I Make Things - Furniture Make Overs

I love to make things. 

Specifically, I love using items in my art that would normally be thrown out.  

I use old wood, frames, fixtures, even discounted paint.  

I used wood from my dad's stock pile to restore this music cabinet.  I took out the speakers and replaced the panels with aged wood.  

This is still one of my most favorite pieces of all time.

It was a lot of work, but worth it.

I turn old mirrors into chalkboards.

You can read more about how I do this on an earlier post, by clicking here.

The french mirror/repurposed chalkboards sell very quickly. Many mirrors from dressers do not have professional hanging hooks because they attach to dressers.  These are usually the pieces I convert into chalkboards, because once I take the mirror out the frame is light-weight and I can add a hook for easy hanging. Every mirror I work with has a back panel.  I simply remove the mirror and back panel, paint the back panel with chalkboard paint and reattach it.  Other than nails, no other supplies are needed.

With a bit of imagination, chalkboard paint can be added to even the most unusual item.

Like this antique silver platter.

If professional hooks have been installed behind the mirror and I know my client can hang the mirror safely, I might add something special to make an old mirror look new. 

I love using the word LOVE when I make things.

I love using stencil patterns to make something ordinary stand out.

Want to see more chevron?  Click here for a piece I wrote about earlier.

I found this old piece of plank wood and added the chevron pattern with the midcentury swordfish I found at Goodwill.

This took some time to create, 

Before

but I love how it turned out.

After

Midcentury exemplified.

This piece had wicker cabinets and wicker is so not back in style, so I took the wicker out and replaced the panels with old wood, then added the chevron pattern.

Ombre with stenciled arrows.

And if a piece is really lucky, I'll accentuate the natural wood and leave the top butcher block.

My clients really love this look.

So few things are made out of real wood anymore, it's nice to show it off if it's there.

One of my all time favorite pieces was this Bassett hutch.  I really worked with the color and pattern.  Funniest thing, when the counselor took this into the shop, he placed the top piece on upside down.

See the electrical cord for the lighting fixture.  Yeah, normally, that should not be on the bottom.  Sometimes men and detail do not go hand in hand, but my man's a keeper anyway.  

  This shows just how well it was put back together, that it didn't completely fall apart while upside down.

There she is in all her glory, right-side up.

Vintage bar painted in red oil gloss paint.  The oil paint went on like sticky marshmallow whip.  I wasn't sure if it would work out, but viola!  

After several days of letting this thing dry out, it was gorgeous.  This piece felt so sweet to run your fingers over.  

I shop Hobby Lobby and when fun items, hooks and knobs are half-price, I stock up.

I took a chance on this Thomasville hutch desk.  

I don't normally like to work on pieces with glass, but I fell in love with this style and those brass fixtures.

I guess I could be called an environmental artist. 

I'm just happy I'm no longer a starving artist!

There are so many items I don't get around to photographing, like my custom shelves and barn wood wall hooks.  You can find my original pieces at either Merchant Square in Chandler AZ, booth 73 or Antique Plaza in Mesa AZ, booth 52.

Vintage Furniture and My Man!

If it wasn’t for my darling husband’s passion for furniture shopping, 

for searching, scouring and finagling, 

for all the hours on craigslist and the down-and-out thrift stores in the slums of Phoenix he frequents, 

the garage sales and estate sales he ventures out to, 

my days of restocking my shops with vintage dressers, mid-century desks and French chairs might be coming to an end, but . . . it appears the counselor likes the hunt.  Typical man!

Does anyone out there see running a booth at an antique mall as masculine.  It really is.  With all the moving, lifting and heavy work this type of job requires, my manly man does almost everything and I do next to nothing but say “Ewe, this dresser needs to be painted gray.”  With a misaligned floor dolly that moves like a squeaky grocery cart, this man moves 100 pound pieces of furniture about as easy as I carry in a bag of groceries.

Like this piece.  It's a hefty 12-drawer solid-wood dresser.  He will move this with the ease of toddler pulling a wagon I tell you.

The only time we ever fight, with the passion and determination of two polar opposites is when we try to move a piece of furniture together.  16 years of marriage and I finally know how to push his buttons.

What I’ve learned about my man:

1)    do not offer suggestions, directions or warnings when driving.  The stereo-typical joke about men and driving is alive and well.

2)    do not try to convince him something is dark navy when he thinks it’s black.  It will not work.

3)    he is perfectly capable of moving various types of large furniture without your help.  I think it makes him feel like He-Man.

With his manly attitude, it seems he’s really turned this little hobby of mine into something more.  I like to restore furniture while I paint and hum the latest uplifting song on KLove. 

Here's one of my latest favorite songs from FOR KING AND COUNTRY:

The counselor does nothing in this business passively.  He stay abreast with restocking and what paint colors we need.  I really like him.  He’s done good.

Here are our latest creations:

SOLD 

SOLD

SOLD

It seems I like the creative part of this business and the counselor likes everything else.  Way to go, babe!

And a few little things?

I'm in love with this chalkboard I made with an antique silver platter.

And this jar with a chalkboard lid.

And a few Fall decorations.

Vintage shutters

More candlesticks! This one stands about 2 feet tall.

I remember my grandma had little frames like these.  I found a bunch of them and painted them heirloom white, which is an antique white.

I don't sell everything I make.  I painted the lids of these little Mason jars to make a candlestick display.  I shared these with Mayer's and Reef's teachers at parent/teacher conference.

If you want to check out any of my shabby pieces, I'm at Merchant Square in Chandler, booth #73 or Antique Plaza in Mesa, booth #52.

Linking up to: