q is for quandie

Every once in a while I wonder to myself ‘is painted furniture going out of style?  and if so, what will I do?’ and then I feel a little panicky.

First of all, our whole house is full of painted furniture …

I certainly can’t replace it all.  Or at least not all at once.  And would I even want to?

I still really love my own pieces of painted furniture whether they are ‘in style’ or not.

But the bigger question is ‘what about my hobby?’  I call it a hobby because I haven’t come up with a better word to describe what I do here.

/ˈhɑːbi/ (plural hobbies) ​an activity that you do for pleasure when you are not working.

‘Hobby’ doesn’t really quite do it justice, but based on the Oxford Dictionary definition, it does fit.

Hobbies have come and gone from my life over the years.  One of the first hobbies I took up after we bought our house way, way back in 1988, was making stained glass windows.  I wasn’t going to be satisfied with just making those little doo-dads that you hang inside a regular window, I wanted to make full blown windows.  But you have to start somewhere, and I did start with making those suncatcher type things.  And after I had developed some still very rudimentary skills, I made the window that is in our piano room.

But I eventually grew bored with that hobby and I moved on to cross stitch.  Who else remembers the hey day of cross stitch?  I even belonged to a club, the Stitch and Bitch club.  We spent weekends at a friend’s cabin listening to the oldies station and stitching and bitching away.

But cross stitch went out of style and I replaced it with scrapbooking.

I loved scrapbooking.  But after years of doing it, I have 30 or so scrapbooks in the guestroom closet that I rarely ever look at.  And really, scrapbooking has gone out of style too, although on occasion I still enjoy creating scrapbook alternatives like the index cards …

Painting furniture and otherwise refurbishing vintage finds has really stuck with me though.  I started this particular hobby way back in the 90’s when the shabby chic movement was all the rage.

Back in the day I painted everything in the Rachel Ashwell palette of white, pink, pale green or pale aqua.  And I did all of that lettering by hand!  Isn’t that crazy?

Eventually I moved on and added more saturated colors into my work, like Miss Mustard Seeds’ Kitchen Scale.

Sometimes I cringe now when I look back at some of the pieces I painted in the early days of my blog though.

I mean really?  What was I thinking painting those trim pieces white?  I want to go back and paint them in the same color as the rest of the dresser so that they blend rather than pop now.  And by the way, that is Miss Mustard Seed milk paint in Artissimo on that one.

But even though I’m cringing when I look back at some of my earlier work, what I’m also realizing is that my style has definitely evolved over the past 25 years.

Ahhh, so much better without that contrasting trim, don’t you think?

And stencils are so much better than my old hand painted lettering.

Yes, these pieces are still painted, but they are painted in a more current style than those shabby chic pieces from two decades ago.

And I’ve gradually leaned towards leaving more things unpainted, like knobs, and tops …

or even an entire chair …

So in the end, maybe it doesn’t really matter whether or not painted furniture is going ‘out of style.’  We can all just continue to grow and let our styles evolve naturally over time.  That’s my plan anyway.  How about you?

As I shared last week, or was it the week before?  I don’t know, time flies so quickly these days it feels like the weeks all blend together.

Anyway, as I shared, I decided to take this bench back to the drawing board.

Again.

It started out as a bed, then it became a bench, and then it sat unsold for about 9 months.

I decided it was either the color, the transfer, or the price.  But I reduced the price and it still didn’t go.  Let me take a moment to reflect on that.  In all of my years of selling furniture I have found that lowering the price on a piece that isn’t selling almost never makes a difference.  My prices tend to be on the lower side anyway, so if a piece isn’t selling it’s not usually because of the price.  That being said, I do charge more for these benches because I pay Ken for the materials and for his time to turn them from beds into benches.  So I tried lowering the price, and still, no sale.

Ken thought the problem was those posts sticking up above the seat level on the front corners though.  Those has always bugged him, and he really wanted the chance to try something different.  So he brought it back to his workshop and cut the posts off the front corners, tapered the remaining top of each post to make it look more natural, and then replaced those two outer boards on the seat.

