I am always on the hunt for an old apothecary table, I finally found a totally awesome one this weekend in Newport! Of course as luck would have it I drive a small car and had three other passengers.
It was a really hard to walk away from this unique piece! I know persistence is key and if I keep on searching I will find one that I can actually bring home and love forever! In the mean time I can admire other bloggers functional apothecary finds.
Until next time!
After going back and forth I finally decided to open up an Etsy shop. I am so excited about finally doing this, it’s a big step for me! I wish I could keep all of my furniture restoration projects, but I think if I bring home one more dresser without the intent of selling it my husband might lose it! 
We are slowly becoming over run with furniture.
I get so excited finding a cool piece at an estate sale or thrift store because I can see the potential. I usually am giddy with a find and can’t wait to get home to get started on painting it to see what it will become. I have found it’s just as exciting when that piece finds a new home, and someone else can feel that same way. I am starting small and have listed a few things.
At this time I am not planning on shipping, but if you ever find something you just have to have I can get a quote on shipping so send me an e-mail at lechicelefant@gmail.com. Click here to check out my new shop, and thank you all for your support! 
Until next time!
Sometimes I come across a piece of furniture that I really love but a simple coat of paint won’t be enough to bring it back to life, it will require a little extra love. I found this coffee table at an estate sale and I was instantly drawn in by the square shape and the intricate detailing. At quick glance I could only really see one thing wrong with the table…the bright green leather top. Green is not really in my color wheel and leather top tables to me are really outdated.
I, of course, love a challenge and brought the table home! After much brainstorming we decided the best option was to cover the leather completely. Off to Lowes we went buying a piece of 3/4 inch plywood, trim, and wood blocks. The table was too low so we wanted to add some height. We found these blocks that fit perfectly adding about an inch and a half of height to the table. There was a bit of a gap between the blocks and the bottom of the original feet so we later filled it in with wood putty and then smoothed it out.
Since we were adding a wood top I did not want a blunt edge. The perfect solution was to add trim around the edge to connect the bottom of the table with the new wood top.
Then came liquid nails! It was generously applied to the top of the coffee table and then the plywood was added and screwed on from the underside.
The edges of the plywood were rough so we added a small piece of rounded trim.
Finally it’s time to paint! I mixed one part of old white and two parts french linen to create the coffee table color.
This was a little more work then just slapping on some paint but the end result was worth it. I love the table! The details are shown off even more with the distressing and brightening up of paint.
My favorite part are the little little blue drawers.
The more I get into this furniture painting fad the more I realize there are some really handy tools and products out there that make things little easier. I most recently discover the magic of wood filler. I am such a novice I didn’t even know it existed till recently and it’s a game changer! First it’s not that expensive and a little bit goes a long way! I most recently used it on a little pedestal table that had a few scratches on the surface and the wood detailing around the table’s edge had some holes in it.
I used Elmer’s wood filler, so far it has worked well it dries fast and sands really smooth. (I feel like I am in a commercial, I swear they did not tell me to say that! )
Then two coats of French Linen paint and the table looks brand new! It has already made its way to new home today!
I am so excited to share with you all our new bathroom. This transformation has been months in the making but I can finally say with confidence we are 98% complete! Since moving into our house last summer we have only made some minor changes, a little paint here, some new trim there. The bathroom was our first project, it had an old vanity that seemed so small and short! I hate having to bend over just to brush my teeth. The wall color was a purple grey, which I was not crazy about. This was just a basic renovation, we painted and installed a new vanity but it makes a world of difference! Check out the before and after pictures.
BEFORE:
I had a hard time picking a true grey, as you can see from the different samples on the wall. I ended up with Stonington Grey by Benjamin Moore. Remy my cat is supervising the renovation process.
AFTER:
The accent color is teal, I tried to add in hints of the color where I could. These teal mason jars were an excellent thrift store find and perfect for storing bathroom essentials.
Target shower curtain, I mean how could I pass up that pattern!
Some teal prints of Etsy and $1.99 ikea frames make the perfect wall decor.
The vanity is from Lowes and comes in different pieces which is perfect for anyone who wants to customize their cabinets. I love seeing peoples home renovation projects, anyone else in the middle of one?
Throughout my travels in the blogosphere I have discovered numerous posts and DIY about white washing furniture. I love the look, it turns the piece into a beachy cottage feel which is right up my alley. No seriously it’s literally right up my alley, the beach is about 4 miles away! After doing some more research I realized it’s actually really simple to do and it brightens up any piece.
I decided what better way to experiment then with another Craigslist find, this small accent table. It was in great condition but of course I had to paint it! I know the photo is horrendous there is no excuse!
