Table Turned Tufted Ottoman

A friend from my HS days gave me this table. It sits super low so I decided to attempt to turn it into an ottoman......a tufted ottoman. Seemed easy enough. Picked out some cool Ikat fabric and just kinda went with it and learned some things along the way.

First I sectioned off the top to mark where I was going to put the fabric covered buttons. I eyeballed this step. I'm pretty good at eyeballing and not so great with math.

I'll have the big slice, please. Close enough, right?

 I marked off where I wanted my buttons to go and drilled holes through those markings. Put my foam on top and used a skewer to puncture through the wood into the foam and marked the foam. We do things very professionally over here, ya know.

Stapled the foam onto the table top. I am completely winging it at this point. But this step made it super easy to find exactly where I wanted my buttons to go after the fabric was placed and stapled onto the underside. Ya, following me here?

 I flipped the table and stapled the fabric to the underside. Now this is where things get not so fun. Tufting and what not to do. Do not use regular thread, it will snap and you, my friend, will curse every time it does. I would have gone with thicker foam. Thicker would result in deeper tufts.

Oh I missed the whole fabric button part......you can buy this little kit at Hobby Lobby or Walmart to do this. It's actually quite easy, you'll think you're a super star making these awesome little buttons.

I decided after much cursing and not having proper thread to just slam a staple into the fabric right through the foam and into the table. Then I just sewed the buttons on top of the staple and done!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Gray Hepplewhite Dresser

These are one of my favorite styles of furniture to find. Typically 1940's and made of mahogany which means bleed through is going to happen. To avoid that I like to use Kilz oil based spray primer.....quick and easy! After I prime I always give a light sanding with 400 grit paper.

This also came with a nightstand which was in some really sorry shape. Put it this way, the woman selling the dresser gave it to me for free. Yup, that bad!

 I sanded back the tops and stained them with Minwax Jacobean followed by Minwax Wipe On Poly in satin. I really love the look of a stained top with painted body on this style of furniture.  I used Martha Stewart's Zinc on these and it has become one of my favorite paint colors.

The pulls were scrubbed lightly to leave the aged patina to peek through. 

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you all have a great week~Sue 

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Important Message about Lane Cedar Chests

Hey, All! I haven't been around in a while. I hope all of you are well and enjoying Spring after the crappy winter we had. I wanted to take a few minutes not only to show you this awesome chest I scored at the flea market but more importantly to alert you to the dangers these chests pose.

Out of curiosity, I did a quick google search to find out how long my happy find has been around, turns out 1933. I also stumbled on some sad information that needs to get out there. 

I want you to know, these are potential death traps. Children have tragically suffocated in these. You may be a fellow painter and happily found one of these too or maybe one of these was past down in your family from generation to generation. Chests manufactured from 1912 and 1987 have a locking mechanism that once inside you cannot get out. Lane marks all of their chests with serial numbers so it's easy to date yours by going on the Lane website. It's an easy fix too, Lane will send you a free kit to change out the lock and make it safe. Please pass this on to anyone you may know that has one.

Here's the link to get your replacement lock....

 http://www.lanefurniture.com/customerservice/lock-replacement.aspx

Now onto the refinished and now safe chest. I am super happy with the way it turned out. I stripped some of the wood down and stained in Minwax dark walnut. Dry brushed the carved areas and straight painted the rest in warm white, Behr Ostrich, my personal favorite antique white. Followed it up with General Finishes Polyacrylic.

Thanks for stopping by and please spread this very important message~Sue

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High Gloss and Lacquered Finishes

High Gloss.....not what I typically do but a couple of custom orders put me there. I have to tell you, I really like the look. It's sleek and catches the light beautifully. The downfall to high gloss or laquered finishes is you really, really need a piece that has minimal imperfections. A gloss finish picks up imperfections like a girl trying to hide a pimple with a dab of cover up....does not work. It's there, you see it, nice try. Try again.

Lucky for me the pieces to be painted were in good shape and just needed a light sanding and a spray primer. Light coats are best w/ a quality brush. I added Floetrol to the paint. This will leave your finish with virtually no brush marks. It just levels the paint out amazingly. You must try this stuff!

                                                                

I really like how they turned out but there is just a part of me that LOVES, LOVES, LOVES a chippy rustic finish. What's your favorite finish???

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Coral French Provincial

You know I typically stick to my blue and gray paint. They sell faster than fun colors but start to bore me after a while. So, I decided to step out of the box on this dingy French Provincial Chest I found on CL.

 

She was sanded and primed first. I used my Homeright Sprayer which I'm totally loving! The color is Wild Watermelon by Behr. The pulls were sprayed glossy white. A thin application of Fiddes and Sons wax and she has a new life.

 The routered areas were done using a round artists brush. I find it easiest to get a clean line when the paint is mixed with water to an ink like consistency.

 Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend!

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Drop Leaf Table and Flea Market Chairs

Find a table at a garage sale that you love but the guy selling it wants 100 bucks for it. Uhhh, I don't think so. Enter wife who sells it to me for 25.00 explaining her husband doesn't want to part with anything. Then score the perfect fabric for 3.00 in the remnants at Joanne's for the chairs you have yet to find.

Go to the flea market hoping to find the perfect chairs. Turns out there were slim pickins except for these.

Gotta look past that fabric!

They cleaned up nice with a little black paint and my cheap decorator fabric.

Pair them with the drop leaf table and you have a perfect little set for the small space.

Happy Cheap Finds to You!!!

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My New Free Toy

When Gail from My Repurposed Life emailed me to tell me I won the HomeRight Sprayer I couldn't believe it! I couldn't wait to get my hands on it but then it sat for a good month because I was intimidated to give it a try.

 I finally pulled it out when a client asked me to do up a French Provincial piece in Gloss Black. I know, you're probably thinking I'm out of my mind to try out my new toy on a client piece. That thought occured to me too. I did however practice on cardboard first. It was easy to use and the finish super smooth. There was little if any over spray too. I thought I would have to fashion some type of spray booth but not the case. I just put down some drop clothes and went to it.

Here's the piece prepped and ready to go. I sanded the heck out of it because gloss paint tends to show every imperfection.

It had that yellowed over time finish, like it sat in a 2 pack a day house for years. The craziest thing is when I started to sand out the scratches on top I unveiled the most beautiful wood. Why, oh why would a furniture manufacturer choose to cover that up??

Anyway, I watered down the paint (Rustoleum Gloss Black) per the HomeRight instructions and also added a little Floetrol. This stuff is great for eliminating brushmarks. Not that I was brushing but figured it couldn't hurt.

                                            The pulls were sprayed metallic silver.

I loved how easy this was to use and will definitely be using it again and again. I thought cleaning it would be a big pain but it was quick and easy!

A BIG thank you to Gail for the opportunity to win the HomeRight Sprayer and for answering my questions at lightening speed!

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