Fabulous Old Hutch

Since I am still on the road to recovery I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to blog about some projects that have been brought back to life that I have yet to share with you!  The first is a gorgeous old pine hutch that I was fortunate enough to buy from a friend's brother. It is a big awesome piece and very hard to let go of :)  Here is how it started out.

It was big and awesome, but it was rough! I hated the metal hanging strips holding the shelves so those were the first to go!

Already so much better :) It got a good sanding and thorough cleaning. I added wood pieces to hold the shelves. I then used a wood refinisher that softens the old finish and blends away all the old scratches and imperfections. The one that I used had a dark stain added to it so it just gave the hutch a beautiful patina.

Oh I love, love, love the finished product! I gave it a good coat of paste wax to protect its newly acquired beauty. This went to Market Antiques in Ottawa and I just got the call today that it sold :) Hope the new owners love it half as much as I do! Recovery is going well and I am feeling great! 3 1/2 more weeks and I will be off restrictions! See you soon ~Christy

Back From The Brink.........

Hey if anyone out there is still hanging around to see what is new at Accidentally Fabulous I would like to say "Thanks!!".  I am happy to be back and ready to enjoy life once again! Let me catch you up to speed on my journey to the brink over the last few months. If this is too much detail or makes you uncomfortable I apologize, but I am gonna put it all out there. Any female who has ever suffered "female" issues is going to know exactly where I am coming from. It started several years ago with really BAD cycles. BAD. Take my word for it that it was hideous. I was in my mid-to-late thirties and even though my Dr. suspected I had some endometriosis going on, we had to start with the least invasive methods to help with my symptoms. We decided the Mirena IUD was the way to go. I have to say in all honesty it really did help with a lot of my symptoms. I still dealt with a lot of pain every month, but I thought that was as good as it was going to get. Fast-forward 3 1/2 years later. Something was not right. In fact it was really wrong! I have had three kiddos so I am well versed in what uterine contractions feel like. Why was I contracting?! There was extreme pain involved and my cycles were coming every week and a half. Not good at all. My family Dr. referred me to an ob-gyn for evaluation. It was determined that a uterine ablation would be the route we should take. I was also having a tubal done sine the IUD was being removed. We were all hopeful that this would solve my problems and avoid what we knew would be coming next if it didn't. This was done in September 2012 and I really did feel some relief for a few weeks. I knew the Dr. had found several spots of endometriosis when he did the procedure and they were removed. When it was time for my first cycle post-ablation I knew I was in trouble. The terrible pain was back. I thought I should wait another month and see if things got any better. They did not. They got much, much worse. I was once again contracting and in pain, but now it was on a pretty much daily basis. I was done. I went back to the Dr. and told him I needed something done soon. My mental health was in almost as bad a shape as my physical health. He was very surprised that I was still in so much pain and told me he thought he could get me in for a hysterectomy before the end of the year. That didn't happen as I had hoped, but last week on the 8th I was finally able to have my surgery. No surgery is ever fun, and I was very nervous, scared, apprehensive. But, I was at the brink. I was at the point where I knew I couldn't go on any longer the way I was living. Fast-forward six days and here we are. I am sore from surgery. I am tired. I have been emotional some days. I am frequently suffering the wrath of my husband when I venture into the garage to peek at all my projects waiting for me. However......I am not in pain! I can't even begin to tell you how much better i feel. It is like a terrible, heavy, painful, bloated, angry mass has been removed. Oh wait! It has. It was my uterus!!!!! Which as it turns out was not only affected with more endometriosis, but full of fibroids as well. No wonder I felt so bad. So there you have it. The whole sordid mess. It has been bad for so long I can't wait to see how good it can be now :) I am back from the brink!! I am ready to bring some amazing furniture pieces back to life. I am ready to throw myself into creative ventures. I am ready to live life again, but first I must heal. I can't drive for another week. I can't lift anything right now. Honestly I would probably fall asleep in the middle of any project I tried to do. So hang in there with me while I rest and recuperate and I will be back at it in no time!
See you soon ~ Christy

Awesome Primitive Sofa!

