The Lipstick Pig

Not long ago, I refinished a French Provincial dresser in Damask. It ended up being so popular that I had multiple people show up on the same day to purchase it. As a result, I was asked to recreate the look for a client. She wanted to have it for her daughter's nursery, knowing that this style and color will be able to grow with her.

I found a French provincial dresser that she liked. She requested that the pulls on the center drawers be replaced with k***s, and the hardware painted gold just as the original piece. We lined the drawers with the same floral paper.

She was so thrilled with the outcome. I can't wait to see pictures of the finished nursery!

Twinsies! Get ready for the Tale of Two Dressers about these lovely French Provincial Dressers that I finished this weekend!

I was able to finish these up just in time for the weekend. I am in love with the classic style of Mid Century Modern Italian Provincial with a modern twist. The tops and bases have an Algonquin wash with 4 coats of Ultra Flat Polycrylic. The bodies are painted in Fusion's Chateau. I bought this hardware a year ago for another piece, but a client purchased the piece to have refinished to their specifications so they didn't use the hardware. I have been storing them ever since, and this just so happened to be the perfect set to use them on. I am in love! These are currently available for purchase at White Barn Marketplace!

Remember this MCM dresser I posted? Well, it sold to a family that was pairing it with a MCM set that they previously had refinished. They asked if I could match the drawer fronts to the stain of their other set. Here is the final product!

I'm getting to work on these Mid Century Modern French Provincial Dressers today. I will be turning these into a set. Get ready for a transformation!

Edited to add: the picture with the flowers is simply a rendering. It is not a representation of how the flowers will be put on there, or how large the transfer is in relation to the dresser. It will likely only cover the bottom three drawers and has peek through where the flowers are not as concentrated. This is more just to get an idea of the colors and Floral Accent.

Tell me what you think! I refinished this dresser in Cast Iron, a charcoal gray. I feel like it still needs something. It has scarlet crystal drop pulls and a red floral paper. I'm thinking of adding a floral transfer, but I'mconcernedit is too style specific. Here are original pictures and a rendering of what I'm thinking of doing. Tell me which you would buy/prefer. Reply Original or Floral!

I have been waiting to be able to reveal this clients antique hutch desk. I love all the choices that she made to give this piece a new life! We chose Fusion Mineral Paint's Newell, a sage green with no gray undertone to brighten up the entire desk. The dresser top and writing portion of the desk were sealed with Fusion Mineral Paint's Natural Stain and Finishing Oil to highlight the beautiful mahogany color. The shelves were a different wood, so I stained those with Fusion Mineral Paint's walnut stain and finishing oil. Surprisingly it was a perfect match. My client chose this gorgeous vintage wallpaper that reflects the sage color and picks up on the red tones in the wood. We changed out her hardware with beautiful mother of pearl and brass pulls. I was able to find a skeleton key that worked on her lock and added a tackle so it doesn't get lost easily. All of the locks, hinges, and screw heads or revived with gold paint. I am grateful that she trusted me to bring her vision to life!

This beauty is ready for her new home!

Sneak peek of a dresser that will be available for purchase!

This rotating mirror was a first for me, and definitely presented several challenges. While the mirror itself was in great shape, this was difficult to work on due to the rotating base that could not be removed. Between that and all of the arch details and crevices, this was a challenge to paint.

My client had chosen Blue Pine as it was a color that we had used on some of her other pieces. I went to the fabric store and gave her several options to reupholster the back side of the mirror, and she chose this lovely Floral. It reflects so many of the blues and cream that we used in her other pieces and ties everything together. The hardware was all painted black. I absolutely love how this turned out and can't wait to deliver it.

This one might not seem that exciting, but it was a lot of work to correct the previous refinishing. There were several layers of paint which were heavy and showed lots of brush marks and drips. I had to strip this back to bare wood and start over. This was painted in a white to match a bed frame that I had also refinished for this client.

