Twice Lovely

New House Update and Ikea Hack Sofa Table

2013-05-01T17:23:00.001-07:00

We’re finally starting to feel settled in the new house. The mile-long “to do” listing is slowly but surely getting projects ticked off. I love all the space and openness in the new digs and am savoring the design process, making the house into our home.

I found some great bar stools at an even greater price at a new wholesale to the public type furniture store in town. I have some plans to add some dark stained, thin wood and some white trim in a board and batten type treatment below the breakfast bar. It’s on the list. ;)

I started painting Behr Wheat Bread, a perfectly dreamy warm gray in the main living areas. (You can get a glimpse of it in the background there.) It’s a two-story living room, and there was no way I was going to paint all the way up, so I picked a point to paint to (try saying that 5 times fast) but STILL there was a lot of up and down and moving the 12 foot ladder between taping and painting. I was sore for days.

Since our sectional is now floating the in the middle of the room instead of being against the walls, I needed a sofa table. I came up with a CHEAP option that I ended up really liking using 2 Ikea Dalfred Bar Stools that we had from our old house but I wasn’t going to be using for the new place.

This was extremely simple! Just a 6 foot long 12 inch wide pine board for the top and an 8 inch wide board for the bottom. The top board is screwed right on through the bottom of the stool seats. The lower shelf is just resting on the foot rest bar thingy (the technical name for it.) I sanded, did a quick application of some Dark Walnut Minwax stain, and Tung Oil (my favorite top coat for wood surfaces!) and voila! (Still want to get some baskets for the lower shelf. That’s on the list too.)

Have you tried Tung Oil on wood finishes? It’s really amazing! I love it! It’s a really hearty top coat, water-resistant, heat-resistant. Just really great! I use the Minwax stuff you can get at HD. I have the pure Tung Oil too, but I love the Minwax so much I’ve been hesitant to try the other stuff. :) I just used one coat on this sofa table, because I wanted to keep a more subtle, rustic sheen, but the more coats you add, the higher sheen you get and the heartier the finish. Try it! You’ll love it too.

Vintage Valve Knob Dresser

2013-03-18T15:07:00.001-07:00

Hi friends! It’s been a while. Remember me?

Life kind of turned upside down not longer after my last post back in October. To make a very long story short, we decided to list our house, it sold in 3 weeks, the buyers needed to be in before Christmas leaving us to pack and move our entire household in just 3 weeks and find a temporary rental house while we shopped for a new home. We have been squished in a tiny rental for the last 3 months, so needless to say, there has been no furniture work to speak of. But we close on our new home in a week and a half! Hooray! Can’t wait to get back to furniture flipping and I’m CERTAIN I’ll have a ton of house projects lined up that I may share as well. Thanks for sticking around. :)

As you might guess, I’ve completely redecorated the whole new house in my mind already. Amongst the plans is a new, mature, vintage/industrial bedroom for my big boys that will see them through as they grow. (You can check out my inspiration board to see the direction I’m heading with it.)

So the other day, I decided to get a little jump on the project with a quick change-up for this pine dresser that I’ve had in their room since my first son was born, almost 11 years ago.

I took off the painted wooden knobs, and my kids helped me beat the poor thing within an inch of his life with various implements to distress it. Then I went over it with a couple of coats of Dark Walnut Danish Oil, which subtlety deepened the color overall, but mostly just seeped into the distressing and brought out all the dings and gouges, which worked great for the look I was going for.

I added some of these great vintage valve knobs that I sell in my Etsy shop, The Hob Knobery. (Stop on by! I’d love to make you a custom set!)

And that’s 1 project to cross off my make-your-head-spin-its-so-long new house to do list. :)

This dresser has another little 4-drawer matching friend that will get the same treatment. And I’m considering adding some industrial looking casters to the bottoms. Can’t wait to see if everything comes together in real life as awesome as it looks in my head! ;)

MyColor™ inspired by Pantone® Painting Party, Flow Blue China Dresser

2012-10-24T08:32:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® Painting Party! A group of awesome DIY bloggers, including myself, have all completed projects using MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® paint. Now we’re giving you the chance to read our tutorials, gather inspiration, have fun and win prizes! Check out my project below and then jump to the other blogs in the party for even more inspiration!

I’m the last stop on the painting party train today, so if you’re just joining us, please head on back to the beginning and see some other great projects from some very talented blog stars.

