Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Meet Tommy, the bike dresser

Tommy is a big guy.  And sturdy.  Everyone likes sturdy.  But not everyone likes boring, plain and faded wood.  
  

Tommy is a fun loving, jeans and t-shirt wearing kind of guy.  And his exterior should match his interior.  



He mellows out to Jack Johnson and likes to entertain his friends by playing his banjo around a bonfire down at the beach.  


 He's in and out of relationships but all of them end nicely.


And on any given day you can find him biking down the beach with his rescued golden by his side.


Since my previous bike dresser was such a big hit, and with summer upon us, I thought I would create another.  This is a great piece with fine construction.  I refinished the top and decided to brighten up the rest of the piece with some paint.  Annie Sloan Old White chalk paint is used for the base and I mixed a few colors together to use on the beach cruiser.  Of course I had to distress the piece to make it all shabby and beachy.  It was then sealed with wax for protection.


His dimension are 66" long, 33" high, and 20" deep.  I'll be delivering him to Robin's Egg in a few days where he'll await his new home.  :)


I named this piece after my husband who has shown an interest in cycling.  I hope he puts miles and miles under his wheels.  With or without the golden.  Or in our case, a cockapoo.  :)

Have a bright day,
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Sunday, May 5, 2013

From plain to Zinc!

My wonderful client Kami wanted a zinc finish for this plain ole' dresser.  She got a great deal on Craigslist and wanted a complete transformation by making this baby shine with a zinc finish.


Why use a faux finish rather than paint containing zinc?  According to the U.S. General Services Administration, paints containing zinc are to be avoided when painting wood, as zinc attracts moisture.  The authority spoke, and I listened.  So off Google I went to look for instructions on a faux finish.

It wasn't hard to find THE BEST tutorial on the planet.  Jami, at Freckled Laundry has the most complete tutorial for creating this kind of finish.  Actually, it is the most complete tutorial ever.  Yes, ever.  You can't go wrong if you just take the time to watch her multiple videos.

And, after watching said videos, this is how the plain ole' dresser turned out:


I added legs, as the original dresser looked like the legs had been cut out from underneath her (yet they had not).


Just by adding the layers of paint recommended by Jamie, you can see the dimension it creates in the piece.



Since this was a zinc faux finish, I had to add a nail head design.


Thanks to Jamie, this was a very easy transformation, although time consuming.  Play around with the layers and stop when you are happy with the results.  It's hard to screw this one up.  ;)

Have fun,

Debbie 










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Saturday, April 20, 2013

Meet Adelaide, the desk

Meet Adelaide, the desk.

She was a little on the drab side before we met.


But this little lady has deep ties to France.


Born in the United States, she has many first cousins heralding from the sweet town of Evreux, north west of Paris.  Although never visited, she is saving her pennies to visit one day.


She loves all things French:  eating croissants at the local cafe, proudly draping a Chanel bag over her shoulder, sharing bordeaux wine with friends, watching every movie starring Gerard Depardieu (before his escape to Russia, of course), and often enjoying a read from her vast collection of Victor Hugo novels.


This lovely came to me from a family member who thought I could brighten her up.  Adding my own recipe of chalk paint, I added detail to make it look like a vintage grain sack.  She is coated in polyacrylic to seal it all in.


Dimesions are 43 1/2" wide, 17 1/2" deep, 29 1/2" tall.


If you would like to add some worldly charm to your home, you can find her at Robin's Egg in Milford, NH.

Have a fabulous day,

Debbie


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Thursday, April 4, 2013

An Inspired Bicycle Dresser

This sweet little dresser came to me from my friend Nicole.  She no longer had a use for it and thought I could do something with it.  After it came to me, it got buried in my garage, like everything else.  Only the other day I unburied it, and was inspired.


You see, my little guy is battling leukemia.  But we are tremendously fortunate to live close enough to Boston so Jack can get his treatment at the Jimmy Fund, which is the pediatric unit of Dana Farber Cancer Institute.  As with all horrible diseases, money is needed for research to end such diseases.  The Jimmy Fund is lucky enough to have the Pan Mass Challenge as it's number one contributor.  It is the most successful fundraising event in the country, raising $37 million dollars last year alone.  100% of every rider-raised dollar goes directly to cancer research.  Over 5000 cyclists, from around the world, get on their bikes and ride through Massachusetts for a two day event in August.  It is inspiring, and humbling, to have such wonderful people support my little guy.  And we get in on the action too; Jack is paired with a riding team as their inspiration.  His face is actually put on posters along the route to help keep the riders pedaling.  Our fabulous team is called the Montie Pythons and we are honored to know them.  

Here's a photo of me and Jack with some of the Montie Pythons, after meeting them for the first time at Fenway Park:


Back to the dresser.  After some inspiration:


Of course, a little beach cruiser bike wouldn't get you through the 200 mile race without being sore in places you were never sore in, but it seemed to fit this piece.  (Give me a hover craft and I still would be sore after a 200 mile ride).


I used Miss Mustard Seed's Tricycle Milk Paint, but I didn't have any of that fabulous chipping going on. So, I distressed it a bit with a palm sander.  I then traced the bike on the dresser and hand painted it white.  A coat a clear wax was applied and then a little dark wax to give it some depth.  


I think it would be adorable in a little boy's room.  Perhaps he'll grow up to be so inspired to ride in the Pan Mass Challenge.


If you would like to learn more about the mission of the Pan Mass Challenge, and maybe get involved yourself, check it out here.  

