Breathing life back into Grandma's Hoosier Cabinet

Well it's Friday and I realize I'm a bit late this week with my weekly updates, sorry,  but in my defence, it's hot, the kids and I are still getting used to getting up at the crack of dawn, and to be honest I've been so busy in the workshop that I really haven't had a moment to spare to write.  So, this morning I am making myself sit down and update you all on the happenings at the shop. Here we go!

   One of the things I love the most about what I do is the look of excitement from my clients when they see their piece transformed.  It's almost like a child face on Christmas morning!  Whether it's a gorgeous French Provincial dresser that just needs a paint job, or a rigidity old piece that needs to be completely redone, it's all the same.  This week we finished up on a very big, and what I mean by big is A LOT of work,  refurbishment.  A very sweet lady came to me a while back and ask me if we could help her in making her grandmother's antique Hoosier Cabinet look better.  It was sitting in a barn for years and she wanted to have it on display once again.  After seeing the photos via email, it didn't look bad, so I said sure we can do that.  Please note that I agreed BEFORE seeing the cabinet in person.  The night this dear lady and her resilient husband, and I say resilient because when I asked them what they would like done to the piece, he said BURN IT.  I guess he doesn't watch much HGTV with all the re purposing and design shows out now, haha!  I will admit, as we we're pulling this dirty, rusty, old thing of the truck, I had my doubts as to just what could be done.

This is what we started with.  

The inside and out were completely full of years of dirt, wasp nest, old drawer paper and a big hole in the top cabinet door.  Because I married a good man, he took on the majority of this job.  He started by blowing out the entire piece with a leave blower.  He had to take it completely apart in order to get the paint off the hardware and flour sifter. Since this piece had several coats of paint on it, we were sure one of them had to be lead.  To be safe, he took all the loose paint off outside while wearing a mask.  Our kids frequent our workshop barefoot a lot, so we always take caution as to what is on the floor. 

As you can see from the before shots, the bread box was completely rusted out to where it was being held together by a wire in the back. My first thought was to rebuild the aluminum bin with wood.  But after researching online, my husband found a site that actually makes replicas of old Hoosier Cabinet parts from hardware to flour sifters and bread boxes.  I do not recall the site, but when we received the new bread box new "Seller" metal tag, we were very impressed. He also sprayed the inner accessories with Rustoleum's Anodized Bronze to make it stand out more. 

After a lot of scrubbing, patching, painting and waxing, this Antique Hoosier Cabinet looks fresh and new again!

A brand new bread box competes the transformation!

All original hardware was removed, soaked in a vinegar/ammonia solution and the wire brushed to remove years of paint and grime. 

And on to project #2. 

 I found this desk on a Facebook swap group and just had to have it!  It is not old, but built like it. Unlike most of today's furniture, this one is of solid wood with gorgeous ornate filigree and dove tail drawers. Did it need to be refinished and refurbished?  Well that depends on the person using it.  It was in great condition, but the oak stain was a little out dated.

One of the things I found truly stunning was the inlay design on top.  I couldn't see painting over it, and I really wanted to give the milk paint "staining" technique a try for a while now.  When deciding on the color of the milk paint color, I took into consideration the style of the desk and who may use it and for what.  I didn't want white as it may leave to many markings with pens and such and black what to dramatic I thought.  So I decided a exquisite new color from the Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint line called Artissimo.  If you read my blog you might have seen this shade before on a  dresser I did.  To use milk paint as a stain, you simply add 3 part water to 1 part milk paint powder instead of the 1 to 1 ratio usually used for the milk paint.

After applying the stain, I noticed a pretty green tint along the outer edge.  This gave me the inspiration to use a green acrylic on the filigree carvings beneath the Artissimo milk paint that I mixed using a 1 to 1 ration for standard milk paint.

And tada a fabulous new look for this large solid desk!
I love how the chair also has matching filigree on the feet and in the center of the back.  For the upholstery, I wanted to use something a little more feminine, since the color wasn't so much.  I chose a  floral print with deep blues and a little green to coordinate with the desk.

No desk is complete with out an old L.C. Smith Typewriter!

In this photo, you can see the green tint that gave me the inspiration of adding green to the filigree, LOVE it!