Sarah @ Alderberry Hill *Go Back to the Beginning!*
Cristi @ Charm Home
Sara @ House Bella
Jerusalem @ Jolly Goode Gal
Katie @ Craptastic
Ann Marie @ Twice Lovely *You Are Here!*

I’ve been chomping at the bit to jump into this project, but have been waiting for inspiration to hit. I wanted it to have every bit of WOW that it deserved. Check out those gorgeous ornate details, carved pulls and marble tops!

I knew I wanted to do a paint treatment that would highlight all those details. I decided to paint a base coat of white, add petroleum jelly over all the details, then paint a deep and vibrant blue over that. With the distressed white peeking through the details and just the right blue, I envisioned it looking like a piece of flow blue china. (Thank you MyColor, because Medieval Blue worked out to be the PERFECT flow blue!)

Sometimes these ideas are a little more exciting in the planning and disappoint in the executing, but let me tell you, I couldn’t have been more pleased with how this project turned out. I was giddy!

First, when I began working on this piece, I thought I was going to have to recreate some missing moulding with my favorite JB Weld Kwikwood. So imagine my happy dance upon finding all the missing moulding pieces stashed in the drawers! Eeeeeeee!!!

After some repair work, including gluing back on the broken mouldings and removing the broken caster feet, I sprayed on a base coat of white primer. Confession: I used a canned spray primer this time. Why do I feel like I’m somehow cheating? I love Krylon spray primer! It’s fantastic for bleed through control on old pieces like this. One of the best, really!

After the white primer base coat was on, I went back with a cheapo chip bristle brush and dabbed on some petroleum jelly over all the details: the handles, the key holes, the appliques, the corbels, and the moulding.

Then came MyColor’s Medieval Blue! Because of all the nooks and crannies of all those details, I decided it would be most efficient to spray on the paint. The MyColor paint is thick, far too thick for the spray gun to handle, so it took significant thinning to get it to the right consistency for spraying. Thinning of paint to the correct consistency takes some practice with your particular gun, but after a while, it becomes second nature. If I had to guess, I would say I thinned this paint at least 1 part water to 2 parts paint. It might have even been as much as half and half.

The paint started to resist the petroleum jelly as soon as it was sprayed on, and did amazing things as it dried. I started to get very excited. And might have squeeled just a little.

So then I attacked the crackling, resisting paint with the scrubby side of an old sponge. And I definitely squeeled. A lot…

It turned out every bit as wonderfully chippy and authentically aged as I imagined, an ode to Flow Blue China.

The generous folks at MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^®would like one of you to win 3 pots of MyColor™ paint to try it out for yourself! If you’d like a chance to win some MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^®for your own project, simply comment on my post and share how you’d use MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^®in your next project! Feel free to comment on the other blogs in the party too – they’ll all be giving away samples! For a second chance to win, tweet your project ideas to @MyColorPaints using hashtag #PassItOn. Also check out and like the MyColor™ inspired by Pantone® Facebook page to get access to the schedule for today’s parties as well as the rest of the parties going on this month! Share your project ideas there for one more chance to win! Make sure to leave a separate comment on this post for each entry!

The giveaway will be open through next Wednesday, October 31st.

Good luck!

MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® reached out to me to participate in the MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® Painting Party. My post represents my honest experience with MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® paint. I am not being paid for my answers, but I did receive MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® paint to use for this project.

Linking to:

Miss Mustard Seed, The Shabby Nest

Distressed Turquoise Sideboard

2012-09-21T09:00:00.001-07:00

I picked up this fantastic sideboard a few weeks ago from Craigslist and immediately posted it to the Twice Lovely Facebook page…

… where it was immediately pounced upon and snatched up for a custom paint job. And I couldn’t have been more excited when it’s new owner said she would love a distressed turquoise with a dark stained top. So I set to work mixing up a custom turquoise with my DIY Chalk Paint Recipe. The top was stripped and stain Minwax Dark Walnut and given a top coat of Minwax Tung Oil. I’m in serious love. Very sad to be seeing this one leave.

Lots more to come soon!

Linking to:

Miss Mustard Seed

Chippy Mint Green Stenciled Dresser

2012-09-10T13:27:00.001-07:00

I’ve had a very busy last few weeks! Cranked out a few rad projects and still managed to pull together a very fun bridal shower for my little sister this past weekend! Phew!

