Farmhouse Hutch

I bought this classic Ethan Allen hutch from my friend Tamara. She is the owner of Encore, the sweetest boutique ever. New and vintage clothing, furniture and home decor... a little bit of everything. Tamara wears sparkly eye liner. every. day. Cause she's cool like that.

When I went to pick up my treasure, Tamara told me somewhat sheepishly, she had just noticed that it had AMBER glass. As if amber glass might cause me to unbuy it. I don't know if you have ever had glass replaced, but it's cheap. Like, this might have cost $10 to replace kind of cheap. But really. Who ever thought that amber glass was a good idea? Did they not have eyes in 1973?

Turns out, I did not need to replace the glass. When I was working on my family room last week, I watched every single episode of Fixer Upper with Chip and Joanna Gaines, maybe more than once. Maybe four times. As a result, I want to move to Waco, TX and make them be my friends. It could happen. At the very least, I want a farmhouse. Or maybe I could just try to make this hutch Gaines-worthy. That may be more realistic. Darn it.

I started by removing the jail bars on the hutch top, just pried them out with a hammer and wood filled the holes. I hate those things. Jail bars and amber glass are the braces and acne of furniture. 

I used my upholstery stapler to replace the amber glass with chicken wire, which, come to find out, really hurts when it pokes you in the eye! I would not recommend trying to prove me wrong. 

It is painted with Amy Howard One Step Paint in a mix of Bauhaus Buff and Linen and the top is stained with Minwax dark walnut. The cup pulls are from Hobby Lobby, because I live there.

If you are in the Kansas City area, this is available at Restoration Emporium. If you happen to live in Waco, TX ~ I might deliver.

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Painting The Wood Paneling....Finally!

Hey! How ya doing?

It has been, like, 700,000 years since I last blogged, so I may be a little rusty ~ but let's give her a whirl!

We have lived in our current home for almost 2 years. And, I don't like it. I don't like the low ceilings and the walls. There are a LOT of walls. And jail bars. This house was built in 1969, long before the term "open concept" meant anything. The family room has dark paneled walls and is dungeon like with our very comfortable, dark leather furniture. So, here's the thing. I CAN FIX THIS!! I just hadn't.

My husband (bless his heart) does not enjoy the process of fixing things. The mess and chaos is just not his thing. This may be some kind of psychiatric issue for me, but, I could care less. Like, I don't even notice it. I could step over cords and furniture and mess like it wasn't even there. As long as there is an end in sight, a reason for the disarray, I am happy to adjust. Him, not so much.

I do my projects when he is not home. Thankfully (is that even okay to say?), he travels a bit for work so I have some free time. I knew a few months ago that he would be gone this week for a family wedding and that I would not be going. Kids going back to school, two vacations already this summer yada, yada yah~just couldn't do it. So I have been secretly shopping and pinning and collecting in preparation for this week.

When we moved into this house, the main wall in the family room looked like this. My only picture, I hated it so much.

A friend of mine had removed some of her built in shelving and asked if I wanted it.

I altered it and added it to the giant rock wall and made a mantle from cheap wood and I liked it a little more, but the dark walls...ugggh.

So when Lloyd left this time, operation "Get Your Crap Together Chrystal" began. I didn't tell him anything about it and had hoped to surprise him when he came home but, he found out because he Facebook stalks me. I should have known.

First to go was the jail bars between the kitchen and family room. Better already. Then, filling and sanding at least a million knot holes in the wood. Then paint. Thank you Tiny Baby Jesus for paint. For reals, I love paint. And Jesus. Not in that order.

Here is where I started

This is the end of day one. See the mess? I am glad you do. I do not see it :-)

After a few days of this "disorganization" let's call it, it's done. Now, why on earth did I wait so long?  

The wall color is a Lowe's color called Stone Mason Gray mixed in Benjamin Moore Advance paint. The trim is White Cloud also mixed in BM Advance. A quick word about this paint, I love it!! The guys at the BM store I use know that I paint furniture and that I don't use their paint to do it. They are forever trying to get me to use their Advance line on my furniture, its a waterborne alkyd paint which means it acts like an oil base paint but cleans up with water. It is amazing. Self leveling and HARD! I have already made a trip back to the store to thank them!!