I left the original hardware the same because it looked nice against the deep blues and greens of the paints and also added to the richness of the desk.

Slight distressing around the edges and corners give a sense of authentic wear and tear.

 And here are a few more projects I had fun with this week....

A cute vintage tray table I had fun with using an image from The Graphics Fairy decoupaged on top and

then used my newest toy the Silhouette cutting machine for the word NEST and the definition of that.  The vinyl letters were

put on before the paint and then peeled off afterward to reveal the word and wood beneath.

And then more fun with my new toy!

These old windows were just taken out of our house and of course I'm not letting them go to waste, so I used the Silhouette to create these. This was also a great project to do with my teenage daughters and youngest daughter who helped pick out the color and what saying they like for each one!

Chloe's (14 years old)  chose the window paint, vinyl color and saying!

Our 4 year Gretchen loves Cinderella and pink!

One of my favorite Psalm's ...this one was made and donated  for  our church's picnic this weekend.

And so another week ends and although I couldn't share everything we've been up to, I hope you enjoyed these few!  Thank you for stopping by to see what we are up to, have a blessed weekend.

Not letting damaged veneer bring you down...

It's a Wednesday morning and all is way to quiet around here.  The kids have been in school for 3 days now.  I thought I would be jumping for joy when I could write and work in peace, but I know this feeling all to well.  That achy heart us parents get for the first few weeks of school starting. Again, as I walked to my car after dropping my youngest off at Preschool today, I felt it. I think it may be harder for us than the kids!  But I take it day by day and try to stay busy... like that's hard for me to do, haha!

Onto saving furniture shall we?!  Last week, I finished off a few projects I couldn't wait to bring to Knott So Shabby.  Today I'm sharing a few with you, starting with this fabulous antique vanity.  For some reason I didn't take a before picture of this one, probably because I was to excited to start. This gem was found at a yard sale believe it or not.  Well it wasn't actually IN the sale, but when I asked the owner if he had anything else in that big garage he opened the door for me and I could see just a peek at one of those corner carvings.  My heart was all a pitter patter at this point.  Digging deeper, I was thrilled to see the mirror all in one piece, but also got a look at the veneer damage on the side. My husband looked at me with those do NOT even think about it eyes, but I couldn't let this one go, I knew it could be saved and it was!  We hauled it home, took off the damaged veneer on the one side and sanded it smooth.  You now can not tell which side was damaged.  

If you're a refurbisher, refinisher, up-cycler, or junker, you know as soon as you see something you love, you start to think about what it CAN be or what color you think it needs to be. Well for me, I immediately thought of Miss Mustard Seed's newest color  Dried Lavender.  So this piece sat and sat in our garage awaiting the day that new color would be released.  And after a week of getting my shipment, I ripped open that bag and was giddy about what I saw next!  Not only was it a gorgeous color, it was perfect for this piece as I felt it would be. We did refinished the top which turned out way beyond our expectations.  The wood grain and color are just stunning on this one. I'm thinking it is either a cherry wood or mahogany.  

For the ornate filigree carvings and drawer faces, I did several different techniques until I
achieved the look I wanted. These included white washing, dry brushing and using clear and dark waxes to get this look.

Refinished top, love that wood grain and color!

And then there was project #2 with even more veneer damage...

An old school friend texted me a picture of her bedroom suite she wanted to sell.  Of course I jumped at it because well, just look at the picture below, it's absolutely beautiful.  But if you were to look a little closer, you would see again that old nasty veneer coming off the sides of the wardrobe and along the bottom of the head and foot boards.

Did I let this stop me? Of course not!  My dear sweet husband again helped me haul this solid set down 3, yes 3 flights of stairs, giving me the third degree down each one. I just bat my eyes and say it will look great! I thought refurbishing this set would be done licketly split, but not hardly.  After my husband glued and then added trim to the bottom of the wardrobe, I started peeling the damaged veneer off the headboard and foot board. Lucky for us or me at least, hehe, there wasn't any damage to the dresser and the mirror was in mint condition as well!  

After hours with a chisel, hammer, heat gun and wet towels,
I was finally able to free this set of veneer.

It was coming along nicely until I noticed the middle area of the headboard was coming off as well.  After thinking of a way to get wood glue beneath there somehow, I finally decided to just take off all the veneer and see what happens.