Before I made myself put down the paint brush and start with the shower prep, I finished up this fun chippy mint green dresser (which I big fat FAILED to get a before picture of, dang it!)

I tried a new-to-me technique with vaseline to achieve the super chippy distressed look on this piece. When it was still wood before I painted, I did a few random smears with my hands where I wanted the wood to peek through. Then I mixed up a batch of my DIY Chalk Paint in the darker green you see peeking through and painted 2 coats. Once that was dry, I did a pretty heavy, random smudge application of the vaseline again with my hands. I then mixed up another batch of DIY Chalk Paint using a lighter shade of the same green (just added some white paint until I was happy with the shade. In retrospect, I wish I would have made the top coat even lighter for a little additional contrast between the layers, but you live and learn, eh?) Did 2 coats of the lighter shade and let it dry.

I had picked up this fabulous border stencil from Royal Design Studios at their booth at the SNAP! Conference in April and had been waiting for just the project to utilize it. I had a crazy hair that it would be amazing to use it vertically, off-center on a tall dresser, and it turned out to be every bit of cool I thought it would be. :)

After I painted the stencil (I used a foam roller with VERY little paint so as not to seep under the edges) I went back with some very fine (220 grit) sandpaper in my palm sander and went over the whole piece. The paint comes right off in the places that you’ve applied the vaseline, and the super fine sandpaper makes everything nice and smooth like buttah!

I have a couple of other smaller projects that I also wrapped up last week that I’ll be sharing soon.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Linking to:

Miss Mustard Seed

Distressed Turquoise Sideboard

2012-09-03T21:23:00.001-07:00

I picked up this fantastic sideboard a few weeks ago from Craigslist and immediately posted it to the Twice Lovely Facebook page…

Lots more to come soon!

Turquoise Dresser Jewelry Box

2012-08-13T21:47:00.001-07:00

Sheesh! I can’t believe how long it has been since I’ve posted a project! Between the July heat in Arizona and 2 weeks escaping said heat in Alaska, I haven’t gotten a thing done on the furniture front for quite some time.

I’m jumpin’ back in the saddle this week!! But I didn’t want to sprain anything, so I though I’d start out small.

I found this adorbs little dresser/ jewelry box. Isn’t so cute? I kicked the cute up a notch with some distressed turquoise. . .

. . . which picked up the bright golden yellow velvet interior beautifully!

So fun, right?

It’s actually kind of amazing that something so small actually too me just about as long as a full sized dresser to finish. But I LOVE it!

More to come soon!

Dresser Turned Kitchen Island for My Sis

2012-06-29T13:50:00.001-07:00

My younger sister got engaged to a fantastic guy this past New Year’s Eve, and I couldn’t be more excited for her and her husband-to-be!

Not long after they got engaged, I told them that I wanted to do a piece of furniture for them as a wedding gift and to start thinking of what they would want or could use. She came back to me and suggested a dresser that they could use as an island in the kitchen, so I started on the lookout for the perfect piece that was not too wide and a good counter-top height.

The search didn’t last long before I snagged this awesome piece for $15 at my favorite thrift store!

It had several gloppy coats of paint over the years that were stripped off. It was more than my orbital sander could handle on it’s own, so I used Citristrip. The body was painted with an off-white oops paint. I kept the top wood and stained it with several coats of walnut stain for a dark, rich color which also served to abuse it had obviously taken.

I followed up the stain with a new top coat for me, Tung Oil (I used Minwax brand), and it’s definitely a new favorite!! It’s super easy to use, self-leveling for a nice, smooth finish, food-safe (so perfect for a food prep or eating surface), heat resistant (also handy for the kitchen) and just a super-gorgeous glossy finish for your wood. The only down side is that you have to wait 24 hours between coats, and I applied 5 on this dresser/island’s top. Just brush a generous coat on with a disposable foam brush, wait a day, and repeat the process until you have a nice, glossy finish with no dull spots. With a little patience, I’m sure that you’ll love the results as much as I did.

The finishing touch was these fabulous Mexican Talavera knobs that I picked up on Etsy. They’re using Fiestaware dishes, and I thought it would be fun to play off the Mexican design element.

