Waterfall Vanity

I’ve been busy working on furniture lately.  I am hoping to have several pieces finished up soon…I want to get my garage cleaned out and I want to get as much painted as I can before it gets too hot for Summer. 
Sorry for the un-staged photos, this one was just to big to move around so I took them in the garage.
This great waterfall vanity is a different type of piece for me and it was really fun to paint!
Originally I had planned to paint this one green but when it came time to paint it just didn’t feel right so I went with ASCP in Aubusson Blue which is one of my favorite colors. 
 

I’m pretty happy with the way this one turned out.  Really great pop of color with nice smooth lines  I wanted to leave some of the decorative veneer in place and I think it really is nice to see those accent pieces. 
Here is the before, I almost forgot to get before pictures on this one so it is sans drawers.  


This piece came from an estate sale my Mom went to last Summer and it sat in waiting for a while.  In waiting were the roof was leaky and it got wet which cause a lot of the veneer to peel up and the drawers were really tight because the wood swelled up.  It took a lot of prep work to get this one paintable.  I would work  it in about 1 hour increments and come back to it as time allowed.  So it’s been sitting in the garage under construction since February.

I used an iron to get the veneer off by using a wet towel with a hot iron on top to steam the wood to pop off.  It was time consuming and pretty much ruined my iron.  Next time I have a piece with peeling veneer I will likely not take the project on.

The iron trick worked and it was a bit fun to scrap away all that veneer but it took a really long time!
On the flip side, this was a very easy piece to paint.  I only needed one coat of paint and the wax went on really easy too.

Close up of the veneer I did leave.  The knobs did not clean up real well so I used Rub-n-Buff in silver to finish those.

Here is a close  up of the mirror, it is really sweet and feminine with the etching on the top and bottom.

Did you notice the changes?  I removed the piece in the center under the middle drawer as well as the gold tiles and wood appliqué on the mirror.  I thought these changes gave the piece a simpler look. 
This piece is now for sale!  I am pretty pleased with the final result.  What do you guys think?  How do you like the veneer I left in place.  Are you a fan of vanities?

April
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Design Decisions that Last

You know, those decisions that you are going to have to live with for a while, sometimes longer than you want.  It seems like the right idea when you are in need of an item, later you realize it was not the best idea.  Or maybe you are very young and you have no idea what your personal design style is yet…that was me when I picked out this couch and chair for our very first home. 


I knew I wanted a reddish color couch that was solid.  We were also looking for a BIG comfy couch.  When Will and I first got married we had hand me down furniture and had been given a master bedroom set as a wedding gift from his parents but we had no living room furniture.  Well, I take that back, we did have Will’s college apartment couch that he shared with two other roommate's that looked like it was from the 70’s.  Not happening!  So we needed living room furniture quick.  We went to a very GOOD furniture store and picked out this couch and chair and they are both solid pieces.  The furniture store was about to close up for the day, the custom fabric order took 4 weeks to come in and so once we found the style we wanted we had to pick the fabric quick and get it ordered.  The color for the couch was perfect at the time, it was just what I wanted.  The green on the chair was a quick decision, it was August, must have had watermelon on the brain. 
Fast forward to now, I know my decorating style better and I would have gone with something way more neutral!  I am having to work around it in other areas of our home.  The house we are in now is open to the kitchen and dining room so I have to be careful how I chose colors for those areas.  I am trying to buy things that are more my style and I love whites, blues, browns with small pops of color.  I love a coastal or cottage look.  My favorite store for inspiration is Pottery Barn.   Couches are expensive so….I have to work with it for now.
The kitchen is right beside the living room. 


Our kitchen has very dark cabinetry so I am trying to keep things on the counter top minimum and add clear or white accents.  I did purchase the rug from World Market when we moved in, it has the same colors of the couch and chair and also purple which matches my dishes and Kitchen Aid mixer, which stays out.
I am having a little more trouble decorating the dining area.


The small chair I had recovered a few years back and it was in our living room before, I thought bringing it over to this area helped tie the colors together.  I had a lot of trouble choosing the color for the china cabinet because I wanted the blue but it really doesn’t go with the living room furniture.  It’s a work in progress but it’s ok for now.  I’m considering bringing in my round table with these dining chairs and adding some artwork. 
As for the couch and chair, we hope to one day use it in a bonus room because it is very comfy and great for lounging. 

Maybe one day it will look like this….

Source: www.bhg.com, Better Homes & Gardens

What design decisions do you regret?  Do you have issues with choosing color over neutral?

April