Totally awesome new ugly duckies

Before we left Provo we couldn't help but making one last trip to our favorite place to thrift-

Star Mill Antiques in America Fork. 

I can't say enough great things about this place!

This is my Pottery Barn desk!

OK it will resemble one in a few days.

Hopefully.  

I couldn't pass up this inlaid top . 

Plus it was a great deal. :)

Did you catch the headboard behing the desk.

I love this style.

Love. Love. Love.

And finally a horrible picture of a gorgeous secretary.

She'll get the full treatment, new legs included.  

P.S. Did you notice the button at the top of the page for the Vintage Market in Scottsdale AZ on September 27th?

 We'll be a vendor there so come by and say HI! Or howdy. Or Hola. Or Bonjour. Or wazz up.  

Or what ever floats your boat. :) 

6 Drawer Plank Top Dresser

One fine day, Jake was at Home Depot picking up some wood glue.

Exciting I know. Don't worry the story gets better. 

While chatting with one of the sales guys, he mentioned what we do and the sales guy said, 

"Well I've got a dresser. It's yours if you come pick it up."

Free. Furniture. 

Yes please!  

She was in bad shape.

She was chippy, but not in a good distressed way. 

So off the top came.

We did it the old fashioned way with a hammer and chisel.   

And oh my goodness she was SO so dirty. 

(Like lots of spider eggs dirty)

Gives me the heebee geebees. 

But here she is now. 

One of my favorite features is the plank top. 

We painted it and then sanded almost all of it back off so it has a slightly weathered look.

The hardware is...well it's rope. 

We tried traditional hardware but it didn't flow with the piece. 

But the rope just WORKS! 

The grain of the wood was too beautiful to paint so we stained it with Minwax Antique Walnut.

The base is painted with Camembert by Behr. 

We took these in Rhett's room and so we used some of his things to stage it.

This is the shifty sailor. His eyes...well they're shifty.

And meet Roy. Rhett carries him around the house by chewing on his nose.  

She's solid wood with 6 deep drawers. 

For more information look under the For Sale tab at the top of the page.

Keep your head up and let your hair down :)

We MOVED!! 

And I think we might never move again.

Seriously, we might raise our future 20 children* in a 2 bedroom apartment. 

We managed to spill paint all over the driver's seat of the car, somehow lose only one knob off my dresser, and move into our second floor apartment during Arizona's record breaking heat wave.

Any tips for removing latex paint from leather?

And despite the chaos we are really happy and grateful to be here. :)

I keep thinking of the song "Keep your Head Up" by Andy Grammer.

I might be listening to it on repeat.

Enjoy and I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

*We probably, most definitely, will not have 20 children, but I felt like exaggerating.  

Hello Vintage Herringbone!

I love herringbone. 

It's classic. It's timeless. It's utterly unique.  

I also love Martha Stewart.

OK I love pre financial scandal Martha. 

Did you know that she has a fantastic paint tool kit? 

Seriously this thing is worth every penny of the $16 dollars it's priced at. 

With it's help we created this. 

A vintage herringbone table.

OK being 100% honest, it was not the easiest technique. 

But after 3 tries, lots of frog tape, and some bad words almost being said, I LOVE it.

She's painted in Frost by Behr and Pencil Point, also by Behr.

For more info look under the For Sale  tab at the top of the page.

Some very cool cardboard

We are moving in 2 days.

And I'm pleased to say that we have finally packed our last box!

Usually I don't find cardboard very inspiring.

And have you ever gotten a cardboard cut?

SO much worse than a paper cut.

But did you know that some people have an AMAZING talent of making furniture out of it?!

Here is some cardboard at its finest.

This is a reception desk at an architectural firm. Yes, they have my business.

via

And can you imagine the math it must have taken to configure this? Blows my mind.

via

 This puts a new twist on the phrase "working out of box."

via

 OK I think this one is simply just adorable.

via

And apparently this one can support thousands of pounds.

via

This is my personal favorite. :)

via

 And if cardboard could ever be called elegant it would be because of this desk.

via

Amazing right?! 

Here are some links with how-tos if you want to try this yourself!

www.instructables.com

www.andrewsenior.com

www.foldschool.com

www.lowimpactliving.com

Can I get you a sample?

It is almost impossible for me to make a trip to Home Depot and not spend a significant amount of time looking at all of the paint swatch cards. 

And it is also almost impossible for me not to have them mix up a sample of a new color I found. 

I, personally, am a Behr girl. 

Did you know that they have over 2000 colors?! 

Holy options Batman! 

One reason I love Behr (even though 2000 options can be a little overwhelming), is because I love how most of their swatches show a  spectrum of colors similar to one another. 

This helps me compare similar colors and chose the one that best matches my vision. 

This is about a third of my sample collection. 

Like I said, it's hard for me not to pick up a different one each time I'm there. :)

So I thought I'd share some of my favorites that I've used.