So I hope that it’ll be something that they will use and love for years to come. Who knows: Someday it may even be reincarnated as a changing table for my future niece or nephew! ;)

Summer is kicking my heinie here! Between the horrid heat and having all four kiddos home, I’m not cranking furniture projects out as fast as I would like, so I apologize for my lack of posting.

But I did manage to finish up a lovely gilded pair of French side tables the other day as well. I’m sharing them over on the SNAP! Blog, so head on over and check it out!

Sweatilly yours,

Linking to:

Primitive & Proper

Rumor Has It…

2012-06-15T21:58:00.001-07:00

Summer is in full swing here, which means lots of activities with the kids and travel and not so much with the furniture projects. Sorry ‘bout that. If you’re jonesing for a furniture fix, check out my fun little furniture flip I posted this week on the SNAP! Blog…

I performed last night at our local “Prescott Idol” competition singing Adele’s “Rumor Has It.” I was super nervous, but it was a lot of fun! Check out the video, and hop on over to the radio station’s website and vote for me, if you would be so kind. You can use any valid email address. I would LOVE to make it to the finals. :)

Hope you all are enjoying your summer days!

Bohemian Woodland Kids’ Bedroom Ideas

2012-06-12T15:23:00.001-07:00

Even though Mr. Four is still co-sleeping with us (and probably will be for a while still), I’ve started making plans for making my daughter’s room a little more gender-neutral a space, since they will be sharing it until such time as we’re able to get ourselves into a bigger house.

I love her girly room, but I’m also totally stoked to redecorate!

If you follow me on Pinterest, you’ve probably already picked up on the fact that I’m planning an Anthopologieesque Bohemian Woodland Room. (I owe the initial inspiration to my good bloggy friend Cassie from Primitive & Proper, who recently did a spectacularly magical job on her own daughter’s fun woodland room.)

I’m so excited that I found two matching twin patchwork quilts on Ebay for $40 (for both!) and they are the perfect jumping off point for the new room!

I have so many ideas swimming around in my head and I decided I should get them down on a mood board to show you fine people. :)

Here you can get a glimpse of the hand made quilts. Aren’t they fab?

Here’s a breakdown of some of the elements I’m envisioning:

A green faux bois focal wall, with the other walls keeping the current buttery yellow on top and adding a tealy blue on the bottom portion of the walls to pick up on that color in the quilts. I may add a chair rail between the two colors, possibly made from old pallet wood stained dark walnut.
I already have that awesome antique dresser in great shape that I’m going to move back home from the shop for their room. It’ll go in the middle of the focal wall, between the two beds. I may change up the original hardware with something funky.
I’d like to do an eclectic gallery wall on the focal wall as well.
I already purchased that fun vinyl of the branch with the owls. (Isn’t it cute?!?!) I’ll probably use it on one of the side walls
I’m thinking I’m going to try and make the headboards from old pallet wood stained dark walnut and cut into this traditional shape.
I like the addition of scrap fabric pennants on the headboard, possibly with their names.
I’d like to make toadstool stools for the foot of each bed.
I’m thinking up a way to use a vintage afghan as an area rug.
I’d like to make some fun throw pillow with owl appliques.

So what do you think? I can’t wait to jump in and start getting it all together!

Reverse Stencil Armoire at SNAP!

2012-05-24T08:07:00.001-07:00

I’m sharing a lovely armoire I recently flipped for my even lovelier sister in law this morning on the SNAP! Blog, along with a reverse stencil tutorial. Check it out!

Emerald Green Milk Paint Side Table

2012-05-23T06:14:00.001-07:00

I was sent some powdered milk paint by The Real Milk Paint Co., and I was so excited to jump in and give milk paint a try for myself after hearing some rave reviews from my fellow professional furniture painters.

The paint comes in powdered form that you mix with water. You can use the paint just like for some fantastic chippy, super distressed looks like this dresser from the fantastic Miss Mustard Seed…

…OR you can use the Ultra Bond Adhesion Promoter if you’re going for a more traditional painted finish.

I started out with this cute little two-tiered side table I got from Craigslist.

I gave it a once-over with Liquid Deglosser to make sure it was good and clean and ready for the paint.

I loved this Traditional Blend Green, which was a lovely emerald color. When you paint it on, it dries chalky, but after painting I finished it off with the Dead Flat Burnishing Paste and the color deepened and intensified, and I just loved the result. The Burnishing Paste (which I would call more of an Egg Shell or Satin sheen rather than matte or flat like they describe it, which was actually better in my opinion) is an acrylic gel top coat. They suggest applying it with a sponge, brush or rag. I tried both a sponge brush and a rag application and would definitely suggest the sponge brush. I couldn’t get it as smooth as I would like with the rag application.