And this is what I saw beneath.  Like a coloring book, I simply painted in the lines with my custom mix of Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint™ in Paris Gray, Duck Egg and Old White. 

Looking better already!

We did refinish the top of the dresser as well as the wood decorative moldings on the bed and dresser.  This gave the set just the right vintage appeal I was looking for.  With a little distressing along with clear and dark wax, the set now looks like it belongs in a romantic cottage in the woods or a little princesses room:)

LOVE the new look and have I mentioned how much I LOVE my
exposed brick wall in the shop? 

Cant get enough of marrying wood grain and paint these days!    I think they compliment each other beautifully.

Distressed just enough...

Not only is this wardrobe now looking cleaner and brighter, it also houses loads
of storage including 5 drawers and a hanging rack for clothes.

And there you have it folks!  Saving gorgeous pieces of good quality furniture from the inevitable dumpster or burn pile.  If you come across a piece in your travels and it has veneer flaking off, think twice before before waking away, it could be a treasure in disguise!

Thank you for taking the time to read what's happening at our home and Knott So Shabby this week!

Re-purposing with style and flair!

 Goodness, this summer has gone by like a blink of an eye hasn't it?!  Not sure if it's just me, but it seems like the kids just got out for the summer and now they will ALL be heading back this Friday.  Yep, that's right all five of ours will be gone daily from 8 to 3 leaving me at home, oh what ever will I do!  It will be the first time since before our five year old was born that I didn't have anyone home during the day.  Now both our five and four year old will going to kindergarten and preschool.

Before,  I would stay home like June Cleaver or Lucy Ricardo and be a good little housewife busy with the daily chores like cooking, cleaning, laundry and donating my spare time at the school.  But between all of those chores, I also prided myself in decorating and updating our homes just the way we liked it.  I guess you should probably know that we have a long history of buying a home and then fixing it up until it's just about perfect, when we would sell it and move on to the next home.  This has been done 6 or 7 times in the last 18 years.  I know it sounds crazy, but I'm starting to understand that we may have done this because we crave the art of restyling, re purposing and refurbishing, hence starting a business that does just those things! I'm hoping by finally doing these things on a daily basis, we will stay put!  Our new/old home does need its updates and they are coming along, but we are getting our fix with the business and shop now.
So without further ado, this is what we've been up to this week....

Remember this cute little sewing cabinet from last week?  Well I'm just tickled pink to show you what has become of this quaint gem!

Cute but not functioning or exciting...

At first glance you would think I simply just painted the cabinet, which by the way is Miss Mustard Seed's newest color Eulalie's Sky, isn't it a pretty shade?  It was inspired by Miss Mustard Seed's famous painting of a cow names Eulalie and behind her shows a pretty sky blue.

Cute as a button now in MMSMP Eulalie's Sky, couldn't think of a more fitting color for this one.

Miss Mustard Seed's Eulalie's Sky Painting

You can read more about it here.

When I first came about this piece, I noticed the big open space where the sewing machine once was stored.  I also noticed that the door had a cute little compartment to hold your threads and such and that when the top was open you had this nice size table top.  This gave me the idea of re purposing this into some kind of server but how?

And this is what I came up with. I thought and thought of  how I could find some kind of ice bucket to fit where the sewing machine was. After looking online and at Home Depot, I finally found the perfect fit with a simple oval metal bucket found at no other than Ace Hardware.  

I did have to remove the trim inside holding the machine in place, otherwise the door wouldn't close.  I simply drilled 2 small holes on each side and screwed short screws to hold the ice bucket and also allows you to be able to take the bucket out and empty it.

The inside in painted Coral shade, a mix of MMSMP Tricycle and Mustard Seed Yellow.
One of the many reasons I love the paint, it's very versatile.

Not only is this paint very versatile, it is also unpredictable which I find exciting!  Because there wasn't much sheen to begin with, I simply sanded it a bit and thought it was good to go.  Rarely do I add bonding agent to milk paint because I personally love the chippy look, but on this one surprised me with lots of chipping. So much on the door, I did add bonding agent and redid that part.