I do prefer this look over the old one, it’s definitely a little less fussy.

Next up I sanded off the transfer.

Today’s q tip:  when removing a transfer from something, you do have to fully remove it before painting over it.  Otherwise you will see an outline through your new paint.  I have found that the quickest solution is to put an 80 grit paper on my orbital sander and go to town on it.  I have tried using mineral spirits and that didn’t work for me.  After lots of elbow grease with a 3M scrubby pad saturated in mineral spirits, it still didn’t remove the transfer fully.

So, I sanded the transfer off, wiped away any dust and gave the bench a coat of Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky.  I had decided to just go back to basic black, which I know sells well.  And you know what?  I can’t really say why, but black just wasn’t working on this piece.  So once again, I decided to pivot (because that’s the trendy thing to do now).  I pulled out the Dixie Belle Drop Cloth and covered up that black.

The warm, almost creamy but not quite, off white shade of Drop Cloth just really does it for me.

The bench felt a little too plain without anything on that big framed rectangle on the back though, so I decided to add a fairly simple black transfer.

This is a section from a newer re.design with prima transfer called French Specialties.

The top section fit the space perfectly.  It went on super easily.  I love the ‘Paris 1889’ part in the middle.

It wasn’t until I was applying clear wax over it that I noticed a problem.

Do you see it?  Let me give you a minute.  I sort of gave it away in my blog post title.

Yeah.  It says the same thing three times over.  Top curved line, and bottom two lines.  Cakes and pastries, cakes and pastries, cakes and pastries.  What the what? Not that I don’t love cakes and pastries, and I’d be OK with the top curved line, and just one of the bottom lines.  But those two bottom lines did me in.

All I can think is that because the wording is French, I just simply didn’t take the time to ‘read’ the transfer.  I was too busy looking at the overall layout, admiring the fonts, thinking the scale of the design was perfect for my piece.  And frankly, assuming that the wording was vetted by re.design with prima.

Once you’ve seen it, you can’t un-see it, am I right?  Or maybe it’s just me.  Am I too particular?  Are any of you not bothered by the repetitive lines?

Since I’d already waxed over it, the process of removing just one of the bottom two lines becomes much more complicated.  If only I’d noticed before waxing.  I could have sanded one line off, touched up the paint, and moved on.  But with wax on it, and because those lines are fairly close together, I’m not sure I can successfully sand off that section and blend the touch up paint into the waxed areas that remain without damaging the rest of the transfer.

So tell me, what are your thoughts on this?

Would you …

a.  List it for sale as is because it’s just not that big of a deal and only neurotic perfectionists like myself are going to notice.

OR

b.  Try to remove one of those cakes and pastries lines from the bottom by sanding and hope that you can blend the repair seamlessly.

OR

c.  Shove this bench in the corner for 30 days while the wax cures and hope that you can paint over one of those lines without sanding (see q tip above before choosing this option!).

Leave me a comment and let me know what you would do!

One of my readers recently gave me the idea of sharing a flashback post on all of my mini’s (thank you for that idea Connie).

Since I’m in the middle of working on a bunch of Christmas items, and my bench makeover isn’t quite finished, I thought this would be a great way to create some content that wasn’t hopelessly out of season for you guys today.

Plus, it doesn’t take much encouragement for me to share my favorites, starting with this one.

It’s the perfect spot to perch my mini camera.

That is actually the 2nd look for this piece.  I’d originally painted it in Miss Mustard Seed milk paint in Eulalie’s Sky.  In fact, it was the first thing I ever painted in milk paint.  Eventually I re-painted it in Homestead House milk paint in Limestone when I unified my mini non-collection by painting them all the same color.

Adding the IOD transfer on the front was definitely the icing on the cake though.

Another of the mini’s that I’ve kept for myself is this one …

I use it as a jewelry box.

The third piece in the photo of mini’s above is one that I actually parted with.  I’d had it tucked inside a cupboard for a couple of years and decided that I wasn’t enjoying it enough to keep it.

