Campaign Love

The "Dixie" Campaign desk is done!

Thank-you for the 'coral' suggestion.  I tried to find/mix a coral shade 

that I loved, but couldn't. They all turned out to pastel-like. 

I'm all about the blues and greens, so I did a mixture of both! 

Lest you had forgotten the sad shape she came to me:

The Dixie Campaigner!! I almost had a heart attack when I first saw it! 

 I know,,,,,right??!! What the???!! So, I asked the women selling, "Oh, you started to

refinish (refinish?? more like mutilate) it?" 

Her:                     "Yeah"    

                               Me:  "Um, what did you use on the top?"

                                                    Her:      "Oh, a scraper."  (She showed me a chisel!)

    Me:      Audible gasp..........

Her:      "Was that bad?"

Um, Gee,......Ya think???!!!!

I actually think the surface of the moon feels smoother than the top of this desk. 

Running my hand over the top and feeling all the divots and gouges just makes me

cringe! This top should actually go through a planer to level it out. But, I'm fresh

out of giant wood-shop tools, so I'll have to try and wing it with my orbital sander.

And why is it that all the sellers with the cool heavy stuff live on the second floor of some

apartment????

And now:

           I staged it in my family room. I normally have a large chair in that spot. It matches great!

            I debated on whether or not to paint the drawers. They were in good shape, so I thought I would refinish them.  If I didn't like it, I could always paint over them. At least I have the option.

She had already managed to scrape off the edges.

                    

   Here were some of the orange/coral colors I was mixing. I ended up painting a MCM credenza              brilliant tangerine color (here), so I went with the blue/green family on this one. 

 
 This is the top of the desk after I did a ton of sanding. I was able to level it off pretty well.

    "Finn" the Betta, likes it. 

     The veneer on this piece was lifting up all over the place.
Glue, wood filler and finishing nails did the trick. 

While it does fit well with my decor, I did sell it shortly after finishing it.

                          I used a combo of BM "Emerald Isle' and "Caribbean Blue" in semi-gloss

   I would love to find one of those Jonathan Adler chippendale chairs to go with the desk. 

Linking up at these great parties:

Restore Interiors - Restored it Wednesday

Kammys Korner - Trash to Treasure Tuesdays

Domestically Speaking - The Power of Paint Party

The Shabby Creek Cottage - Transformation Thursday

Miss Mustardseed - Furniture Feature Friday

Redoux - Friday Link Up Party

Homespun Happenings - Rustic Restorations Weekend

Funky Junk Interiors - Saturday Night Special

1929 Charmer - Sunday's Best Party

Knick of Time Interiors - Knick of Time Tuesday

Elizabeth and Co., My uncommon Slice of Suburbia,

Savvy Southern Style. Weds, Beyond the Picket Fence, PJH Designs

From my Front Porch to Yours,  

Between Naps on the Porch

                                                   The Dedicated House, Redoux

MCM Credenza

Time to switch things up. In the LA area, these mid century credenzas are quite

the hot ticket item.  But to find one on the cheap is rare. But I did.

 I believe these retro vintage pieces look best either natural or bold colors of the era. I gave this one both.  Tangerine baby!  Now I realize this style isn't for everyone. I don't think it's necessarily for 

me.  But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate it or enjoy working on it. It's different. 

I get so tired of doing the same thing on the same pieces. I like to mix it up and try

out different techniques and different colors. So, here ya go!

I could not save the sides or top. 

 Sanded the whole thing. Primered the sides and top. Put a dark stain on the drawers and trim.
Solid wood legs. Bottom is before, middle is after sanding and the top is after staining.

This walnut veneer finished up beautifully! Look how it pops w/the orange.

 I painted the top 3 drawers in a gorgeous Bahama Blue to pop against the tangerine. Love!

I used at least 5 coats of paint and 2 coats of acrylic semi-gloss top coat. I rolled a few coats

didn't like how it looked, and finished by brushing on the last 2 coats. I also sanded between

each coat. 

I thought about lugging this into the house for staging, but this beast is heavy and at least 6' long! 

 So, use your imagination and ignore my icky garage floor.

Linking up at these great parties:

Restore Interiors - Restored it Wednesday

Kammys Korner - Trash to Treasure Tuesdays

Domestically Speaking - The Power of Paint Party

The Shabby Creek Cottage - Transformation Thursday

Miss Mustardseed - Furniture Feature Friday

Redoux - Friday Link Up Party

Homespun Happenings - Rustic Restorations Weekend

Funky Junk Interiors - Saturday Night Special

1929 Charmer - Sunday's Best Party

Knick of Time Interiors - Knick of Time Tuesday

Elizabeth and Co., My uncommon Slice of Suburbia,

Savvy Southern Style. Weds, Beyond the Picket Fence, PJH Designs

From my Front Porch to Yours,  

Between Naps on the Porch

                                                   The Dedicated House, Redoux

WooHoo!!! Cool Campaign Desk....

