Quality Furniture.

Before we bought our first home, I read an article about spending money on one or two quality pieces of furniture that will last decades vs. spending money on many poorly crafted items that will need to be replaced over and over again. In our early years, our funds were decent but we were budget conscious in our commitment to not have any debt, so our furniture was sparse and often lovingly gifted, thrifted or inherited. As our incomes increased and our expenses decreased as kids grew and became independent, we've been able to commit to quality. My favorite piece is our recent find of this classic Ethan Allen secretary desk. Bought second had from a local family, at a 1/3 of the original cost, it was in perfect condition, not a scratch on it anywhere. The original owners bought it but never used it. I love writing in this quiet spot in our little cottage and know if we ever move, this piece will follow us wherever we land! 

What are your thoughts on quality furniture?

Do you have some favorite pieces you love?

~ Chy

Dreaming.

I see painted, distressed furniture every

where and love the look but am still

a bit nervous to paint vintage furniture.

I love this cabinet and chair at a bakery.

I've done an old hutch for our kitchen

nook (will share soon) and I think it's

truly turned out nicely. I'd love to find

a piece like the one above. So sweet,

so vintage, so inviting. Another spot

to put all my tea cups and tea pots!

Do you have vintage furniture you'd like to pain?

Or have you been painting yours and love it?

Old Then New.

I've been so intrigued by the post of

many bloggers who use chalk paint.

We've gathered a number of pieces of

old furniture over the years, some of

which is not in the best shape. It's

time to give "new life" to these pieces.

But first I had to learn how to make

then use real chalk paint as a medium.

My first piece to tackle: our original

dining room hutch. We ended up getting

this for free as the company messed up

and instead of picking it up, they just

refunded us our money. We didn't

argue, so it was a win~win for all.

Glass doors taken off the hutch and doors

and drawers removed from the base.

I found many recipes and the first one I

tried mixed up very nicely, so smooth.

Now it's time to paint and now the anxiety

begins to build in my little body and my mind.

First coat goes on nice and smooth.

It's not so bad. I kinda like this.

One more coat and then we'll try our

hand at the waxing. This part is going

to be tricky but we might chalk paint

an old board just to practice the process.

Have you gathered old pieces over the years?

Have you ever used chalk paint to refinish furniture?

Re Purposing.

We've had a lot of fun over the last few years hunting for treasures to fill our new house. Some have been absolutely perfect and some have needed some "tweaking" to make them perfect. And some have come to us as donations from others. We have an old radio just like the one above, without the interior components. When it was given to us, my first thought was to turn it in to a book case. My dh's first thought was to chop it in to firewood! He collects old radios but had no interest in one that didn't have the "guts" inside. But guess who won? Yup, I did. And then when we were out shopping one afternoon, we stopped in at the Antique Mall and look what we came across .... this very lovely re purposed old radio unit, chalk painted a soft white. I love the look and hope we can make this work. Now he's all interested in seeing what we can do with the "freebie" we received. A new project to work on together, now that we're both on the same page. 

Have you been gifted furniture that you've re purposed?

Would you paint over an old piece of furniture?