2014 – Page 7 – q is for quandie

another quandie quickie.

Published on September 9, 2014September 8, 2014 by Quandie10 Comments

I haven’t done a quandie quickie in a while. I’ve been so busy working on furniture this summer, that I haven’t done many small, quick projects.

Recently I had some extra MMS milk paint in Eulalie’s Sky mixed up, left over from a dresser I was painting. I hate to let this stuff go to waste, so I looked around for something to paint. I pulled out this cute little vintage child’s folding chair that I picked up while my sister was visiting. The perfect candidate for a paint job.

I don’t have a ‘before pic’ to share, but this was basically bare wood. Old, dirty, bare wood. I did absolutely nothing to prep it. No sanding, no cleaning. I just brushed off some dirt and called it good. Since the paint was already mixed up, I just slapped it on. Two coats. Followed by a quick sanding to distress and then a coat of hemp oil.

I added a metal number 7 plate to the back of the chair.

How do you like the newest addition to my clock collection? While my sister was here, we checked out a few shops in Minneapolis, including Junket: Tossed & Found, which is where I found the clock. A vintage clock with aqua in it was on my wish list, so I was thrilled to find this one for a mere $12.

I don’t know why I am obsessed with child sized chairs. Something about them just appeals to me. This one will likely get a price tag slapped on him for the October Carriage House Sale.

Isn’t he just adorable?

that old black magic.

Published on September 8, 2014September 13, 2014 by Quandie53 Comments

Mr. Q picked up this fabulous little dresser just north of the Twin Cities the other day. The gentleman that was selling it couldn’t believe he wanted to drive all the way up there for this ‘old thing’. It was probably about a 50 minute drive. Not that terrible. Mr Q had to keep reassuring him that his wife likes ‘old’ things, ‘old’ is what we are looking for.

And this ‘old thing’ is gorgeous. I loved the big fan detail on the drawer, the curlicue bits on the top drawers, and the hardware is fantastic.

When I first saw it on Craigslist, I wasn’t too sure about that mirror piece at the back. I also thought I would paint it either yellow or aqua. Wrong on both counts. In person, I loved the vintage mirror at the back and I immediately knew I wanted to paint the dresser black and leave the decorative parts wood. I had seen a similar treatment on pinterest, and I wanted to give it a try on this piece. Plus, I had been checking out Miss Mustard Seed’s color focus pin boards on pinterest, and her Typewriter board had me sold. If you haven’t seen these, you should check them out.

Every time I break out the MMSMP in Typewriter, I am reminded of how much I love it. If you finish it with the hemp oil, you get the most fabulous deep, rich, black. And it goes on so very easily. This dresser was an absolute breeze to paint. I did one coat on Thursday evening, and a 2nd quick coat on Friday evening. Once dry I gave it a quick sand and finished with the hemp oil. Easy peasy.

Well, I did do a bit of prep work first. I filled some areas where the veneer had chipped using wood filler. I also had to replace some drawer stops. Little fixes that are a part of the process. Then I thoroughly sanded and cleaned it before painting. I did not want a lot of chipping. As you can see, I ended up not getting any chipping. I just got some nice distressed edges when I sanded again after painting.

As for the mirror, I had a little fun with that. When I took it apart to paint the back I realized that some of the silvering was chipping off. It reminded me of a fabulous mirror that I saw at the Round Barn that had a bunch of silvering missing and you could see some vintage newspaper behind those spots. Gorgeous. So, I decided to try to copy that look.

I used my trusty old Swedish bible and added it behind the mirror using a little spray adhesive to keep it in place. It’s a small detail that makes all the difference on this dresser. Adding that little touch of something unique that no one else has.

I love the idea of a pop of deep black in an otherwise mostly white room, don’t you?

I wish I could keep every dresser that I fall in love with, but that would classify me as a hoarder and we can’t have that.

So this gorgeous bit of black magic is ~~for sale. If you are interested in the particulars, leave me a comment and I will get back to you via email~~. Ooops, you missed it, this one is SOLD.

One final B & A.

lake of the isles.

Published on September 7, 2014September 6, 2014 by Quandie2 Comments

Yesterday my Carriage House Sale co-host, Sue, and her sister Jan joined me for a neighborhood garage sale near Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis. It was in East Isles, an absolutely gorgeous neighborhood filled with beautiful older homes. We could have just driven around and drooled over all of the gorgeous houses, but as an added bonus there were also garage sales! About 40 of them.