I painted the table in Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue, what a beautiful color! I wasn’t exactly thrilled about the end result, I am still learning how to use the dark wax and I felt this piece came out way to dark. If anyone has any tips on controlling the dark wax please let me know!!
The best thing about this paint is you can always change it! So I read about white wash and thought I would give it a try.
Basically white wash is exactly how it sounds, white paint watered down. The process I did was take a small cup of water and then used Annie Sloan Old White and would dip my paint brush in the old white and then just a corner of the brush into the water.
Simply paint the piece in sections and before it dries wipe as much or little of the paint you want off. This is what you are left with:
I just love it, with the hints of white!
I think this option worked out well because the dark wax still peeks through a little bit but it’s not overwhelming. What do you guys think? Anyone else use this technique before?
For those of you who have been following me since the beginning (basically those friends I bullied into following me ) you have seen this blog transform a few times. Bare with me because I am now addicted to refinishing furniture. I love finding pieces that need a little love and then making them pretty again! Here is my latest transformation.
I found this coffee table and I thought it has great lines and tons of potential. It’s solid wood but had a few scratches, nothing a little sanding and painting can’t fix. Sorry for the basement iPhone shot, I really need to get better at taking the before pictures.
I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in old white.
Of course I had to distress it a little!
I added the smallest amount of Annie Sloan dark wax to give the white some depth and age to it. It is an antique after all. 
I just love this piece it’s so pretty! Sadly it will have to go since it doesn’t match any of our furniture!
Here are some other painting posts I love:
It was only a matter of time before I would be posting about Chalk Paint. All the other bloggers I follow were doing it so I had to try, and now I am addicted! If you have never heard about Chalk Paint then at this point you probably think I am crazy, so let me explain. I have recently been using Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint. It’s not chalk board paint as some might think. It’s a two-step process of painting furniture (or anything really) and then waxing it. That’s right, that’s all you have to do! No sanding, no stripping, no priming, nothing. It’s awesome, it’s fun to work with and as I said before I am addicted! I have painted many pieces that I will share later this week. Today I wanted to share my very first painting experience so you can see even a novice like me can turn something old and ugly into new and pretty.
I thought for my first “experiment” piece I would try our old entryway table, which since we moved has been sitting in the basement. It is a nice little table in good condition, but it was ready for a makeover!
I did two coats of paint since the wood was so dark. You will not believe how fast this paint dries, seriously 20 minutes and you can start the second coat! You can see how it gets its name, it looks really chalky and powdery before you wax it. I distressed the piece before I waxed.
Here it is all waxed and buffed!
So cute, right!?
So who is sick of Winter?! I certainly am! Seems about right though, once March rolls around and Spring is almost near I start to go a little crazy with anticipation for warmer days. In a desperate hope to hurry Spring along I put together a new welcome wreath for our front door. I started by looking for some inspiration via pinterest, because really if you need inspiration pinterest is the mecca for great ideas! A wreath by Too Much Time On My Hands caught my eye. It had all the flowers made from paper book pages, genius! Click Here to see the step by step instructions I followed.
Back when we first moved into our house last June I had constructed a wreath with our new house numbers on it. Click Here to see the old wreath and instructions on how I made our house numbers. I reused these numbers for my new wreath.
Here is my new wreath! I love it, I feel as if I am welcoming spring into my home, Go away snow!!!
Have you heard about the vaseline method for distressing wood? I know it already sounds messy and unnecessary, but I promise it’s worth it. I had been wanting a distressed painted box for my study to store odds and ends. Of course when you want something and go looking for it rarely is it found. I decided to make one of my own. In four easy steps you can take a plain wood box and give it a ton of character.
What you will need:
First I painted the edges of the boxes dark brown where I planned on distressing later.
After the brown paint dries I rubbed vaseline along the corners of the box where I had just painted. Doing this step will block the top coat of paint from completely adhering to the wood making it easy to distress later. I then painted my top coat a light blue.
Next comes the fun part! After the paint dries I took a paper towel and rubbed away the paint along the edges and corners. It’s that easy and it comes right off! Then I just ran a sanding block over each box quickly.
You can be done at this step if you are happy with the look you have achieved. Or move on to the last step which was apply a stain over the painted wood. I felt that the blue was just a little too new looking and too perfect. So I took dark chestnut Minwax stained one side of the box and then quickly rub off the stain. The trick is to not let the stain stay on for very long. What you are left with is a vintage tint, making the wood look older. The top of the larger box has been stained where the smaller box has not. See the difference?
Here they are dry and ready for my study.
