you pretty thing...

My mother-in-law gave me the sweetest oval mirror for my birthday a few weeks ago. I just recently got around to refinishing it, and had a deep blue-green in mind for this pretty thing...

(Yes, that's a wooden spool in the mirror's reflection. Ignore it for now!)

I cleaned it up and smoothed out some rough edges before applying a coat of Minwax stain in Ebony. I avoided sanding it to the bone simply because I prefer those little scuff and marks that come with age.

I mixed a few colors from my "oops" paint collection to come up with the final shade of blue-green. It is definitely more teal than it looks in these photos.

I liked the color that I mixed so much that I found a few other small pieces around the house to paint. Beware! Nothing is safe!
And for good measure, an instagrammed version. Duh. Everything is prettier on instagram. You can follow my instagram feed... username laurengiesler.

This pretty thing makes me smile every time I walk in the door! Matt even high-fived me when he saw the finished product. Success!

Lauren

a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

My hubby picked out the perfect window at our favorite little salvage yard several months ago.... and when I was contacted by a local church asking for a donation towards a silent auction for a summer mission trip, I knew that this beauty would be put to extra good use!

I made a similar piece for my sister-in-law for Christmas, except we built the frame, and I knew this window would make the perfect backdrop for a photo display! 

I stained the clothespins in "ebony" stain by Minwax, and I love the weathered look that so wonderfully compliments that original paint on the window frame. 


I hope it proves successful for this local youth ministry's fundraiser! 


Once I pick up a few more windows like this, I will be adding them to my shop. Be on the lookout! 


-Lauren

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Trash to Treasure

Last weekend, I got a hold of this cabinet that's been sitting in our half bath for the past 4 years... it was almost tossed out by a good friend during a move, but Matt (being the broke bachelor that he was at the time) decided to save it.

I'm glad he did! She's been screaming at me to lighten her up for ages, and I finally obliged.

I absolutely love the antique, rubbed brass handles on the white drawers. LOVE! Matt likes it too... I convinced him that the white is much more appropriate in our "UGA" themed bathroom. :)

Lauren

New Treasures

Matt and I worked on a few more items for the shop recently... I say this about every yellow window I ever refinish but... it's my favorite ever!

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Lauren

Introducing...

Afternoon!
You may have noticed a new little button on my sidebar over there....

After a few weekends of playing around with these beautiful antique windows, I decided to share the love.

here

The frames are cleaned up, refinished, and distressed by hand. The glass is treated with reflective paint to give it the most lovely, vintage charm.

here

This one is my favorite, I think... That original, chippy white paint is dreeeeeamy.

here

I have sold a few already and I can hardly believe it! I'm flattered and totally humbled.

Oooh what fun it's been already... I hope you'll check it out!

  

xo 

Lauren

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The Perfect Accident

There's this little place about a mile from our house... Behold, "salvaged window heaven".

Or at least that's what I call it. You would too, promise.

I can never resist the urge to stop and pick up a couple that catch my eye.

My sister-in-law and I stopped last weekend and picked out a few favorites. I came home with the most beautiful, long and slender, buttery yellow, wavy glass window. I immediately went to work sprucing it up and chipping away at the unsalvageable, while trying to preserve as much of that buttery yellow paint as I could.

I removed the long, slender panes of glass, cleaned them till they shined, and devised a plan to properly reinforce them into their frame. (They were not well-secured before, given the age of the window.) And then... just like that...

It broke. One of the pieces of glass broke.

Miraculously, I resisted the urge to chuck the entire piece into the unassuming woods behind our house.

But then it came to me. This beautiful window didn't have to go to waste after all!

I hung my book wreath on it and called it a day...

And I love it!

I recently wallpapered this wall and didn't want to cover up the beautiful paper too much. I think this is the perfect solution!

I've got another antique window project I'll write about this weekend. I can barely wait to show you!

Lauren

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Table Top : Refinished!

I recently refinished the top of the pedestal table we inherited from Matt's parents... it has lived many lives! Here's the transformation!! (Also, check out this post, featured at Bird and Branch Redesign):

Let me start by saying, I consider myself a novice at all things crafty. "Trial and Error" is my mantra. This was definitely the case in my most recent furniture project: refinishing our dining table! Matt’s parents were so kind as to donate a dining room set to his “broke bachelor pad” fund right out of college. These pieces are gems… they were raw oak when he inherited them, and Matt took it upon himself (and a few willing friends), to paint the entire set his favorite color: BLACK. To give credit where credit is due, he did try to spiff them up a bit by rubbing a cherry red stain on the black furniture…that proceeded to come off in boatloads upon every dusting. Apparently, these boys didn’t know about poly…

Moving on… only a few short months after being married and taking 99% control of décor (he still has a Georgia Bulldogs half bath... you can’t win ‘em all, ladies), I took it upon myself to paint the table, chairs, and coordinating hutches a sweet, creamy white. “Antique Lace”, to be exact and it is lovely.