I was on Craigs list a couple of months ago and found an awesome maple frame sofa that was in need of some love :) I can't resist a project that has sooooo much potential! I was excited too because the price was right and the cushions seemed to be in great shape. Here is the before picture.

Do you notice the absence of cushions? After a couple nights of storage in my garage they began to smell a wee bit like animal pee :(   guh- rroooos! They went in the trash promptly. Then the real work began. As you can see the seat was missing the webbing and center supports. New wood pieces were cut, clued, and screwed into place. I then sanded, painted, distressed, and waxed the frame. I went with black because I LOVE primitive black pieces! I just used good old Krylon flat black spray paint.  It was then time to do the webbing which is what gives support to the seat. You will need to have a webbing stretcher to get the right amount of tension and I would highly recommend a pneumatic stapler as well.

My stapler

Webbing stretcher

This is not a complicated process at all. It kind of like basket weaving only you have to pull tight with one hand and staple with the other.  Each of the seat areas was done separately and I chose to go with a single 3in foam cushion for the bottom.

Side view of how cute this sofa is!

 I chose a cute tan and black stripe fabric that reminded me of a grain sack. It is a nice sturdy material that goes perfectly with the primitive style. I did the cording for the cushions out of black and tan buffalo plaid. The back cushion hangs from the top decorative pieces by plaid tabs as well.

I used a nice big upholstery needle and thread to pull little tufts in the back cushion. I think it gives it just the right touch!

Fabulous!  This went to Market Antiques in Ottawa, but my dear friend Lori has already claimed it for herself :) I will get to visit it whenever I want!
See you soon ~ Christy

Beautiful Little Serpentine Front Chest

Hello! Hope you have been enjoying this unseasonably warm weather we have been having in Kansas! It has been crazy! I was wearing short sleeves sanding on my deck one day. I was about to put shorts on, but was frightened by my white legs :) No one needed to be subjected to that!

I wanted to share a little serpentine chest that came from Craigs List at the same time as the wash stand from my last post. I did not get a true before picture of the piece as I was soooo excited to get started on it! It had a top that was split and extremely warped so the first order of business was to make a new one. I got to use my biscuit joiner, jig saw, and router for this :) LOVE my power tools! I joined the wood pieces, traced the outline of the old top, cut it with the jig saw, and then used a router to put a nice edge on it. Once it was on the piece I painted it in a dark walnut color.

I know what you are thinking. Cute right? From a distance it looks pretty good. Up close there is damage on the lower drawer front that just really bugged me. I know how beautiful the bird's eye maple veneer is and really struggled with covering it up. Let me show you my dilemma.

I really couldn't live with it. I know some people could but i decided to paint out the drawer fronts and top and leave the body of the dresser just as it was. I think it was an excellent decision! I chose ASCP in Coco. It is a great color that is somewhere between taupe/grey/and beige. I paired it with some beautiful yellow porcelain knobs.

 
I love it! It is at Market Antiques in Ottawa if anyone needs to have this little jewel for Christmas :)
See you soon ~ Christy

Long Time No See!!!

Whew! Sorry about my absence! Between a wicked cold and the Thanksgiving holiday I have been completely out of blog mode :( I have been busy cranking out projects though and have some fun things to share with you! Today I am going to show you a wash stand that I got from Craig's list a few weeks ago.  It was in pretty good shape overall and had some amazing detail, but it was just missing some fabulousness :)  Here is the before picture.

Very nice and sturdy, but the wood finish was not in great shape. I opted to paint rather than refinish :)

Look at that amazing detail work! I love it! Can you believe that something so cute was once used to store a chamber pot when not in use?! Well I guess maybe they were thinking that by making it pretty it helped disguise what its real purpose was......enough of that! I can assure you it is a lovely piece and no one would even think about using it for that now :)

I sanded and painted and distressed and waxed it to perfection!  I chose ASCP in provence for a beautiful antique french look. It just seemed like the thing to do.