So I brought it into the shop where I sell on consignment and sold it.

Even though I didn’t paint this next one, it’s still a piece that I haven’t been able to part with.

It’s perfect for holding all of my washi tapes.

This next piece is another one that I haven’t painted.

I haven’t really come up with a purpose for this one, so for now it lives inside a birdcage out on my front three-season porch.

Don’t even ask what possessed me to put it in a cage.  Who knows?  But I like it.  I keep debating whether or not to sell it though.

I also can’t really explain why sometimes I want to paint over these original finishes, and sometimes I don’t.  With the piece that I shared last week, I painted over its original yellow paint color.

This next piece is another one where I painted over the original paint …

mainly because the inside was a dark red, and the outside a really dingy cream color.  I just didn’t love it.

It turned out super adorable in a new color scheme though, and it sold quickly.

Here’s another hutch that I painted up.

I really wasn’t in love with those colors on that vintage wallpaper liner, but it was so perfectly vintage that I left it along and just painted the rest of the piece.  This one sold quickly as well, so someone must have loved it.

I’m not quite sure that this next one really counts as a miniature piece of furniture, but it definitely has the same flavor so I thought I’d include it.  This is another one that sold quickly, and who can be surprised by that?  Anyone can use an adorable button box to contain all of their mending supplies.

I’m not sure that this next one counts as a mini-dresser either, it’s more of a little storage box-ish thing really.  But I’m including it anyway.

I guess I can include anything I want to here, right?  It’s my blog, and I’ll post what I want to 😉

Anyway, that’s another one that I sold so that someone else could enjoy it in their own non-collection!

So how about, which one of these was your favorite.  Be sure to let me know in a comment.

Even after more than 25 years of refurbishing vintage furniture, I don’t always know exactly which pieces will sell quickly, and which ones won’t sell at all.  Somehow I still sometimes manage to get it wrong when making decisions about the new look for a piece.

In general, I find that pieces painted in a neutral color such as white, black, dark navy or grey sell really quickly.

While pieces painted in a less neutral color tend to take longer to sell, and sometimes don’t sell at all.  For example, I originally painted this bench in a smoky pale blue …

I thought the transfer was really pretty, and had the perfect message for a foyer.  And although the color wasn’t quite neutral, it also wasn’t really bright.

But it did not sell.  I gave it 9 months, and then decided to re-paint it in my favorite Dixie Belle Drop Cloth.

And it sold right away.

Sometimes the pieces painted in neutrals don’t sell either though.  For example, this dresser did not sell despite its white paint job.

This one really surprised me, the white pieces usually sell easily.  Was it the toile transfer on those two upper drawers?  I loved it, but clearly it was not everyone’s cup of tea.

After months of trying to sell it, I ended up sanding off the toile and adding an IOD transfer over the entire front of the dresser instead.

And once again, it sold fairly quickly.

But there are always exceptions to the neutral color rule, my mid-mod pieces painted in Fusion’s Park Bench green have always flown off the shelf.

And even this vintage piece painted in a vibrant green milk paint (Sweet Pickins In a Pickle) sold, although it did take a little bit longer than the neutral pieces.

I do think that you have to get to know your own geographical area and what will sell best in your neck of the woods too.  I suspect that the floral pieces may do better in the south, while here in the upper mid-west, people are a little more conservative.  I’m not sure if conservative is the right word, but we’re maybe just a bit less frilly (correct me if I’m wrong about that Southerners).  So whenever I add a floral transfer to a piece, I always assume it will take a little longer to sell.

The exception to that rule is this one though …

That’s the Rose Celebration transfer from re.design with prima.  I’ve only used it twice, but both times the piece sold really quickly.

Then there was this piece …

For the life of me, I couldn’t sell this piece with the mirror attached. Generally, I find that it’s more difficult to sell a dresser with a mirror than without.  I think it’s because dressers are so much more versatile without their mirrors.  They can be used in a dining room, or a living room as a TV stand, or in the laundry room or home office.  You’d think buyers could just take the mirror off, but I think most people are reluctant to dismantle a piece like this.

