting at the cottage at the moment, drinking coffee and contemplating how much of my "stuff" I can get in my SUV for the drive home. 

Yes I know...it's Friday morning and most people head to the cottage on Fridays, but I've been here for a few days to take care of a project I've been dying to get to work on. 

 This belongs to a client of mine. It's a Hoosier. After tearing it apart I found two places that had a date on it. 1898. Both written in pencil. 

Trust me when I say I had no idea how hard this was going to be when I suggested doing this. 

And yes I was the one suggesting doing this. 

Long story short, I am doing this as a trade for some wonderful Furniture. :)

 Taking out the roll was rather simple. But as you can see it's broken. No problem. But getting all that paint out of there was a bit of work.

 Getting all those handles off was not fun. I couldn't even get a small screw driver in there to removed them...so out came the stripper! What a mess! But the job is done and the hardware is sitting in vinegar at the moment.

 I was very excited to see this label! Sadly it was only an impression. At least I know that whatever company made this was proud enough of their work they did label it out front :)

 See the gooey mess?

 This is my daughters dog. He was in the empty lot next door "at attention" Probably waiting for a squirrel. 

 You can't see it in this picture, but some one plastered this piece. There were at least 6 coats of paint on this as well as one really thick coat of plaster.

 I'm dying to see how this hardware turns out. I'm so tempted to not paint it again, but to leave it totally natural. Will have to check with the owner.

 Just about done stripping it in this picture.

 Now for the sanding!

 Yeah....paint! It is so much brighter now!

 I love painting the insides of these things. One, it's easier to clean, and lets be honest. Anything that makes cleaning easier is better right?

 And a non white stays cleaner (that's my story)

The bottom drawer is tin with a wood front, so that got scrubbed to within an inch of it's life. The sides repaired and the whole thing bent back into shape...then painted black. 

I can't wait to do the reveal. 

Sadly that will have to wait. 

I have to go home. 

I hope to see some wonderful fall colours on the way. 

Enjoy your Friday! 

Sharing:
Miss Mustard Seed
  

My half and half antique dresser

Ever find yourself being of two minds?

I do.

Sometimes I take the path of least resistance. Sometimes I have a very clear vision of what a piece needs to look like.

And other times I'm just plain confused.

This was one of those confused times.

I started out with this.

Trust me this picture makes it look a lot better than it was!

Although it was in good shape, there was a lot of damage to the paint job. 

I seriously can't just smooth out the rough edges and slap some paint on something, I always have to strip it down and start over. 

Which is what led me to discover this piece is "tiger" or 1/4 cut oak. 

Although Oak is not my favorite wood, when it's 1/4 cut it becomes amazing! 

I didn't want to hide the lovely wood! But I wanted to paint. So what's a girl to do? 

Half and half of course. 

(makes me think of cream for my coffee, even though I don't use half and half)

TA DA

 That's not veneer baby...that's solid!

 Absolutely love it. Painted the base but sanded, stained and sealed the top and drawers.

 Kept the original key hole covers and pulls but added ruby red glass knobs.

Isn't she soooo pretty? 

I threw her in my booth at the antique market in St Jacobs to replace this.

This baby sold in just a few hours and I had this massive gaping hole in my booth. 

Now to breath for a few min, grab my coffee and head to the workshop. 

Can't wait to share with you an old Hoosier I'm going to be working on today! 

Have a great Wed :) 

Sharing here:
Our Home away from Home
DIY By Design  
Savvy Southern Style  
Coastal Charm 
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
The Brambleberry Cottage 
The Style Sisters 
Miss Mustard Seed
A Stroll Thru Life  
  

The ho hum becomes fabulous (ironing board redo)

If you refinish furniture, 

you know how much "fun" an auction sale can be. 

Some auction sales are not so much fun, some have way to many people who pay way to much for stuff. 

I know, I've spent many an hour at these auctions. 

Then there are auctions where things move smoothly and the prices are fabulous! 

I went to one fabulous auction on the weekend. 

If only I had a bigger truck, I would have bought so much more. 

The auction had a time line and there were other events at that location that day, so everything had to be gone, and I just didn't have time to run everything home, come back and load up again. 

