Beauty and the Beast...a tale of two pieces (and some exciting news!)...

Hello, friends.  It's been too long.  I'm sorry I've missed you to tell you Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.  I was so busy with projects for my family, and actually spending time with them, that I couldn't find the time...and afterall, I think that's the way it should be.

Onto the story...

I grew up (mostly) in an older house in a small town.  Today, my mom and younger brothers still live in that little old house, and I've moved on with my family in my own little old house.  If you live in an old house, you know that storage is usually an issue.  For my mom, it's no exception.  She has lived with the smallest closet in the world for my entire life-- first sharing it with my dad, and now having it completely to herself, and it's still too small to fit her clothes (and not because of an over-abundance of clothes either!).

This fall, she started hinting at wanting an armoire. Hinting became telling, and soon I found emails filled with antique armoires coming to my inbox.  I knew that's what I would end up getting her for Christmas.  I picked up one armoire early on, but as the emails progressed, I realized it wasn't really what she was wanting.  She needed something with room to hang clothes, and the one I found just didn't have ample space in the top to let a shirt hang.  I had to keep looking...

On another trip shopping with Mom, she stopped to look at a French nightstand.  She liked it, and told me about how she wanted to redo her bedroom, and she would like the distressed French look.  A few weeks later, I found this little beauty at a Salvation Army for $25 (more than I usually like to spend, but these seem so rare to find around this area!), and picked it up for her.

The week before Christmas came, and my hunt for the right armoire was still ongoing.  I couldn't find a thing...not in my price range at least.  Then, three days before we were to have Christmas together, a Thomasville armoire popped up on CL for $75.  It was big.  Big enough to be it's own closet and to have a hanger bar, but it wasn't an antique.  Still, it coordinated well with the little nightstand, and the price was right.

With it getting as late in the game as it was, I took the chance on it.  Afterall, if she hated it, at least I had a place to sell it.  My little brother ("the muscle") and I picked up a trailer and headed to St. Louis for it.  I'm so glad he was with me.  There's no way it would have made it home with me without him.  It took four people, and a lot of maneuvering and straps to finally get it in the 5x8 trailer on it's side, because it wouldn't fit on it's back.  It was, in every sense of the word, a beast.

I went to work on both pieces.  I used Miss Mustard Seed's French armoire, as well as And George's French armoire as inspiration.  I love the grey and cream color combo.  It would go perfectly in my moms room, and I loved how And George's piece was careful to use the cream only on the outer curve of the grooved details.

 

I painted the pieces with a homemade chalk paint (and not what you think!  I'll share more on my next post!), and added a decorative piece to the bottom of the armoire.  I thought it was a bit plain without it, and it needed another pop of cream.  Unfortunately, I didn't finish the entire piece before we had Christmas, but it was far enough along to show.  I wrapped them up, and gave them to my mom and let her tell me how much distressing she wanted on them.

Later that week, I distressed them and went over them with clear and dark wax.  I sprayed the hardware with oil rubbed bronze spray paint, and sanded them lightly to bring the brass through a bit.  Finally, I added the much-needed hanger bar.  They were finished and it was time to move them.  Three of my brothers came over and we loaded them up to go to their new home.  After a bit of moving, her new pieces were where she liked.  She loved them, and moved her clothes right in to the armoire, and kicked her old nightstand right out.

Without further adieu...

Beauty

and The Beast

They work perfectly in my moms room.  While I was there, I distressed and glazed an old mirror of hers that we had previously sprayed white.  It's now hanging above her mom and dad's old dresser that's adorned with pictures of her mom in her youth, and a family portrait of my aunts and uncles.

Mom's room is pretty close to finished now, and I have to say, it looks great.  Aside from some new curtains, the only big furniture piece to still be replaced is the headboard, and we'll get to that someday.

And finally- for a little blurb of exciting news-- I'm moving!  Yes, it's not been long since I moved into the antique shop, but wouldn't you know that opportunity knocked, and I answered.  I'm moving into a specialty shop in town for furniture and re-purposed goods called Flea Market to Fabulous this weekend.  I couldn't be more excited, and can't wait to share more with you about this exciting new step!

Until next time,

Sharing at:
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