Making over a yard sale find is fun and satisfactory, but taking a family piece and making it looking fresh, new and beautiful has an even greater satisfaction.
Fifteen years ago, I found a sad little chair for $10 at second hand store. I loved the lines, but it had been painted a less-than-lovely pure white (picture a can of spray paint!). I took the finish off and stained it a rich mahogany shade, recovered the seat and voila’! a great new piece. It has been a little accent chair in the corner of the room for years.
A few weeks ago, I decided my apple green office could use a dash of my favorite shade of pink. I took out the trusty chair, sanded off the mahogany finish and painted it a bold, glossy pink. I re-upholstered the seat cover and now my little $10 chair has new life.
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| The Updated & Perky Chair |
In that same vein, I had our old kitchen table which I moved into my office to give an added work surface. (During the school year, my youngest kiddo will use this as a homework spot if I’m working on the big desk!) It too needed the benefit of a facelift. With the aid of a palm sander, we took the old clear coat finish lightly down, primed it and painted it a creamy, glossy white. To protect the surface it has the requisite glass top and I finished it with contemporary lighting and magnetic project boards.
I replaced the wooden knob with a contemporary acrylic one (this is actually a small curtain finial!) and added a playful tassel. My favorite part however???? I painted the inside of the drawer hot pink and finished it off with a coat of shellac to protect. Realistically the only person who will ever see this is me (the drawer houses my colored pens), but that’s kind of the point!!
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| The New Finished Workspace |
This weekend’s project however has a little more significance. In my family room resides a smallish cocktail table that belonged to my beloved grandmother. Many of the pieces in my home were first in hers. In fact it’s from her home that I first learned to appreciate the art of “nesting” (more on that later). This poor little table with the fabulous Parsons lines and inlaid brass had suffered under leaking ceramic planters, cups with no coasters and Nintendo controllers.
Today, the sad little table got a new lease on life. It was sanded down to virtually clean wood, then restained in black. Tomorrow it will receive a light sanding, a coat or two (or three!) of shellac (NO VARATHANE!), followed by more sanding with 4 ott steel wool, and a hearty rub of paste wax. It’s laborious to be sure, but a labor of love, none-the-less.
Nana would be proud.
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