IF THESE CHARIS COULD TALK...

I love old.

 I love furniture.  

 I love old furniture.  

 I love restoring old furniture with a new twist.

 I love old interesting furniture that looks like it could speak, telling tales of days gone by, of time periods and peoples lives, the things it seen and heard, spilling the secrets it has quietly kept while sitting silently and stoically listening.  While it may seem indifferent or unaffected by joy, grief, pleasure, or pain, it absorbs them.  You can see it in the scar, scratch, or dent here.  You can feel it in the well worn or sagging place there.  You can view it through its aged bend, bow, chip, or crack.  You can touch it whether rough, smooth, crackled, or tattered.  You can sense its rich life and history by just being near it.

Everyday pieces are my favorites, not rich antiques from across the ocean, yes, I admit it, I am a commoner.  The pieces that interest me are items the everyday working class man would have used in the past.  I am not particular about period or style, a piece just has to speak to me.  I have to sense its story.  And if its story just happens to connect to mine then all the better.

The chairs in this post are just such chairs, we share a history.  If these chairs could talk they would tell you a story of living in a tiny three roomed house with electricity, no running water, where the heat source was a pot belly stove in a tiny living room, all meals were prepared on a wood burning stove, and the wash was done outside over an open fire, line hung to dry.  They would tell you of a happy family who never knew they were poor for there was always food on the table, clothing on the back, shelter over head, and lots of love and laughter.

They would tell you about joy, grief, pleasure, and pain.  They would tell you about jolly holidays and everyday goings on.  They would tell you about a little girl perching on them eating her jelly toast and fresh from the cow milk on warm summer mornings.  They would tell you after dinner stories when bellies were full of fresh garden fare as the patriarch uncle would rare back in one of them and regale the table with wonderful tales that always ended in side splitting laughter.  They would tell you womenfolk's secrets they heard whispered over steaming cups of coffee.  They would tell you about the silence that suddenly surrounded them they day the family moved away from the old house and they were left behind.

They would tell you of their rescue in their rusty and rotting state, how they moved from the farm and the remains of the old house to rest in the loft of the barn of the little girl who sat on them and ate her jelly toast on warm summer mornings.  They were resting after so many years of service, over twenty years they reposed and listened to the rustle of farm animals below, then to the sound of things being built when the barn was converted into a workshop.  One day they saw the little girl all grown up clamber up the loft stairs and come in their direction.  Each one was lovingly lifted down the stairs to be restored and given new life.

If these chairs could talk they would tell you how wonderful a good scrubbing felt after so many decades.  They would tell you what the tickle of primer and paint feels like as it brushed their legs.  They would tell you how solid and firm their new wood is.  They would tell you what it is like to be padded in cushy foam and swaddled in batting.  They would tell you it amuses them to now be clothed in vintage feed and flour sacks.  They would tell you of moving back to the farm, not to their former residence for it has long ago perished, but to the newer farm house where new stories are bring absorbed and mingled with those of the past.  They would tell you of a refurbished life where old is sacred and cherished.

I love old.

I love furniture.

I love old furniture.

I love restoring old furniture with a new twist.

And if its past and mine just happen to connect then all the better.

This week I am linking to Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday.

I hope each of you have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,

Sandy

P.S.  I know some of you are wondering if I will ever get back into my studio and share some new art.  The answer to that is YES I will!  I have a few DIY projects I am juggling right now and I need to get those off my plate before I can play artist again.  See you in the studio soon!   

LAMP REVAMP, TABLE TRANSFORMATION, AND A SOFA SNEAK PEEK...

Every chance I have gotten over the last few weeks I have been scoping out flea market finds to furnish and decorate the farmhouse.  I am taking my time with the over all finished effect from room to room but some basic furniture needs were must purchases.  Now that the sofa situation has been settled, I am still on the hunt for side chairs, I set my sights on some end tables and lamps for the living room and bed side lamps for the master bedroom.

I know this is going to sound beyond ridiculous but I did not want to spend a fortune on furniture or lamps and I wished that I could find them all for less than $40.00.  I do so love a good challenge and a girl can wish can't she?  At my first stop I spied these tables...

A little retro-vintage, solid wood, exceptionally sturdy, nice metal detail, even liked that they were black, perhaps with a little alteration they would do nicely, $24.00 for the pair.  Consulted Handy Hubby about the transformation he said it was doable so I loaded them up.

I sailed up one side of the highway and back down again in search of lamps.  I felt like I was in a retro Armor hot dog commercial only for lamps, remember the jingle?   Lamps, I want lamps, what kind of lamps have I seen?  Fat ones, skinny ones, lamps that offer shocks, tall ones, mini ones, even ones with polka dots!  Lamps!  I want lamps, lamps that look just right!  I was hot, tired, thirsty, and ready to call it a day when I was about to pass a place I rarely frequent because I never find anything in there but as one last ditch effort thought I would try anyway. And that is when I met my new bed side lamps...