This Cedar Chest by Lane belongs to my sweet client. Originally she wanted me to do something fun with it using several shades of blue to create a geometric pattern. Due to the condition and failing finish, it required stripping back to bare wood. She had no idea what was underneath all that paint. Once she saw all of the beautiful wood grain, she asked if we could highlight that rather than do the geometric design. I was so pleased that she appreciated its natural beauty and decided to embrace it rather than cover it up. We decided to frame the chest in Chateau, a color that we have used on another piece of hers. The remainder received a white stain to soften the browns and oranges. All the wood received four coats of satin polyurethane. The locking mechanism was refreshed using black rub and buff.

If this hutch looks familiar, it's because a client had me recreate it for her. This spring, I had a hutch just like this available for purchase. At the exact same time, three people tried to buy it. Both of the people who missed out asked me to recreate the same look for them on another hutch. This is the first of those recreated pieces that I had completed. Unfortunately, I don't have great staging pictures because this was a rush order to be able to have on location for a wedding.

Four years ago we made a greenhouse using old windows. We had several of them that were donor windows that had to be used to replace panes from other broken ones. We were left with several empty frames. My husband was cleaning out the shed and asked if there was anything I could do with them. So I created this adorable wall hanging. The ball mason jars act as vases to display Mini bouquets. This is available for purchase at my booth at White Barn Marketplace!

I stumbled upon this very sad mid-century modern dresser while walking through Habitat for Humanity ReStore. It was in rough shape. It had a broken drawer slide, the drawers were mismatched so it looked very wonky, and the Finish wasn't doing much for it's overall appeal. I repaired the drawer slide, found the correct order for the drawers, and sanded everything back to bare wood. I used an A/B bleach solution to lighten the wood as it had a red / pink tone to it. I painted the framing in Fusion Mineral Paint's Newell, a lovely sage green color. The drawer fronts and peg legs were coated in Ultra flat polycrylic. The drawers were lined in a fun blue, black, and green Palm leaf paper. This baby is available for purchase!

This French provincial buffet belongs to a lovely client. We painted the base in Fusion Mineral Paint's Chateau. The top was stained in a combination of cappuccino and Driftwood. The original hardware was painted black, and the interior was lined in this beautiful daisy wallpaper that reflects the color scheme of her home. I can't wait to deliver it!

I got these candlesticks as a part of a Decor bundle that I purchased. They were covered in white paint that was filling all the details and head started to come off. I used chemical stripper and a brush to remove all the paint and get it back to metal. After prepping the surface I painted them in an antique bronze. It felt too uniform so I used black and gold rub and buff to make the details pop and give it a more authentic aged look. The after is on the left and the before is on the right. It's amazing what this did for the overall look of the candlesticks.

This is a client's piece. She is turning it into a bathroom vanity in her new home.

This piece was a little challenging in that what the client described as wanting and what she truly wanted didn't quite match up. Originally, she wanted gray with light distressing. Upon completing, I sent pictures showing what I had done. She asked if I could add more distressing, and I obliged. After that, she said it still needed more. At this point I felt like we were no longer in the realm of light distressing, and so I asked for an inspiration picture.

I was so happy when she sent it because it set us on the right course. Unfortunately what she wanted was double color, layered paint (white as the base with gray over top) and heavy distressing going through each layer to the wood. If I had known this, I would have used different products and techniques.

Since it was already painted gray, I used milk paint to thinly bush on strips of white where the distressing would occur. Next I heavily distressed the piece as sealed it with polycrylic.

This is why it is so important to provide inspiration pictures. Your refinisher will carefully decide what products and techniques will be best suited to achieve the final look that you are envisioning!