Thanks for all of the kind words on my Shabbiest Chick facebook page! Facebook seems to be easier for me than blogging regularly but I am going to try to do better! I promise, I am!! 

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If Chippy is Happy, Then I am Beside Myself.

Those of you who are familiar with my blog or my Facebook page, know that I love and want to marry Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. For real. I puffy heart love chalk paint.

But for the love of Pete! Would you look at this? (Yep, I made that picture extra giant because I LOVE it)

I would officially like to invite Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint to live in my house forever. Or at least until I run out of furniture at Restoration Emporium and in a panic, run home to pick up whatever furniture I have painted in my house. Let's be honest, the lifespan of furniture in my home is sometimes not very long at all!

I found this piece in an antique shop and passed it up the first time, it was just on the edge of being too much money, so I went home empty handed. I went back two days later because I couldn't stop thinking about it. It has fabulous details and such texture on the wood, that I knew it was special.

I know you are jealous that your dining room isn't as pretty as mine and that you don't have Christmas wrapping paper and moving boxes all around. Let the haters hate :-)

I painted this beauty with MMS Milk Paint in Linen, almost immediately, it started to peel and chip. I have painted a few pieces with milk paint before and never had chippy happen like this. Seriously? I thought it was alive!! There is no way to really control what happens which is a little hard for a control freak like me, so I just walked away. You would have thought I could have unpacked a box or something ... ummm, not so much.

I love the result. It looks so authentic and CHIPTASTIC!! 

It's always good to have another tool in your box for just the right piece.

This is the right piece for Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint.

***UPDATE ~ In what may be the quickest change ever, I have decided to take this to Restoration Emporium for the sale,  February 1-3. I got the flu and didn't have a chance to paint much this month, so, a lucky someone else will get the chance to love this beauty in their home!

Linking up ~ Come play!

Miss Mustard Seed Furniture Feature Friday

Redoux Interiors Link Party

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Hello Again, Florence

Well, it has officially been forever since my last post. First, we moved, what a nightmare. Then, there was football for the boys and broken bones, fantastic. Then basketball... and then, oh yeah, the crazy person who wrote to me after I painted a piano yellow. Seriously, I had a person who wrote a relatively threatening email about the piano in this story. Never saw that coming. Well, whatever and let's all paint pianos just to annoy the mean people.

Since my last post in September (!!!!!) I have been painting tons of furniture, yaay! Here is one of my favorites. Yes, sometimes I paint in my family room in front of the TV. At least this time I managed to grab moving box and put it under the piece! 

This was a super easy and quick transformation. I didn't paint the top or the legs, I love the contrast and   they were in fantastic shape, with a little teak oil they were as good as new. The body I painted with two light coats of ASCP in Florence, when it was dry, I distressed it with 220 grit sandpaper and waxed it with dark wax only. Florence is such an eye peeling color to me that I felt like skipping the clear wax first was a good choice. I kind of puffy heart love this piece! So did the lady that bought it about an hour after I brought it to Restoration Emporium!

So, what have you been up to since September (!!!!!)?

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The Yellow Piano

In April, I received a Facebook message from a young man named Lance. He asked if I would consider painting a piano as a wedding gift for his bride, a gifted pianist. His thought was yellow and chippy, my thought was, yep, a yellow piano!! Count me in!

In the real world, one of the greatest blessings in my life has been the restaurant we own. It is obviously the main source of income for our family, but, it is so much more than that. The relationships that have been formed there have been life changing to me. We are so fortunate to meet many teenagers at a time in their lives when they are still figuring out who they are. Most of them have no idea how amazing they are yet. I know, but they don't. I love watching them grow through high school and college and beyond to marriage and babies. It is truly a thrill.

Lance was one of those kids. In high school, he drove 45 minutes each way to work with us, this was a purposeful young man. He met his (now) wife in high school and was just as intentional with her. They dated in high school and then long distance through college. She has his heart.