I'm kinda jazzed I finally picked up one of these Campaign desks

w/the faux bamboo!! This one is made by Dixie!! Even better! 

 I know,,,,,right??!! What the???!! So, I asked the women selling, "Oh, you started to

refinish (refinish?? more like mutilate) it?" 

Her:                     "Yeah"    

                               Me:  "Um, what did you use on the top?"

Her:      "Oh, a scraper."

    Me:      Audible gasp..........

Her:      "Was that bad?"

Um, Gee,......Ya think???!!!!

I actually think the surface of the moon feels smoother than the top of this desk. 

Running my hand over the top and feeling all the divots and gouges just makes me

French Style Hollywood Glam Style!

Another French provincial....Really??? Yeah I know. I'm pretty darn sick of doing

them myself! But I got such a killer deal on this one I figured what the hay. 

So,,,,Your typical '70's style....

It was part wood and part MDF laminate.

I gave everything a light sanding and used a wood sealer. I wanted the paint to stick! I used

Ben Moore's satin paint, not chalk paint this time. No distressing on this one. 

For the silver I used Martha Stewarts metallic paint. She has many shades and the paint is great! 

I used the middle color on the bottom of the dresser. "Thundercloud". The rest were used on the mirror

you will see below. 

I saw another blogger do one in white and dip the bottom in gold. I thought I would try black

Buffet O'Rama

I'm on a buffet kick! Seriously, I've got like 3 of these waiting on the assembly line! I had picked this one up months ago. And, so it has sat in the garage awaiting my divine inspiration and artistic creation......OK,,,,gag! It sat because I was too lazy to get around to working on it. There. I said it. 

         However,,,,,sometimes things are best left to sit and simmer for a spell.....don'tcha think??

As usual, I took down the top to the raw. I love to sand! be careful when sanding veneer woods. Start at an 80-100 and work your way up to 220. Use your hands to feel. I Applied a pre-conditioner (a MUST before you stain to avoid uneven absorbency), a gel stain (don't remember exactly what I used. I mix my stains. Probably walnut and a red mahogany) and 2 coats of Deft water based acrylic top-coat in satin. I like using satin finishes on these old pieces. They weren't meant to be all glossy like the mid century stuff. 
Please don't use a wipe-on poly on a nice piece of wood like this. Deft in a can is so easy and it goes on beautifully. Get a good brush. I also like to use General Finishes Arm r Seal Urethane. If you have to use a wipe-on, use this one. It's amazing. 

           This is a fine example of "ribbon mahogany". See all the lines running across the top?

I think distressing all the nooks and crannies really adds so much to these old pieces. 

Sometimes you can go overboard or "patchy placement" can look phony. So, be careful.

 I hate the look of random distressing smack dab in the middle of the sides or drawers. 

                            I mixed my own CP again. Used "divine pleasure" by Behr. I like using the little Behr sample pots for CP. 2 parts paint to 1 part plaster of paris. mix the PP alone w/a little hot water until it's like pancake batter. Then slowly mix into the paint (you will need a separate container to store your new paint. 

I am the absolute worst when it comes to handles! I always lose one. Although, I think this piece was already short one handle when I got it. Of course I don't discover these things until I'm all done! So I went to my stash and found these chippendale style handles to put on the doors. First they all got sprayed with gold spray paint and then dry-brushed with the white. A quick go over with some sand paper and a quick spray of poly sealer. 

Love!!

To get a smooth surface before applying your wax, sand your paint with a very find grit 220 or 320. Be gentle! Go in one direction until it feels smooth as silk. Wipe it down. Now apply your wax and buff until you get a nice sheen. It shouldn't feel gritty, before or after you wax! Sand, people!

                 
                         The body got a good waxing with Myers clear wax. And that's all she wrote!

This one sold quickly. I believe the buyer said he was going to use it as a vanity bathroom cabinet.I cringe to think this beautiful top was going to hacked up, but hopefully he's using vessel sinks!

Linking up at these great parties:

Restore Interiors - Restored it Wednesday

Kammys Korner - Trash to Treasure Tuesdays

Domestically Speaking - The Power of Paint Party

The Shabby Creek Cottage - Transformation Thursday

Miss Mustardseed - Furniture Feature Friday

Redoux - Friday Link Up Party

Homespun Happenings - Rustic Restorations Weekend

Funky Junk Interiors - Saturday Night Special

1929 Charmer - Sunday's Best Party

Knick of Time Interiors - Knick of Time Tuesday

Elizabeth and Co., My uncommon Slice of Suburbia,

Savvy Southern Style. Weds, Beyond the Picket Fence, PJH Designs

From my Front Porch to Yours,  

Between Naps on the Porch

                                                   The Dedicated House, Redoux