Vintage Sidetable Makeover

I am so happy with how this refurbish turned out, in fact; if I had the space, I would definitely be keeping it!!  It would be perfect to display my tabletop Christmas tree.

Each piece that I do, I learn something new. Some lessons are pretty hard, meaning that I have a lot of sanding to do so I can start over. But the end result is worth it.

I didn’t have any hard lessons with this, which surprises me since I used a gel stain for the first time and tried a little different technique for the staining process.

Next project are a pair of chairs, and it involves upholstery. Yikes!!

Make it a great day, make some quiet time for yourself, and above all…be kind.

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Refurbished Vintage Wooden Ironing Board

I have had this lovely wooden ironing board in my basement, it belonged to my Gramma. She gave it to me probably about 25 years ago, she’s passed now and I miss her so much.

There is one little corner that has some penciled artwork, I am pretty sure that was from me!

Anyway, as much as I have treasured this piece, I never quite figured out what I wanted to do with it. I thought about taking the legs off and placing wood shelves on it to hang it vertically. But I felt like I would be destroying it.

I lived in a very small condo unit for a little and had no room to set it up as a side table. I moved to a small one story home and again, didn’t really have the space to set it up as a table.

So my next thought was to put some poly on it and set on my patio to use as a plant table. As I started putting the poly on, I was totally falling in love with the finish and knew I could NOT set this piece out in the elements of rain and sun and have it destroyed.

I knew I had to find a place for this beautiful piece. And I did. I rearranged the last cabinet I finished (post is here) and I unpacked my small bookcase and moved that piece and…. Put the ironing board in front of the large picture window.

I love it! I am so happy how it turned out and I’m sure I’ll have it filled with plants and family photo’s soon!

Refurbished Chest of Drawers

I was hesitant to post this furniture makeover. I still haven’t finished it, there is one little detail left to do that will make this chest of drawers amazing, at least to me.

I found this vintage chest at an antique shop and brought it home to refinish. I had been looking for something to store some of my craft supplies, even though it is not as big as I had hoped for, it still works. And it has eliminated some plastic storage tubs that were under my craft table.

I discovered this primer that is supposed to cover furniture with a shiny finish, so I gave it a shot. It also is good for covering paint and stain from bleeding through, which it absolutely did for the red cabinet that I posted earlier. This primer did cover the shine and the color well BUT, I did not seal the piece and the very first thing I set on the top as décor pulled the paint and primer right off. AGH!!!

I still have a lot to learn about furniture refinishing. Maybe next time I should still give it a little sanding just to play it safe.

So anyway, the one little detail that I wanted to do was to stencil or decoupage a floral design on the front. THEN I was going to put a poly over the entire chest.

But now, I am unsure if I want to waste my time and the materials to stencil if this isn’t going to seal well. Regardless, I do still love how the chest turned out.

If I decide to add the detail later, I will be sure to share it with you.

Vintage Finds in my Basement!

I’ve mentioned in a previous post about why I love winter months. One of the reasons is that I am finally able to work on things inside my house vs all the yard and garden work I have all spring, summer and fall.

I have been unpacking boxes of my parents and grandparents things that were handed down to me or that I found in my parents attic and house after they passed.

In my post about the refinished hutch, you saw some of the dishes that I have. Some. Notice I said you saw “some” of the dishes. I have much more. I can’t possibly show you everything in one post, so I will have to show you some other things later.

These gorgeous tumblers that my parents had in the basement bar, otherwise known as the party room! They loved to entertain and had lots of parties. I certainly inherited that gene!

These glasses and matching pitcher were just everyday glasses that I remember my parents using. Since they have pheasants on them, I like to use them for autumn and Thanksgiving.

This is my favorite find. My parents dishes and good utensils that we only used for holiday dinners. I remember setting the table every holiday. I think I was channeling Martha Stewart and the Barefoot Contessa even at that young age!

      

What I did not realize… these dishes are actual china! I was shocked, I really had no idea. Now I use them when I have family or friends over for dinner.

    

Then there are these beautiful, hand crafted “rag rugs” made by my grandmother and her sister.

I remember as a child, the huge loom they had set up in a room. I was always amazed at the contraption! And I say it was huge, but I was pretty small at the time so maybe that’s why it seemed so large. I do remember that it took up most of the space in the room though.

They both worked in a sewing factory, so they were able to bring home discarded fabric. I believe that is what they used for these rugs. They really are beautiful. Unfortunately, they are older than me and the threading is starting to fall apart.

The colors do not go with anything in my house, but I really want to use them as long as I can. And, my kids won’t use them either so I might as well!

I washed one in the tub, it had already started to come apart so I thought the washing machine would just make it worse. The others I did on delicate and they turned out pretty good, some of the fringe fell apart but other than that, they are still in good shape.

And, I remember my Grandma telling me and my brother not run in the house when we were kids. I can assure you we did not listen because every time we ran across those rugs we ended up hitting the floor with a thud and then my Grandma would say “I told you kids not to run in the house!”

Then there is this baking dish. I find myself using this more than my own baking dishes. I just love cooking with it, knowing my Mom also used this for her meals. It warms my heart.

These glasses are quite special to me. They were my Grandma’s. I remember her giving me Coca-Cola in those glasses when my tummy was upset, or Hawaiian Punch (which was my favorite so she always kept that at her house!).

I believe they were jelly jars, or peanut butter, had a pop off lid maybe?  I love using them.

So those are just a few of my vintage finds from my basement. I’ll share more later!

Have an awesome day!