"A Fresh Coat of Paint'

I don't know how many times I have heard the statement that with a fresh coat of paint everything looks "fresh" and "new." Be it HGTV or any other home decorating show, magazine etc.. a fresh coat of paint makes what is  "old" look "new" in a jiffy.  Forget about scrubbing  your old greasy kitchen cabinets....just use a fresh coat of paint.....Since we live in a society where growing old is an absolute no no a fresh coat  of paint provides for a quick resolution to a  complex problem....I must add I became a victim to this myself with a wooden mirror I bought for 8 bucks. Now feeling trigger happy after spray painting the small green chair I wanted "color." After all in decorating magazines all you see is painted furniture....So I got ready with cans of colors from the basement and decided to let it all hang out....

After painting it multiple times (I opted for aubergine) I realized that it looked like a sad hollywood star whose  plastic surgery had gone terribly wrong.

Check it out and you know what I mean: http://radaronline.com/photos/the-20-most-shocking-celebrity-plastic-surgery-transformations/photo/528124/

Now,  if you have something that is very very damaged,  plywood or just plain ugly a coat of paint can only make it look better but if your acquisition is solid beautiful wood put the  paint can, brush etc to the side and be willing to work....Just remember that all this countries' old wooden furniture is being  painted beyond recognition as we speak and it is your responsibility to step up to the plate...

Anyway, after realizing my failure I took out the stripper, steel wool, wood conditioner, stain, varnish and got to square one taking the whole mirror  apart and starting  from scratch:

Now, I must admit the the idea of throwing the whole mirror  away cruised my mind as I scrubbed and rubbed....( I could always buy a new one...). Nevertheless, deep inside I knew following that path would scar me for life....After all the scrubbing, conditioning and staining things started looking up:

Finally I put the whole mirror back together and here you go:

Hugh....feel much better....
I feel I was true to this nice mirror with an old "USA" sticker on the back. I want to give it a chance to grow old gracefully...

Have you ever been to Morocco?

Ok. You have never been to Morocco, Rumania, Egypt, Turkey etc....because you don't have the money, time,  disposition etc. IT IS JUST NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. But there is a solution to this complex problem...Just go to the local thrift or goodwill store (aka. Sacks...Tiffany's etc)  and see what country comes your way....

I have been to Morocco today and picked up this beautiful belt from the seventies....You could  find similar ones for sale on the web for 40 bucks sometime someplace ..

but I only had a buck in my pocket at that particular moment.. As a simple, crafty  well travelled polyglot I knew the drill from the get go....

So since it was solid brass I figured "brasso" would come in handy. Let us not forget cotton swabs and as usual no pain no gain...

The leather was white...so no work there... This is that glorious buckle after some TLC.....

I shall continue on the remaining 14 brass medals with the help of "Brasso"...

And so I did. It was not easy but then neither might a visit to Morocco or any exotic land be (Imagine the consequences of drinking the water....) Nevertheless, I finished the job by cleaning the leather with "leather honey." I don't know how many times I will wear it but then again how many times will I go to Morocco....for a dollar that is...... Here is the final product:

Perennials vs. anuals

You basically have two choices when it comes to plants:

1: Do the garden thing and plant some blooming flowers you bought at the local garden shop at the beginning of Spring. Here are the pros and cons of going the "annual" path depending on what tickles your fancy...

Pros: They are already in bloom and you don't have to do a thing.
You receive instant gratification, don't have to do a thing and can impress your friends quickly. No work on your part for the rest of Spring/Summer. No cutting trimming etc. so more time on the telly. Just the fact that your friends might spot you at the local  garden shop might make you look like a true gardener.....If your friends  are completely ignorant than you will look like you have a "green thumb." This will in turn increase your self-esteem and competitive nature.  Increase in extinct motivation.

Cons: You can hardly put them in vases, so no flower bouquets here (unless you buy them of course).  Next year you will spend more money at the same garden shop and also the year after. You will never be able to enjoy a "true" English garden.... With perennials you don't need to visit the garden shop over and over again. True gardeners will know the drill,  take you serious and be astonished by the fact that you are not a  round the mill "dush bag."A true gardener might be your next boss and smell your "perennial thumb"...Increase in intrinsic motivation and maybe a bit of "respect" with other "green thumbs's".