So I bought what I could. 

I came away with a planer! 

Seriously how cool is this?? 

I know a lot of people have no clue what this does, but it's awesome for taking old boards (barn boards mostly in my case) and making it smooth enough to work with :) 

I may not use it often, but it's there now for when I need it and I no long have to worry about transporting a pile of wood to my father in laws. As much as I love him and appreciate his willingness to let me use his "stuff" I'm thrilled to have my own. 

I also came away with this.

A mid century cabinet. 

I removed the sliding glass for moving. I'm developing an idea for this...but it's an idea in progress :) 

Then there is this. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it's bar height and on casters. My husband is wanting to use this in the workshop..but I think it would be a great outdoor bar. What do you think? 

I also came away with this amazing table! 

 First picture is getting ready to load it. and the others of it set up with leaves.

 I couldn't get these legs off...seriously they don't come off!!

I can't wait to get started on this! it's amazing, and it looks to be very very early 1800's!

Then to the pieces I had the most fun with :) 

Two old ironing boards. 

I've seen some fun stuff done with these and I love them. 

The one on the right is the older one. From what little I could find on them, the one on the right is made here in Canada and is roughly from 1910. The other is probably from the 1930's. 

While I was waiting for paint to dry I grabbed the older one and had some fun with it. 

 Sanded it down then painted the top with an off white. Added some green stripes and painted the legs to match the stripes.

 Then distressed it to look really worn from everyday use.

 I'm seriously in love.

I can picture this folded up in a laundry room for real use...or as a table in a hall or when you have company over to set extra food on...or even behind a couch with a lamp on it. 

I love it :) 

Taking the ho hum to fabulous! 

Sharing here:
Coastal Charm
Knick of Time
Our home away from Home 
DIY by Design 
Savvy Southern Style 
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
The Brambleberry Cottage 
The Style Sisters 
Miss Mustard Seed 
A Stroll Thu Life 
  

From a Hutch to a Bar...who would have thought?

Sometimes my clients come to me and offer to sell me things they no longer want in order to reduce the price on things they do want. 

I have no problem with this. It's a great way to get things I may not have gotten otherwise. 

That's what happened with this piece. 

I sold them something and I bought something.

I bought this Buffet and Hutch

 Obviously this is the bottom.

And this is the top. 

I never did picture them in my mind as something that would go together. So I separated them. 

Then another client of mine bought this. 

And had me paint it like this

I know I know..seems like a long story to get to that bar I'm talking about in the title of my post...but trust me we are getting there, and maybe in the process you will better understand the life of a furniture junkie. :) 

Once she bought this she showed me this. 

I of course fell in love!! And agreed to do an exchange with her...I would take hers and she would get the first picture plus have me redo another piece for her. 

So that bottom had a new home and now looks like this. 

Which left me the top part. 

Which was ok, since I had an idea forming in my mind on what to do with it. 

I found some awesome legs along with an iron grill...and I set to work. 

Then another client came to pick up another piece I had done for her and fell in love with the top piece...so we talked...and a deal was made. 

And a hutch was transformed. 

Just a pic to remind you of how it started. 

And now the reveal ! 

 This is the "back" of the hutch which became the "front" of the bar. The grill was found at a yard sale and transformed a bit (thanks to hubby) painted and attached to the new front of the bar.

 I used a flash to show the colours better, but it really doesn't stand out this much.

 Trim was added to give it more character.  Some paint and glazing.

 New (to me) legs were added.

 Built a new top and added it to the bar.

 The inside was painted. And holes cut into the side. For now she is using this as a combination liquor cabinet/entrainment unit.

Wine glasses can still be hung upside down. 

I know the story was a bit confusing and there were a few more twists and turns...but I tried to keep it simple here. 

Ohhh and I have to show you the bow front Sideboard. 

But maybe I should wait for another post. :) 

I just love when things go where they belong and with whom they belong. 

:) 

Sharing here:
Elizabeth and Co
Savvy Southern Style
Domestically Speaking 
36th Avenue 
Coastal Charm 
Miss Mustard Seed 
Beneath my Heart