Furniture |

Spring Lucketts Recap

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Amy

This post was written yesterday before news of Oklahoma came in, our thoughts, hearts and prayers go out to all who were impacted by the storms yesterday.

I know it’s not really that much fun to read about a place you probably won’t ever visit, so for those of you who live far from the Virginia, I going to try to keep this post from being too much of a tourist t-shirt regarding Terry’s and my adventures at Lucketts this weekend. However, its such an experience to go, I’d be remiss not to share the highlights of the day.

Terry and I (and her 7 week old son!} donned our rain gear and headed out early Sunday morning to what has become the very well-known Lucketts Spring Sale. Due to obligations we couldn’t attend on Saturday, but figured even if it was picked over on the second day it would still be fun to see what was there. We got there just as the gates opened, well worth it as it got much more crowded toward noon.

There were a few things that struck me about the day. I didn’t buy very much. The sale is simply overwhelming–and of course that is meant in the very best way. Terry and I also decided later it was because we are conditioned to look for things as “befores” and since we enjoy the whole making over process, we aren’t likely to buy a piece once it has become an “after”. That isn’t too say there wasn’t so much temptation, the sale was filled with amazing, beautiful “afters” and enough inspiration to keep us busy with blog projects for a very long time!

My major takeaway from our outing is that it was amazing to see what we try to capture here on our blog come to fruition. We don’t believe you have to spend a lot of money, or buy something that is already perfect. If you love it, or see how you can make it so you will love it, it can be a perfect part of your home. There were so many unique, beautiful and inspirational objects for sale at Lucketts–objects that were reclaimed, remade, discovered and so “not” perfect but still so perfectly beautiful.

As DIY/Home bloggers and for those of you who read these types of blogs regularly things like chalk paint, chevron, patina, wire baskets, burlap, grain sacks, boxwood, iron chandeliers, galvanized metal, mason jars, milk crates, chippy paint, chalkboards {etc!} are part of our decor world. Lucketts is like all those wonderful things mixed together…jammed in tents and stacked up, beautiful items all jumbled together, one pretty and interesting thing after another. It struck me that the sale is representative of a significant shift in the thinking of how we love our homes, by filling them with things we can repurpose, personalize, make meaningful, and enjoy.

It was just a fantastic day. We were thrilled to have a few minutes to chat {we discussed those observations above} with Marian, AKA, Miss Mustard Seed and she is everything you have heard about, read about or envision. She is just as down to earth, friendly and sweet as you can imagine. Yes, her popular booth was pretty picked over by Sunday but it was still a treat to meet her in person.

So all in all, it was a fantastic day at Lucketts. I do hope many of you have the opportunity to go and I loved seeing the success that so many of the vendors are experiencing as this “vintage” industry grows and thrives.

And, in case you were wondering, these weren’t for sale but they do help you carry your heavy items to your car…and isn’t that just fabulous? They thought of everything.

XO,

Amy

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Posted in Home Inspiration, Shopping, Spring | Tagged antiques, Furniture, lucketts, repurpose, sale, vintage | Leave a comment

Thrift Store Bench Gets a Paint Makeover

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Christy

I’m taking a detour from my series on my daughter’s room because I’ve been out of town the past two weeks and haven’t had a chance to do much in there. Plus, after I was away last week while she was at home, there’s NO part of her room that looks tidy enough to photograph! Next week!

I snagged a bench with Queen Anne legs at Goodwill several months ago, thinking it would look great at the foot of our bed, or even in the master sitting room under the window. As often happens with my projects, the bench had to sit in the garage for a few months before I got to it! Here’s what I started with and boy, was the fabric a special kind of 80′s hideous!

Sometimes it’s really hard for me to visualize what a piece of furniture (or even a room) will look like with a new coat of paint, but I had already painted a table and chair set from my parents’ house and I loved the way the look changed completely when I covered the dark cherry stain with flat white paint.

I started by removing the cushion, lightly sanding the wood, and then wiping it clean. Note the high-tech workspace (aka the living room), complete with old beach towels as dropcloths and canned foods serving as pedestals. Oh, and the basket full of clean laundry in the background. I need to learn to decorate my home with clean (and dirty) laundry baskets as they are ALWAYS around!

I used Behr’s Interior Flat Paint in their stock white: Ultra Pure White. I prefer a matte finish on furniture; not sure why. I applied it with a brush and it took two coats. And I can’t remember if I primed first or not this time, but I’m assuming that I didn’t.

I opted not to sand the legs to distress the piece this time, as we’re moving again next summer and I’ve found that the movers do a perfectly good job of distressing all my furniture for me!

I had some leftover canvas dropcloth from an earlier project and I do like the neutrality of the canvas, so I staple-gunned that onto the cushion. Yes, I removed the 80′s fabric first! At some point, I’d like to do a faux-grain sack/ feed sack treatment on the top of the bench, but I decided to wait since I couldn’t decide exactly what I wanted to put on it.

The bench is currently at the foot of our bed. I dressed it up with a couple of throw pillows and a soft blanket. The basket underneath is one that I did using Amy’s tutorial that you can read HERE.

That was one of the cheapest, easiest, and fastest projects I’ve done in a long time!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Posted in Before and After, DIY | Tagged bench, canvas, dropcloth, Furniture, paint, white | 2 Comments

Drab Desk turns into a Fab Find

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Terry

By Terry

I must confess, I am a bargain hunter. I hate to pay full price for anything, especially costly furniture. Since buying our home three years ago, I have slowly begun collecting pieces of furniture and decorating it inch by inch to turn my house into my dream home. I find inspiration everywhere and thank god for all of the decorating websites and blogs that have helped me along with my decorating journey.

My latest project was the result of my oldest son beginning kindergarten – I wanted to add a desk to his existing bedroom furniture. As a self-proclaimed bargain shopper, I, of course, tackled my usual go-to sites: Craiglist and eBay. Unfortunately, nothing caught my eye. I didn’t want to settle on something that I didn’t love and really wanted to find the perfect desk so I began randomly searching the web and stumbled upon a hidden thrifty secret called “Public Surplus”.

This site has everything from cars to old school chalk boards and luckily for me, a desk. I found, bid on, and won a desk with a wooden chair from our local school system for a whooping $3.28!
I wanted the chair and desk to match so I decided to sand them both down and paint them blue. Adding in the cost of the quart of paint to the total sale still kept me under $15 for the pair. A true bargain, and a great addition to my son’s bedroom.
Here is my drab desk turned fab find for under $15.00.

: Original Chair

: Original Desk