Discarded Jewel Becomes Tiffany Star (and Paris on the Brain)

I'm obsessed with chairs. Particularly when they're left at the curb. I feel it's my mission in life to save them.

So when I saw this little gem, of course, she had to come home. 

(Why do I make chairs girls? It has to be those curvy legs I think. 

If it was a big fat recliner, then it would definitely be a boy, don't you think?)

My daughter said this chair was sick. Which, in her generation's lingo, is a good thing.

Lots of appeal, that's for sure.

The seat was well upholstered, but it didn't have a trim. I'm not quite into that Restoration Hardware deconstructed look at this point, which is what it reminded me of. Plus the colour of the fabric was somewhat faded and sported some dirt marks.

 Loved the silver and although you can't tell in the picture, it was really, really badly painted. It had been spray painted, but not very well and there were drips all over which had to be sanded down.

I painted the seat (yes, I painted the fabric!) with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Duck Egg. The paint went on amazingly well. It covered perfectly with one coat, but I put two coats on anyway for durability. I then waxed it and buffed it. It looked amazing! 

I hot glued on a silver braid trim on that unfinished edge.

I then painted the frame with ASCP French Linen, but I really was not feeling it. I missed the silver.

I got a little jar of Martha Stewart liquid silver gilding and applied it. I can't believe how far that stuff goes! It's a tiny pot, maybe slightly bigger than a bottle of nail polish and I did the whole chair and still have nearly half the pot left!

I'm thrilled with the results. The silver contrasts beautifully with the Duck Egg and it definitely has a Tiffany appeal to it.

I have to say that I was greatly inspired by Amy's chair at Maison Decor, although her  blue is closer to the true Tiffany blue because it is a custom mixed colour she created.

I'm so amazed at how well the seat turned out with the ASCP! The wax gives it a beautiful sheen.

Sterling darling.

It's so elegant, I'm still debating whether or not I should keep it or sell it!

*****

This Friday, I get to realize one of my biggest dreams. You see that beautiful grand dame on the left side of my blog, Miss Eiffel? Well, I will finally get to meet her in person. Yes, my hubby and I are flying out to Paris for two glorious weeks. Two. Weeks. I'm so thrilled. Tick one off the old bucket list! I am planning on taking a gazillion pictures, I have even bought an extra SD card for the camera. I will definitely post some pictures. À bientôt!!


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Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday 2805 Potpourri Friday no. 35

Modern Classic

I saw her at the thrift store. She didn't stand out much, but I had a vision for her. 

 She had great lines. Great curves.

But she looked tired. She needed a facelift.

Her seat, once a pretty needlepoint, was scratched and ripped.

Here is my vision completed:

She got refreshed with a couple of coats of ASCP French Linen, clear wax and dark wax.

The dark wax really accentuates the lines and the curves.

Her needlepoint seat got recovered with a fresh, modern fabric.

The needlepoint is still there underneath, a nod to her past, perhaps to be rediscovered and recovered in another era, when she needs another facelift.

Everything old is new again.

Don't you wish it was that easy to look young once again?

Linking up to:

http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.ca/2012/07/whats-it-wednesday-35.html

 

Petite table demi-lune de Paris de couleur Versailles

Most of you don't speak French. At least you don't think you do, but I bet you can make out what my title says!

I bought this little demi-lune table at a garage sale. It was wobbly and blah. I forgot to take a before picture, but trust me, it was blah. I used Gorilla glue to stabilize it, then painted it with ASCP Versailles. Such a lovely cottage chic colour, I love it!

I really wanted a graphic on it. Something French. We are going to Paris in a few weeks, so I'm really in a Paris state of mind. I picked this lovely design from The Graphic Fairy and tried to transfer it using the wax paper method.

It failed. Miserably. Everybody else on the blogosphere has used this method successfully, except me it seems. It got all smeared.

I painted over it.

I then tried the CitraSolv method. Found some CitraSolv by miracle at my local grocery store. The @*$*&@ spray nozzle on the bottle broke. Had to use a paper towel to apply. That method too failed miserably. It just made a mess. Gaaaah.

I painted over it.

I then decided to just use the tried and true graphite transfer method and then going over with a Sharpie.  I opted for a different, less detailed graphic. A laurel wreath with the word Paris in the centre. Lovely. I copy the image with the graphite paper, go over it with my Sharpie. Success, it looks lovely!! At that point, I'm really tired, it's late at night, I go to bed.

The next day I look at it. It's totally off centre. Duuuh. For a split second, I think to myself, just leave it, nobody will notice. As if on cue, my husband walks in, looks at it and says "It's off centre." Thanks honey. Captain Obvious. Meh, who am I kidding, I can't live with it.

Soooooo, I sanded it down and, you guessed it, I painted over it.

This time, I redo my transfer being careful to centre it well. And it works. It pays to be persistent and pig-headed. I distress it and seal it with clear and dark waxes. I tell you, the road to beauty is paved with all sorts of obstacles, but I'm finally happy with it:

See? Well centered graphic.

I should really sell this table $500 just to make up for my labour, but it's not fair to charge people for my, hum, shall we say, lack of savoir-faire? I'm learning, folks, I'm learning!


Nicole



I'm linking up to:

http://missmustardseed.com/2012/07/furniture-feature-friday-link-party-favorites-3/


 

Antoinette shelf and some sad news

First off, I'd like to take a moment to mention my blogging friend Suzan's latest post over at Simply Vintageous. In the blogging world, you get to "meet" virtual kindred spirits with whom you connect over similar passions, in this case, refinishing and painting furniture. Suzan had discovered such a friend at http://www.laurenlanedecor.ca/. Tara, the young woman who authored the website and blog, recently died tragically. She was 31. She had left an accounting job to pursue her passion of painting furniture. She had just posted about how excited she was to introduce Miss Mustard Seed's new line of milk paint. Planning for the future. 


Her life might have been short, but she lived it right: plan for the future, but live like there's no tomorrow by pursuing your passion. I did not get a chance to discover Tara or her blog, but learning of her passing is inspiring me to turn things up a notch and just bite into life with even more intensity. May she rest in peace.

********

When I think of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Antoinette colour, I infallibly think of Marie Antoinette. It's such a soft, feminine colour, a beautiful pink, a not in your face kind of pink. It's a Grande Dame colour. Very ladylike, very proper. Fit for a Queen.

I picked up this little shelf for a whole dollar at a garage sale. It's only plastic but it's so very well detailed, it looks like carved wood. 

It was originally gold and had been spray painted brown. The brown had to go. Had to. 

Since it's such a feminine motif, I thought of Antoinette right away. 

The dark wax was very appropriate for this piece and it enhanced the flowery details in the most wonderful way.

Could you see this in a little girl's room, accentuated with pretty "objets"?

Or it could be a sweet "ciel de lit" over a baby girl's crib. Something like this:

That's what a whole dollar can get you these days, folks. You just have to see the potential.

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