The "Ice Bucket" was a bright blue when I bought it, so I sprayed it with Rustoleum's Iodized Lead spray paint, it's one of my favorite new looks for hardware too.

And then there is this Antique Hoosier Table and Chairs that I finally gave in and redid my redo. You heard me right, redo my redo!

Painted in Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint ™ Graphite,  this table set now
looks cute, simple and classy,

The set sat and sat at the shop for months. Received lots of compliments about how unique it was, but no takers, so it had to be REdone. I think it was the orange that scared them, haha!  And what are the chances that the day I started painting it, a girl who took my milk paint class that night wanted to buy it because she is a huge 

U of I fan! She was so upset she missed it by just a few hours, guess it wasn't meant for her, but now listen to this. The morning I put this redo, now in a charcoal gray, back on the shop's floor, it sold within the day! 

This Hoosier table set was originally orange so I first I traced my utensils  and dinnerware on vinyl place them on top, painted the blue over the vinyl and the peeled the vinyl off to reveal this really cool table set for four! See my post all about this project here.

Now onto more fun fun fun!  This king size french provincial headboard was given to me by a customer because she thought I could do something fun and unique to it. Well I did and it is!  My daughter Macey actually tackled the painting on this one. See, even 13 year old can use milk paint!  She used Miss Mustard Seed's Yellow on the base coat followed by Shutter Gray. We did use hemp oil to promote the chippy.   The Shutter Gray chipped here and there leaving the piece looking loved and worn. I hand painted Mr. and Mrs. on the panels for fun. I'm not sure why, but the whole time Macey was painting the headboard, I kept thinking of Ricky and Lucy Ricardo and how they would have something like this only on 2 separate headboards!

I just fell in love with whole look as soon as it came together.  Apparently so did  a young couple who bought it after only being in the shop for an hour!

 And to end the week, I attended my very first vendor show right here in Columbia Illinois.  It was such a nice day and for a great cause. The event was called Summer Beauties Fashion Show and Showcase for Downtown Columbia's Retailers.  I enjoyed talking to passer by about what we do and even did a milk paint demo for everyone.

Of course my day wouldn't be complete without my girls by my side as they always are! A big thank you to my sweet husband Kevin for loading, unloading and helping me set up, to Jennifer for also helping set up and watching the shop for me. And to my girls Chloe and Macey for your hard work this summer both helping at the shop and watching your little brother and sister.  I'm very blessed and fortunate for you all!

And thank you for visiting me today.  I hope you too have a blessed week full of new treasures!

Linking to...

Dukes & Duchesses

Artsy Chicks Rule

Yesterday on Tuesday

Cupcakes and Crinoline

Setting for Four

Knick of Time

New week, New color, New Tresures

It's Monday morning and after last week's excitement over the new colors in Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint line, we took a breather for the weekend and enjoyed a gorgeous RV trip to Mark Twain Lake in Missouri with our younger ones.  Sometimes a day or two of being away from it all is all one needs.  Although we were completely physically exhausted from running around a water park, back and forth trips to the playground and a few dips in the pool, I'm feeling refreshed and full of new ideas for a new week!

They are so sweet!  Big brother grab little sis for a photo opportunity in front of our home on wheels.

 Ok, back to work huh!  I want to start with this unique chest  I did for a client a few weeks ago.  We had snatched this one up on an online auction.  That was my first and last online auction.  You take a chance at what you're bidding on and sometimes pictures dont' show the damage within.  As beautiful as this piece is now, it didn't come that way.  Kevin needed to completely reinforce all of the joints and rebuild the bottoms of most of the drawers.  It's just one of those things that sometime needs to be done on these old gems.

THE BEFORE....

What's not to love on this beauty?  Those legs, that adorable cabinet and all original
glass knobs and pulls!

My client found this on my "pick it before I paint it page" on my website and wanted it painted in MMSMP Kitchen Scale.  Kitchen Scale is such a pretty color of blueish teal.  She wanted heavy distressing but not the chippy kind of distressing.  In order to achieve this, I first did a light sanding with the sanding sponge followed by a wipe down of a de-greaser called TSP (trisodium phosphate). I could have just added the bonding agent and been done, but I find it harder to achieve this natural distress when I do that, especially at the level she desired.

AND AFTER.....