But not me.  With my handyman Ken’s help, I removed the mirror and replaced it with some trim that I painted to match.

And that was all it took to get this one to sell.

Finally, I also find that certain pieces of furniture sell faster than others.  Dressers, nightstands and washstands are the easiest to sell for me.

Things like hutches, cabinets, buffets and chairs usually take a little longer.

And then we have desks and benches.

Desks have just never been a quick sell for me.  Perhaps it’s because people don’t really need desks anymore, or at least not in the traditional sense.  Still, I am a bit surprised that I haven’t found a buyer yet for this one …

At this point I plan to paint a mirror to match that can be hung on the wall behind it to turn it into more of a vanity/dressing table.  Then I’ll restage my photos and try again.  Maybe that will help, maybe not.  I will really be bummed if I eventually have to paint over it.  I absolutely love the IOD transfer I used.  I may have to figure out a way to keep it myself if I can’t sell it.

The benches that Ken makes out of old bed frames always take longer to sell as well.  Maybe it’s because I have to charge more for them to pay for the materials and for Ken’s time.  Some of them sold fairly quickly though, like this one in basic black …

Some of them took a fair amount of time to sell, but did eventually go, like this one …

and this one …

And that brings me to this piece.

This one started out as a bed frame.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be a 3/4 sized bed (the original owner swore it was a twin, but I should have measured myself).  Once that little detail came to light, I sent the pieces over to Ken’s workshop to be turned into a bench.

I thought he did a brilliant job of re-working that footboard, but Ken was not happy with how it turned out.  He didn’t like the fact that the footboard had those corner posts that stuck up on either side of the seat in the front.  I thought that would be OK though.  It was already mostly painted in Dixie Belle’s Sawmill Gravy and had the Cosmic Roses transfer from re.design with prima on the back.  I’d done this combo before, on this dresser …

and it was a success.  So I touched up the paint here and there and listed it for sale.

But this bench just hasn’t sold.  Is it the color?  Is it the floral transfer?  Is it those posts sticking up in the front?  Or is it a little bit of all three?

I’m not really sure.  So I’m going to change all three.  Last week it once again went back to Ken’s workshop.  He cut off the tops of those posts in the front, then he replaced the two outer boards on the seat.

Now it’s back in my workshop.  I’ve sanded off the transfer and am now giving some more thought to its new look.  Any ideas?  I’ve very tempted to just paint it black.

For those of you who also paint furniture, what do you find sells best in your area?  Do you have a magic formula that works every time?  Leave a comment and share your experience with the rest of us!

My picker, Sue, knows me so well.  I’m sure as soon as she saw this tiny dresser she snatched it up for me.

Especially when she saw the price tag, which was $1.50.

I’m sure that there are some vintage lovers out there who would have preferred that I left it in its original yellow paint job (and P.S., that photo does not do the color justice, it was a bright yellow).  And I do agree that it has a certain aged charm about it.

But I tend to paint stuff.  In case you haven’t noticed.

So I cleaned it up, gave it a quick sand and then painted the insides of the drawers using a dark charcoal grey spray paint (because it’s quick and easy).  Then I painted the exterior in two coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.

To dress it up I added some wording from re.design with prima’s Paris Valley transfer.

I had to move things around a bit to avoid the knobs.  Seeing as I don’t actually speak French, I don’t know if the order I’ve put things in makes any sense at all.  French speakers everywhere are probably rolling their eyes.

But I think it’s pretty darn adorable.

I lined the drawers with some more October Afternoon scrapbook paper.  As I’ve mentioned in the past, October Afternoon was a local company here in the Twin Cities and they have been out of business for a while now.  You can sometimes still find inventory left over from various online retailers though.

I used to stock up at their annual warehouse sales, so I have a lot of their paper on hand still.  Since I rarely scrapbook anymore, I’m always happy to find other uses for it.  This particular design is from their 9 to 5 collection.

