The Elizabeth

I bought this piece months ago and to be honest, neither Mike nor I were super eager to start it.

Just a little uninspired, I guess?

Anyway, it sat in our garage until last week when God put it on my heart to finish her up and use the proceeds to help a friend.  My friend is in the early stages of international adoption and I can only imagine how daunting the financial side of that can feel.

So anyway, here's the Elizabeth before:

(She had been the man's childhood dresser; well loved, super sturdy/heavy, and in need of a little repair)

And after:

We kept with our standard white and oil-rubbed bronze look, sealing the top to protect the surface.

I don't have more pictures because Grayson is doing his best impression of a baby monkey this morning and is literally hanging on me.

Anyway, can't wait to sell this pretty lady and send a check to our sweet friends!

$130

{Frenchie}

We were gifted this great table and I immediately fell in love with her lines and legs.

She was already in excellent condition.

Mike just sanded her down and painted her a crisp white:

Isn't she pretty?

The rug is kinda bugging me in this picture, since it seems to be taking away from her curves.

Here's a better close-up:

I'm not really big into distressing furniture, but I bet this would be pretty sanded up a bit, too.

For now, she'll live in our showroom living room until she sells!

SOLD

{Miss Charity: The Chair)

My mom volunteers at a thrift store once a month and a few weeks ago, this pretty chair came through the door.

My mom is wonderful and immediately thought of me.

Here she was before:

And after removing the striped fabric, this was underneath:

Hard to tell in this picture, but this particular layer was secured with staples AND carpet tacks.  SO much fun to remove.  Ugh!

And... This fabric was underneath the red!

Guess what?

There was even another layer under this but by that point, my hands were numb so the bottom two layers (one being the original) got to stay.

At this point, I was over it.

The hubby came home from a Bible study at this point and told me to leave it.  He said he'd finish it all later.

Are you ready to see it all done, compliments of Mr. Amazing?

Hello, pretty chair!

He painted her white and recovered her seat.

Eep.  She's so gorgeous!

This one isn't for sale.

She looks so pretty in our front room.

Love it!

{Miss Sticker: The Dresser}

I'm quickly compiling a whole new list of personal pet peeves (outside of just hating the sound of styrofoam and people not using their blinkers).  My new list is all about furniture.  

One: Clean your house before taking a picture of something you're about to list on Craigslist.

Two: Don't let your children put stickers on furniture!!

This piece had lots of stickers.  Maddie sat and peeled but ultimately, Mike sanded all the Lisa Frank and Garfield nonsense right off.

And look at her now!

 Totally restored!

The hardware is so sweet and dainty, and we were happy to refinish it.

And there she is, in the ever-changing "staging area" of our home.  Ha!

She's for sale and will hopefully sell soon!

SOLD

{Maxwell: The Dresser}

This might count as the worst "before" picture in the history of before pictures.

My husband is a machine and seriously, I can't get out there fast enough to take a decent picture before he attacks it.

But basically, it's a solid wood piece that had been dinged and yellowed and neglected.

We were going to paint it white until I remembered some red paint that we'd bought but never used...

And...

Hello, Maxwell!

Isn't he handsome?

He's also very difficult to photograph.  Imagine fire engine red and that's Max.

He's got the most awesome, chunky legs.

I love researching these pieces that pass through our doors.  This particular one was made by Lexington.  I imagine that someday I'll be on some trivia show and a category called "American Furniture Companies" will come up.  And I.  Will.  Rock.  

:)

Anyway, he's up for sale (despite the fact that he goes SO well in Grayson's room.  Someone stop me.  This house will be wall to wall furniture pretty soon!).

SOLD

{Miss Antique}

I have been on the hunt for a dresser like this for quite a while.  Once in a while, they'll pop up on Craigslist, but they're usually too pricey.

Then last week, I found this little lady:

Being that she'd been used for years as a stand for the owner's fish tank (ugh!), there was definitely some damage.  But, it wasn't anything that Mike couldn't fix and the damage meant a lower price for us.  Score!

Here she is now:

I'm seriously in love with the hardware and sweet curvy details.

I'm so much in love that I made a permanent place for her in our family room.  Ha!

I mean, hello.

Doesn't she look perfect right there?!

 But... I really am trying to sell her.  Really.

It's just that Craigslist has suddenly crashed and I'm wondering if it means that I should keep her...  :)

{The Duchess}

We've got some royalty in our home and her name is Duchess.

She's regal and grand and full of storage.

Here's how she started:

Aside from really dingy hardware, she didn't need too much work.

The pulls got cleaned and sprayed and her body was restored.

And, here she is now...

Gorgeous, right?!

To be honest, Mike isn't sure about the gold.  He was pulling for oil-rubbed bronze, but I thought (and Rachel had my back!) that gold would be a fun change.

Grayson would like to say hello.  :)

She's in our living room (the front room) and holds all of my office supplies and in-stock kits from the store.

There is some really pretty detail work on her, too.  She definitely lives up to her Duchess title.  

But, my favorite part?  She has three hidden drawers.

Mike painted them with chalkboard paint...

And I can label them, change them, keep them current!

 So there you have it.  She took Donald Draper's place and I must say, she holds a TON more than he did.  

And for that reason, she's not for sale.  Yet.  If you know me, you know I change out the furniture in this house just about weekly.  So, you just never know.  :)

SOLD

Linked up at House of Hepworths, Embracing Change, Somewhat Simple, Miss Mustard Seed