Vintage Charm and Restoration

{OUR PROCESS & SERVICES OFFERED}

2013-03-21T10:42:00.000-05:00

I've decided to take a little bit of time and share with you our process of business to answer all the questions you may have about what we do and why we do things the way we do. Also, I would like to cover our services that we offer and hopefully answer your questions about that as well!

{OUR PROCESS FOR RETAIL}

We spend hours and sometime days hunting and finding the perfect furniture to paint and sell. We travel long hours, incur tremendous expenses for travel time and fuel, spend all day trying to find and pick out the best pieces, load it all, bring it home, unload it all, clean it, fix it, measure it, price it, take pictures, post pictures, answer multiple emails and Facebook questions, etc. Sometimes we spend 10-12 hours in one day bringing in new inventory!

Once the piece sells, it's a whole new process. It's time to talk to the client, get his/her vision for the piece, choose colors, fabrics, hardwares, review past pictures and examples and finally come to a conclusion that we all love!

It's time to be sure all drawers work, all joints are secure, all veneer is in good shape, etc. These repairs sometimes take several hours depending on the amount of work required. We also make sure the pieces are repaired to the best of our ability and are in great working order before they go home to you.

{Start here for our process on CUSTOM ORDERS}

Next is deep cleaning and prepping for paint. We sand very few of our pieces {GASP!} and have very good reasons for doing so. Here are those reasons:

1} Painting furniture is a fad, we should all know that by now. It's like Fashion. It's IN today, could be OUT in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years. Who knows. Point of me saying that is this...If I were to strip every piece of furniture and sand it back to bare bones, it would be FOREVER ruined with the first drop of primer or paint! It could never be restored back to it's original, stained beauty. The primer or the paint would absorb into that original wood and ruin the original wood.

2} Most all of you love distressed pieces, with wood showing back through. If it were sanded back down to original, bare wood that would not be possible :(

WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE TAKE THREE EXTENSIVE PREP STEPS TO BE SURE WE HAVE A SOLID ADHESION TO INSURE DURABILITY FOR A LIFETIME

The only time I sand back to original, bare wood is when I am going to be staining a top. Other than that situation, we have an extensive cleaning process, top of the line products and primers that we use before we get started painting. I'd tell you what they were, but those are my little secrets! It has taken me years of trial and error along with lots of blood, sweat and tears to figure out what works!

Now, it's time for the FUN part! Paint!! Well, really I think it's all fun, but this is where the beauty begins.

We mainly use latex paint, sometimes Chalk Paint and sometimes, very rarely we use Milk Paint. My preferred paint is latex, hands down. I only say that because of the color choices and the durability, PLUS I really like my local Sherwin Williams staff. The only downfall to Latex is that it takes 30 days to fully harden so we have to be very careful until that point. Miss Mustard Seed taught me that :) Most of our finishes are sprayed, but some are hand-painted depending on the piece of furniture, the details, the finish requested, etc.

Once the piece is painted we get into the beauty and the details of the piece with distressing, glazes, specialty finishes, hardware treatments, and so on and so forth.

Finally, all of our pieces are sealed with WAX for ultimate durability. We very rarely use Polyurethane, unless it is requested by the client for a specific reason. Polyurethane takes 30 days to cure and is nearly impossible to keep it clean while doing so in my shop. I love the wax and the durability it provides.

I think that pretty much sums up {OUR PROCESS}, so I'll move along.

{SERVICES OFFERED}

* CUSTOM PAINTING ~ We offer custom painting services on furniture and accessories you already own. I would say that is 80% of what we do on a normal weekly basis. To get a quote on a piece you already own please EMAIL me, TEXT me {256.690.4390} or send me a Facebook message. All items that I quote are strictly that, a Quote. I quote only off of pictures sent and very rarely do I ever go up on that price, unless we change the finish or the furniture is in a different shape when it arrives.

Completion times range from 4-8 weeks from the date of drop off.

Half payment due via Cash, Check or Credit Card at time of booking, second half due upon drop off.

*PAINTING WORKSHOPS ~ We offer painting workshops for groups or private lessons. Classes are $200/person. These can be arranged to fit your schedule, or you can join in on an already scheduled class. You bring a small table or chair to work on and I teach you all my little secrets and you take home a completed, beautiful piece of furniture. In the event that you have to cancel or reschedule your class, you have 6 months to reschedule.

