Not all she was cracked up to be

This piece was posted at a good price, so I raced the Mazda three towns over to be the first to pick her up.  Caught up in my haste, enthusiasm and hunger, I didn't really take a good look at her before I loaded her into the Mazda, a rookie mistake, I know. 
 

 
No, it wasn't until I got her home that I realized she was going to need some cosmetic surgery to make her stage worthy.
 

 
I slowly set to work in between coats of painting our house and gradually she was ready to be painted.  I sanded the entire piece down and opted for a soft romantic feel using 'Cottage Paint' clay and chalk paint.  I added some green and gray tint to my beige paint and this beautiful soft colour was the result.

 
I think the original hardware is adorable, all I did was kiss it with a bit of paint to soften it up.

 
A close up shot which shows some of the paint strokes, I used wax as a top coat on this piece because I was happy for that smudgy 'aged' imperfect look.  Just clear, no dark.

 
I added the distressed gray and white chevron pattern for a touch of whimsy, and kissed the knobs with the same green as the body.

 

 
I made sure all the veneer was glued down firmly with wood glue and clamps, you know how old veneer can bubble and ripple.  But I wasn't overly concerned about making sure the veneer was perfectly smooth.  Its an old piece, she's bound to have a few wrinkles.

 

The flowers are real, peonies.  We got them at Easter, lord knows where they were grown, it certainly wasn't anywhere near this freezing cold wasteland.  Spring is sure taking its time this year.

 



 

 
The before.  I removed the top piece for a more contemporary feel.

Potterybarn-esq Sidetables with Chevrons

Sometimes when you just mind your own business, good things can happen! There I was, behind the wheel of the Mazda, bee-boppin' to some tunes, looking forward to a snack when I got home, when about a block away from my house I spotted a pair of wood end tables out on the curb. Just sitting there, abandoned and lonely. I saw them raise their eyebrows with hopeful longing as I drove by. Well I am a sucker for a good pout.  I promptly pulled over and gently ushered them into the hatchback.

5 seconds later I was home, and as  I unpacked them and had a little inspection and realized that someone had already gone to the trouble of stripping these down.  Remarkable that someone would go to all that effort only to later to cast them out to the curbside!

Not that Im complaining!  I set about painting them (no need to sand for once!).  I did a light gray wash, I basically just slathered the paint on and scrubbed it around really well to get a real minimal coverage.  I wanted them to look white-washed and rustic.

I painted out the little cute piece of trim in white.  Again, I kept it really rustic, I actually used a damp cloth to apply the white and just smeared it along, keeping it light and imperfect.

The tops are where the fun-factor comes in.  I used some gray and white chevron paper and modpodged it to the table tops.  It went on great, no bubbles or issues.  I personally find modpodge works better with a thicker paper.  I have used super thin paper before and it crinkled so badly.

I also find that when using modpodge it is really important to make sure that you use a good amount of modpodge.  If you apply it too thin you can't 'move' the paper around on top of it to get the perfect positioning.

On a side note, I have just down loaded the free photo editing software called 'Picasa' and really like it.  I am on the hunt for a proper dslr canon camera, but at the moment I used use my phone camera and edit the pics.  I haven't had a proper 'play' yet, but so far I really like picasa. I actually shot these pics on a super-duper gray and dreary day.  They are right beside a door, so there is some light coming in from the left, but it was not nearly as bright as it looks in the pics.  With that said, Santa, if you are reading this, feel free to stuff my stocking with a new dslr!