 They had to convince me to take them home.  Bless their little hearts they were looking a little bordello with all that flashy black and brass business and all those tassels! Not at all boudoir chic.  They twinkled their tag at me and I was convinced, $6.95 for the pair, sold...but no shades.

Back tracking a little I returned to a previous shop where I had seen two brand new still in the plastic ivory burlap covered shades,  $3.29 each, just the right size and fit for my lamp revamp.

Feeling like I was done in for the day I headed for the grocery store and decided not to leave a stone unturned and popped into a neighboring thrift shop.  There I found two little pottery lamps with shades in perfect colors for the living room.  You are never going to believe me but in all honesty and sincerity, they were $1.00 each!  I almost tripped over myself to get them to the checkout counter before the magic price disappeared, surely it was a mistake, but no, it was real!

I came in under my wishing budget at $39.53!  I still need one more lamp, what do you think the chances are of finding one for only .77 cents?  And what did I do with these items?

For the lamp revamp I cleaned all the lamps thoroughly and checked the wiring and sockets to make sure they did not need to be replaced.  (Always do this with a used lamp you don't want old wire that is not up to code or a fire hazard.)  I cleaned the shades for the small lamps and unwrapped the burlap ones.  The pottery lamps were good to use after a simple shine, those other gals...not so much.

First they had to have surgery, a tassel-ectomy...

Then they had to be cleaned and primed...

The finals steps were to give them a fresh coat of soft dove gray paint in a high gloss finish...

Topping them with their new ivory burlap shades ...

Now if I just had night tables to sit them on but that is a post for another day!

For the table transformation I removed the front legs and the hardware, marked the table where I wanted it cut off and turned the cutting on the table saw over to Handy Hubby.  I removed the front skirt of the sawed off piece of table and reattached it to the front, reinstalled the leg hardware and put the legs back on.  After a little filling, sanding, taping off of the metal accents, priming, and painting later I had two small accent tables in perfect scale for the tiny farmhouse living room. (Did I ever mention that I working with a room that is 17 feet long and 12 feet wide?)  I have one more thing to add to these tables and they will be complete but that too will be a post for another day.

Here they are with the pottery lamps ready to go into the room.  I added some super cheap flea market books to give the lamps added height...

I shared in a recent post about the great sofa switch and I thought you might want to see what they actually look like.  We went up to the farm for the weekend and I snapped a pic of each one.  Here is the hand-me-up sofa from my son and daughter-in-law...

The legs make it really look modern and while I like them, they are don't really say farmhouse, so I am thinking this one might get a little sassy burlap skirt, not sure yet.

This is the estate sale find...

Cute with clean lines and the corded fabric is so soft and comfy, definitely says farmhouse.  Don't you just dig my 70's style paneling and vinyl flooring?  Trust me, those will go as soon as time and budget allow!  In case you are wondering no sewing got done on the new pillows this weekend, Handy Hubby and I spent our time junkin', visiting family, and relaxing.
  I'll share our cool finds next post.

Thanks for dropping in to visit and I hope you have a great week!

FUNKY FARMHOUSE FABRICS...

In my last post I shared with you the color evolution of the farmhouse living room and how it came to be. I thought you might want a further sneak peek at some of the fabrics that are going to make their way into the room as well as sofa swatches.I spent a delightful day, yes, I said a whole DAY, well almost a day, in the fabric store matching fabrics and getting a feel for the direction I wanted to go with the room. I seem to be on a lucky streak because the remnant table was full of frugal choices. I took one of the curtain valances and a sofa pillow cover from each sofa with me and matched away.

First I found a super soft stripe fabric that has both the light and dark greens of the curtains as well as a stripe of each sofa color. A swatch of Dupioni silk in a lighter brown color and a deep chocolate nubby fabric were also perfect for pillows! Everything was going a bit dark so I added a quilted ivory fabric to lighten things back up.I chose a vivid apple green and a sunshine yellow to update the curtains and to use as welting on the ivory pillows. I have a little something extra in mind for those ivory pillows. I also chose some gimp to use on the curtains. A piece of indoor/outdoor brownish-goldish canvas will be durable enough for a tufted ottoman top, project tutorial coming soon!Still wanting to bring the vintage vibe into a more modern feel I chose a dark green silk with a bold lighter green flower and leaf print on it for more still more pillows. I love pillows! They are an easy way to accent a room and bring in color without breaking the bank if you make them yourself.

I purchased a pillow pattern that had some interesting shaped patterns to use, Simplicity 5605. This pattern has that country charm and quilt like feel but will have a sophisticated look with the more modern fabrics. I am trying to find a balance between the old and the new to create a cohesive look.I was feeling a little unsure of my choices so I sent a photo of the fabric stack via text to my best friend Pam to ask her what she thought of the color combo. Here is what she had to say, " I like it...it has cool, crisp feel...like fresh veggies." Stamp of approval, farm fresh!
I gathered up my goodies and practically skipped to the checkout counter without busting the budget! I have all the pillows cut out and ready to sew. I want to see if my grandmothers sewing machine still works and if it does I want the make them on that at the farm. If not I will sew them at home.

