My Auction Score!!!

Before I continue with Kris's house, I would like to digress and reveal another furniture project I finished this past fall.

Every month or so, Kris (my bidness partner) and I hit a local auction.

We go to the preview and look at all the stuff,

then meet in a corner and 

(shush)...whisper...(shush)

in great excitement!!!!! 

about how we want to bid on things.

We are always afraid that someone else will see the potential in what we want.

This past autumn, we found this lot.....

All four pieces were being sold as one lot.

I loved EVERYTHING!!!!!

Kris, not so much.

Kris wasn't alone, as 

No one bid against us!!!!

NO ONE!!!!

I thought the painting was da bomb!!!!!

Kris, not so much.....

I didn't care, all I needed her for was her car and her strong back,

for helping me move this #$% stuff.

WELL!!!!

Amy, at Maison Decor agreed with me, and she loved the bed, chair and little table.

I figured I could upholster the chair and sell it in her shop.....

WELL!!!!!

She's already sold it, without me having to do 

nuthin'!!!

A guy bought it for his upholstery class.

Seeeee????

I'm not so crazy Kris, so there.

As for the little table, I asked Amy if she wanted me to clean it up, or repaint the top, as it was in pretty bad chippy condition.

Amy said.....

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!

So, she put it in her shop as it is, then she called me and said she wanted to try it in her living room......

So, she sent me this picture from her phone.....

She asked me what I thought.

I suggested putting a little footstool under it, and add some pillows.....

Sooooooo.....

Amy shopped in her house, and restaged the sofa and sent me this new picture.....

I think it looks

STUPENDOUS!!!

Sooooooo......

Now it's in her house......

SO THERE KRIS!!!!!

Two down, two to go!!!!!

The chest was really beat up.....

The top in particular.

These pieces were painted over gesso, so when the paint chipped, it really left a divot... 

Here's a shot of the chest,

 before I started working on it in my  basement workshop.....

The top was really shot to #$@

Now, this is the piece I fell in love with at the auction.

I just really like the shape of this chest.

Kris felt it was a train wreck and would be a bear to repair.

I was completely unfazed!!!!!

I am intrepid!!!!!

I am 

RE-INVENTOR  WOMAN!!!!

I also didn't realize that part of this was broken, but that comes a little later in my story.....

so keep reading.....

The first thing I did was get my Elmers wood putty to repair the large chips and gouges.

Then I sanded the putty..... 

Added some more and sanded some more, and filled in all the holes.... 

Then I painted it in Paris Grey Chalk Paint.....

And then I wondered why the drawers didn't fit properly any more.....

hummmmmmm......what's wrong, what's wrong?????

Oops!!!

They follow the shape of the chest, and were in the wrong order, what a fabulous piece of furniture!!!!!

Ok, that's better.

So at this point, I'm standing back and admiring how I am bringing new life to this chest, 

(and all the money I'll make selling it.....)

when I noticed that there was a broken piece on the bottom of the left side.

Now let me just say at this juncture...

I had repaired and painted this chest, and not noticed it.

I am blind.

I am blind.

I am blind.

How the hell was I going to get good money on a broken chest?????

I had two options:

Cut off the same piece on the right, or repair the left side......

Before I get to that, though, I kept painting the piece.....

I added Chalk Paint Old White detailing by striping the edges of the drawers and the top of the chest.....

I also painted the inside of the drawers, to make them clean and fresh....

Marion, of Miss Mustard Seed fame, had been writing about Frog tape, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I really liked it, it's sturdier than the blue tape. 

I freehanded the stripe on the top, though....

Then I did a little distressing around the key holes and drawers, letting the blue of the old paint show through....

At this point, it was time to tackle the broken bottom piece.

I got a piece of tracing paper, and traced the unbroken profile on the right side......

Then, I flipped it over and laid it on the broken part, and traced where the break line was.....

Then, I drew just the piece that was to be replaced.....

Then I took it to my good friends at Drape It, my drapery and upholstery workroom, and made asked Joe to cut the piece for me.

The two of us like to play on projects together, so even though he grumbled, he still helped me out.

We used a very expensive piece of scrap pine.....

all two inches of it....

form the trash....

Joe even drilled a hole in the piece for me, 

so I had a pilot hole for the finish nail I used 

(which he also gave me.....)

Then I took my little piece back to my workshop, and glued and nailed it in place.....

Then I added some wood putty to cover the crack where the seam was....

And then I sanded it down smooth....

And painted it.....

And hopped around the basement workshop, hugging my self in glee!!!!!

Then I waxed the damn thing.....

And was thoroughly impressed with 

MOI!!!!!

Now it's for sale in the Boston Design Center at 

Studio 534 

Here are a couple of shots of it in it's temporary home in the showroom....

So, here's a side by side of the before and after....

Can you tell I'm a proud DIY'er????

So, that's my post for today, 

which, if you noticed was late. 

I usually write on Thursday,

 but I am a blogger and a free spirit, and I do what I want, when I want.

I am a wild child.

I am a rebel.

I am full of #$%

on that note....