Not sure what I love more the color, the glass knobs or the heavy distressing exposing a that lovely old wood finish.

Now onto well smaller yet just as unique things, this vintage side table.  I really wanted to use Miss Mustard Seed's new product called White Wax.  This is the coolest!  Not only do you get the effect of a white wash, you are actually waxing all in one.  And the smell is nice as well. I know that sounds weird, but Homestead Paints in Canada is the founder and manufacturer of Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint and they add scented oils such as lavender to their products for an extra bonus, love it! They are also a wonderful company to work with.  

This table is painted in Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint ™ Aubusson and Old White with a fun stencil on top done by our talented teenager Chloe.
We now call her the "stencil queen" around here!
The legs have been white waxed with Miss Mustard Seed's NEW white wax, but the top hasn't......yet

Tiny as it may be, this product does wonders!

A close look at just what it can do to a dark blue.  Simply beautiful!

I couldn't decide if I wanted to do the same white wash technique on the top of the table as I did the bottom.  But, after about  a day on the shop's floor it also got the white wash treatment.

What a difference an easy wipe down of the white wax can make.

 Next up,  a fun little vintage vanity or desk our other daughter Macey and I took on last week. I let my teenager decide on the color for this one. She wanted to play with a few of the milk paint colors, so we chose 2 shades of green to mix together; Kitchen Scale and Lucketts.  To be honest I couldn't tell you the exact ratio, but I believe it was close to 3 parts Kitchen Scale to 2 parts Lucketts.  After the first coat, we got a wild hair and decided to add a touch of Flow Blue to the mix just for kicks!  It gave it a really cool blue-teal-green 3D look!

Love the multi blue green paint job on this one!

Let's move onto what all the craze was about last week shall we?! When the mailman delivered my shipment of milk paints, I was so excited to paint the pieces I had been hoarding away in my garage.  I knew exactly what new color had to go on what piece.  This week I want to share 1 of the 3 new fabulous colors,  Artissimo. This color is a stunning midnight blue.  

As I was mixing it up, I could hardly contain my excitement of what it was going to look like once it dried and was sealed.  For the lucky piece that was chosen for Artissimo, this amazing antique dresser.  At first glance of this stunning piece, I knew it was screaming Artissimo!

THE BEFORE ARTISSIMO....

Not sure if this dresser is in fact an Empire dresser, but I'm still loving those curved legs!

And here is a great shot of one of those beautiful legs after just one coat of Artissimo.  The whole piece only took 2 coats.  I chose not to use the bonding agent, because I knew there wasn't a whole lot of varnish left on this old guy. Instead, I chose to simply wipe it down with TSP and it was good to go.  

Like all the other  beautiful colors of Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint,  Artissimo is no exception.

AND THE AFTER ARTISSIMO....

 The top of this dresser was in pretty rough shape, so I chose strip it down and refinish it in a rich dark walnut.  I was also digging the neat wood grain on the drawer fronts, so instead of painting over it, I simply painted a fun flourish using Artissimo. To seal the milk paint AND to restore the wood on those drawer fronts, I used the magic of the Hemp Oil.

This is one of those pieces that pulled at my heart strings knowing it was going to be sold soon.
I know it's a tough job, but someone has to it!

Not only have I been busy painting wonderful pieces like this, but my husband has been busy at his workbench building these awesome signs, frames and chalk boards using an one of those old dresser I talked about earlier.  This ones had amazing patina wood, but was beyond repair.  I took a while, but he was able to take it apart piece by piece and reuse the lumber to build these unique wall treasures. 

Thank you dear!

The wood on these signs just needed a drink of  Miss Mustard Seed's Hemp Oil to revitalize it.

I think this is one of my favorite reclaimed lumber projects.
What better way to show off your timeless photos?!

And that's all folks!  From a taste of the new colors and products to fantastic results, last week was packed full of bringing new life to forgotten treasures!

Up Next Week....

My wheels are turning on how to re purpose this old sewing cabinet.  Stop in again next week to see how it turned out! Thanks for visiting, have a blessed week everyone!

Linking to these fabulous blogs!

Dukes & Duchesses

Artsy Chicks Rule

Yesterday on Tuesday

Cupcakes and Crinoline

Setting for Four