The hardware was already off in the before picture, but it is original and it is beautiful!

I didn't have to do anything other than give it a good scrubbing. I clearly should have gotten a closer picture but you get the idea.

Love how the color made the detail work stand out!

Look  how amazing this color looks next to the orange pumpkins! So very pretty!!!  This great little piece has gone to Market Antiques in Ottawa to wait to be adopted :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I love the Holiday season and am so looking forward to Christmas and all the festivities coming in the next month!  See you soon!   ~Christy

Super Cute Upholstered Chairs!

I recently finished a pair of upholstered chairs that I love!! One I picked up at the Goodwill store and the other I found next to the dumpster at our local storage facility. I got before pics of both chairs this time! I have been bad about that lately :) Let us just say they were in need of major TLC! This is what I started with.

Goodwill chair

Trash chair

See how similar they are?! I knew that I had to pair them up.  Here is what was under the slipcover on the Goodwill chair. I couldn't wait to get that gaudy fabric and fringe off!!

Look at those lovely arms! So pretty!  The trash chair was even more amazing!! Beautiful arms and CLAW FEET!!! Who throws something like that away?! Don't get me wrong, I am glad they did. I just don't understand how!

First order of business was to strip the old upholstery. No huge surprises were waiting so that was good. Next everything was sanded and painted in ASCP Paris Gray. Such a lovely soft color :) Then came the fun part.....fabric!  I chose floral fabric with grays, yellows, and creams. So lovely, so feminine, so fabulous.

After of the Goodwill chair

I chose a companion fabric for the trash chair. It was the same color family, similar pattern, but not too matchy, matchy.                                                                                                                                

After of the trash chair

Super cute legs!

They have both gone to Antiques on The Prairie in Baldwin City.  Stop in and check them out! They would make some lucky person an awesome Christmas present :)
See you soon!  ~Christy

Happy Novenber 1st!

Whew!! It has been a whirlwind of life happenings around here lately! Some good and some not so good! Good things include an awesome Maple Leaf weekend, some awesome projects completed, some beautiful furniture finds, wonderful fall weather, and a fun Halloween with lots of trick-or-treaters at my door! Not so good is the fact that sometimes I forget that I am over 40 and try to do the things I did in my 20's and even 30's and end up with my back and neck completely out of alignment :( Can I just say that I am not good with limitations! I have promised my husband that I will be more careful and ask for help with moving big pieces around. Did I mention how I don't like being limited?! :)

On to an awesome old stereo cabinet turned bar that would be the perfect Holiday party piece for someones home! Here is how it started out.....

 I have such fond memories of the stereo cabinet my Aunt Pat and Uncle Bob had when I was a child. It was so amazing to me that you could start the record upstairs and then run down to the basement family room and hear it! I bet we played the soundtrack to Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs 100s of times over the years :)  The overall cabinet was in great shape and had such a pretty look to it. The radio worked fine, but the turntable was not operational any longer. I was a little torn over leaving it intact, but decided it needed a new life.

I removed all the inner workings and the fabric that was on the sides and front covering the speakers.

Then it was time for sanding and paint. I thought that a nice black distressed finish would be beautiful with the chrome bar accents that I found.  It was lightly distressed and waxed and the existing hardware was sprayed in metallic silver.

I built a custom sized wine rack for the bottom area on one side and hung a wine glass rack on the other side.

In the area where the turntable was I cut a hole for an ice bucket, and the area where albums would have been stored makes a perfect place for liquor bottles.

I think it turned out fabulous! I love the fact that something like this old cabinet that was once the piece of honor for a family can once again have that title as the star of parties as well as quiet evenings around home :)

Hope you all have a wonderful day!  See you soon!   ~Christy