One of the real perks to using Milk Paint is that it is completely organic and ZERO VOC. I painted this little table inside my house with my baby crawling around under foot. There are no fumes and no worries about my health or the health of those around me when I’m working, which is great!

Great application, beautiful results, with an all natural and safe product makes me a happy camper.

Here’s how the lovely little table turned out. Do you like the cross-hatch stripes that pick up on the lattice design on the sides?

So I loved my first go around with Milk Paint! It’s so nice when something lives up to the hype, but then again, painters have been using milk-based paint since antiquity, so there must be something to it, right?

Are you ready to jump on the Milk Paint wagon? Check out The Real Milk Paint Co. I have to say, I’m a new fan.

Springy Chair Revamp

2012-05-16T21:54:00.001-07:00

There’s something about springtime (which is too quick becoming summertime in Arizona) that makes me crave bright colors, especially greens, blues and yellows. Sometimes bold is scary in big doses, so small projects like chairs, side tables, or the like prove the perfect place for a pop of fun color.

I started with a very blah chair with a funky shape and some interesting details that I knew could benefit from a fun color scheme.

(As a side note, I’m thinking I should do a post entitled “The Art of the Crappy Before Picture”, including my tried and true tips on leaving bits of junk in the foreground, wading up your drop cloth under the back leg, leaving backyard toys strewn about in the background, making sure the seat is thrown on as wonky as possible, etc. You know what I always say: “The crappier the before picture, the more amazing the after picture!”)

I used the same vintage fabric I used on this set, which was a table cloth I picked up at a thrift store. I love the fabric and have only used about half the table cloth, so you might see it pop up again someday.

I pulled the bright blue from the print to paint the chair.

I love the little bird!

Hope you all are having a happy springtime before the dog days are upon us!

“Arizona State of Mind” Subway Sign Dresser

2012-04-16T09:32:00.001-07:00

Ever since I saw this tremendous subway art dresser over at Lindauer Designs, I knew this was a project that I had to tackle myself.

As a native Arizonan, I am a self confessed arizonaphile. I love Arizona, it's landmarks, it's history, and it's people. So it seemed only natural that if I were to create a subway art dresser, it would celebrate the Copper State.

So the first step for this project was to make a list of Arizona places of interest to be included. With the help of my faithful Facebook fans, I came up with a list that was quite a bit longer than what I needed, so I could pick and choose based on which letters I had and what space I needed to fill, since I wanted a pleasing aesthetic.

This old dresser needed a bit of structural work before I could think about getting to painting. From the before pic, you can see the gaping hole where a bottom drawer should be. I cut a piece of wood to fit and made a faux drawer that is hinged for a little extra storage cubby.

The legs also needed some serious work. The brace between the front and back legs was missing on one side and one foot looked liked it had been chewed by a dog. I decided the best course of action would be to use my electric jig saw and cut the legs off. It's a tall sucker, so it could use to loose a few inches anyways.

Once the structural issues were dealt with, I set to work with my paint brush. The first layer was a dry brushed white.

I used a white primer for this. No need to be fancy since we're going for a rustic look on this piece. Since you're using very, very little of the primer on this layer, it dries very quickly. By the time you're done painting it on, you'll be ready for the next step, which is adding the typography.

Like the Lindauer Designs dresser, I used 3 different sizes of Helvetica font vinyl stick on letters I picked up at Hobby Lobby, 2 inch, 4 inch, and 6 inch. (If I remember correctly, they were in the poster board/sign making section.)

I wish I could tell you just how to go about designing and laying out your subway sign, but like most things in my life, I just winged it. ;) I started with Prescott (my home town, only natural), then just started filling in the blank spaces with landmarks and cities from my list.

Once I was happy with the layout, I mixed up some DIY Chalk Paint with some black paint I had on hand. The plaster of paris lightened the color slightly to a dark, charcoal gray (dare I call it graphite?) When you're using the plaster of paris in your homemade chalk paint, you will end up with small white specks in your paint that you wont notice when painting light colors, but when you are using dark colors they definitely show. It's not something that bothers me, as I use it to my advantage on distressed or rustic pieces, but it is something you should keep in mind if you're thinking of using the DIY Chalk Paint recipe.

