Heavenly Seating

Today I want to share with you some "Heavenly Seating".......ok maybe it is a former church pew.  It is totally fabulous though!! Again I need to credit my friend Sarah with this find. This pew did not make the cut when they moved to North Carolina, and as always I am willing to give any orphaned piece of furniture a new home. Well at least a temporary new home :) Here is the really dark and pitiful before picture. It was night time. It was in my garage. I am very impatient.

It is a really awesome length. Not too long-not too short.  There was a kneeling rail attached to the back, but I removed it. The end had a cross engraved in it, but I filled it in. No offense to anyone. I love the Lord, and wear crosses all the time in jewelry, but it just wasn't the look I was going for.

Just realized neither one of these pictures show the cross. Oh well, trust me it was there :)  I gave the pew a really good sanding and a couple of coats of flat black spray paint. I then distressed and waxed it and gave it a couple of ticking stripe pillows.

Really cute, right? I love it! It would make a perfect entry/mudroom seating piece or even a great addition to a dining room harvest table.

This former "Heavenly Seating" is now at Market Antiques in Ottawa waiting to go home with you!! Oh by the way, please make sure to check out  the Market Antiques page on Facebook!! They do a really good job highlighting all the awesome booths there!!
See you soon! ~Christy

Left Behind Treasure

Hello! Hope you all are having a great day! I am loving the sunshine :) Spring is just around the corner and I can't wait!! Today I want to share a dresser that was left behind when my friend Sarah's tenants moved out. They are out of state now so I try to help out when they need anything done at the house back here in Kansas. The last tenants left quite a few things in the house that needed to be moved out and I was thrilled when Sarah told me to help myself!! Here is the dresser before:

As you can see it was missing the toe kick at the bottom. It also had some trim issues on the sides.

Oh but look what an awesome feature it had!!!

How cool is that?! So a new toe kick was added and new trim pieces applied. Those were then painted brown to match the stain color of the dresser.

Now time to give it a good sanding :)

I then decided to paint it in ASCP in Emperors Silk. It is a beautiful color or red. LOVE IT! I even loved the hardware, but gave it a coat of oil-rubbed bronze spray paint to update it.

So awesome! It didn't even make it to my booth. My lovely neighbor Holly bought it for her son's room. They are huge Husker fans so the color was great!  Here are a few more shots.

I have a feeling if the previous owners could see it now they would be sad that they left it behind!! I hope you enjoyed this transformation :) See you soon!! ~Christy

A Special Birthday Wish For My Mom

Today is my mom's birthday. It is a bitter sweet day for me. She would be 79 years old today. Sadly we lost her six years ago to Alzheimer's. My mother had a love for decorating and sewing that she passed on to me. I am very thankful she was such a creative lady! I want to share with you a bench/settee makeover that I know would have been right up my mother's alley :)  Barbara (that's my mom) had a love for all things fancy and Victorian. I can honestly say I didn't always appreciate her style when I was growing up, but I know she had a tremendous knack for putting things together to create just the right look. Unfortunately antiques are expensive and there was not a lot of extra money so that meant finding pieces in need of repair and getting your hands dirty. Thank you mom for teaching me how to strip furniture, paint, and see the possibility in "junk"!

This is Darlene's bench. She is the absolute sweetest lady ever! I met her through my booth at Market Antiques in Ottawa and I was happy to do this custom work for her :)  Here is the before. Very cute, but the wood was a little tired and the fabric was dated.

Darlene picked out her fabric and trim and I brought it back to life :) I used a wood refinisher and wax to brighten up the wood. Exactly what it needed!

I love the finished product!! You know who else would love it? My mom :) She so would have had this in her house. So today mom, I honor you and your wonderful sense of style!
See You soon ~ Christy