Regal Bedside Tables

I took a long drive through the country to catch a glimpse at these little beauties.  To be honest, they were actually an after-thought, as I was really interested in their big 9-drawer sister, but she was a lot, erm.. shorter in real life. If she were on an online dating site Id be telling all my buddies that she looked a lot better in her picture.

In fact, she looked like she was made for Hobbits, or little people. Saying she was two feet tall would be paying her a compliment.  She had no legs (unlike the bedside tables, and the Hobbits) which makes me wonder if they were removed years ago for some reason and misplaced along the way.

I didn’t want the 45 minute drive to be in vain though, so I decided to make an offer only for the nightstands, and the owner was happy to accept.  I LOVE the legs on these, they look so grand for nightstands. I can imagine them strutting down main street in a pair of strappy stilettos.

I was doing big-bertha at the same time, so I decided to paint them matchy-matchy in hopes someone wanted them as a set. It's amazing how some paint can make mismatched things looks like they belong together!

They are a turquoise, distressed and accented with yellow. (This is going to be a trademark of mine soon if Im not careful!  :)

The hardware on these are cute, but in hindsight, I wish I had traded them out for some larger pulls.  Hindsight hindsight, darn you hindsight.

Big Bertha Dressed In Turquoise

I promised a ‘big bertha’, and now I present Big Bertha!  My word, this ol girl almost embarrassed herself by not fitting into my Mazda 3 hatchback.  I had to give her a subtle lecture about diet and nutrition, because she is... big and chunky!  Almost 7 feet long and definitely over 200lbs (sorry Bertha, but disclosing your weight is for your own good).  Eat some lettuce.

I clearly love this shade of turquoise/teal, because I have used it a billion times now.  I use it so much that my neighbor stopped by for a garage-chat the other day and asked ‘are you still painting that dresser?’ I paused midstroke and threw him a puzzled look before stammering, ‘No, I finished that one months ago, this is different one.’  I was too ashamed to tell him I had done about five other ones in the same colour in between the one he was referring to and this one. 

He is also the same neighbor who when I told him I rescued a beautiful credenza that was bound for the dump (this post), asked me if that was the colour I received it in (I had painted it the same shade of turquoise) implying that I hadn’t done anything to it yet!  Men.  They just don’t appreciate a nice shade of turquoise.  I did take a dose of pleasure a week later by complimenting his turquoise shorts and quipping that he matched my furniture.  He may or may not have blushed.  He may or may not have got my point. But I had a little inward swell of vindication. 

But back to Bertha!  She was in great shape for such a hefty girl.  I custom tinted some primer before covering her up in my favorite colour. 

The hardware was beautiful in it’s grandness, but it was very dull and dark, so I blasted her with some gold spray paint to really amp up the contrast with the dresser.

 I did some heavy distressing to reveal the lovely dark wood – a little peek-a-boo.  I also accented with some light blue piping and a touch of yellow to tie in with the gold.

The cupboard opens up to reveal three more drawers which I finished in a turquoise/navy chevron paper for a pop of fun.

I love big-bertha, but it will take a big room to handle a statuesque woman like her.  She is too much women for my little hallway, indeed!


Linking up to party with:

miss mustard seed

Teal and Antique

I bought this little antique gem along with the one I refinished in mint from the same ol' English lady who was moving house.  This is the one I asked Mr. Chuckles to help me fix the missing piece of veneer on in my previous post.  His methods may be a little unconventional (erm. just a little), but he sure did come through with the goods, because you can't even tell there was ever anything wrong with it.

I opted for a teal-blue colour which I custom mixed.  I knew I was going to do some heavy distressing which looks great with the really dark stained finish poking through on the sides

I accented with some of the mint I had left over from my previous project which I really like as it adds some highlights and moves your eye around the piece a lot.

I also painted that neat little recessed detailing in mint as well. Initially I was going to do it a dark colour (black?), but Im glad I decided to go with a lighter colour as I think it keeps it elegant and fresh.

I did some really heavy distressing on this one, more so than on the mint to really make it look rustic and antique.

I enjoyed working on these little dressers, it was a nice change from the big-bertha's I usually do.  Speaking of big-bertha, I just returned home with a massive 9-drawer dresser.  Stay tuned for the transformation!

Have a great weekend.  Im off camping - again!

Asking For Help

It's something we all need to do sometimes. Everybody needs a little hand from time to time, right? But am I the only one who sometimes regrets having asked for some? I don't want to bag on Mr. Chuckles. He is pretty handy and helpful, and he certainly puts up with a lot - our garage is constantly in a state of dissary with paint cans being upturned, sanding tools blowing their wad all about the place, dressers in various states of undress, but sometimes, well, I just don't know what Mr. Chuckles is thinking. {Shakes head in disbelief}

I am currently working on an old little three-drawer dresser that was missing a huge chunk of wood veneer on the side. I decided to consult Mr. Chuckles prior to trying to fix it myself (my forte is painting not repairing I've come to realize). First out comes the wood glue because we need to glue down some of the loose veneer {logical so far} , then he breaks out the clamps {yep, I'm still on board}, but they just couldn't quite fit snugly in position to be of much good. {head scratch from Mr Chuckles}

Wait, I suggest...maybe we could....I begin to venture forth what I think is a pretty logical suggestion..but no, Mr. Chuckles has tuned me out. {static sounds}.

He had a better vision it seems.

Im not going to try and describe it. After all, a picture is apparently worth a thousand words. Enjoy it ladies. And kids, don't try this at home.

In case it isn't obvious, the piece that actually required fixing was the bluish coloured thing somewhere in the middle (underneath the nightstand, the flying magic carpet and the camping cooler, but ontop of the styrofoam and planks of wood).

The funniest part, of course, is that this game of jenga actually fixed the problem. Of course it did says Mr Chuckles!