I didn’t come home with a giant haul. Sadly, there was no furniture to be found at all. But I did find a few gems here and there. A sweet little child sized vintage wicker chair, another fab suitcase. It seemed to be the day for original artwork also. I came home with three paintings. The one above has that mid-century Spanish feel. I plan to paint the frame and sell this one at my fall Carriage House Sale (taking place Oct 4, Saturday only, exact time to be determined, pencil it in!)

And something about this painting of a chair just appealed to me. Perhaps it is my obsession with furniture.

As for this modern geometric, nnK snatched it up as soon as I got it home. The colors in it are perfect for her house.

It was a picture perfect sunny morning with temps in the mid-60’s. Blue sky as far as the eye could see. Not even a hint of humidity.

And seriously, how cute is this little chair?

It’s a little sad to realize that garage sale season will be drawing to a close in about a month. We are already seeing signs of fall here in Minnesota; cooler temps, earlier sunsets. It definitely is right around the corner.

jazz up your guest room.

Published on September 5, 2014September 4, 2014 by Quandie15 Comments

I purchased a dresser from someone via craigslist a couple of weeks ago, and when I picked it up she said “oh, I also have the bed that goes with it, you can just have it if you want it.”

Um, yeah, OK. I hate to turn down free furniture.

Not too many people use a full size bed in the master bedroom anymore, but they are great for a small guest room. Or for a child’s bedroom. Or maybe you only have enough room for a double bed at the cabin?

This would be perfect for all of the above.

I painted the bed with Annie Sloan chalk paint, Old White and Coco. Then I added some vintage wallpaper border that I got from my friend Michelle to the foot board.

This bed has some charming details, but it’s not overly frilly. More tailored.

The bed retains its original label, which is kind of cool.

For those of you who are local, perhaps you have heard of the Golden Rule? It was a department store in St. Paul that opened in 1886. Eventually it became Donaldson’s, which may spark memories for some locals who go back that far. The Golden Rule building still stands in St. Paul, although it has been turned into offices.

It really is somewhat challenging to get interesting photos of a bed frame without a box spring, mattress and linens. While painting this bed, I thought about how it would look fully made. With pillows in front of the headboard, a good bit of the Coco will be covered up. I think this bed would be gorgeous with crisp white vintage linens and then a pop of the Coco color with this throw from H & M.

But since I don’t have a spare box spring and mattress handy for a photo shoot, you’ll just have to use your imagination.

So, what do you think?

another golden oldie.

Published on September 2, 2014August 30, 2014 by Quandie9 Comments

Going back and re-visiting some of my furniture rehabs from my pre-blog days has an added bonus. I can correct the photos. Such is the case with this one, a gorgeous dresser that I painted with MMSMP in Grain Sack last fall.

Those of you who are familiar with MMSMP know that Grain Sack is a white with grey undertones, some might even call it a very pale grey. In my original photos the white balance was way off. See …

Wow … looking back I can’t believe I was happy with these photos. Yikes!

In the new and improved photos, you can see that the color is much more grey than cream.

This dresser has the most beautiful detail. Is there an official term for that kind of swagged curtain? Does anyone know?

The hardware was quite pretty as well.

This one ended up with just the right amount of chipping to look genuinely aged.

This dresser sold up at the Round Barn. I think to the owner’s mom, if memory serves. I hope she loves it and it is serving her well.

the good, the bad and the ugly.

Published on September 1, 2014August 31, 2014 by Quandie11 Comments

Today I am stringing together some random stuff that is good, bad or ugly.

Let’s start with the bad. First of all, my sister has gone back to New Jersey. Sniff, sniff. One of my fondest wishes is that my sister would move here to Minnesota. I’ve tried to convince her to no avail (so far!). Perhaps one day. Meanwhile, I have to make do with periodic visits, texts and phone calls. I already miss her, even though she totally bosses me around most of the time.

As for the ugly, my computer died. Yikes! It was old and ratty, a hand-me-down computer from Mr. Q. The easy fix was to just get a new one, so I did. But that led to the really ugly part. While loading stuff on to the new computer, it became infected with a browser hijacker! If you’ve never had one, thank your lucky stars. Basically it takes over your computer while you are on the web and brings up random tabs full of products that you have absolutely no interest in. And every time you delete the stuff, it just comes back again. I’ve never been so frustrated in my life. Getting rid of the hijacker was a challenge, but fortunately Mr. Q was up to it. Knock on wood, I think I am in the clear.