Full tuition due at time of booking via Cash, Check or Credit Card.

Checks not accepted within 72 hours prior to class.

*KITCHEN CABINETS ~ We offer custom painting on Kitchen Cabinets on location. To receive a quote, please contact me to schedule an on-site meeting and estimate.

Half payment due at time of booking, second half due upon project completion.

Cash, Check or Credit Card - first half

Cash or Credit Card - second half

Hope that helps you guys further understand what we do, why we do it and a little bit of how we do it. I absolutely love what I do and love each and every face I have met in the process.

To find our retail pieces, please visit University Pickers!

To find what we have available for customization, please click HERE!

COMPLETION TIMES RANGE FROM 4-8 WEEKS CURRENTLY

ALL SALES ARE FINAL. NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES.

valentine's.day.giveaway

2013-01-26T11:51:00.000-06:00

valentine's.day.giveaway

Vintage Charm and Restoration has joined in a HUGE giveaway with University Pickers!! We are so excited to be part of this giveaway! You have to enter!! $125 Gift Certificate to University Pickers in Huntsville! We are in great company in this giveaway...

Three French Hens

Simply Salvaged Restoration

The drawing will take place Wednesday, February 13th just in time for Valentine's Day. Prize will be picked up at University Pickers.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!! SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!!!

New pieces available!

2012-12-31T12:23:00.001-06:00

Two new pieces available for purchase today! Contact me if you are interested!

chippy.server

2012-11-02T12:17:00.001-05:00

New to Vintage Charm today!! Beautiful french server/side board in a creamy white, chippy distressed with original hardware. 2 drawers and double doors for great storage for dishes and linens. Would also make a beautiful dresser for a little girls room!
{FOR SALE $350}
40 x 22 x 29h

shabby.vintage.lovin'

2012-11-02T11:21:00.001-05:00

I absolutely adore this piece!! It is a custom color that turned into a beautiful light french gray. It is chippy distressed and has gorgeous detail, including the collection of iron and hand-painted knobs! This beauty is for sale at $425 and measures 49w x 22d x 33h. Contact me today to purchase!

September Giveaway

2012-09-24T13:03:00.000-05:00

We're doing a Giveaway this week!!

We're giving away a set of 2 Fleur de Lis that measure 9" and 11" h that are custom hand-painted by Vintage Charm - teal with gold accents heavily distressed and glazed.

There are TEN ways to enter so get started! If you are out of state or out of town, no problem! We'll ship the item to the winner!

july.projects :)

2012-09-05T19:34:00.001-05:00

Here is a little recap of our projects from July! We were awfully busy! So busy I forgot to post any of them to the website! Enjoy! August pictures coming soon!!

Be sure to check us out on Facebook to see all of our projects every day!

june.projects

2012-07-01T13:48:00.000-05:00

June was so busy I forgot to post these projects - so here is a little recap of the month!! I am so blessed to be so busy doing what I love :)

sew.beautiful

2012-06-08T22:06:00.002-05:00

This piece I did on a whim, and decided to add another color, plus a wooden medallion for that extra charm. It turned out fabulous and sold in just a few hours :)

tiffany.blue.tin.love

2012-06-08T21:58:00.003-05:00

This project was so much fun! I have had these tables in storage for so long and the tops have been destroyed even longer! I knew the tops were unsalvageable, so i racked my brain until I came up with this idea. Paintable wallpaper tops! I absolutely love the way they turned out!!

lovely.green.lattice

2012-05-30T22:19:00.000-05:00

This piece was fun! Such a transformation - from a yellow and red country style bench, to a shabby chic cream and green beauty! Love this one!

before

restoration.love

2012-05-24T09:25:00.000-05:00

These pieces were inspired by a photo from Restoration Hardware that my client sent me. Her dining room is going to be gorgeous! These two pieces go with some burlap/nailhead chairs. I can't wait to see it all put together!!

