Daily people contact me to ask questions on how to redo a piece of furniture. I’ll message them back with my knowledge and hope that it is helpful. Sometimes I never hear from them again, sometimes I’ll get more messages and even a finished picture with a thank you. I love to share what I know and I love to know you are restoring life to pieces instead of buying new.
At the end of the school year a friend and fellow teacher ask me to redo a piece of furniture she had bought from someone online. I was surprised she ask me to redo it because she is crafty herself. When we talked about the piece and she showed me pictures I knew why. This piece had all kinds of ornate detail and lots of it. She had only done pieces that were flat and simple. I tried to tell her she could do it and how to do it but she insisted that she wanted me to do it. So I picked it up in the Blue Happy truck and I did just that, I redid it. I sent her this picture and said here is a little teaser as to what I’m about to bring you. She got so excited! It’s hard to see the difference in the cream white and clean white in the picture. If you look close at this detail picture you can see the cream white show through the sanding a bit.
When I got to her house I thought this piece really is nice. All it needed was just a pick me up cleaning, maybe shabby chic the edges so the small nicks and scratches blend in and paint the hardware a different color. She had a vision in her head and that is what needed to be done. When we loaded it into the back of my truck it was clear the paint job on it wasn’t what it appeared to be. Who ever painted this piece cream white only painted the area’s that you could see when standing in front of it. The bun feet were only painted on the front, the slates in-between the drawers were not painted and the edges that supported the drawers were to painted. I call that half done work and not a job well done. Although it was already a light cream white she wanted it clean white and distressed. So I aimed to please and I guess I hit the nail on the head because she was so happy when it was delivered back to her home. She sent me a message that said “I can’t stop staring at this beautiful piece. Thank you Thank you!! This is my favorite piece in my whole house!” She placed a mirror over it that she bought from my Blue Happy Living booth at Doc Holliday’s Emporium. Now she is looking for that great piece of pieces to place on top. I think she should consider a couple of frame with pictures of her beautiful family.
It was simple to do for me. A couple coats of Chalked Country paint, shabby chic sanding and clear wax. I removed the hardware and painted it a charcoal gray color. I knew she had just added this color to the room this piece would be sitting in. Simple for me but for her it was beautiful. It was what she envisioned in her head. This piece of furniture reminds me that sometimes in life things are not what they appear to be. We meet people and no matter how they act there is always something much deeper than anger, a happy smile or silence. We all make and pass judgements on people we meet each day. In reality we need to take the time to look a little deeper, to be more understanding and to let that person know we are there for them. Not only using words but backing those words up with actions is the only way to truly be a friend. Everyday life presents opportunity to love and support each other. I have been presented just that today with a friend in need. I’ve prayed about it and I’m off to support her not only in words but in my actions. Today I have her back with love, support and prayer. Hope your Monday is nothing more than a blessing. Pass your blessings on to others it will give back to you 10 fold.
