French Country Style and Country Grey

Posted on January 8, 2016 by goodbyteaching | 10 Comments

French country is a much-beloved style and is the inspiration for a lot of furniture updates. Some of the characteristics of the style are: rustic, lived-in looking furniture; natural woods with low gloss or painted furniture that looks old; soft colours mixed with splashes of bright yellow, blue and lavender; mix and match fabrics and colours especially toile, gingham and florals and stripes. If you want to read more about the history of classic French furniture, I wrote about it here.

Annie Sloan’s Country Grey is the perfect colour for achieving this look. It’s not really grey but beige with grey undertones. When it is dry-brushed with Old White or had dark wax applied to it , it transforms the furniture into that classic French look. You can see many examples on this Pinterest page.

This vintage coffee table was given to me. It is fruitwood and has the lovely carvings and cabriole legs of French furniture. I stripped the top and opted for a lighter stain. It is popular to use dark walnut on everything these days but the lighter colour is actually more in keeping with the style and shows the grain nicely. It has multiple coats of satin poly on it.

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I painted the base in Country Grey then dry-brushed Old White on top to highlight the details and give it a more aged look.

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It’s a lovely large coffee table in an elegant colour.

Linking up with:

http://www.thepainteddrawer.com/2016/01/searching-for-a-pot-of-gold-and-the-link-party.html

http://www.patinaparadise.com/2016/01/fridays-furniture-fix-21.html

http://www.mccallmanor.com/

http://seekinglavenderlane.com/2016/01/the-creative-circle.html

http://www.sadieseasongoods.com/snickerdoodle-sunday-link-party-113/#more-4199

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http://charmbraceletdiva.blogspot.ca/2016/01/vintage-charm-party-13.html

Making Broken Beautiful | No. 21 … and a word from the heart

Return to the 1950’s

Posted on March 26, 2015 by goodbyteaching | 3 Comments

If you grew up in the 1950’s-60’s as I did, you are probably familiar with certain furniture styles. The 3 most popular looks that I recall were a contemporary look, rustic Colonial and an updated French Provincial. Modern 50’s style had a lot of straight lines, lighter woods and bright colours. This Kroehler ad is a good example and it is amazing how similar the look is to today’s popular styles. That couch could easily be a contemporary version.

The rustic Colonial look never really goes out of style ( think maple furniture) and it was very popular in 1950’s suburban homes as seen in this Ethan Allen ad.

My parents favoured French Provincial. Most of those fruitwood dressers that have have become popular painting projects originated in the 1950’s. Fruitwood ( or a mid-brown stain) is the hallmark of these well-made pieces. There was a trend towards lighter woods, such as blond finishes, after the WWII and a desire for less substantial-looking pieces than the traditional mahogany and walnut styles that were holdovers of the Victorian era.

I’ve never really liked the look but I have to admit that French Provincial furniture paints beautifully and it is fun to work with all those curving lines and legs. If you want to read background on the topic, I wrote a post about Classic French furniture here.

I opted for a classic look when painting this French Provincial dresser. A lot of people are choosing to update these dressers with bright colours and I was debating whether to paint it coral which is a hot colour right now. In the end , I decided to do pale grey and Old White. Two-tone is very elegant and I have had a lot of interest in the various grey dressers that I have painted in the last year. Pale grey is a popular baby’s room colour judging by the number of dressers that I have sold

I started out painting it in AS Paloma which is a pale grey with a purple undertone but I found it looked mauve especially beside the white so I mixed a darker grey with Old White and got this colour. It still has some purple but not as much. I dry-brushed Old White over the grey to add texture. The original handles were a brassy gold so they were painted white and had some gold gilding paste added. The final result is a very sophisticated mix that suits the style.

Linking up with:

http://missmustardseed.com/

http://staceyembracingchange.com/2015/03/26/creative-inspirations-linky-party-130/

Best DIY Projects and Recipe Party

http://www.findingsilverpennies.com/2015/03/silver-pennies-sundays-link-party-and-features-113.html

http://www.elizabethandcovintage.com/

http://thecuratorscollection.com/

Converted Radio Cabinets

Posted on November 23, 2014 by goodbyteaching | 2 Comments

There are some very interesting painted radio cabinets on the net like this one from Petticoat Junktion painted in MMS Tricycle.

The beauty of these cabinets is that they were made like fine furniture in mahogany or walnut; the cabinets were often more expensive than the radios they housed. Most of them originate in the 1920’s or 30’s when radio became popular entertainment and the consoles were part of one’s living room furniture. Manufacturers employed designers who turned out hundreds of models, all-trying to appeal to the changing tastes of the consumer.

I bought my radio cabinet online from Craigslist. I’m not sure the seller knew what they had as they were selling it as a small armoire. The inside had already been converted to storage and the seller had it in their dining room.

I was thrilled to buy it because it was lovely wood with turned legs. The back had caning, I guess to let the sound out rather than the cloth that you often see on old radios. The only flaw was that the bottom shelf was actually a piece of pressed board that had been inserted to fill the cavity where the radio must have stood.

I painted the outside in Annie Sloan Old White and the whole inside in Duck Egg. I didn’t bother replacing the pressed board as it seemed sturdy enough and by the looks of it, it had been doing its job for a long time. The cabinet is a perfect size for a bathroom or smaller space and was bought by someone for their hallway.

http://www.findingsilverpennies.com/2014/11/silver-pennies-sundays-link-party-features-96.html
http://www.lifeonlakeshoredrive.com/
http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.ca/2014/11/orange-ginger-honey-glazed-brussels.html

The Mysterious Ways Of Duvets

http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.ca/
http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/
http://thediydreamer.com/from-dream-to-reality/share-your-inspiring-creations-145/
http://sweethaute.blogspot.ca/
http://www.redouxinteriors.com/2014/11/happy-thanksgiving-handmade-hangout-week-25/

Another Desk

Posted on January 15, 2014 by goodbyteaching | 13 Comments

I have had a lot of luck selling desks and I am not exactly sure why. Most vintage desks are a lot smaller than more modern versions especially computer desks, so I would not have thought there was a lot of appeal. Maybe it’s the fact that people don’t need as much desk space anymore with tablets and laptops or maybe it’s just the vintage look that people are interested in.

This latest piece was bought at a thrift store. It had thick shiny paint on it but I could see that it had a very nice braid trim on the edge. This told me that it was good wood; it is all mahogany and the top refinished very nicely. I painted the body in Annie Sloan Provence and Old White. Make Me Pretty Again’s blog on cerusing oak got me thinking about highlighting the trim to make it stand out more. I made my own liming wax by mixing Old White into the clear wax and I used it on both the trim and the Provence. It softened the colour and gave it an antique look. The handles are original to the desk and have a bit of an Art Deco design to which I added some German Silver gilding.

http://www.domesblissity.blogspot.ca/