In addition to the typography on the front of the dresser, I decided to leave wide stripes of the dry brushed white on both sides of the dresser as well, and I love the way it turned out! What do you think?

Ta da!! So excited with how this flip turned out. Love it when the finished project turns out just how you envisioned it!

Linking to:

House of Grace, Primitive & Proper, Not Just a Housewife, 5 days 5 ways

Salvage Water Valve Pallet Coat Rack

2012-04-11T13:36:00.001-07:00

old, gray, weathered pallet + colorful, salvage, water valves = rad coat rack

This was a quick (well, quick if you don’t spend hours searching for the right sized screws) and simple project that packs big visual punch. I love salvaged pieces assembled for practical use! Wouldn’t this look great in an entry way, mud room, or boy’s bedroom? Taking it down to Livy Lous, or email me if you’re interested.

Happy hump day!

Dove Gray & White Antique Bedroom Set

2012-04-06T10:06:00.001-07:00

This “set” is really not a set at all. Just 3 cool pieces, picked up at 3 different times and 3 different places.

They all had elements that I thought would work well together, so I decided to unite them with a common color scheme and turn these thrift store castoffs into a fantastic and one-of-a-kind full size bedroom set.

I have a gallon of this beautifully subtle dove gray paint. I picked it up at the mistint counter at Home Depot for $5 and I’ve gotten so much use out of it. It’s a Behr Exterior Enamel, and it’s super durable! I love using exterior paints on furniture for it’s durability.

I decided to paint the pale, pale, barely-there gray on this set, but once I got it all sprayed, it just looked white. Ho hum. I wanted the pieces to read as a pale gray, and I also wanted to highlight the great details, so I went back with a true white and hand-painted the appliques on the bed frame, the raised center decorative element on the dresser, and dry brushed the white on the carved drawer details of the nightstand. The top of the nightstand got some of my favorite Dark Walnut Minwax Wood Stain. The fantastic, original antique brass hardware was put back on, and pops against the pale gray and white.

The result is a beautiful “set” where there were just mismatched pieces before.

I’m hoping to sell this set on my own, since it would take up a lot of real estate to have it set up like this at Livy Lou’s shop. I’m asking $200 for the full size headboard, footboard and side rails, $300 for the 5-drawer Dresser, and $100 for the ornate carved nightstand. If you purchase all 3 pieces, I’ll discount the price to $500 total (basically you’ll get the nightstand for free!) Available for pickup or delivery in the Prescott, AZ area.

Less than 2 weeks to go to the SNAP! blogging conference!! I’m so excited. Are you going? Can’t wait to be amongst so many others with similar interests! Gonna be amazing.

Livy Lou’s Photo Tour

2012-03-29T09:35:00.001-07:00

I’ve been meaning to do this post forever! And finally yesterday, I got it together and went down to Livy Lou’s, armed with my camera, so I could show you all this fantastic little spot that is current home to my Twice Lovely creations.

Livy Lou’s is catty-corner to the Prescott, AZ Courthouse Square on Montezuma Street (just past the historic “Whisky Row” which borders the the square to the south in “Everyone’s Hometown.”)

Livy Lou’s Clothing and Creations was the creative brain child of Camryn Norman, who grew up in the Prescott area and has returned to raise her (absolutely adorable) kiddos. The store is named after her daughter Liv. Camryn is an absolute sweet heart and has been fantastic to work with over the last few months.

She was even gracious enough to hold the baby for me while I snapped away. :)

Her style and mine blend perfectly, making a comfy temporary home for my furniture creations before they’re taken into your homes.

The shop has the eclectic and collected feel of Anthopologie without the trade-your-first-born price tags. (Don’t you love this romantic, billowy tunic displayed on the rustic and chippy old door?)

Throughout the shop, you’ll spy Twice Lovely furniture creations interspersed with Camryn’s own furniture finds and projects, like this distressed white beadboard china hutch and this fantastically chippy, stripped occasional table. I bet if you weren’t a faithful reader of this blog (which, of course, you are) you’d be hard-pressed to pick out which pieces were mine and which were hers.

At the back of the shop, they’ve just finished a fantastic salon that Camryn says has been a dream for quite some time. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’ll knock your socks off!

