I am always trying something new!!

I love summer for a lot of reasons. Of course the #1 is the sunshine and warm days, but most of all I find the neatest accessories and furniture during the summer months. I see signs everywhere advertising estate sales, my favorite, and moving sales!! I finished up several mahogany tables, a secretary, and three different styles of benches in the past few weeks. I will show you how beautiful they were, but some have already found new homes. When I start painting a tired worn out piece of furniture I can’t wait to see the transformation into something beautiful. I use milk paints, chalk paints from several different companies, wallpaper, glazes, and waxes. Every combination of paint and waxes are different so every final finish is different even if you use the same color. Sometimes I mix my own colors to make a custom color. I rarely take before and after photo’s but I really need to start doing that! It’s just amazing!! Okay, here is a few photo of my latest work.

More hours in the day thank goodness!!!

I love summer and more daylight hours which really means more things checked off my to-do list!! I thought I had my garage under control and then my daughter calls and ask if she can bring a few things over to put into my garage. Of course I told her it would be okay. Now I am back where I started….full and overflowing!!! I usually have several projects going on at the same time and in between jumping back and forth I’ll sit down with my computer. I started playing around with some of my pictures from past furniture pieces that I have done and decided to collage them. It just makes it easier to have them in one photo. For me anyway!! I love trying new things with paint and soon you will see some of my newest creations. I bought Annie Sloan's emperior silk (red) months ago, but had not used it until I decided to try it on this 1920's table and I love it! The dark wax gives a richness to the red and it looks awesome!! Here's a few collage pictures of a couple of my latest refurbished pieces!! Write me on here or facebook and let me know what you think.

Showing her off today

I finished this awesome piece over the weekend. I had decided to add numbers to the drawers long before she was painted. Her colors are Virginia chestnut and duck egg blue. I love the mix of chalk paint and chalk and clay paint which gives a gorgeous natural finish. This baby is solid maple with dovetailed drawers and will last forever!! She will not be going into the shop, for now anyway. I have decided to sell her directly through me for several reasons. The first one being, she is 44"long x 36" tall x 20" deep and I just do not have the room to show her off in the shop and the 2nd reason is price - $295.00. No overhead for me means savings to you. If you are like me, you always look for a deal. So everything in my room # 0378 is on sale 20% and more off of my regular low price through May. I will always try my best to find, refurbish and sale my beautiful one of a kind antique pieces of furniture at a reasonable price in my room # 0378 at Southern Estates Antiques or direct. If you are interested in any of pieces, please do not hesitate to contact me through my facebook page or Southern Estates Antiques. I also have listings on craigslist.

A few new pieces I am working on this week

Here's a quick view of a few pieces I have been working on this week. I hope to have them in the shop soon. I am about half way through with the dresser. Still sanding and of course I have to put the knobs back on but I think its going to be a great looking dresser when I am through with it. I finished sanding and last minute details on the black and white table. I will post a new photo tomorrow.

Here comes more great furniture

I haven’t been on my blog very much lately. Now that warm weather is here I spent as much time as possible in my yard. I love beautiful flowers so I am sure I will not be able to resist adding a few additions for my patio. I went home yesterday and did not even change clothes before cutting my grass. Then back to my painting furniture. I have been looking for a studio so I can clean out my garage. I try to be very organized, but sometimes it gets the best of me. I have several beautiful antiques that I found months ago and sometimes I have to live with a piece before deciding how I would like for it to look. The ladies at the shop jokingly tell me I am OCD because I am very particular about the way I want my finished piece of furniture to look. I have purchased many pieces of furniture that I would love to paint a very bold color but I have found out most people are not comfortable buying “bold”, so I try to always keep that in mind when I am painting it for resale. I found an antique chest and I loved it until I realized a huge piece of molding was missing from one side. Bummer!!!! Yes, it was quite the bargain, but I had to walk away. I love tools but I am a little afraid of a saw, so if it needs major repair then it is not for me. I see all over the internet where people find a dresser in 3 or 4 pieces and take it home and like magic with a little work here and there, paint and magic…..it is a beautiful piece of furniture. I truly admire these women that can do that. I can't do that but here is what I can do. Check out a few pictures of my latest work. I especially love the table and chairs with a modern flare to it and its a solid heavy set. It’s so unusual and I am all about “different”!!

Days go by but memories last a lifetime!!

Memories.......42 years ago one day after Valentine's was one of the happiness days of my life....my only child was born. It has been an amazing journey. She always kept a smile on my face everyday and has always been a joy to have her around. Things got hectic at times and I felt like I was a taxi for all of her friends and I had a revolving door on my house, but those days are gone. Now its just me and my little dog, Selena. Stephanie has been blessed with 3 children of her own and the journey continues.

Getting ready for Spring!

I have been nonstop working a 40 hour week and then coming home and painting for hours plus all of the normal daily duties of keeping house. But its no stopping now because I have some more great pieces coming soon. My Greenville history chest sold last week and I was thrilled that she found a wonderful home. And many other great pieces also found homes, but I had an attachment to the Greenville chest. I am so pleased that I have so many wonderful people adopting my furniture and accessories and love it as much as I do. That is truly what makes me keep going and going when I want to just watch a movie. Every piece of furniture that I sell has a place in history. The big thrill for me is finding a wonderful piece with intricate details and that’s rare to find. Many years ago craftsman made these pieces by hand and not on an assembly line like today. Most of my pieces I keep for months deciding the color, the design and what would bring it back to its original WOW factor it had when it was first purchased. Again, a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone for shopping with me and I hope you will enjoy each and every piece for many years to come.