I staged this one up simply with my mini camera, a small photo and a little book.

That little book is a birthday reminder book.  It is inscribed to my grandmother from her grandmother on January 2, 1912.  My grandmother was born in 1898, so she would have been 13 at the time.

I’m fairly sure it must be in Norwegian, since that particular great, great, grandmother of mine was from Norway.

My grandmother must not have kept up the book, because I’m not listed on November 22.  For that matter, my mother isn’t listed on her birthday either.  Maybe my grandma didn’t need to be reminded of those 😉

This little dresser could be used to house all sorts of tiny treasures; jewelry, a coin collection, scrapbook supplies, mending supplies, etc, etc.

After all, good things come in small packages.

For now I think I’m going to add this little charmer to my own collection (or should I say non-collection?) of mini furniture.  I just need to find a spot for it somewhere!

One of my readers offered me this little cabinet a while back.  She’d planned to give it a makeover herself, but never got around to it and finally decided to give it up.  Hey, it happens to all of us, right?

If you look at the top, right side of the cabinet, you can see that this piece was formerly a built-in.  There isn’t any trim on that side because it was up against a wall.  So the first step with this piece was to have my handyman Ken work some of his magic on it.

He wasn’t aiming for perfection, I just wanted him to add a little bit of balance to that side of the cabinet.

So he added a 1″ x 2″ board to the side to ‘match’ the other side, and then he moved that tiny bit of trim (with the arrow pointing to it in the photo above) from the back of the cupboard to the side instead.  He also added a little piece of filler wood behind it so that there wasn’t a gap.

Then he added that little triangular piece of wood under the 1 by 2 to sort of fake your eye into not noticing the lack of trim there.

I used some of Dixie Belle’s Mud to hide some gaps too.  Then I painted all of the new wood in Dixie Belle’s Coffee Bean.  I did that because I knew I wanted to paint this piece in milk paint, and milk paint over raw wood looks a bit different than milk paint over finished (or painted wood) and I didn’t want that area to stand out.

I mentioned that last week’s spooky furniture was inspired by the Kabinet & Kammer book.  I’m often inspired by things I see in decorating books, and today’s piece is another example of that.  This time my inspiration comes from Patina Farm by Gianetti & Gianetti.

Specifically, this cupboard in Patina Farm …

I love that smoky blue grey color, along with the really worn and distressed look of that cabinet.

I thought that I could probably recreate that look using Miss Mustard Seed milk paint in Aviary.  So I mixed up the rest of the Aviary paint I had on hand and started painting.

I really cut it close with the paint.  I’d already used some of the package of paint on both my sister’s trunk and a small chair, so I had less than half left.  Luckily I was aiming for a massively worn look because that helped disguise the fact that I didn’t really get perfect coverage with just two coats on paint on this piece, but that was all the paint I had left.

It was enough to give me the look I wanted though.

After painting the outside, I distressed heavily (by sanding with 220 grit paper) and then added a top coat of clear wax.  I ultimately decided not to paint the inside.  I think the smoky blue color works well with the tone of the warm wood interior, and with the door shut you really don’t see much of it.

I did clean it up a bit inside using Dixie Belle’s Big Mama’s Butta though.  This time I used their new scent for fall called Flannel.  It smells pretty much just like men’s cologne, so if you’re looking for a more masculine scent, this is it.  It would be perfect for freshening up the drawers of a gentlemen’s chest of drawers.

This cupboard would be a fun piece to tuck into a narrow spot in your home, and as you can see it looks great with some ironstone inside.

Although this is usually where I tell locals that they can check out my ‘available for local sale’ page for more details, but this sweet little cupboard is already spoken for!

Just a heads up to those of you who look for my blog posts on the regular, my sister and I are flying out later today to visit our mom.  We’ll be gone all of next week, so I’ll be taking a little bit of a blog break.  But I’ll be back with another post on October 4, so be sure to stay tuned!