A whileback I had a distressed gray French Provincial Dresser available for purchase. When it was purchased, my client asked if I could source and refinish a pair of nightstands to match. I quickly found a listing for a dresser and nightstand pair available for purchase. Luckily, I had a pair of nightstands in storage that matched the dresser in this set, while the nightstands in this set matched the dresser that had already been refinished. Unfortunately for me, allof these pieces had previously been refinished, which meant I had the time consuming and labor intensive task of getting everything back to bare wood.

Once there was a clean slate, I used Fusion Mineral Paint's Sterling and lightly distressed the pieces. I painted the hardware in oil rubbed bronze.

Another family heirloom for my sweet client. This game table is such a cool piece. The table top swivels to reveal a hidden storage compartment which we lined in that same lovely floral paper. The top flips in half to conserve space when not being used. This was refinished in Fusion Mineral Paint's Paisley and the original brass feet were cleaned/polished. I forgot to take "before" pictures 🤦🏼‍♀️.

This nightstand belongs to my sweet client, who has trusted me with so many heirloom pieces. This had been refinished at some point, but it was a long time ago and had been done over damage without making repairs. I stripped it down to the wood, made repairs, and then painted it in Fusions Blue Pine. The original hardware was polished to its brassy luster, and I lined the drawers with floral paper that we had used on one of her previous pieces.

This is the current state of my client's Cedar chest. This is a family heirloom that she originally wanted to be painted in three different colors of blue with a geometric design. Since it had been refinished multiple times I had to strip it back to its original state in order to get the failing paint off and make repairs. I sent my client update pictures, and she was floored at what had been hidden underneath the paint. She asked if there was a way that we could highlight this gorgeous wood. We have decided to change course, and I will be doing a wash on the wood to tone it down and make it sit with her Coastal Vibe while still preserving its beauty. The base and decorative trim will be painted in chateau to match her entertainment center which is also being worked on. I absolutely love when I can uncover the beauty of these pieces and my clients trust me enough to restore them and make them fit their style. Stay tuned for the finished product as well as a video of the process.

Gasp! This Art Deco Buffet just takes my breath away.

At some point this had been worked on by someone who didn't have a lot of knowledge/skill. They put so much polyurethane on the top that it was literally peeling off in sheets. As a result, this was completely stripped down to bare wood. The beautiful grains have 5 coats of satin polyurethane and are framed in Coal black. I refreshed the original bakelite hardware, painted the interior cabinets, sanded and lined the drawers.

This beauty will be delivered to White Barn Marketplace and is available for purchase!

My youngest is entering her senior year of high school. Having been through this before, we knew that we didn't want to use the overpriced commercial photography company that we used for our son. She had talked about how she wanted her pictures taken in a wildflower field, so we knew that we would have to time this right. We found a photographer that came highly recommended, and after reviewing her work we reached out. We explained what we wanted and scheduled a time for when the photographer felt that the lighting would be best.

We were extremely pleased with the experience. She made every step easy and comfortable. We were floored when she sent us these sneak peeks within an hour of leaving her property. She captured my daughter's essence so beautifully, and made her images truly special.

If you are looking for a photographer, support a local small business. I highly recommend !

A lovely light and bright transformation for a lovely client. These cherry dressers belong to an absolutely sweet client. She knew that she wanted one in a light blue and the other in a light green. After selecting some sample swatches, we picked Fusion Mineral paint colors that were as close as possible. The low dresser was painted in Fusion's Little Whale, and new hardware that the client selected from Etsy was installed. The tall dresser was refinished in a light mint , which was created by mixing a pint of Raw Silk and a tester of Renfrew Blue. The original plan was to polish the original hardware and reinstall it. After cleaning and polishing, the hardware had significant flaws. We decided to switch the hardware with these great brushed gold bar pulls. I love the carved detail on these, making them much more visually interesting than a standard bar pull.

My client was so thrilled with the transformation. I am so happy that I was able to make her vision a reality. No, these well made dressers, will serve her well and make her smile every day.

I'm taking the weekend off working on furniture to celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary. We hope that everyone enjoys this beautiful weekend!