It escapes me how a person lives in the middle of such disorganization and does it day after day. I’m not sure what the full story is behind this hoarders home. What I do know is I was asked if I wanted to rescue anything out of the yard and barn before the bulldozer took it down the next morning. I was quick to answer with “what’s the address”. I drove over within minutes to see what I could see. There wasn’t much left undamaged, but that doesn’t really scare me much. A few tables had damage from rats, bugs and weather. A few pieces were just way past the Blue Happy restored life stage. As I dug deeper into the hoard I found her. A beautiful piece of furniture that had history, a story and all in one piece.
Getting her in the truck gave me such a rush. I almost felt like I had won the lottery. I think I smiled all the way back to my house where I delicately lifted her out of the truck and on to the floor of my studio. What was someone thinking putting this in an old barn. I’m shocked it wasn’t cared for with love. She has beautiful legs and arched shaped doors. The top was battered and the first layer of wood was peeling off. I carefully removed it to discover a surface that was old but full of character. The carefully arched carved doors open to revile 4 drawers of large size and good storage. It was ravaged with water stains from leaks over and around the barn. The stain it once had was worn and sat on top like the stain of an aged life. With all of that I still saw the beauty in this piece. It was unwanted, broken down and tossed aside. I’ve learned to love the unloveable, care for the forgotten and restore the tossed away.
Once cleaned up I gave it 2 coats of Pure White by Chalk Country paint. The paint soaked in like butter of a hot baked potato. I knew it would never have a restored new look. At best I was looking for a well-loved restored Blue Happy piece. I’ve worked many hours on this piece and tonight I admit a little bit of defeat. I can’t get the door to close at the bottom. In my happy moment of rescuing it I didn’t notice the water damage had warped the bottom of the door. I’m in a brain storm moment on trying to fix it or at best make it work. The old stain caused parts of the piece to discolor when the chalk paint was applied. This is because the stain and seal had broken down. When that happens it can mix with the chalk paint and Defender. Mostly this only happens on really old pieces. You can see it in the photo by comparing the two top drawers and on the photo of the side edge. Most people would worry about this but not me. I see it as character that makes it lovely. It’s a piece you have to love and except its flaws. It’s by far not perfect. Our own lives are like that, we strive to be what we want and not what we see. I need to lose weight, I hate my curly hair, I have this ugly scare and that list builds bigger every day. Excepting our flaws is the first step in the freedom to live out our blessed life.
I hope that some one will give this beautiful lady a chance in their home. I can see her as storage in a guest room, for towels in a bathroom or even in a little girls room for all her pretty pink dresses. How about in a laundry room to store extra lines. To finish off those ideas it would be great somewhere near the kitchen to store holiday dishes. It really does have more life to give.
This piece will be at Doc Holiday’s Emporium 113 S Birmingham Wylie on Saturday September 15th. If you are interested I’m pricing it quiet low so it can find a home. Go by and give her a look see you might fall in love. I did!
