Quality: Looking for the best!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day weekend! I have had an awesome few days off of work. I took off Wednesday through Monday to celebrate my birthday (the big 3-0!) and just have some time to relax. Ryan surprised me on Wednesday with a mani/pedi, I got a massage on Thursday, and a haircut on Friday, so I am definitely pampered and rested!

Yesterday and today I was happy to get going on some of the projects in my garage. The past couple weeks have been hard for me to get anything done since I had a horrible cold that knocked me down for about ten days- it was not fun and I couldn't do any painting during that time. It was great to get back at it, and I can't wait to share the projects I'm working on now.

I also had some great inspiration from a very thoughtful birthday gift from one of my best friends, Allison. She got me this amazing book that has all the info I need for different painting techniques, tricks and tips, along with a fabulous before-and-after gallery. My family got me a gift card to Home Depot for painting supplies. I can't wait to try some of these things and it definitely inspired me to get back into it!

Color, Knobs and Name

After completing the Retro End Table and Mid-Century Dresser in Hummingbird Blue, I decided that I wanted to find a color that was still fun but a little more muted. Multiple paint swatches later, I settled on Martha Stewart Arrowroot. My true inspiration for picking this color was the picture of this beautiful French Provincial dresser redo:

(Courtesy of Chrissie's Collections)

I loved it so much I bought a gallon right off the bat- so basically everything since then has ended up being Arrowroot.  (I also am thinking of painting just about every room in my house this color- it's so pretty!)

The first piece I tried it out on was a Mid-Century End Table I picked up at my favorite thrift shop. This is another one that I forgot to photograph before I started sanding, so here it is after some work:

New Pages

I want to mention two new pages I created:

For those of you who like before/after pictures, I created a Before and After page that just has pictures without any commentary. You can also see a sneak peek of projects that I haven't posted about yet. I'll get to the story behind them eventually, but for now, check out the transformations!

I also created a Current Projects page to show what pieces I have in my garage waiting to be painted.

Speaking of my garage, it hasn't had room for our cars for a while now. At least we're getting into springtime and it's warm and sunny, but if I am still keeping up this pace next winter, we're going to be in trouble! Here's a shot of my garage today:

I want a (heated) pole barn!

Mid-Century Dresser

During my day of thrift store browsing, I came upon this Mid-Century dresser that I loved, but at the time I purchased this end table and couldn't fit both pieces in my car. I also didn't have anyone with me to help load it. Even though it was really beat up, I saw the potential and was sad to have to pass on it.

Fast forward two weeks: Ryan and I headed out looking for furniture, and it was still there! Even better- it had been marked down over half off the original price! Yes, it was missing some hardware, but it was solid wood and the MCM style I can't get enough of. I was very glad I was able to get it and at an even better deal than if I would have bought it before.

Again, I started sanding away before taking a real "before" picture. It didn't look THIS bad when I first picked it up.

Retro End Table

So, this blog is starting out pretty slow, seeing as how it's been three weeks since my first post! Things have been pretty busy at work- I spent six days in California for two big events, one in Menlo Park and the other in Santa Barbara. Between getting ready for the trip, being gone, and getting back into the swing of things, I haven't had a ton of time for painting or blogging.

Now that things are getting back to normal, I want to share my first piece that I painted and sold. After scoring my TV console dresser on Craigslist, I was curious to see what thrift stores had to offer in terms of old furniture. One Saturday, I made a map and list of nine thrift stores and started on my way. I visited mostly Goodwill stores, stopped at a couple other places on the way - and kept striking out. There was only one piece I was remotely interested in, but it was overpriced for what I wanted to spend. I was so surprised at what some thrift stores charge for things... It's supposed to be a good deal!

I had only planned to go to a couple thrift stores, thinking I would find something and head home. After hitting eight stores, I had one left on my list. I almost decided not to go but was so glad I did- jackpot! There were many things I could have picked out that day, but settled on this cool Mid-Century style end table. (I LOVE Mid-Century furniture- can't you tell?)