In the white/neutral category:

Ballet White: It's a soft white without being too stark or influenced by undertones of pinks/yellows/browns. 

Camembert: A LOVELY cream. It is tinged with a pale yellow. 

Frost: This is a stark white. Very crisp and clean. 

In the gray category:

Manhattan Mist: A soft gray with a twinge of a subtle subtle blue.

Subtle Touch: A white with a touch of gray; just like the name says.

Sparrow: A rich gray without looking stone-like. 

In the blue category:

Windsor Haze: Almost a stone blue with a navy touch.

Pencil Point: A deep gray with charcoal blue. 

Tropical Breeze: An almost Caribbean sky blue. 

In the jewel tone category:

Peacock Tail: It's just like it sounds. :)

Opulent: A pure golden yellow, almost mustard-like.

Teal Zeal: A modern twist on Tiffany Blue. It looks lovely with Tropical Breeze.

Cranberry Whip: A deep rich red without looking too barn red. Sophisticated. 

Grape Leaves: A saturated green. Almost Mediterranean

Obviously this isn't a comprehensive list but I love all of these colors.
Love love love.    

What are your favorite colors? 

Any suggestions for new ones to try?!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P.S. A few things I forgot to mention. :)

1. Samples are non returnable. They're about $3 so not a huge investment, but $$$ is $$$.

2. You can get them with primer mixed in, just ask for it. However they only come flat. They don't come with a gloss mixed in.

3. You can always ask for the color you choose to be mixed with less color pigment than is shown on the swatch. For example, you can ask for it with 50% pigment and then add more as wanted. However, they cannot take pigment out once added. 

4. An 8oz sample covers about 25 sq feet so they are great for small projects. 

Pillows Couch

Leandra Design : Yarmouth, Maine : Gallery
prints on the pillows play

Design Squish Blog: TOO MANY PILLOWS? - furniture design, design ...
sofa couch made of pillows!,

Life's Sweeter with Chocolate: Couch Revamp!
Pillows are the easiest (and

Paul and Alisha's blog: To decorate the couch
This was the last pillow I

10 Ways Guys Can Make Their Place Awesome | dreamr
Pillows on the Couch

Classic Hand Carved Entry Table

I was at DI looking for a piece for a custom job when I stumbled across this detailed treasure.

I ran my fingers over the detail work admiring the tiny carvings 

and thinking what Jake would say if I brought another piece home. 

But I decided it was easier to ask forgiveness than permission.

(I have a bad habit of doing that)

And so I paid for it and loaded it in the car. 

The older gentalman who helped me load it up shared with me some tips to know if something is truly hand carved. 

 The #1 thing to look for is small irregularities in shape and thickness of the carving. Human hands aren't perfect so small inconsistencies can help verify. 

She's painted in Ballet white by Behr and waxed with Howard Citrus Shield.

She's got 3 drawers and pull out writer's ledge and even a secret compartment.  

Any guesses where? 

 It's right down here. 

A velvet lined little hiding spot.  

She's perfect for an entry way, and end table, or a night stand. 

For more information look under the For Sale tab at the top of the page. 

So I got engaged! (Again)

On August 17th 2008 Jake proposed at Cape Argo in Oregon. 

We climb a cliff over looking the ocean and Jake poped the question. 

And I said YES! 

The only sad part of the whole event was that there was no one around us to share our news with

 and we didn't get cell phone service.

But obviously it was still one of the best days of my life. :)

After we had been married for a couple months Jake asked me what I had thought of his proposal. 

I mentioned that I would have liked to had people around to celebrate with, but I loved how he had done it and we left it at that. 

And we left it at that. 

A couple of nights ago at Rhett's birthday party, Jake was welcoming our friends and family and started to talk about how grateful he was for me and the past year of being parents together. 

Then he got down on one knee

and pulled out a little velvet box

and asked me if I would marry him 

again.

I said most likely. :)

Inside the little velvet box were these

Three gold bands.

I LOVE them. 

I love that I can work in them and not risk sanding my diamond or painting it (again). 

I love that we got to celebrate our "engagement" with our friends and family. 

And did I mention I love that I can work in them?! 

:) 

Tutorial: How to get a distressed look with just paint

Happy almost weekend!

I'm sorry for the absence for the past few days.

We've been SO beyond busy lately between getting ready to move, a furniture finishing marathon, Rhett's birthday, family in town, and anticipation of this for Jake

means busy with a capital B.

But I promised a tutorial on my painting technique that I used on the rustic chest of drawers. 

Now don't laugh.

I decided to show you in video format.

I thought it might be easier for you to follow... and I didn't really want to upload a million pictures.

I'm having a lazy moment. :)

So here's the video! 

(There's a little glitch because I got the giggles in the middle of recording)

I hope this helps!

It's super simple and produces some great results. 

As with all projects make sure to do a preview before you try it on the real deal. :)

Here are some pictures of what I just demonstrated. 

Good luck!!

{ If you feature your own piece using this technique please link back to this post! Thank you! }