You know that piece of furniture you bought at a great price thinking oh yeah that will look great when I do this or that? Or, that won't take much to redo that piece, and then you stick it in a dark corner of your garage and drape a sheet over it because in the back of your mind you know it's going to be more work than you think or maybe you just can't remember what that "great" thing you thought of when you bought it. Well here is the fabulous find that I had to have!
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An antique settee that was not that attractive in a worn out blue upholstery and drab wood stain
In the my store, I always try to have a Dining Room Set available in the middle of the floor and one at home ready to refurbish right? Well, after the French Country Set sold and then a few weeks later, the harvest table, I realized maybe that was a unrealistic goal to have for the store. First let me explain that these dining room sets sit underneath a glorious antique crystal chandelier, my pride and joy! I scored it for really cheap on EBay and it traveled from Pennsylvania to California and then to Illinois and is still just as perfect as it was in its younger years! So, I got to thinking last week, what can I put under the chandelier but would look great in from of the faux fireplace which is nearby. "Light bulb". I remembered that antique settee in the garage! So now what to do with it? Of course I would paint the legs, but I am not a "professional" when it comes to upholstery. Yes, I have done my share of seat bottoms of course, but nothing this big. |
So I decide to jump in head first and go from there like I always do! I painted the legs ASCP Paris Gray and then white washed that with Old White which I diluted to a watery mix. I distressed the whole piece and used a mix of clear and dark wax to give it a dirty aged look. Kind of funny, isn't that what I started with?
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| Tapping the Old White paint to give it a weathered look |
Next was the upholstery. I like using duck canvas drop clothes for a lot of my chairs. For $21 you can get large one and it goes a long way. But, drop cloth is kind of stiff and frays and for this settee I wanted a softer material, so I opted for a material that actually resembles vintage grain sack material called Osnaburg. I learned this trick from my favorite blogger Miss Mustard Seed! For $17.65 I bought 5 yards. I soon found out that was a little to much, but decided to use the rest for throw pillows. I got to work, and after 4 hours and a lot of pulling, cutting and stapling, I finished my very first big upholstery project!
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| The color is Patriotic from Martha Stewart acrylic paints |
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| My hand made grain sack stencil, very handy! |
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After adding the final touch of the antique nail head trim, the grain sack settee is done and ready for the store floor!
I love the perfectly imperfect variations in the blue stripes, just the way real grain sack look. |
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| I think I may have to do more with this nail head trim, kinda loving it:) |