I quickly grew tired of the tabletop, though, and decided to stain it to closely match our new hardwoods. I picked out my stain, bundled up on a chilly-and-45-degree day, and went to work. (I’m a little over-eager at times!)

I started stripping the tabletop with citristrip from Lowe’s.

It really is a miracle worker. It took two coats until I got down to the poly that was on the original oak. Can’t you see it working?? Yeah… me neither.

But it does! It does!

Let me go on a tangent here by saying, with all of my previous furniture redo’s, I have always sanded by hand. I’m stubborn, have quite a collection of sandpaper in a range of grits, and honestly enjoyed the burn it gave my triceps. (Ok, that last one is an exaggeration). I sanded this thing down to the best of my ability, gave it one last coat of stripper “just in case”, and went to town with stain.


Except it wouldn’t get any darker! I waited a day in between each coat, but by the third day and third coat of stain, I was only seeing a medium walnut color. Matt finally convinced me that I needed to sand it down further than I had previously, and then dragged me to Lowe’s to bitterly and reluctantly purchase a palm sander. (Stubborn.)


Let me tell you… I LOVE this sander. Not only is it a power tool (LOVE), it’s MY power tool. And so we sanded that baby clean…

And started over. (Trial and Error, remember?)


I put 4 coats on total of the Minwax stain, and achieved the most beautiful shade of walnut. It was like magic! (Had I only done it right the first time…)

I finished it off with 5 coats of poly (you can never have too much poly), sanding lightly with 220 grit between each coat. I deliberated for quite some time on the best way to truly protect a table that will get as much wear and tear as this, and decided on tried-and-true polycrylic. Water based, water-resistant… I used semi-gloss and it delivered a beautiful sheen.

We’re so pleased!

It was quite a lot of work, but completely worth it in the end... But let's be honest... Isn't that how it always goes?


Head over to Bird and Branch Redesign to see my table featured, and get lost in all of Jessamie's beautiful projects while you're there!




-Lauren

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Pattern Painting: chevron

Matt and I picked up this sweet magazine rack at our favorite consignment store a few weeks ago. It was a dark oak with some dents and dings. Apologies for no "before" photo... I need to get better about that. I'm normally just too anxious to get started! You've got a good imagination, though, right? Dark. Oak. Dusty. Boring.

All in all, it just needed a little love! This was my first time painting a pattern on a piece of furniture, but I feel that it is small enough to handle it and won't look out of place in our house. This piece did not want to stay plain-jane, believe. you. me.

I'm so happy with it! I took some 120-grit sandpaper to it afterwards to give it the weathered look that we love so much. And let's face it... also to make any imperfections look completely purposeful. :)


Now... on to the next order of business. What to put in it? Help!
I understand that it's a magazine rack, but I don't like the look of books or magazines in it. My (ever-so-creative) hubby suggested flowers.... maybe dried hydrangeas tucked into it?

I'm open to suggestions! I'm just concerned that if I don't find a "use" for it soon, it might turn into a shoe rack.
xo
Lauren

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Broken In and Loved

I never really considered myself "good" at anything in particular. I dreaded ice-breakers on the first day of school. Your name, your favorite color, and an interesting fact about yourself. Interesting? Fact? About ME?


Most people could come up with something in this ever-so-awkward, first-day-of-school ritual. Hobbies? What hobbies? I didn't sing, draw, dance, swim, or play piano. Nothing. It never bothered me much as a child, but as an adult, I just wish I'd stuck with something.


But I think I've found it. My hobby.

Several weeks ago, Matt and I decided to bite the bullet and refinish a cabinet that I had been talking about for months. The cabinet itself (and accompanying table, chairs, and china cabinet) were a gift from his parents. The furniture was in their old house, is solid as a rock, and has beautiful bones. Matt painted these pieces black when he first furnished his bachelor pad, so, I've been itching for months to get my hands on these pieces. I was dying to freshen them up and brighten up our space in the process. We painted and chipped and sanded and we couldn't be happier with the outcome.

The creamy white paint is called "antique lace".

This section of the cabinet may contain my most favorite details. I love the wear-and-tear around the drawer and doors. It looks like they've been tugged on and slammed shut a thousand times in the past.

We used the existing hardware from the original... The hinges and pulls were all antique, dark brass and look amazing on the creamy white.

Lauren