Fireplace Charm

I was lucky that the antique mantle already had a back to it. Someone else had added it to use in their home. What I did was add a tin ceiling panel painted black to the inside to add depth and interest. I placed the fireplace up on to a faux brick mat, picked up at a home center. Next I wanted to keep the chippy look of the paint, but still need to be able to dust the thing. So, I painted on three coats of watered down Elmer's white glue. Dry between coatings, and sand lightly. Over that I painted on three coats of varnish, sanded lightly between coats. What all this does is seals the original paint in place, makes the surface smooth and protects the exposed wood.

After that I touched up the carved pieces of decoration with my magic gold marker and sealed that to with a light coating of varnish. Once this was complete I added a firescreen, and a pair of old cast iron lamp bases made into legs to hold all in place. A remote control appliance switch from the hardware store, and a cozy fireplace with no mess is now installed.

A View From The Side

Finding old pieces of furniture. What a rush it can be. You see a piece in the trash ( the dresser here) or a small buffet ( bought for $25) and your heart skips a beat.
You zero in on the object, and find the sides are a mess. The piece is usable, but the veneer is peeling or spliton the sides. What a shame.

There is hope, a trip to the home improvement store, skip down the trim isle. pick up some wonderful moldings, a few pieces of ceiling tin etc,. The choices are endless.

Cut, glue, nail, miter etc.etc.etc. Look what you have. A wonderful piece that looks as good from the side as it does from the front.

Fixing The Mirror Issue

Well, as you all know I broke the mirror to the dressing table, while taking it out of my car. It could have been fixed, but the three panel mirror would not have worked in the room anyway, sometimes accidents happen for a reason.

The original mirror had three panels of glass and slid down into the back of the dressing table. So to get around this issue, I cut two pieces of antique trim ( picked up at a previous yard sale and hide away till needed)and glued them over the opening that the mirror slid into.

I had found a couple of years ago a large antique full length looking glass and had stored that away too. Perfect, I painted it to match the dresser and hung on the wall it blends perfectly.

As you can see the full size bed is massive, so I needed a piece that was going to balance the room. I think this did the job perfectly.

Painting Old Furniture

You all know I really hate painting a piece of furniture, (if I do not have to.) I would rather sand and refinish the piece to it's orginal beauty. However, sometimes there is no chioce, for example, a piece may need paint( that hides a multiple of sins) or if you need it to match an existing piece of furniture that you already own.

Here is a good tip, after sanding the piece, mainly to remove laquer and wet rings.( old pieces sand quikly) Then spray paint with clear or the color paint you want to use. This seals the wood, you end up using cheap spray from say" Walmart". Save the last coat for your finish paint. It will go on easier, and you will not waste any as the old wood soaks up anything you apply to it. Happy painting.

PS. Sometimes you find a piece of furniture and you break mirrors or the piece comes broken. Do not worry. You can always 'Riggg' a piece. No one needs to know, and it will work out in the end...

The Executive's Desk

The piano bench has been transformed into a miniature desk. Sanding this piece took forever, but once down to bare wood, the mahogany
stain went on very nicely. My famous gold paint marker and the desk was
ready to use. What I like about projects like these are that they have
many uses. A bench, a side table, add some foam and fabric and you have
an ottoman.
Pieces like these are fun to work with, the only decision is deciding
what you want it to be. And also remember the best part, they are
reusable threw out the home.

The
old mirror frame, well the sides went to the barn for a future project,
and the top got a fresh coat of gold spray paint first, then a misting
of black spray paint. I used a gloss spray paint. The mirror frame will
sit on a shelf waiting for the next project that it may be used for.
Stay tuned you never know what project I will be working on next.

Gold Anyone ?

One of my favorite items to have on hand are, a gold paint pen, a
bottle of antique gold paint, a can of gold spray paint, and a small
amount of gold leaf paper.

When you have gold on hand, then just about anything can come to life.

For
example, the Grandfather clock was missing something, it looked too top
heavy and a little out of place. But, what exactly was it? Well. it
needed a little bit of antique gold applied to the wooden do-dad
decoration at the base, and now the clock looks sturdy.

The antique secretary
desk was missing some of it's wooden decorations, a swipe of a gold
paint marker in the right places, and no one would never know. That is en-less they had to point it out, and if they did. They need a life! The same trick worked on an old sewing machine cabinet.

Gold leaf made an old radio cabinet come to life. Now, I am not saying go crazy with gold paints. But, a little adds warmth to any home.