Before & After (my desk)

I bought this table years ago at my local flea market with a matching set of 6 chairs. They were all painted in an oil based dirty white, so I had them stripped down to their natural wood. The stripped chairs were gorgeous, so I left them au naturale and gave them 2 coats of natural varnish and reupholstered them in a natural linen with velvet black brocade (I'll do a post on them later).

Before: The desk after it was stripped (pre-paint)...

The desk was formerly half of a table,which I didn't take a picture of naturally ;). After stripping it I realized that it needed to be painted due to some places that wouldn't take varnish. And after pondering what color to choose, I finally went with this...

North Sea Green - Ben Moore Natura Zero-VOC Paint

The color is an ode to the ocean!!! I love the thought of bringing the beauty of nature indoors in colors, photos and art! Does the name of a color have any influence for you in using it in your home?

So here is the after...

A close-up detail...pretty isn't it?...

A close-up vignette...

The woman in the small photo is my Grandmother. Her name was Autumn Bell...how fitting for right now! And in the larger photo is my Grandmother Autumn again holding my mother, Sandy. I never got to meet my Grandma, but my mother has told me that I look a bit like her and that she had similar interests in refinishing furniture.

The lamp is apart of a pair that I bought at the same flea market. They didn't come with shades, so I got mine from Pottery Barn in a nice linen...it's really hard to find second-hand shades in good condition.

And I made the ceramic nesting bowls last year...great for containing spices! Maybe I'll use them as a give-a-way...do any 15 of you want them ;)???

And freesia in a vase made by an incredible artist friend of mine...isn't it gorgeous? (if he lets me I'll do a post about him)...

You know I have never smelled fresh freesia before...have you all? It's nothing like the scents in lotions, soaps, etc. It's totally unique with hints of a peppery note...fascinating!

Hope you all enjoyed and if you need help painting a hard piece of furniture...then I am your gal!

Also, seen at Primitive and Proper!