Furniture projects in progress…

Hi! Its pretty crazy around here, its finally the last week of school here and we have a new puppy {you can see her on our facebook page}…on top of that the stomach flu is making our way through our house. Such fun!

So there you have my excuse for why I am posting the “in progress” rather then any completed projects today. Terry and I have been very busy bees scouting out the local thrift stores of late. Our hope is to hold an “11 Magnolia Lane Vintage Market” at the end of the summer, so I have accumulated some amazing pieces I am in the process of transforming. Here is the current state of my dining {aka my “painting”} room…

First off, I scooped up this mirror at a thrift store in our little town. I practically snatched it out of Terry’s hands {sorry girl!} but it had such amazing potential I just had to have it. I am not going to share the bargain price I got it for, since it will be for sale shortly, but it was a very good deal.

However, painting it has taken years off my life–I learned the hard way that the detailed nooks and crannies will be beautiful when all painted and waxed up, but painting each of them will make you more than a bit crazy.

Janet showed me this fabulous french gilding wax she has. It goes on, as she says, like liquid make-up over top of the light wax. I bought it in the silver finish as I wanted to glam up the mirror a little. I am still perfecting the final look but I think I like the silver sheen over the old white, do you?

And drumroll….this is by far my favorite find. Even my husband has asked if we really have to get rid of it. I feel in LOVE with this china cabinet because of its french country styling. Here is the before…

I could just see it it would be stunning with a coat of Paris Grey Chalk Paint. It has a very Restoration Baby & Child vibe to me, so if you know anyone in the DC area who might want it for a baby nursery email me asap, I am dying to paint the inside pale pink! If not, I think it will just be all gray, even inside, as it has glass shelves and would be lovely in a dining room, a kitchen or even a bedroom…. if I can stand to part with it! And, OH–wait for it– when I got it home I realized it was made by HENREDON, truly a quality heirloom in the making. She still needs to be waxed up, the inside painted and some detail work done, but here she is “in progress”.

Last but not least, I also have purchased a new dining room set. I was tired of the style of my old table which quickly sold on Craig’s List, and that sale financed the ‘new to us’ set. Terry and I are both completely obsessed with caned furniture, and Christy is as always on the same page with us–you saw her chairs here–so I was thrilled to find a table I loved with six caned chairs on Craig’s List. We are actually using the new chairs in our kitchen since now I have six chairs instead of four, a long overdue upgrade since we are a family of five! The new table will go in our dining room  with our current slipcovered chairs so it worked out perfectly.

I haven’t started painting it yet but my plan is to use Annie Sloan Pure White, similar to Christy’s dining room set makeover. First off is to recover the chairs, the “vintage” green velvet {seen above} needed to go.

So, I will be back with the “afters” hopefully sooner rather then later. Thanks to Janet for her sage chalk paint advice, it really is such an easy product to work with. And, let me know if anyone wants first dibs on the cabinet or the mirror {11magnolialane@gmail.com}, and, check back they will be for sale soon.

Thanks for stopping by!