Wood US idea: February 2014

Monday, February 24, 2014

A DAY OUT merchandising TPH

Yesterday I was invited down to The Passionate Home to do some furniture merchandising.

These are the results ...

This is an amazing full bedroom set including

headboard, footboard, and rails with a medium hyboy dresser (right above)

a ladies dresser w/ tilting mirror (below left) and a vanity with stool and tri fold mirror (below right)

all the pieces have glass knobs and are a wonderful warm antique white.

I used to merchandise for a living but not in a home decor enviroment.

I had a lot of fun doing this and chatting with Carrie and Elinor while working.

My regular days are more like that of a hermit with only a kat to talk at,

althought she does talk back.

I would like to have one of those big fat corbels on my bedside at home so why not here in the store,

and look at that kewl flower shaped mirror in the background.

I specifically went to work with the new bedroom area but that didnt stop me

from completely re-doing a couple of other areas.

and for the final pics

some of the most adorable owls I have ever seen.

If you live locally to The Passionate Home you have to stop in to take in the full view

of my work yesterday, it looks amazing.

Disclaimer: I do not work for The Passionate Home I just enjoy spending time there.

MRS Ps CLOSET store display

This time around Carrie and I built a closet, not just any closet though it was Mrs. Ps

walk in closet. You see Mrs. P is going to Europe for some traveling after Thanksgiving

so she has opened up her closet to sorting out what is staying and what is going.

Im late posting this display so it wont be around forever so get in to The Passionate Home

and step inside Mrs. Ps Closet and see what you can find.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

A YEAR IN REVIEW

A new year is almost here and its time to reminisce
about all that has happened in the past 12 months.

I have repurposed enough night stand to populate a small city.

I travelled to work with dozens of woman to up-cycle their pieces of furniture

My back has felt the best it has in years ... except after working with those dozen women!

I wrote some very important tutorials that you had asked for ... that I had been putting off.

I spent my summer setting up displays in a home décor store ... just to get out of "working"

I competed in a local recycling challenge ... and took 3rd place!

Annie Sloan came to meet me in person ... and thousands of others in Vancouver too!
I got George to change desk chairs a half dozen times ... dont look at me that way a year is a long time

I donated my work to a Charity auction ... only to watch ppl fight over something I made

I have been teaching ladies in other countries through email ... thanks to Google translator

Phil Robertson got booted from Duck Dynasty only to be reinstated 10 days later

and more importantly

I quit smoking ... but I have taken up eating.

2014 bring on the next chapter

Thank you to everyone who follows along with my adventures!

Ok. Feast your eyes on this beauty. A CL find. It had been sitting out on a balcony. Boy oh boy, she did not look good for her age. The veneer was in shambles. No way to save it the bottom portion. The top was stained beyond recognition, the drawers were beat to hell and back. Why did I buy this? (Gasp, "you actually paid money for this creature??") Um yeah,,15 bucks. What the heck; its how we learn people! Besides, I just love me a good challenge! So here ya go,,,,feast your eyes:

This baby put my wood finishing skills to the test.

I used, oh, about a pound of bondo and wood filler.

Surprisingly, the top sanded down pretty nicely.

Those wet stains are an attempt to bleach out

the black stains (usually caused by water). Its supposed to set for a day or so. Uh no, I neither have the patience or inclination to wait. I hoped the stain would cover it.

Well Shut my mouth! Looka that finish! Not too B A D.....if I do say so myself.

(Dontcha yall peek now...just stay with me and scroll slowly to the bottom)

I believe I used a mixture of stains again. Gel walnut is great tho.

I like to use this Deft instead of poly. This is a waterbourne acrylic finish. It goes on beautifully. I turned the desk on its back and painted it on like that. I didnt want it running down the front curved part. It dries fast and doesnt leave brush marks. Very important to use a quality brush. This was brand new. I clean them immediately and only use this for finishes. If you use a brush that was used with paint, you are likely to get little paint bits in the finish. Keep your brushes separate.

So I had patched the knob holes but since I was leaving these unpainted, they were kind of noticeable.

I decided to do some light stenciling with a metallic glaze on the drawer fronts, on the inside toe kick pieces and on the faux drawer right in front.

And here she is....all dressed up

Paint color is a mixture of light blue and a gray/blue cut with some white.

The flash has wiped out all the stenciling. You can barely see it.

You cant really tell in these pics, but the knobs are black w/a metallic-y iridescence.

Hobby Lobby.
She will hitting the market and hopefully going home with someone
who likes the Hollywood Glam style of decor.

IM NOT A FURNITURE REFINISHER christines shelf

There are a lot of ppl out there that refinish furniture,

and it would seem that that is what I do as well however

I like to think of myself as a furniture rescuer.

And like many professionals I have a uniform I wear when I go to work

I have many tools of the trade and every now and then I get the call to come rescue

some tired piece of furniture someone still sees hope in.

Here is one of those calls:

Ive got a super, super old piece that might do well with some love from you! Its kind of like a bookshelf - maybe it used to be a cabinet of some sort. Its pretty beat up - dont know if its valuable - but thought that if anyone could make it beautiful again, you would be a pretty good bet. I think it might be fir - its got kind of an art deco feel to it - the top front edge is rounded. It seems to have quite a few layers of paint on it - and the back is completely toast - it seems to just be a piece of fibre board or something cheap like that.

drawer, toe kick, and back removed - legs added

Christine didnt want any money and if I wasnt interested she was going to

listing it on Craigs list free section later that week.

She genuinely wanted to see this saved and why not?

It was a good piece of solid wood furniture that has served many homes

for over 50 years.

It had been painted many times probably to match each decade it lived thru.

These old bed slats were perfect for the back of the shelf,

just measured, cut, and nailed in place.

I really dont understand how they would have ever supported a queen bed

as thin as they were, maybe thats why they were curbside in the first place.

I used my grinder to create different levels of the old paint.

I sprayed the whole unit with ASCP in old white,

then sanded it back to show its age, and gave it a waxing from head to toe.

I really love how vintage this project turned out.

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One last thing to get you moving this fine Saturday morning:

The Shore 104.3 FM team partnered with the Vancouver Adapted Music Society (VAMS) and The Canadian Music Therapy Trust Fund to produce this second installment of Music Saves.

This is something I listen to often while I work.

Monday, February 24, 2014

A DAY OUT merchandising TPH

MRS Ps CLOSET store display

Sunday, February 23, 2014

A YEAR IN REVIEW

The Horrendous Waterfall Desk

IM NOT A FURNITURE REFINISHER christines shelf