When Lance brought the piano to my house, his father explained that this was Lance's grandmother's piano. He said that she would be honored and proud to be a part of this gift. 

The theme of the wedding was vintage and the colors were yellow and brown. Thus, the yellow piano. The fabric on the seat is the fabric from Lance's wedding tie. Seriously, my boys need to take lessons from Lance!

I painted it using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Arles and chipped it with a putty knife for a truly vintage look. I LOVE, LOVE it! 

The sparkly crystal knobs came from Hobby Lobby...

And her gift to him? She played...beautifully... on the chippy, yellow piano that used to be his Grandmother's.

Linking to these amazing parties;

Beneath My Heart

Funky Junk Interiors SNS

Miss Mustard Seed Furniture Feature Friday

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If I Could Marry Furniture....

I just love it when a plan comes together!

It doesn't happen all of the time, sometimes its a good surprise and others, ummm, not so much. This buffet turned out almost exactly like I had imagined it in my head and, I think I want to marry it.

I found this buffet and a matching china cabinet on Craigslist. The seller had recently moved and the movers broke the matching table and chairs, she was "over it" she said. I am fine with over it! I love over it! I am actually trying to devise a way to weasel my way into cahoots with a moving company...you break some, I buy the rest...hmmm. Working on it. I'll let you know...

I would like to start out by giving credit where credit is due. This is good furniture. I could have painted it a putrid green with orange accents and it would still be good furniture. I did not choose putrid green, I hope that's ok. 

I started by stripping the top with Citristrip. It is the only stripper that I use. I have never been disappointed with the results and it smells good. It has also never burned the skin off of my arms like some other products I have tried. I actually look forward to stripping :-) Seriously, it's the simple things that make me happy!

I then restained the top with Minwax Dark Walnut stain and coated it with 3 coats of varnish. I am a little new to the varnish game, but, its quick! It goes on easily without streaking and dries super fast. I kind of love it! Thank you Benjamin Moore guy for the recommendation! You rock!

I painted the base with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite.It is not one of the colors I use often, but for this piece, it was all I could imagine. After distressing, I went straight to dark wax, skipping clear altogether.

 I. Love. It. As in, puffy heart love it.

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Big News and Furniture Exchange!

We have some exciting news in our house! Relax Mom, it's not another baby! We are moving! Not moving away, but moving closer to everything that we do. 

Our business and the boy's school are 5 minutes from each other, unfortunately, our house is 35-40 minutes from both of them. Strangely, with fighting children in the car, I do not enjoy this drive very much. Sometimes, I drive this loop three times a day. Over three hours a day in the car! So, we are moving. I am excited! So much shopping to do....

My husband has been less than enthusiastic about my shopping plans. The style I love has changed in the past year or so, my furniture has not. So I have come up with a brilliant solution! BRILLIANT!! Are you ready?

I call it the "Furniture Exchange Program". It costs zero dollars. At least in my head.  I explained it to my husband like this. We will sell the the things that either don't fit right or work well with the new house and exchange them for money, which we will then exchange for new things. Probably not actually "new" things, but new to us. See? no "new" money. Free... right? Exactly. 

The only restriction is that upholstered furniture has to be new. I have a healthy fear of bugs, which I am pretty sure live in all pre-loved, upholstered furniture. Anything else, bring on the old and broken!

I thought I might show a few pictures of our current house, there won't be any room makeovers here, but you  will be able to see style changes in our next house. I may, in the next few days show some of my favorite projects in this house. There are bunches of them, pre-blog of course :-) 

I am not sure why this makes me nervous but here goes...

I will miss this closet! I built the cabinets from scratch!

The bathroom is one of the projects on my list of faves! I framed the mirrors, they were just the plain, builders mirrors.

 This is one of the boy's rooms. I built the furniture using modified plans from Ana White's website.

This is what I may miss the most! It's soooo peaceful!

I have a thousand plans for the new house and of course, absolutely no pictures! Soon though. Let the packing begin!

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