Furniture Project: Painting a Family Antique

This beautiful antique quarter-sawn oak dresser was a gift from my parents on my 18th birthday.

It has been in my home for almost 40 years, and all of my kids have used it at one time or another. Lately it has been in my grandkids' room, so now this dresser has served 3 generations. 

I grew up in an era when you didn't paint good quality antiques and my parents spent quite a bit of change for this dresser. But, from time to time, I thought how cute it would look painted white.

But I wouldn't do it. I couldn't. It just wouldn't be right.

In fact, when Husband asked me if I had any problem painting this dresser, I told him I had been thinking about painting it for 20 years, so what did he think?

What finally made it okay for me? I realized that styles come and go and, even though I won't ever sell this particular dresser, if I were to sell it, it would probably sell faster and for more money at this particular time, if it were painted.

And if I'm not ever going to sell it, what difference does it make if I lower the value or raise it, as long as I like the result?

The white paint and some grey brushed on the edges really highlight the details of this pretty piece.

This dresser has such beautiful lines, and they stand out so much more now.

 
 Since some of the original knobs were broken, and they didn't fit as well after painting,

 I decided to order new ones from Hobby Lobby.
Small fleur-de-lis for the two little jewelry drawers,

 and larger ones that say "Paris" for the bigger drawers.
Love them!

This will look great in my new guest room, can't wait to get that room finished!

Sneak Peak: New Guest Room

My life has really been crazy this summer, but I am trying to finish one project: turning my sewing room into a beautiful guest room.

Here's a quick sneak peak:

Gray walls and white furniture, that's what I am starting with!

Summer Wedding

 
I agreed to help a friend decorate for her son's wedding last week.
I owed her for all the help she gave me for both of my sons' weddings!

The bride's colors were purple and turquoise (popular colors lately), but once she had chosen the colors and her dress, she really didn't care much about anything else. She just wanted to be married!

So, her soon-to-be mother-in-law and I set about collecting things (and storing them in my living room) that we thought might make her happy. (Pinterest was an invaluable help!)


When the day came in July, it turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year! I think it hit 112!

But we were setting up by the river and had a slight breeze, so we carried on!

We set up a photo display of wedding pictures of the bride and groom's parents and grandparents,


and used lots of photos of the young couple as well.

The cake was made by the groom's grandmother, who had also made the cake for his parents'.
We waited until the ceremony was over to set it out, worried about the heat.

We worried about the dessert buffet, as well,

but the beautiful desserts made by family and friends held up pretty well!

The table settings were hydrangeas and candles, no friend of the heat,

so we tried to wait as long as possible before setting them out. We only lost one candle!

But my favorite thing from this wedding was the huge turquoise frame that we hung in a tree for photo ops! It turned out to be great fun!

The Story of A Very Large Frame

Husband owns a flooring company, called Heritage Floors, and he often goes to people's homes to measure and show them flooring options. Occasionally he comes home with some very interesting things people either give him or trade for some of their work.

Well, a couple of weeks ago he came home with this very large frame. 

It measures about 5' x 3' and was originally a mirror.

At the time, I was working on a wedding for a friend, so I painted it turquoise and we hung it in a tree at the reception for some photo ops. 

At the moment, it sits in my living room, awaiting its fate. I like the color, but I can't decide if I should make it a very, very big chalkboard, see how much money it would cost to turn it back into a mirror,  or leave it open and string it with wire to use as a sign or photo display.

Any suggestions?

Refreshing the Entry

With the new look in the living room, the entry needed a fresh look as well.

This buffet has to stay, there is just no where else for it to go.

I also left the ledge above because I love it.

My daughter brought me this picture from London last year and I finally framed it.

It's London during the time of Shakespeare.

The posts are temporary, looking for a new home.


 I added some fresh springy things, like birdhouses and little pots.