Now for the good! The really fabulous, super duper, amazingly good. As I mentioned earlier, I am going on a trip! Where? Well, here’s a hint.

Have you guessed it yet?

Here is a bigger hint.

Woo hoo! It’s a cruise on the Danube. We sail from Budapest to Nuremburg, with stops in between in Vienna, Melk, Regensburg and Passau. “We” includes me, Mr. Q, my sister and my mom.

We weren’t really in the market for a fabulous European vacation at the moment, but let me explain. You see, my mom is a travel agent. A while back she took some online familiarization courses with Viking Cruise Lines, and when she finished them her name was thrown in a hat to win a free cruise on the Danube. Yep. Free (except airfare). And she won! Long story short, the rest of us got a great deal on joining her. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Thank goodness I just renewed my passport!

I think the universe has been listening to me lately. First I was wondering when I would ever have more photos to add to my travel gallery wall, then came the ‘travel the world desk‘. I’ve been sending the travel vibe out there, and it came back with a bang!

Needless to say, we are all super excited about the trip. My sister and I are BIG on planning. Sometimes the planning is half the fun! We are busy scouring guidebooks, surfing the web for tips and trying to decide what we want to be sure and see in each destination. We’ll be spending several extra days in Budapest, so that is our main focus. Have any of you been to Hungary, Austria or Germany? If so, I’d love to hear about what you saw or did there! Or any other travel tips you may want to share. Bring ’em on!

champ de lavande server.

Published on August 29, 2014August 28, 2014 by Quandie16 Comments

I picked up this petite server at the Highland Park garage sales. It wasn’t in terrible shape aside from being a bit dinged up. It really just needed a cosmetic makeover. An updated look.

I went with Annie Sloan chalk paint in French Linen again.

I felt like the little detail below the drawers needed to be drawn out with some white paint.

I freshened up the inside of the cupboard area with some dark charcoal grey ‘oops’ paint that I had on hand.

Although I have staged this piece as a server for the dining room, I think it would be perfect in a foyer as a place to drop the keys and mail.

You could put shoes or purses in the bottom cupboard, gloves and scarves in the drawer.

So, there you have it, a fun little makeover.

breakfast on the deck.

Published on August 27, 2014August 25, 2014 by Quandie14 Comments

When my sis arrived, we were having an awful spell of disgustingly humid weather. I don’t know about the rest of you, but humidity does my house no favors and it is my least favorite weather condition. I do not have central air (radiators, not ducts). I do have a couple of window units, but only use them when the situation is really dire. In this case, it was very humid but not especially hot, so I left them off. As a result, my house was sticky, smelly, damp, ugh!

So I was delighted to wake up on Monday to fresh breezes and a distinct drop in humidity levels. Plus as an added bonus, the sun was shining. So I thought it would be lovely to have a leisurely breakfast on the deck.

I may have mentioned before, I am the type of cook that has to dust her stove. In other words, I don’t really cook. But I can cut up some berries, brew up some coffee and toast some english muffins. Well, actually, my sister did that part (she got the cooking genes in our family).

I may not cook, but I can set a pretty table.

A mix of vintage and new. The monogrammed glasses came from Goodwill. How could I pass them up? The cafe au lait bowls were ordered online for what I confess was some exorbitant sum. The numbered plates are from Target. The pitcher and ironstone bowl for the berries were both garage sale finds.

This is how I roll. Spend pennies on most stuff, but occasionally splurge on something special.

Can you see my fabulous napkins? Those are from Jeanne d’Arc Living, and I bought them online (you can order some for yourself here). I only break them out for special people.

My deck happens to be a particularly lovely spot for breakfast right now because my Limelight hydrangeas are in full bloom.

The Key Lime hydrangeas next to the photo cottage are looking pretty good as well.

This, in a nutshell, is why I love hydrangeas. They are covered in blooms, with absolutely no effort made on my part at all. The flowers last forever, and when dry I will add them to my window boxes where they will look good all winter as well.

You may have noticed my deck chair pillows. I have to tell you, I made a mistake when ordering them from Restoration Hardware. I got them on clearance, and I thought I checked the size, but when they came, they were far too wide for my chairs. So, my friend Sue chopped off a bit from each end (thanks goodness for friends who can sew).

I was worried it would look ridiculous, but I think it works. If I hadn’t told you, would you have thought they were meant to be this way?