workshop.5.19

2012-05-20T16:47:00.000-05:00

Our first painting workshop was yesterday and it was more fun than I ever imagined it would be! The ladies were so sweet and just soaked up every little word like sponges! I was so pleased with their work - it was so beautiful!! We had so much fun and covered everything from sanding, priming, preparation, cleaners, painting techniques, paints, distressing, glazes, finishing and sealing. The girls learned so much and were able to take home their very own piece that they created!! We even got to have cupcakes that one of the girls brought to class for us! What a perfect day :)

vintage.in.white

2012-05-20T14:23:00.000-05:00

I love this set! I spotted it first thing when I walked into the auction house and knew it would be beautiful painted! The sweet client bought this and customized it for her little girl's room and it turned out beautiful!! Very girly, very simple.

art.deco.passion

2012-05-14T21:51:00.000-05:00

This is by far one of my favorite funky pieces I've done!! I adore this piece!! We did this piece for The Purple Peanut, a local boutique. This is her new counter - what a show stopper at the door, huh!?!

french.gray.trio

2012-05-14T21:22:00.000-05:00

This set is so timeless, so classic. I am in love with pretty much anything gray these days - and then you add iron to it and I'm totally in love! This set turned out just gorgeous with light distressing and a tobacco glaze! My only regret is that I wish my pictures were better... :(

before

chevron.love

2012-05-14T20:41:00.000-05:00

This table is so not my typical buy - it is much more contemporary than me :) But I had a vision and luckily my client who bought it agreed with me. It turned out really fun!! You can't go wrong with Chevron print!

twice.the.beauty

2012-05-11T21:04:00.000-05:00

I absolutely adore these vanity side tables! I love the lines of them!! I planned on painting them all gray, and then when it was time to do the drawers, something struck me - and I poured teal paint into my sprayer to go with the gray and out came the most beautiful pale, robins egg blue. I love the way these turned out! They are heavily distressed all over with iron hardware. I can't wait to see where they end up!

pale.is.beauty

2012-05-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

I simply adored this piece the moment I saw it on the auction house floor. It was so ugly! Drawers falling out, not one piece of hardware - it was just a hot mess!! I fixed the interior of the dresser, fixed all of the drawers, sanded it down and got busy! I made a custom teal for this piece and used a collection of knobs to set it apart a little from all the other dressers in the world. I finished it off with a heavy glaze. I adore this piece. When I say adore, I mean love :)

simply.chippy

2012-05-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

This table started out so simple and plain, now it has taken on a little life of its own. It was painted a custom created teal color, and heavily distressed for a chippy finish. I love how it turned out!

love these details!

old.world.stunner

2012-05-10T21:57:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite pieces I've done in a while. I love anything French Provincial - I don't care what it is!! I just adore it! I wouldn't have it in my own home - it's too curvy for me, but I do love it! It has the most beautiful lines for details to be exposed!

This china cabinet was painted a light, cool gray and heavily distressed for an old world feel at the client's request. I painted the hardware the same color as the cabinet and used a dark metallic glaze to pull out the details of the hardware. It turned out just like I pictured in my head!!

jaded.coral

2012-04-29T21:13:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love these pieces! We did these for a local boutique and they turned out fabulous! We used a warm, beautiful coral on the little chairs and the hutch and then a deep teal on the picket fence shelf. Both pieces were heavily distressed for a worn, vintage appearance.

I can't wait to see these in the store!

before - hutch

before - picket fence shelf

love.pink

2012-04-29T17:57:00.002-05:00

I almost never do pink, so when I get to it excites me! This chest turned out super cute for the sweet little bundle of joy coming soon! One day she'll be old enough to appreciate it :)

purple.and.tarnished.silver

2012-04-29T10:02:00.001-05:00

This set was done for a design client. We created this furniture based on the room design I created for her. They turned out so cool! Can't wait to see the whole room completed! We finished two pieces in a deep, crisp purple and one of the pieces in our custom created "tarnished silver". They turned out beautiful! To my own surprise, I'm itching to use this purple again soon!

oh.love

2012-04-28T18:54:00.003-05:00

This is another custom order for Spa L - opening soon in Huntsville! I just love working with Jade to create these gorgeous pieces for her spa! She has great taste and always picks great color combos for her pieces! Can't wait to see them all put together in the new space!

The interior is painted a warm pale brownish gray tone and the outside is a rich, warm cream. We heavily distressed all the details and used a dark glaze to make the details pop. I absolutely adore this piece and I love the original hardware on it! It is absolutely stunning!