D.D.'s Cottage and Design: May 2015

Friday, May 29, 2015

The transformation of the"throw away" Winter Lake Buffet and my Intern Krista

Awhile back a young lady named Krista contacted me and asked if she could be my intern. I was in shock and honored that someone one would like to be my intern, and I of course said yes! Krista is in finishing up college and plans on enrolling in design school after she graduates. She is also a professional photographer and I had met her at one of my "Home Decor" sales I have at my house when she was looking for props for photo shoots. We started talking and hit it off and she would come by to borrow things for props when she needed them. We developed a friendship and she took our family photos during the holidays. I was honored when she asked if she could learn about painting and decorating from me as an intern. We have been working together now when we both have time for a few months.
The reason I bring Krista up is that this buffet was one of the first pieces we worked on together. I had found an ad. on CL about some furniture and so Krista and I went to check it out. This buffet was in BAD shape and was basically a throw away piece from the seller, but I fell in love with it and had to have it. The seller wanted it gone so badly, that she had her son delver it to my house that afternoon!
Before:

I could see that the piece was well built and had lots of potential, but would be a LOT of HARD work.

The top was peeling off and needed to be removed. I asked Krista if she was up for the challenge and she said yes. We removed the layers of veneer by using a spackle knife and a hammer. We tried the damp cloth and hot iron method, but it did not work, so out came the tools. By holding the sharp spackle knife at a slight angle under the edge of the veneer and tapping it with the hammer, the veneer slowly and painstakingly came off! During the middle of this removal I was really wondering if I was crazy for taking on this project!
After the top stuff was removed, we sanded it down and started on the front.

We removed more veneer, but decided to just go with the character of the pieces and paint over some of the issues. The other issue we had to fix was that the inside of the cabinet was missing some of the drawer supports. Finally we were ready for paint! I pulled out Winter Lake by The Urban Rooster and since the buffet was so dry it soaked the paint up fast. I thought the details were gorgeous and wanted to high light them, so I got out white paint and hand painted the details. After distressing the piece, we sealed it with dark wax and tung oil.

( photo disclaimer here-I was planning on taking good staged photos for the blog, but with my move in to my new remodel I just do not have time. These photos are just quick ones snapped so Krista could show her friends her first piece.)

Great details

Such a pretty Blue!

How gorgeous is the hardware?

I have worked on many BAD pieces of furniture, but this was one of the worst pieces I have taken on. I am glad it turned out as pretty as it did!

Linking up with:

frommyfrontporchtoyours
commonground

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Flowers during the Re-model

Our remodel/addition is wrapping up and we are moving in! I am very excited and exhausted form moving and I am also MIA from blogging. During the chaos and mess of the remodel I have kept fresh flowers at all times. For me, Fresh flowers help keep my sanity and peace in the midst of the mess and details. Most of these photos are from my Instagram ( dd_cottage_and_design).

I will be posting as I finish rooms-wish me luck while I unpack and move!

Linking up with:

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Birds on a Branch

Last week while at the Goodwill I found a potentially cute bird plaque.

Before:

One of my good friends loves birds and I immediately thought of her when I saw the birds. The plaque is heavy and well made, but not very pretty in my opinion. I wanted to give it a simple, yet soothing look. To transform the birds I pulled out some grey The Urban Rooster paint and painted the entire plaque in two coats. I painted the birds in white and then to give the plaque some character and depth I used AS dark wax with some tung oil.

My friend was thrilled with her new birds!

Linking up with:

thoughtsfromalice
cozylittlehouse
theblissfulbee
savvysouthernstyle
mysalvagedtreasures
thededicatedhouse
northernnesting
thepainteddrawer
frenchcountrycottage
thoughtsfromalice
interiorfrugalista

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Marshmallow Cream Dresser

Another dresser, I know, but I love to paint them! I found this dresser a few weeks ago and knew it could be gorgeous again.
Before:

I fell in love with this dresser because of the hardware! It really is gorgeous and I knew it would be the focal point if the dresser were white. Now, white is not my favorite color to paint dark furniture because it takes sooooooooo many coats, but I bit the bullet and got out my Marshmallow Cream by The Urban Rooster and started to paint. After 3+ coats of white, I distresses the edges slightly with a sharp spackle knife and sealed the dresser with AS clear wax. The last step was adding the jewelry of the dresser, the hardware!