My Olive Love

Good Tuesday everyone! While slowly getting ready for the next trunk show in Schaffhausen (Switzerland) my back is sloooowly getting better. But really slow.
I still need a lot of rest but that gives me the chance to do another post.
Last week while my neighbors where on vacation and left me a part of the garage to work on furniture I  was able to paint another beauty.
The one underneath all that good stuff...

At first sight I saw it all in Annie Sloan Henrietta or Emile, anyways in a pinkish color. I was dreaming of a sweet girly looking table standing in a field full of blooming springflowers, a laptop or a book on it and a white shabby chic-ish chair in front.... can you see it??

I started off with old ochre to give it a light base. But the thing was...it looked so good in that old ochre that I decided to leave it that way. It would have been cool to keep the top in a dark brown but since it had a huge crack I had to fix that was not possible.
So I painted the top in old ochre too and covered that with Olive.
I've never used Olive before but I fell in love with it!
To add a little extra details I painted some leaves onto the tabletop and around the edges and drawer, changed the knob and done.
I could look at it all day and I'm sure it also will fit the blooming field! ;)

Much love, Dina

   

jenniferrizzo

But it's a Philippe!

You know, over here in Switzerland and Liechtenstein antique stuff is expensive. Waaay more expensive than in the US and if you have an original Louis Philippe furniture you better leave it untouched because you have an ORIGINAL Louis Philippe furniture...
I got one. It's a table with gorgeous carving and everything a Louis Philippe should have. I immediately
fell in love with it and just had to have it. Mösi gave me a more than great price on it and I had it for quite a while now wondering where I should paint it, because I don't have that much of space to work.

Last Monday my neighbors went on vacation and lucky me got half of the garage for myself. the quest was clear: paint the Louis.

Here is the before:

With Annie Sloan "Louis Blue" (how cool is that?!) I was on the right way. I used "Old White" for the carvings and a little bit of dark wax for an antique finish.
Mösi came over when I was done with it and I told him: "you will faint if you see what I did to the table!"
Brave as ever he followed me into the garage. I went: "Tadaaa"
Mösi:"I've seen furniture painted like this before and I know a girl that has painted furniture in her whole apartment.....(and his voice jumped at least one octave higher)....but it's an original Philippe!

...I know! And I like it this way! Obviously no one wanted him the way it looked before so I decided to give it a new spin. Ha!

And here it is.
Much love, Dina

   

Sneaky

Today I would like to show you some sneaks of some of the things I'm working on. Some things are done, waiting to get photographed and some of them are in progress.
Enjoy! :)
Much love, Dina

Time is a "more Guts than Brain" Project...

More guts than brain! That will definitely be a new series on my blog!
Do you know that? You see something in a dark corner in an antique or thrift store or at a garage sale and you think...no, you don't think! You're grabbing it, paying, leaving, driving home with a big smile on your face, already knowing what this piece possibly could look like after you're done with it.
Two days later you want to start your project, looking at your treasure and think: "hmmmm - ok - wait! - no...hmmmmm"
I often thought: I've seen this on other blogs so it's possible and I'm just gonna start on it.
You start and face about ten call outs with the piece.
BUT! When you're done (I did not finish all of my "more guts than brain" projects!) you're so satisfied and proud and you've learned so many things, maybe techniques, another point of view or something about a material.
I would love to start a new linking party on this topic because I'd love to see and read about your projects!
What do you think about that?

My latest "more guts than brain" project was this chair.
Now some of you might think there's nothing to be worried about, but I've never faced a furniture with an upholstery. I didn't even check on it before. I was so lucky that the straps where still ok!

Now here's the before:

Guess what, my husband didn't like it and asked me more than once "why did you buy this chair?"
-"because I see the potential of it!" was my answer but I didn't think of the skills that where required do work it's potential out.

Let me tell you, I was sweating more than once! Above all when I had to rip off the fabric and realized what I have been starting on.
I planned to write a tutorial for this but I actually can't tell you exactly how I did it but I just did it!
And here it is:

What can I say...I went back to the antique store and bought another three of those chairs... definitely more guts than brain huh? ;)

Much love,
Dina