Bamboo Sofa Table

I just finished up work on a sofa table that a customer fell in love with. Here's the before picture:

 

Solid wood, and originally done in a sort of dirty wash.  I stripped it, sanded it, and removed all the hardware.  I really wanted to test out minwax's color stains, and let me tell you, it was love at first...  stain? Haha. This stain was great, easy, and water based. I put two coats on this table and it was perfect!  This is Minwax's Green Tea.

Take a look:

After the stain set, I hand cut two sets of stencils.  The bamboo poles, and the bamboo leaves that would layer on after.  Here's a tip if you ever stencil: I sprayed the back of the stencil with spray adhesive, then let it dry. This makes a tacky, almost sticky note surface so the stencil adheres perfectly.  This worked like a dream... I did it for the leaves and not the poles though, however, I like how the poles came out foggy here and there:

There you have it! The customer really likes it, I really like it, we are happy.  This was a really fun project to do, it was seamless from start to finish.  I love it when everything seems to just go well, with no surprises!  Hand cutting that stencil was really fun too, I can definitely recreate this look any time.  Have a great day!

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Spotlight: Double Wide Dresser

I saw this post come through the Better After feed, and I fell in love. Not just with the project, but with gradients in general.  I've always LOVED the look of paint chips, and it's so neat to see all the art people make with them.  It seems the paint companies themselves have hopped on the bandwagon and had people make things for their ads too.  Well take a look at this double wide dresser from Frou-FruGal:

Boom! Isn't that great? The stencils were actually reversed too, so she blocked the letters and numbers to keep the wood grain showing through. I love that. See how it gradually gets darker as it goes down? She started with the color on the bottom drawers, and for each level up added a teaspoon and a half of white.  Brilliant! It gives a great effect.  And those drawer pulls are macrame monkey paws! I've NEVER made those but I'm totally inspired.  Check out her step by step tutorial, here.

On the topic of paint chips, I saw the front of a Martha Stewart Magazine a ways back with some really neat wall art on it using paint chips.  And they didn't even alter them at all! Take a look:

This just follows along the same line of my love of color organizing.  It can totally change the look of a collection.

As far as my own projects, coming up I have the Sofa Table that I'm doing in a colored stain, which I have never done before.  I'm using Minwax's Line of colored stain, "Green Tea".  More on that later...

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

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Spotlight: Paint by Number Murals

I've always loved the unique look of paint by number, and seeing it on these wall murals makes me fall in love all over again!  I recently saw this post from Nicole who writes the blog Making it Lovely.  People take paint by number pictures, copy them onto transparencies, project them on a wall, trace, paint, adore. Simple! Haha, just kidding. It looks like a LOT of work, but totally worth it. Enjoy the pictures, and head over to Nicoles blog for the original post.

 Here's a sea themed one from the cute blog: Easter Kiwi:

I'm extremely tempted to do this on a wall in my house, but I'm a renter and wonder if I should invest all the time in something I can't take with me for a few years! I love the look though, and as soon as I can do it - I am!  Have a great day :)

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French Provincial + Geometry

I believe I have showed the "before" of this table, if not, here it is:

 You can see in the photo that it was one of those over lacquered tables, that is pretty beat up.  But the curves are all there, and they are nice! The top had really pretty woodwork, a nice diamond inlay.  So, continuing with my recent love affair with wood AND paint rather than one or the other, I stripped this table to the bare wood.  I stained the top Dark Walnut, and then went hexagonal with it. Here it is:

So it turns out I'm in love with the table.  You never know when cupids arrow will strike, do you... haha. Seriously though, I'm happy with how it came out. It's just as I imagined.  I love the dark wood flowing in between those hexagons, and then the contrasting turquoise underneath.  It's actually a light turquoise, who's name I can't be sure of, as I spotted in the mishap aisle.  You haven't been to the mishap aisle? It's really great.. you can pick up a lot of fun colors that have been abandoned by whoever asked them to be made. Usually for a couple bucks! This one was a lucky find. Anyway, this table is for sale... but if it doesn't go, I will not mind seeing it in my living room! hehe.. have a great weekend!

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Itadakimasu - Let's Eat!

Finally! I got some pictures taken of the finished tables I've been talking about. The first one, is a round drop leaf table.  It already had really great wood grain and some natural distressing, so I decided to keep that look. I stenciled "Itadakimasu" on the top, which is japanese for "Let's Eat".  Lately I've really been drawn to the style of paint on wood, that still shows the wood. I think it's so different! After stenciling in a blue-grey, I washed the entire piece in a grey paint before sealing it with a few coats of satin clearcoat. Here it is before:

And here is the after:

I love how it came out. I like that you can see it's age and history, but has some fresh additions. This table is for sale!

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