Vintage Grain Sack and Antique Enamel-Inspired Nesting Tables

I didn't get a chance to blog about these gorgeous, adorable  (gorgable? adorgeous?), tables before they sold.  I absolutely love how they turned out - just like vintage grain sacks and aged enamel washbasins rolled into one! 

The pictures below are what the tables looked like before I finished them - a little distressing and some ubber-durable floor finish to seal everything in. 

And as I said, they're 'nesting' tables...so I'll leave you with a shot of everything pulled together!

Tiny Two-Tiered Table

Too cute! 

OK, you know those dated, your grandma-had-one tables that you often see at thrift stores or auctions?  You know the ones....

Sometimes it's hard to find these little tables in solid wood.  I was lucky enough to come across one for a steal at one of our local thrifts - along with this tray (with awful ivy stencil. Yikes!).  A makeover couldn't come fast enough!

I've been waiting to do this to one of these tiny, two-tiered tables: 

That's right!  Remove that awkward 1/3 of the table addition.  It's super easy - just a little 'unscrewing' on the underside of the table. 

At this point I also took the opportunity to get rid of some of the wobbly-ness of the table by tightening the legs.  So many people pass up great items at thrift stores because of a little wobbling.  This can always be fixed, people!  Do not be deterred by the wobble!! 

I wanted to coordinate the tray and the table to have them work together as a set.  I see them out in a sunroom or on the porch or balcony this summer!  You can prep cool drinks and snacks in the kitchen, carry them outside on the tray, and serve them on the table.  Yes, I think SO! 

After I finished both graphics, I felt that the 'At Home' graphic (c/o The Graphics Fairy as always!) needed to be 'bolder' to blend more seamlessly with the frame graphic on the table. 

These graphics are added using the regular technique - I use a projector and permanent marker.  There are all kinds of techniques you can use to transfer graphics.  I prefer my way because it gives me the most control over my image and I can play around with placement a lot before committing to a design. 

The final step was to dry brush on a layer of off-white paint over the top of the table and inside the tray.  This gave the whole thing an aged feel and served to tone down the darkness of the graphic.  I also distressed the table legs, top, and tray. 

 

 

 

Can't wait for summer!! 

Antique Kitchen Island - Part 3 - The Big Reveal!

Here it is in all it's glory!  I'm really happy with how this piece turned out in the end, although it had its struggles.  

I especially like the sanded and oiled top.  It's perfect for the kitchen!  I had to strip the old lacquer and finish which is always extra stubborn the older the piece.  After stripping, I sanded, sanded, sanded with my handheld power sander.  I stared with 60 grit and worked my way up to 280, I wiped it down and then wiped two coats of mineral oil on the top.  Mineral oil is great for the kitchen as it's food-safe (how do I know?  You can take it orally to...move things along... and it's available in the drug store isle of your local supermarket or other large box store!)  It's also...cheap!  Ha!

A close-up of the front detailing.  After sanding and staining the decorative veneer, I painted the back.  After that I wasn't too sure of my choice as I wasn't convinced that the 'art deco' style veneer actually coordinated with the other delicate and more 'antique' embellishments.  I think the finish on the other drawers were what was going to make or break the continuity of this piece.

I was also happy with how the veneer 'patches' turned out and they blend fairly well.  Not bad for a first attempt.  Definitely good enough for our kitchen, I say!

I had a hard time deciding on what to do for the finish on the other drawers.  Originally, I had thought I would do some sort of brown decoupage print: flowers, scrolls, newsprint...I wasn't sure.  But because I'd used an ebony or black stain for the veneer, I needed something darker than I originally thought.  Out went the brown paper and in came more of the ebony stain.  I think it was the right choice.  I decided to keep it simple.  I did need to cover up the drawer fronts as the veneer wasn't in great shape, so I used an easy 'leather look' technique.

To achieve the look, simply use brown craft paper (or an old brown paper bag - you know those ones you get when you purchase 'adult beverages??') cut an inch or so bigger on all side than the drawer.  Crumple up the paper - really crumple and rub it until it starts to soften and has a nice worn look to it.  Then I painted on some plain white glue (you could also use ModPodge or Decoupage Medium...but I'm cheap.  So I use white glue), and simply pressed down the paper on top.  I made sure to flatten it out well, keeping the majority of wrinkles, but evening out major bunch-ups.