Today I am off to see if I can hunt up some lamps, side tables and chairs, wish me luck!

It seems like flea marketing and sewing are my big weekend plans. I would love to hear what you are doing. Have a beauty filled weekend!

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FARM...

Design should do the same thing in everyday life that art does when encountered: amaze us, scare us or delight us, but certainly open us to new worlds within our daily existence.

Aaron Betsky, Curator of Architecture, Design and Digital Projects, SFMOMA

A funny thing happened on the way to the farm...or at least to decorating it. When I began to dream of updating the 1970's vibe of the farmhouse I had envisioned a Pottery Barn modern meets rustic kind of decor. I knew I would literally be starting from scratch and be on a meager budget. So, while I was contemplating how to get "the look" for less I was continuing to sort and inventory what was already available.

While cleaning out the storage shed I came across an old box full of vintage pleated drapes in various patterns and colors. Hmmm, too floral and funky to be Pottery Barn, so back on the shelf they went as I thought I might use the fabric for some art project in the future. Little did I know that one particular pattern and color scheme would become a huge part of the design for the farmhouse living room...
One major budget buster was the need to replace the sad sagging 70's sofa and side chairs. Handy Hubby and I went sofa shopping and came home with an empty truck, no luck. Small room, even smaller budget, and specific seating needs limited our choices. Not wanting to sacrifice style I decided it was OK to watch TV across our knee caps a little longer, I mean we could just rest our chin on them right? I exaggerate, it really was not that bad, but, I really did want to replace the furniture that bad!

The decorating course was set when I received a " hand-me-up ". Most of the time people receive " hand-me-downs ", the older generation handing down to the younger, in my case it was in the reverse, the younger handing something up to me...a sofa!

Long story short, it was the great sofa switch: Darling Daughter got married and bought new sofa, Daughter-in-law adored Darling Daughters vintage sofa and was gifted with it, Daughter-in-law was about to call donation place to pick up Todd Oldham sofa but then thought of me. Score! My first " hand-me-up "! Free! Even though it is more modern in style that I personally prefer the warm honey tone is very neutral and would work well with what I had in mind.
(Country Living)

Fast forward a few days and Handy Hubby and I are browsing an estate sale. Deep in the recesses of the twisting house (very bizarre lay out) I spy a small sofa that is almost the same honey tone of the " hand-me-up " and it has the same lines. A pregnant lady was giving it a test and seemed very taken with it and I was wishing we had gotten there sooner. The next morning I woke up still thinking about that sofa and convinced Handy Hubby to just go back and see if it was still there, it was the last day of the sale and I knew it would be discounted.

Another score! The sofa was still there, deeply discounted, and here is the best part...we needed a hide-a-bed for extra sleeping in the two bedroom farm house...I lifted up the cushion to inspect the sofa...and it was a hide-a-bed!!! This sofa still had the tags on it, dated 1982, and was NEVER USED! We got it for $105.00. We found out from one of the estate heirs that the lady who lived there was an heir of John Deere. She had one of the best collections of original art works I had ever seen, wish and I could have scored some of those but the discount was not nearly as deep.

Now that the sofas are settled we need two side chairs, still looking for those. I turned my thoughts to window coverings. I always seem to need a tactile inspiration piece to jump start a room decor and two honey toned sofas were not it. A little buzzing in the back of my brain kept my thoughts returning to that box of drapes, maybe, just maybe...so I dug them back out. Yes, the buzzing was correct, in two funky floral pair there is that same honey tone as the sofas, along with Fresh Apple Green...Spent Poppy... Wildflower Yellow...Farm Fresh Egg... Rusty Objects...Dusky Pine Cone...Fallen Leaf... Silver Leaf Maple... Summer Daisy... Mottled Native Stone...Fuzzy Weed... Golden Hay...Chocolate Weed...Dark Shady Green...Dandelion Wishes...Twisted Vine...And Whisper White...(Hey, I think I just invented my own paint chip line!)

Yes, a funny thing did happen on the way to the farm, or, to decorating it at least...that 1970's style and color palette is getting a new twist. Handy Hubby said the drapes look too old school but I have asked him to trust me to make them fresh modern cool. I have begun the remake on them by giving them a good laundering and removing the pleats, more to come on these after I get all the sewing done. I have pulled two colors from them for paint colors in the room, Farm Fresh Egg (a creamy off white color) and Summer Daisy (a crisp true white). I may not end up with Pottery Barn style but I am amazed, delighted, and even a little afraid of the color palette all of which are opening up a new world of possibilities.

I would love to hear what you are up to and
I hope you all enjoy a bliss filled weekend!