You may have noticed that I haven’t posted any finished pieces from last weekend.  Well, I didn’t get much painting done.  I was booked solid picking up furniture.  Sometimes it just works this way.  I’ll go weeks without seeing much of interest on Craigslist, and then suddenly I’ll see numerous items that I want to get my hands on.  Last weekend we picked up six pieces!

Want to see them?  Of course you do!

First, this fab tall dresser.  It’s right up my alley.  I’ve done quite a few similar pieces, like the Grain Sack dresser and the Kitchen Scale dresser .  I was able to send Mr. Q to pick this one up Friday morning while I was off at the day job.  I’m not sure yet what color I will choose for this one, any suggestions?

Can I just say?  Are you digging this ‘before’ picture as much as I am?  Since I am storing this one in the Carriage House until I can get to it, I decided to take a few quick before shots in the driveway rather than hauling it into the house just for a quick picture.  And yes, it was lightly snowing at the time.  I truly had no idea how lovely that would make the picture.  Now I want to take all of my furniture outside for winter photo shoots!

And since I was in the driveway with my camera, I went ahead and got a ‘before’ photo of this buffet that Mr. Q and his friend Gene picked up for me early Sunday afternoon.

In case you are wondering, I do plan to paint this in Kitchen Scale just like my own very similar buffet.

So if you have always coveted it, and you are local … well, soon you’ll have your chance!

This one even came with the original keys for the locks which is extremely rare.  And the inside was lined with newspaper pages from 1959 which is kind of cool.

The real reason that I had Mr. Q call in Gene for assistance was the next 3 pieces that came as a set.  The seller told me they were heavy and I needed to bring my own manpower, so I did.  I spent a little more than I normally would on this set, and you’ll see why in the end.  But let’s start with the bed.  And in case you are wondering, I just took these pics yesterday when the sun came out again.  Not quite as magical as the snowy pics, right?  So much for the winter outdoor photo shoots.

But, isn’t the bed beautiful?  From the above photo you can’t even see what sold me on it.

It’s the wrap around foot board …

Isn’t that unique?  I’d never seen one like this before.

The set also came with a vanity.

(Sorry Terri, Mr Q’s legs are still fully clothed!  It was -9 degrees when we took these pics.)

But the real reason for the splurge on this set was the dresser.  I have a customer who has been looking for a spectacular piece for a bedroom makeover, and I knew this piece would be just that.  I sent her some pictures of the dresser before I purchased it to be sure she was interested, and she definitely was, so I took the leap.  And here it is.

This picture does not do justice to this piece, not to mention it’s just a bad picture overall.  There is some trim at the back of the top that doesn’t even show here, but is similar to the top of the mirror on the vanity and the top of the headboard.  This dresser is just so heavy, there was no way Mr. Q and I were going to haul it outside, or even into the next room for its photo shoot, so we’ll have to make do with this photo for now.

I don’t normally do custom work.  Why?  Because I already have a day job where I have to answer to others, so when I work on furniture, I want to have the freedom to do whatever I want to.  But every once in a while I make an exception, like I did with the ‘travel the world’ desk for my fabulous customer, Nikkii.  And now with this piece, I’m making another exception just because I really want to turn it into something spectacular for this client.  The next step is to meet with her and decide on a plan for its makeover.  I’m really excited to see just how lovely this dresser can be.

My final find from last weekend is something that I am keeping for myself.  Mr Q and I picked it up on one of our Friday date nights.  When I first saw the ad for this piece, I got an 80’s country pine vibe from it and initially I just wasn’t sure.  After thinking about it, and getting my friend Terri’s opinion, I decided to at least go take a look.  I knew I could do a lot for it with some paint.

In person, the piece was not nearly as “chunky” as I was worried it might be.  In fact, at first I thought perhaps it really was old.  The cupboard doors open with some antique looking keys, it has that beadboard back.  The sellers we purchased it from had an amazing 1925 house in Edina that appeared to be filled with gorgeous antiques.  But no, upon closer inspection it is obvious that this is a newer piece of furniture that was likely designed to look like an antique.  In a way, this is a good thing.  I don’t feel one iota of guilt about painting it.

I hung the wallpaper inside the top of the cabinet while I was considering what ‘look’ I wanted to go with, but in the end I went in a different direction.  Here is a sneak peek of coat no. 1.  This is MMS milk paint in Artissimo, in case you are wondering.  It looks quite different before a top coat, doesn’t it?

So, I did get some painting done last weekend.

I’m sure you can guess what my future plan is for the cabinet since you know what room I’m working on.  I’m not sure how soon you will be seeing it again, but you’ll definitely see it down the road.  In the meantime, I think I may have crossed the line and become a furniture hoarder, so I am swearing off craigslist for now until I can get these pieces done.  I’m not even going to look.  Well … unless something really fabulous is out there 😉