If you want to use your beautiful perennials in after a frozen Winter, remember you can make plants out of plants.   Take lavender for example. Select a stem close to the ground and scrape it with the blade of a knife:

Next you burry the stem in the ground with plenty of dirt and place a stone on top of it. Water it regularly and check if roots have formed:

If enough roots have formed you can cut the stem below the root, replant in a new space and create a new lavender plant. It is that easy. Nevertheless, more work than going to the local nursery and no instant gratification from your friends...So think about it...
If you want your perennials to bloom more than once and therefore to have fresh flowers in your house throughout late Spring/Summer you will have to cut spent flowers regularly with a pair of scissors.  So you will have to do something...This works with roses and many other perennials...

Decide which path you want to take,  how much work you are willing to put into it and wether fresh flowers really bring you joy...

Footstool

We bought this beauty at a local flea market  sale a year ago. Great bones but as you can see very traditional....buttons,  waves, yellow feet  etc...Way too round for the 21st century....The lady, who happened to be a designer,  threw in some great fabric with the purchase. Here is the before picture:

So now Dale went to work with the great material we received as a freebie.   First the legs had to be restrained for changing them would defeat the purpose after all she will have to get along and compliment the Danish girl and the Danish girl is anything but traditional.....

So far....

Old Lady...

So I bought this old lady at the local thrift store for 6 bucks. She was wobbly smeared with old paint and scratched up... She was handcrafted and as old as granny. Jefferson must have sat in it. I believe early twenties...

I decided to paint it this time.... First I used beige spray paint/primer I had leftover from another project. When refurbishing all should have a purpose. Here she is:

Next I opted for the high gloss avocado spray paint left over from the genie lamp....After all we are going green... Here she is after I applied some stain and varnish to the seat...

Next you will see where I will put her...

Danish design

Here is a beauty I found at the local goodwill store. Danish design from the seventies. With stripper,  oak stain, varnish,  brand new seat covers and loads of elbow grease I believed she could look quite pretty...

For a while I was inclined to paint it a bright color  but opted against it as you will see below...

Here is what she looked like after I removed the old varnish with stripper,  filled in a crack with wood filler, sanded it down, applied the oak stain and varnish. In this case I also applied wood conditioner before staining to aid the staining process:

So here she is now....

So here you go again before and after.....

Just in case you are wondering about a little sewing bench in the background it is just a little bench that opens nicely and provides storage. However, its material was a bit outdated....So I decided to reupholster that too...Here you go...

Chairs and more chairs....

A couple of weeks ago I decided that chairs were not only practical but if refurbished properly a good way to beautify any small space....

Chair number one:

I found this beauty a a local thrift store. Although her heritage dates back to the seventies I felt she had good bones and potential. Last but not least she seemed quite comfortable and with a new seat she could look quite glamourous too...

So I used stripper (which I found in garage) to remove the old stain and varnish.  After hours of scrapping off a gooey mess with a toothbrush I was left with this:

Next I used sand paper and steel wool to remove the old dried out gooey mess and sand down a dent on the back. After doing  a bit of research and opted for a nice dark oak stain. After 3 sessions of stain application and spray polyurethane (the whole process took a couple of days for you have to let the stain dry) this is what I have so far...

and here she is....

Mid century genie bottle table lamp

This beauty was found at the local goodwill. As you see she was bright yellow and somewhat scratched.  She is solid metal and one of a kind...

After much research on color I opted for a high gloss avocado green spray paint with primer. 

Found  a nice lampshade at Ross and here she is.... 

It has been a long time...

It has been three years since I have posted anything in this blog for I have been to busy working. Nevertheless, recently I have been doing a bit of refurbishing and some eager friends are curious about what exactly have I  been up to. So here you go....

Okay so it all started three months ago when I found this beauty at a local second hand shop.  Kind of ugly but with a glass top. Not all solid wood I might add 

but  lets not forget all the possible storage....

So this is what I did:

First I sanded it down and painted it a boring beige......

So I sanded it again and reflected.... 

I opted for metallic silver spray paint instead...

After spay painting it silver I antiqued it with water based furniture stain. A brush on/rubbing combination. Finally I painted the  door inserts aubergine. 

And voila!!! The solid wooden top just needed some TLC.