Tag: refinish

Thrift Store Finds

Thrift store finds: Ballard End Tables

Jessica Smith

If you follow me on Facebook you saw a couple of weeks ago that I got an AMAZING deal on two Ballard Design end tables at a local thrift store. I’m talking ah-may-zing.

I paid $9.99 per table which retail for $199.00! At least brand new ones do. These had a 2011 sticker on them, so they aren’t brand spanking new, but still fabulous.

Holy smokes was I excited when I realized (actually, my thrift store buddy showed me the Ballard sticker) what I had found.

The tables were in really good shape, minus some gum stuck to the bottom and 12 or so missing screws. After scrubbing the heck out of the tables and replacing all of the screws, I decided that I was definitely keeping these tables for myself and not doing anything (yet) to refinish or alter them.

End Table

They don’t match perfectly with the couch, and I’m really liking the different styles paired together.

End Table

I also love the shelf on the bottom. I’ve got our scrapbooks proudly displayed on one and all of my BHG magazines on the other.

End Tables

Truthfully, I am just grateful to have finally found tables for this room and at such a steal. I’ve been looking for some time and am really happy with these babies.

Also, don’t judge my lack of shades — it’s a work in progress 🙂 And I’ve been dying to get these lamps out of my craft room for more than a year now.

Now I need to tackle that blank wall above the couch. I can’t decide between a huge mirror to reflect the light from our bay window or a gallery wall of photos. What would you do?

Furniture

Before & After: Sewing Stool

Jessica Smith

I’ve got some really exciting news to share today: I am starting to sell my furniture pieces at a local store in Howard County called A Slap of Paint!  #HoCoArts

A Slap of Paint is located in the Savage Mill, a historic textile mill turned into boutique shopping mall and basically one of my favorite places ever.

I cannot even express how excited I am for this opportunity. SO EXCITED! I have been a crazy lady on a mission to find pieces in need of some love and boy have I found some gems.

Take this lovely sewing stool, for example. This piece was too cool to pass up, but was a hot mess. The vinyl top was a goldenrod yellow with a big ole black stain on the top.

Here’s the before:
Stool_Before

After some white and teal paint (I mixed flat white paint with Paint Minerals for a chalk paint finish– this stuff is awesome!) and some gold fabric paint, I turned the ugly-duckling stool into this beauty.

After:

Stool

Furniture

Mid-Century Modern End Tables

Jessica Smith

Who is getting snow today? We’ve gotten a bunch of snow — well, a bunch of snow for Maryland. My dog is LOVING IT. He loves being outside and he loves coming back in to lick the snow off his paws before going back out again. He is addicted to the white stuff… at least the powder on his nose is snow, right?

Remmy in Snow

I shoveled the driveway, twice. I figured since I slept through the gym, I should probably do something like exercise today. Plus, I saw that shoveling snow for an hour burns something like 400 calories! Winning!

ME in Snow

Other than that, the hubs and I took it easy today. Earlier in the week, I worked on a pair of tables I purchased from a thrift store. I scored a pair of American of Martinsville tables at a local shop that were beat up but had a ton of potential. I wanted to try a new refinishing technique I had heard of, so I quickly snatched them up before anyone else could get their hands on ’em .

Table Before

The tops of the tables had seen better days. Other than that, a piece of gum on the bottom and a spill in a drawer, they were in great shape.

Table Before1

The technique I used? I tried a new product called Howard Restor-A-Finish, which allows you to touch up banged up wood without having to sand and strip the existing stain.

I brought one of the drawers with me to Home Depot to pick the finish that best matched my tables.

To used the Restor-A-Finish, I wiped down the piece to get the dirt and grime off. Then, I poured a little of the liquid onto a paper towel and generously wiped the product onto the table. Once the whole piece was coated, I went back and wiped off the Restor-A-Finish.

Once the finish was completely dry, I went over each piece with another Howard product called Feed-N-Wax. I applied the wax on both pieces and let it soak in for 20 minutes. Again, I went back and wiped off the remaining product.

Table AFter1

Don’t the tops look SO MUCH BETTER!!??!! The metal Xes, which are found on many American of Martinsville pieces, pop with the rest of the table looking so nicely. I think they turned out beautifully.

Table After

And that was it! It worked beautifully. The Restor-A-Finish doesn’t work 100% as well as if I’d stripped the whole piece down, but it does restore the original integrity of the piece, which I really liked. Plus, it is way easier and less time consuming for great results. All in all, if I just wanted to touch up a piece, I would definitely use this again. If I wanted to change the look and a feel of a piece, this wouldn’t be the way to go.

Stay warm out there! And enjoy the snow 🙂