My sister and I lingered over breakfast for quite a while. Partly because it was just so darn idyllic on the deck.

And partly because we were pouring over these.

Yep, we are planning a trip! And it’s going to be an exciting one. Pretty soon I will have some more awesome travel photos to add to my gallery wall, and I am so excited! I’ll share more on that soon. But meanwhile, we set place no. 4 for you, want to join us?

summit ave.

Published on August 25, 2014August 24, 2014 by Quandie9 Comments

My sister has arrived for a visit giving me the opportunity to be a tourist in my own town. On Saturday we headed over to a yard sale on Summit Avenue in St. Paul. According to Wikipedia, Summit Ave “remains a well-preserved example of a Victorian residential boulevard.” We did the official walking tour of Summit through the Minnesota Historical Society the last time my sister visited, so after checking out the yard sale, we headed of down some side streets instead of staying on the main boulevard.

It was a gloomy day, and I was taking pictures with my phone which I am no good at. I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera. My But I’ll still share our adventure with you.

Behind the beautiful mansions you’ll find some original cobblestone alleys.

The houses just off Summit are not quite as grand, but they are still lovely and many have fab gardens.

It’s a great place to get ideas for your own garden planter combinations, or perhaps a faux bois fence.

Ultimately we ended up back on Summit Ave, where we admired some of the more extravagant homes including this one that happens to be for sale. The price? A mere $1,695,000 (check out this link to see photos of the interior). Let’s buy two!

The detail on the columns of the brick house is just gorgeous.

We also peered into this secret garden.

We ended our morning with lunch and mimosas on the patio at the Wild Onion on Grand Avenue.

Jen’s house, part two.

Published on August 22, 2014August 21, 2014 by Quandie15 Comments

Today we are going to continue our tour of Jen’s house by moseying on in to the bedrooms and bathroom which are all through a little hallway off the dining room. Can I just say, I am a sucker for a vintage built in with all of its original hardware. Seriously, how fab are these?

The laundry shoot was an amazing invention. I suppose having laundry facilities on an upper floor is an even more amazing invention, but I wouldn’t know from personal experience!

The grey on her walls here, by the way, is Sherwin Williams’ Light French Gray.

There are two bedrooms with a bathroom in the middle. Let’s head into Jen’s study first, which also happens to be where she placed the dresser she purchased from me!

Aren’t her floors simply gorgeous? I’m totally envious of their pristine condition. She did have them all re-done before she moved in. Smart move! Jen was asking my advice on how to style this room. I like the idea of a wall quote, like this example from pinterest.

This would work really well around the corner of the wall next to the yellow dresser.

I also think one of those vintage pull down schoolhouse maps would look great on the wall over the desk, don’t you agree? If it had some yellow in it, that would help pull that color over to the opposite side of the room.

Jen’s bathroom has gotten a little makeover with paint.

She painted the walls and the base of the vanity. I know that down the road she’d like to make some more significant improvements in here, but like her kitchen, it is spruced up and presentable as is. I am always a little sad when it is obvious that the original sink has been changed out for one of these. I had this style vanity in my own house when I moved in rather than the original sink. One day I would love to find a vintage sink that would work in my bathroom.

Jen is lucky to have what appear to be the original floor tiles though, aren’t they fab?

Those blue ‘flowers’ made from the hexagon tiles are simply smashing.

Finally we come to the master bedroom. I absolutely adore the color that Jen picked for her walls, Coral Gables by Benjamin Moore.

Isn’t it gorgeous? A lot of us would be afraid of using this much color on the walls, but it works beautifully here paired with the more neutral tones in her upholstered headboard and her pale grey duvet cover. The first time I was in Jen’s house the sun was out and this room just glowed with cheery coral goodness. I am very tempted to borrow this color myself. It would be perfect in my study, or my guest room.

And the light fixture is amazing. Jen added this herself. I was surprised because it looked vintage to me. It’s perfect for above her bed.

And here is Jen’s gallery wall, which also pays homage to places she’s been.

I bet Jen will be adding to this wall over time with more pictures of fabulous places!

I hope you enjoyed your tour of Jen’s home and will join me in thanking her for letting us all have a peek inside. I enjoy seeing what other people are doing with their spaces, especially those with an extra dose of character thrown in and I bet you do too!

Thanks so much Jen! I hope you’ll stay in touch and keep us updated on your future projects.