Grey distressed armoire

When I redo furniture its always cool and happy because I'm doing mostly things that I have a vision of how they are going to turn out. Then I sell them and all is good.

However, when someone asks me to redo a bit of their furniture in a certain style - I panic. What if they don't like it? What if after spending hours (sometime days) I have to do it all over - i'll end up upsetting someone (and believe it or not I really don't like doing that!)

This next project had me filled with dread because it had to be quite specific!

This was how it started out - actually a really really nice armoire. But just wouldn't 'go' with what my customer had in mind for her new look bedroom.

She purchased this bed / headboard

 Modern shape / lines etc - and a completely different finish to what was above.







My brief therefore was to make the armoire 'go' with the bed, with a grey / black finish maybe.

Originally I was going to strip it down, and attempt to bleach the wood and then wash it in a grey /white / brown - but tbh that idea scared the heck out of me. I thought it foolish ultimately to try and replacte this finish because no matter which way you roll the dice, the armoire is traditional and the bed is modern.

 So this one went like this, sand,  a coat of high adhesion Kilz latex primer, 2 coats of latex cabinet in a custom mixed mid grey, then a wash with a dark brown, a wash with a black, some picking out of detailing with some white acrylic on the door / drawer edges, a touch of distressing in the door panels and finally 2 coats of verathane.

I was also requested to line the backs and the insides of the drawers and my customer picked out this lovely paper by blue mountain at Lowes.

Beautiful hey - until I got to the store and you realise it isn't grey at all in the background - it's actually a metallic gold / silver colour :( And seeing as my nearest Lowes that stocks half decent paper is in either Calgary or Edmonton (both of which are a minimum of a 2hr drive away one way,) I had to take the chance and get it.

Luckily it actually worked and my customer loves it :) Here it is lacquered and ready to go

In other news I managed to ditch my new vehicle on Monday, totally my fault - took a corner too quick and ended up stationary, wedged in 2 feet of snow. Clever me hey!

Thank heavens for neighbours / family and tractors!!!!

That unfortunatley lost me a whole honking day of work trying to get towed out and so on, but as with the previous entry and the snow day - it meant I got to finish the armoire above!

I also decided to make a headboard for my bed., apart from I didn't actually make one if that makes sense. I'm one of those "have to do it right now this minute" type of people. So when you see something or have an idea, I scramble around my supplies looking for the necessary ingredients to make it.

So the heaboard called for barn wood, 2x4's and 4x4's. I have a shed load of barnwood. But unfortunately slightly lacking in the 2x and 4x department. So with me still reeling from the ditch incident  - I was rooting around and came across a barnwood mirror that I made a ways back. 

You can't really use it as a mirror because the wood was pretty warped which in turn twists the glass ever so slightly - making it look like on of the fun house mirrors you get at the fairs. So it was stuck in the basement.

I added a shelf and supports and mounted it jut above the bad :) I suppose it'll do for now. But mark my words I WILL go to town and make the headboard (though I'll have to repair the wall that I screwed (leaving a few holes in the process because I couldn't be bothered to get the stud finder out <whistles> ))

I've also gone off the grey colour in the bedroom (been there all of about a year!!!) - I think my husband will legitimately kill me if I paint it again though lol

Well thats what we have right now, I do have another dresser makeover (ordered from the same customer at the same time from the same set of furniture as the armoire - but a different finish)in progress.

This will be the next entry and I'll try and get it in before Xmas.

  

Nautical dresser done!

This is just a real quickie - though I will share what I've been doing in my 'full time job" too :)

Finally managed to get the dresser finished

The customer actually came up with the idea of writing "Let your dreams set sail" on the drawer which is really cool :) Apologies for the reflection in the mirror - isn't my kitchen table just the epitome of organisation!!!!

Cool! Well as I've said many times before - I'm a house painter / mural person / cabinet maker overy (overy - that sounds like ovary hmmmmm) person. So currently I'm working on a full interior reno. But I did want to share some kitchen cabinets

Heres the before

No in bad condition, but the colour was old and dated - as were the handles in the centre of them. When I do this kind of work I always give the customer options - ie fastest and cheapest way is to paint them, way to get the best possible finish is to totally strip everything back, and restain / lacquer, more cost effective but still able to see wood grain through is to use a tinted poly. However the finish isn't as perfect as stripping etc and the colours are somewhat limited. Customer went for option 3

Heres how they turned out after 5 coats of stain and 2 coats of poly finish

What a difference stripping off wallpaper and refinishing cabinets makes (I have to wait to paint the kitchen as new counters are going in etc!

Last share post for you all is my Christmas mantel - just cos it's the season :)

Loved the ice skate idea that I saw on a few searches on Google - so blatantly copied it :) Also made the fireplace mantel myself (when I say myself my amazing hubby cut the wood for me!!!!) out of 2x8's - beaten to death with a hammer etc and then stained!!!!!

While I'm at it - here's another Xmas display atop of something else I made

Super easy factory cart coffee table taken from plans here  I LOVE Ana Whites site for making the coolest things for next to nothing!!! Always a bonus in my books!!!!

Hope you enjoyed todays pic fest :)

I went on a short holibob!

Yup siree I did! My oldest daughter in the UK gave birth to my first grandson - So I jumped on a plane and went to stay for a while (when I say while I mean week).

I'm not a 'cooey over babies' kind of person but the little fella is pretty darn cute - and so good as well!!!

All my friends wanted tons of updates as to what I got up to over there - but seriously all I was doing was staying with my daughter and her family - so aside from cuddle baby, watching tv and doing some family shopping - that really is it :)

I got back last week to go right back into painting a house interior, which ended up looking fab - it's so nice to see people going away from the greys / browns (which I love by the way) and this one was a relly neat lemony wheat colour! Brightened it up no end. 18 ft vaulted entrance ways certainly have a way of making their mark on your old bones though ;)

Today we have a fabulous winter storm here in central Alberta - so with road warnings left right and centre I had to take a snow day - aside from it wasn't really - because With me also doing furniture (you know - the whole point of the blog!) it means that I get to catch up on some commissions :)

Todays one (which isn't finished yet but I thought I should post piccies cos I've been a bit lapse) was for the same people that bought the very first nautical dresser.

So here's the before (yup I really did take a before!)

It's actually pretty big and I totally was going to keep this, but it fit the bill for what my customer wanted, they also advised on what images they wanted painting onto it too

So here's where we are today

There's still something or other to paint in the little cream drawer above the ship, but my inspiration has ran out for the evening! I also decided not to paint the treasure map across the whole top of the dresser - mainly because if you have furniture with pictures on - it seems a shame to cover them with, well, stuff. So If the sides are left plain at least they can put -um- dresser stuff on it without covering it too much.

Looking at it now I might do a paint effect just to tie in with the map so it isn't so plain on the sides though.

Yup that's what i'll do - but not today, because I'm pooched ;)