Queen Ann Transformation

This chair had been in the shop for years... ever since I started working there in my late teens. Covered in a dull, drab piece of red broadcloth in a very sloppy manner. No one ever gave it a second glance.

I brought it home, ripped everything off, painted the frame in a off white DIY chalk paint, and covered it in this black and cream fabric which I scored for a mere $4  per yard. I also added a few decorative tacks around the front legs to hold things in p lace.

I put it back in the shop and it sold in two days.

Farmhouse Table

 So, I picked this up last weekend for practically nothing at a local auction house. It was a big mistake for me to go there; now I know where I can get in my auction fix every single Saturday. Uh oh.
So, it was basic old brown on the bottom and some kind of murky tan blah color on the top; and coated in old polyurithane that had turned yellow. I knew immediately what I was going to do with it.

 A little stripping, a little sanding, a little DIY chalk painting, stain, and wax - and there you have a cute little kitchen table.In the photos above you can see how I was building my newest display in the shop; finished up below:

We kind of go for a strong "Classic American" vibe in the shop. It fits with our circa 1830s building.  Of course we have smaller spots of modern, Shabby Cottage, French/European themes in other areas. This seems to work well with our customers - there is something for everyone's tastes in interior decorating, and something for every budget.

I'm also trying to get away from the traditional "Grandma's cluttered, dusty antiques + junk + thrift shop" look. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE THOSE SHOPS! That's where you can dig around and find awesome treasure.

But, in our shop, I am trying to get a cleaner, more organized, "curated" look with a strong emphasis on interior decorating and not just collecting old stuff in a location and hoping someone buys it.

This idea seems to be working, as I have sold off almost everything I started with and am scrambling to find new inventory. 

Come see us if you're ever in our neck of the woods - we're in historic downtown Milton, NC across the street from the Thomas Day House/Union Tavern museum. There are many other things to do in town as well; various little shops and an Art Gallery  - stop on by, we LOVE visitors, and I love to talk about the town's history! :)

Trunk Makeover

I got this trunk at the last auction I went to because it was stuffed together with some other items in a "lot" I wanted for another piece that was in it. But, I had an idea of something I wanted to do with it, so I stopped Kevin from putting it in the load of stuff that went to the "green box". (The dumpster.)

A few coats of DIY chalk paint, some book pages (another auction item that I really didn't buy on purpose) and a little glue and I now have a nice storage chest for craft stuff.

I still have to coat the inside with some mod podge or something. And touch up around the handle and the hardware....

But pretty cool, huh? I make no claims to the original I idea, however; I saw painted trunks on Pinterest and probably the book page idea came from there, too. Ha.

Don't throw things away just because they're ugly!! :)

Yall have a good one; stay cool. And come back and visit me soon.

:) 

Blue and White Chair

I bought this chair at an auction for beans, and it sat around in my office/den/studio/sitting room for weeks while I thought about procrastinated about re doing it. 

I went shopping for upholstery fabric and discovered that the best, and my favorite - fabrics - are all like $40/yard, and I freaked. Kind of like when I found out how much Annie Sloan chalk paint cost, per quart. Why do all the cool things have to be so dang expensive?!

Then I lucked out and found about a yard and a half of this super fantastic blue material for $3.00 at a thrift shop. I knew immediately what I was going to do with the chair. A dab of DIY chalk paint and wax, and I went to town on learning upholstery by the seat of my pants and several You Tube videos. 

I discovered it helps to have four hands when doing this; my husband was conveniently on hand for that  (ha!)

It turned out pretty nice; and now I feel a little more prepared to tackle my next project: a Victorian Eastlake side chair.  :)

Octagon Table

This is another one of my husband's pics. We decided we've been doing enough turquoise and white; a little classy black was in order.

Metal Vintage Necklaces.

My husband bought me this necklace last week at an estate auction. I spotted it in a box lot, and remarked about how beautiful it was.

He bought this much jewelry to get it. So I have costume jewelry to last my shops a year or two. If I don't sell it in lots on eBay just to be rid of it.

My necklace is older than I originally thought; most likely from the late 30s - early 40s, from my research. It it in the trendy "bib" or "collar" style. I just adore it. In all my researching on line, I did not see another one like it.

Some others sorted out and for sale in the shop:

 Buy here

 Buy here

Buy here

The lady of the house had a real thing for tribal style jewelry, I tell you. Going back several decades.

The "Salem"

I can't say no to dressers... this one is not the finest quality piece; the back is glorified cardboard, and there were various little cracks in the drawers and on the top. But the rest is solid wood, so I went ahead and bought it when I found it at my favorite Goodwill, that usually doesn't have furniture. The hardware and the pretty wood top were other pluses.

I painted it in a glorious aqua-blue color (Deepest Aqua from Glidden, and DIY chalk)  leftover from another project. The top I did in "colonial walnut" gel stain from Minwax. A little distressing and a little wax and she looks like a whole new animal.....

She's marked "Salem" on the back so that's what I refer to her as. Maybe I'll start giving all my pieces names....

This is the THIRD - yep, the THIRD Saturday in a row I have had to work because of various schedule complications at my job. Mom has been running the shop for me when I have to work my "real" job. Thanks, Mom! I cannot tell you guys how I wish and hope and pray that one day the shop can be my "real" job and I won't need a "real" job anymore!

Tropical Storm Andrea came through yesterday and we just got a lot of rain... but I love tropical rains, all misty, and sideways... turning into a steady downpour. I love our metal roof - nothing like the sound of rain on a metal roof to relax you.

Have a great weekend, folks! :)