A Colorful Dresser for the Nursery

I recently refinished a dresser for my sweet friend as she continues to prepare her nursery.

She chose to use a dresser that had been in her husband’s room when he was a child.

This is how it looked when it came to me from being in storage. It had a few nicks and scratches but was otherwise in excellent condition. I did a very minor repair to one of the drawer slides and gave it a light sanding. It was made by Link Taylor so it is a good quality piece.

I then gave everything a good couple of coats of paint in the chosen color! It was very bright before adding the glaze!

The glaze softens it so much. Let’s take a closer look.

You can see in the photo above that the original hardware left an impression that would not come out without deep sanding. After looking for hardware that would cover that, we finally decided to use the original hardware.

I decided to use my favorite Wenol metal polish and a lot of elbow grease to clean it up.

Unbelievable difference. No paint, just clean!

In the photo above, it is next to the chair that I covered for her.

Everything is coming together nicely. We have another little hurdle that we have not gotten over yet. There is a round top dormer window that has us stumped. She would like to have a window treatment that will close completely to make the room more suitable for sleep even in the daytime!

This photo was taken just before 8 in the evening and there is still a lot of light in this room! We have searched Pinterest to no avail so far! If you have a solution or suggestion, PLEASE leave a comment and let us know!

I hope that you are having a great summer!

I will be linking to Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style. I’m also linking to Tips, Tidbits, and Tutorials at Stone Gable. Click over for lots of wonderful inspiration!

Adding More Color to the Guest Room

I am still tweaking our guest room. I am not a neutral person and even though the Braemore Wonderland fabric has lots of color, I needed a little more color in this room. The first photo shows the redo before I added more color.

I decided to paint the table between the twin beds a pretty coral.

A little color goes a long way! I like that so much better than the white table. There is also a table in the sitting area.

I gave that table a coat of coral too.

Much better! I also made a “slip cover” of blue silk for the lamp shade. (On a side note, the cabbage patch doll in the antique wicker stroller is an original before they were mass produced. It is more than 30 years old!) My next little project was making a colorful window treatment.

I used more of the Braemore Wonderland and added a coordinating coral trellis print for the lining, and a green trellis print for the covered button accents and edged it entirely with blue cording.

I’m not quite calling this room finished yet. I would still like to add a little something around the mirrors above the beds and I will be adding some type of art to one of the walls in this room.

Meanwhile, I am helping prepare for my niece’s wedding in 2 weeks, pulling together some final details.

I’ll be linking to Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style. Click on the link for lots of inspiration!

New Life for Another Old Chair

A couple of weeks ago I ran across a pair of chairs at an antique store in Charleston and purchased them to use as extra dining seating at our summer cottage. They were in original condition and are oak. I don’t usually care for oak but for some reason these really appealed to me. They are very sturdy and quite comfortable. I gave them a good wipe down with Murphy’s oil soap and checked the webbing which was still in good shape.

Let’s take a closer look at the back.

Because it takes less than a yard of fabric to cover two chair seats, I splurged for an embroidered linen and covered the seats.

Compared to most projects that I do, this one was very quick, easy, and affordable! I am very pleased with how they turned out!

I’ll be sharing with Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch and with Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style.

The DC Cherry Blossoms

This past week my daughter and I made a whirlwind trip to Washington, DC to see the cherry blossoms. We were lucky to catch them at their peak, and they did not disappoint.

We began our day with a brief visit to the capitol to see the new statue of Rosa Parks.

 

If any American deserves a statue, Rosa Parks certainly does!

We love our capitol building! I couldn’t help but snap a couple of other photos.

The statuary is great and we are always amazed at the beauty of the capitol rotunda.

We rented bicycles and road down to the tidal basin to view the cherry blossoms.

You can see in the photo above, that it was very crowded. We had to walk our bikes part of the time.

There I am in the photo above on my rental bike.

The weather was spectacular and a great day for outdoor painting!

We thoroughly enjoyed our quick visit. If you would like more details with better pictures you can visit my daughter’s blog by clicking here.

Have a great week!

I’ll be linking to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Updating the Living Room Furniture

Otherwise known as: Welcome to the 21st Century!!

For a while now, I have been in the process of updating our formal living room.  The update is long overdue but has not been at the top of my priority list due to more important things.

Take a look at the  living room furniture a la 1988…..

I understand that floral chintz is supposed to be timeless in traditional interiors, but I had reached my limit.  I keep things the same for a very long time then suddenly reach my breaking point.  Such was the case with this furniture.  Let’s take a look without the tea table in the way.

Since it is rarely used, the sofa is still in very good shape. I chose a linen blend in white this time. It’s a BIG change!

Quite a difference!

I chose to use the same fabric for the chairs since I haven’t yet chosen a new color scheme. The new color/décor will be based on my new yet to be chosen dining room wallpaper.

The drapes will definitely be going and the rug is yet to be decided too.

I am slowly making baby steps of progress. You can read about how I updated the lamp tables here and you can read about the thrifted lamps here.

I hope that you are having a productive week. The weather has been wonderful and I have gotten some gardening tasks marked off my list!

I’ll be linking to Wow us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style and Hookin Up with House of Hepworths. I’m also linking to Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings the Heart of Your Home.