Latah, Gatah

Partying at:

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Holiday Table Setting

Before I finish up with Kris's dining room, I'd like to talk for a minute about 

OY VEY!! Q&A!! Tuesday!!!!!

I am not going to do it this month......

I may not do it next month.....

or the one after that.....

and so on...

and so on...

etc.

etc.

etc.

Now the reason for this is because...

I don't feel like it!!!!!

I came to the realization that it wasn't fun any more,

I am retired,

I don't gots to do what I don't want!!!!!

I will spontaneously have it every now and then, 

so the folks that are religious followers and readers, will benefit....

(If you really can call that a benefit......)

SO BE WARNED!!!!!

Every now and then, I'll have it.

There will be no warning.

I won't even warn myself!!!! 

WE WILL ALL BE SURPRISED!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, back to my last post on my friend Kris's dining room....

Several years ago, Traditional Home did a table top dining room story on me.

Krissa, my editor buddy at Traditional Home, called me and asked it I would do a table top design for them to shot for the front of the magazine.

She wanted it to be something in warm tones that didn't have any flowers in the center of the table, since that was what most people used for the central embellishment, and she wanted something more interesting.

So, I asked Kris if I could use her house, and Kris

 (bless her little heart,

 having NO IDEA what was involved in a photo shoot, agreed.)

(She couldn't believe it could take hours

 just setting up one shot.)

(She was bored out of her skull.....)

(Poor girl, 

I still have to have her house shot for my book.....)

(Luckily, her husband is an anesthesiologist, so she has access to lots of drugs.....)

(Actually, I'm just kidding.)

(She can't get that many.....)

(OK, OK, I'm lying about the whole drug thing.....)

(Too bad, being a child of the 60's, I could use some....)

(OK, I'm still kidding.......maybe.....)

Traditional Home Magazine

I had to borrow some things for the table to look all glamorous and fabulous and grownup.....

So I hit some of the local antique stores.....

I used antique red coral branches set on wooden stands for the center pieces, along with a cache pot holding a boxwood shrub.

The cache pot came form Regency Antiques in Boston, a really cool shop if you're on Charles Street.....

Charles Street is a mecca for antique stores, so wear comfortable shoes.....

I also found some glass boules I set around the table.

This is when Kris was first exposed to boules, and she got hooked, as evidenced on the table in her living room.....

Remember this shot???

It's from her living room table.....

She is now a prisoner of the boule lust.....

 If you noticed that the chairs are different in the picture above from my previous shots of her room.....

That's because, this was years ago, and we hadn't found chairs yet.

SOOOOOOO.....

I had to bring my own chairs over for the shoot.....

Nothing is as it seems in magazines!!!

Here's the close up of the setting....

Traditional Home Magazine

I used jeweled necklaces for the napkin rings.

The charger, soup cup and saucer was Gianni  Versace's "Medusa, the plate was for Rosenthal by Jean Louis Coquet's "Hemisphere Gold".

Traditional Home Magazine

The champagne flute and wine glass are "Bubbles, the red wine glass is Cristal Saint Louis; "Scarlet" by William Yeoward.

Traditional Home Magazine

The card holders were antiques that I found at Devonia Antiques, also on Charles Street in Boston.

Traditional Home Magazine

I didn't write any of the names on the place cards. 

My script isn't good enough.

I had to get a pinch hitter (writer).

So that's the end of this room.....

You'll just have to stay tuned to see what's next!!!!!

Latah, Gatah

Partying at:

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Stuff to Hang on the Walls

When it came time to adorn the walls of my buddy Kris's dining room.....

She decided that themed wall art was the way to go.

She had gotten such a kick out of all the dogs

 on the walls in her living room, that she figured......

if it was funny there......

it could be funny here!!!!!

Now, I love Kris dearly,

 as is evidenced by all the @#$ needlework I've done for her.

One of the reasons I am so fond of this chickadoodle,

 is because of her absolutely warped sense of humor.

My friend June is just as twisted, but  that's another story.....

anywho.....

back to Kris's dining room.....

She felt an appropriate theme for the artwork in this room would be.......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HEY!!!!

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?????

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soooooooo.......

We covered the walls with oil paintings of.....

cows

sheep

cows

sheep

cows

sheep

etc.

etc.

etc.

etc.

These are some cows.....

Mooooo

These are some sheep.....

Baaaaaaaaa.....

These are some sheep and chickens and stuff.....

(that's a dog, not for dinner.....)

And so on.....

And so on

And so on....

They look really nice grouped together on a wall.....

On a different note.....

I found a better close up shot of the wainscot paneling I designed for the room.

Just in case anyone cares.....

That's it for today.

It's been snowing.

I HATE SNOW!!!!!

I am leaving in the next week or so for Florida for the winter...

YEAH, BABY!!!!!!

I have lots of projects waiting for me down there.

My friend Helene is chomping a the bit for me to get my beehind on the plane, already.

We are going to be working on her family room and pool area.

Lots of stuff to share with the class!!!!!

So, 

Latah, Gatah

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