If you are so inspired and would like to own this piece, it is now available at Robin's Egg. The measurements are 14 1/2" deep, 26" wide, and 35 1/2" tall.

Thank you to all who do their part in ridding cancer from this earth,

Debbie


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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Creating a Galley Wall and a Trick

I love photos.  Most people do, and we should be proud to display them.  A galley wall can just include photos, but you can also mix it up with other media and interesting finds.  Here's some of my favorite examples:

1.  Loving the simplicity of the lines and color.  I think the matted frames makes this an elegant, yet uncomplicated kitchen.  The utensils on the wall are their own form of art.





2.  Hello pop of color!  It's great when you can start from scratch like this, using the same color and size frames.  It makes quite a statement.



3.  Once again, big fan of the white frames.  But I liked how they used not only photos, but quotes, child's art, etc . . . to create a very cozy wall.



You also need to determine the "style" of your galley wall.  Perhaps you're the kind of person that needs every angle to match up perfectly.  Investing in a laser level will help you achieve that look.  For me, I'm a fan of just laying the frames in a pleasing manner with as close to equal space between them as possible. "Dry fitting" them on the floor first is a good idea.  There are also a ton of great tutorials on the web for achieving the perfect look.  But we're not about perfection here in the Christianson household.  :)

As for locations, there is no wrong place for a galley wall.  Most people would use a hallway as a general area, but think about the kitchen (as seen above), the kid's playroom or even a bathroom.  I found the perfect spot for us is up our stairs.  It makes a statement on an otherwise boring wall space.

So, for years I've collected frames on sale, clearance, flea markets, etc . . . and just kept a supply and slapped them on the wall when I had that just right photo to display.  This eclectic mish-mash of frames worked for quite awhile.


But recently I did a swooping change in the living room, and the eclectic mish-mash just wasn't cutting it anymore.  But I was also being strict with our budget, and although I love the look of all white or all black frames, I wasn't about to replace the complete collection.  So, I kept all the white and black frames, and then painted all the other frames with a punch of teal and chartreuse, to highlight some of the pops of color in our living room.



So, you're thinking to yourself, "Awwww . . . I do love the look of galley walls, but damned if I can keep all those frames straight?!?  And being the "A" personality that I am, I won't attempt it unless I know I can have 90 degree perfection!"  You were thinking that, weren't you?!?

Here's where I tell you about a trick?

Glue dots.

There.  I said it.  The trick is glue dots.


Yup.  Those funky little dots you buy in the scrapbooking section of AC Moore or Michael's.  If you have a frame that slips out of horizontal for you, just put a glue dot in the corners.  And if it's being a little bugger, don't be afraid to layer the dots on top of each other.  I've had to do this with some heavier frames and it worked like a charm.

So, now your excuse of crooked frames is squashed.  Get to that galley wall.

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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

The living room transformation

I have made a sweeping change in our living room.  Along with the kitchen, it is the heart and soul of our home, like most homes.  Previously, most of what we decorated with was brought into our marriage by each of us and then we kept decorating around that scheme.  Recently, I realized the scheme truly didn't fit our personality.

I'm embarrassed to show you this first photo for a few reasons:  1:  it's a scanned copy from the listing photo 10 years ago and super grainy, and 2:  my husband was fine with keeping the pink.  Yes, I said he was fine with keeping the pink.  What I think he meant is we could live with it for awhile.  Or at least I hope that's what he thought.  


Needless to say, Pepto Bismol walls were gone and turned into this over the first 6 months (note:  this is the first transformation):








Like I said, we decorated with what we had and just continued added to it.

Now to present day, we have a young family and I want our living space to reflect that.  I wanted everything in our room to mean something.  So I started over from scratch.



The TV console was designed by Ana White, just for our family.  You can find the post about the build here, as well as a link to the free plan.


We decided to go with slipcovered couches from Ikea as our crazy dog likes to hide his toys under the couch and then scratch the heck out of it trying to get it back.  The slipcovered bottoms freely move so they come out unscathed.



This vignette wall was exactly what we needed to add to reflect our family.  Besides the birds and frame, everything else was handmade.  You can check out this blog post about putting it together.



I love our Be Awesome Today sign.  It's something I want our kids -- and myself -- to be reminded of every day.  I chose the bright green to add that touch of fun.  Check out this post to see how the sign was made.



I LOVE functional decor, like the barn wood wall ruler.  Here is where I first posted about it.



We had purchased a very boring brown door from Home Depot to replace the original one on the house (as seen from the first few pics in the post).  I posted here how I transformed the door with some chalk paint.  As you can see from these new photos, I have changed the color again to match our more brighter decor.  




The mirror was painted the rust orange for another pop of color.  And I used left over painter's drop cloth (left over from the curtains made for the kitchen)  to make the wreath.  You can find the tutorial here. 




Although I may have started from scratch, I reused where I could.  So I took these perfectly fine side tables we already had and painted.  Here's the post for that one too.  



I love our photo gallery.  It always gets comments from new visitors and the kids get a thrill out of seeing themselves on the wall.  Writing a post about creating the wall is in the works, so keep an eye out for it.


Before anyone else asks, the curtains are from Target.  They are a super popular design and they still carry this style.

So, that's our living room, where the heart of the family beats.  Where you can find Calliou or Wiggles blaring on the TV.  Where we have impromptu picnics by laying a random blanket on the floor.  Where we settle in with our kids and enjoy.  :)

Thanks for reading!


Debbie

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