Wednesday, October 27, 2010

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
Benjamin Moore 2053-30 North Sea Green

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!
grabtt

15 comments:

  1. Hi Danielle, It's Adrienne-- first off, Looks Beautiful, Heidi actually introduced me to a similar color to bring punch and vibrance into a room. Love it!! 2 questions: The desk was a full size table, did you cut it in half, or was it pre-cut? also, what stripper did you use for the chairs? I am having difficulty stripping the paint off chairs from free-cycle. Also, any ideas about using an old dresser as a new vanity for a bathroom?

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  2. Visually, it pops. But without the VOCs,it doesn't do much for me aromatically.

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  3. Adrienne...the guys at the flea market sawed the table in half for me and added the top trim. The color is pretty, but after painting my bathroom it I realize it's better in small punches or in super large room with a lot of light and white accents. And there is a great stripper in Manassass. I tried to strip it the natural way with a plant based solvent, but it was crazy difficult on the twists and turns of the piece. And I have seen using an old dresser as a vanity many times...I'll do a post about it. The dresser just needs to be super sturdy! Hope that helps. Thanks!

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  4. Jim...if you are looking for an aromatic paint then try oil based paints in a high gloss. It'll give that visual POP and have an aroma to match!!

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  5. Thanks for the tips, also that dresser you have on your latest blog would be perfect for my bathroom and the price fits too. Luckily there are great finds here, too in the Philly area. Now, it is just being patient to find an appropriate dresser to re-purpose it. Love all of your finds!

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  6. I LOVE the color you chose! It's the perfect shade of blue-green-aqua! : )

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  7. Beautiful piece and the color is so fun, great job!
    Thanks for stopping by today, nice to "meet" you.
    Londen

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  8. perfect color! It looks awesome with your lamp too!

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  9. Thanks Londen (great name)...nice to meet you too!

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  10. i love your desk!!!! really different. the style, the color.

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  11. gorgeous!!! love that color and i love ben moore paints!!! what a happy place to get your work done! thanks for joining my party, danielle!

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  12. Beautiful! I love the character this piece! And the color is gorgeous!

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