Then I applied the ebony stain to a baby wipe (you can use a sponge, brush or paper towel) and rubbed it gently over the top of the paper until I had the depth of colour I wanted.  I sealed over the stain with a coat of white glue.  I set the drawers out in the sun, and once they had dried, trimmed off the excess paper from the edges using a utility knive (Exacto knife).  When the drawers were totally dry, I sealed them with a coat of clear spray sealant - you could also use polyurethane.

Surprise!  Red inside!

The last special detail I added were these hand-antiqued knobs.  I was totally frustrated when I went to my pulls and knobs stash and discovered I only had 6 of almost all the knobs I own!  I tried to find coordinating knobs, but they were the wrong colours.  After boiling all the knobs in a pot of water and dish soap to remove their 'coatings,' I scrubbed them and dried them.  Then I used some of the ebony stain and some enamel spray paint to give them a similar aged look, sprayed them with a couple of coats of clear sealant and they were good to go!

The two knobs on the middle drawer are a bit smaller than the others, but they coordinate and don't detract overall.  Good enough!

And there you have it!  A $60 vanity transformed into a kitchen island and an extra prep space for our smaller kitchen.

I'm linking up and sharing this makeover at Funky Junk Interiors - click below to check out the other creative projects.  Lots of inspiration ahead! 

Antique Kitchen Island (Vanity) - Part 2

So...we left off with some sanded and naked drawer fronts.  I liberally applied ebony stain (and actually after this picture went back and touched up the veneer patches because they weren't quite right!), and the patches started to blend in pretty well.  Not perfect, but getting there! 

 

There was also quite a bit of patching and rebuilding to do on the body of the vanity/island, so I set to work with my putty knife and some wood filler. 

It took a few rounds to build up this missing corner piece (not a great photo, but the whole section was gone!) and to sand it smooth. 

 

There was also a chunk missing on the left-hand side, so same process applied there.  Fill it in with wood filler, sand when dry, and add any extra wood filler that might be needed, and sand again!

 

I spent a bit of time stripping and then sanding down the top of the island/vanity because I want to oil it with mineral oil so that it will be food safe for the kitchen.  Plus, I love the contrast it will have with the white paint. 

I also slapped on a first coat of off-white homemade chalk paint.  I can't wait to see what the final product will look like.  I still need to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of the drawer fronts...

Antique Vanity Makeover - Part 1

I was looking for a kitchen island or cart for the kitchen, but couldn't find anything I liked - for the right price, that is!  I started looking for something that could work on Kijiji and found this vanity:

 The dimensions fit and so did the price ($60 - more than I would normally pay, but I could see the potential in this piece, plus it was for the house so I didn't have to worry about resale value).
I loved all the detailing, especially the legs and scrolls.  The vanity (which I'm going to start calling an 'island') has quite a few places where the veneer was chipped, and some was lifting.  For some excellent tutorials on how to deal with problem veneer, visit 4 The Love of Wood  out in Langley, BC.  You'll also get lots of inspiration there because Kristy's work is amazing!

I started patching up the veneer and other problem areas first.  I want to keep the top drawers 'au naturel' because I like the decorative veneer, but some of the drawers were missing large chunks in the corners.  My solution to this problem was to cut a clean edge on the old veneer on the drawer, and, using some salvaged veneer from another project created patches for the missing pieces. Because the pieces were right on the corners of the drawer, they were difficult to clamp so I used what I had on hand - painter's tape - to keep the veneer in place.  I used plain old carpenter's glue - it does the trick every time!

After the veneer pieces dried, I sanded the faces of the drawers.  You can clearly see the patches below.  I had some ebony wood stain on hand, so decided to stain the faces with that, mostly because I was too cheap and too lazy to go and pick up anything else.  And maybe also because it was 10pm and all the stores were closed!

I put extra stain on the 'new' veneer corners to help them blend in with the rest of the veneer.  It's not perfect, but its much better!  Stay tuned for Part 2 - where I'll show you some other prep steps before painting.