This cute chalkboard sign welcomes you into the waiting room.

When you’re brought into the salon, it’s such an amazingly open and warm space, filled with fun, bright, repurposed furniture pieces. Can we say, right up my alley? I think so. You can see why I’m so in love with it. Camryn is a genius.

So fun! Right?

They’re currently looking to fill this great space with equally great independent stylists, so if you or someone you know would like to be part of this new venture, email Camryn at livylous@yahoo.com and she’d love to share the details with you.

So that’s Livy Lou’s! Stop by and check it out if you’re ever in the area. It’s located on the corner of Montezuma and Goodwin Street in Prescott, AZ, 208 S. Montezuma Street, and is open from 10-6 Monday thru Saturday.

A big thanks to Camryn for giving me such an awesome place to peddle my wares. :)

P.S. – I’m going to try and update the Twice Lovely facebook fan page and twicelovely.com to reflect all the current inventory soon. It’s on my to-do list, so be sure to be on the lookout, especially if you’re local and looking for something special!

P.P.S. – I’m currently working on a fancy, antique bedroom set, including:

full size bed (headboard, footboard and side rails)
tall 5-drawer dresser
and nightstand

It would be a perfect set for a little girl! I was planning on painting the set white with just a hint of dove gray with some subtle distressing to bring out the fantastic details, but it’s just primed and ready to be painted right now, so if you’re looking for a bedroom set, it’s still able to be custom painted. Let me know if you’re interested and I can give you more details.

Two Toned Secretary Desk

2012-03-26T11:58:00.001-07:00

This is one of those projects that I’ve had marinating in my little brain for a long, long time. I’m happy to report that the finished project turned out just like I hoped it would. (I love it when that happens!)

It all started when I picked up this fantastic secretary desk.

It was in really good shape, so I listed it as-is, but no one was biting, so it sat, and sat, and sat some more. Sat through the end of pregnancy. Sat through the newborn days. Sat through catching up on other, smaller, less work intensive projects that I could actually move by myself. And it finally had it’s turn come up on the docket. And I couldn’t have been more excited to give it the attention that it deserved.

I had a vision for her in shabby, distressed, french gray with dark walnut stained drawers and a fabulous vintage wallpaper on the back of the top cabinet. Like I said, when I was finished and stepped back, it was everything I imagined it would be.

I’m head over heels for this stately old broad! Hope you like her too!

Linking to:

Primitive & Proper, House of Grace, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Domestically Speaking, Miss Mustard Seed, The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, Finding Fabulous, Five Days, 5 Ways

Heavily Distressed Teal Dresser

2012-03-15T10:46:00.001-07:00

One of the things I love about refinishing old furniture is the stories the pieces tell. They have a past. And that's part of the allure. They have bumps, bruises and scars. Sometimes the best course of action is not to restore a piece, but to embrace it's age and turn it's imperfections into assets. And that's exactly what I set out to do on this antique dresser that had character and charm to spare.

A great way to give your refinished pieces authentic looking age is by layering your paint colors before distressing, and that was my plan of attack on this piece. First, I peeled off all the bits and pieces of loose veneer and sanded all the rough edges.

Now, this might be when you start to panic and bring it out to the curb for large trash pickup.

But don't.

We're going to make her a beaut!

I choose to paint a spring green color underneath with a bold teal over that. I've been positively itching to paint a piece teal. It's such a hot color right now. I've noticed the trend in my pinning of late, but this dresser from my good bloggy friend Cassie of Primitive & Proper is what really put my over the top.

I used the DIY Chalk Paint recipe that I shared in my last post, and it worked like a charm again. Because of the chalk paint's great adhesion, I skipped the priming and went right to painting on the springy green. (Yay for time savers!)

After the green had thoroughly dried, I brushed two coats of a rich teal over that.

Once your top color is dry, you're ready for the fun part. I loaded my orbital sander with a fine (220 grit) sandpaper and went to town. As you sand, you'll start to see bits of the green undercoat show through, as well as some of the wood, creating lots of depth, bringing out all the details and giving your finished piece a time-worn, authentically-aged look.

Once the distressing was finished, I added a top coat of Minwax Paste Finishing Wax, and buffed to a soft, yet durable lustre. The more I use it, the more I'm loving the chalk paint/wax combo.

In the end, your paint layers peeking through mimic with believability a piece that has been painted and repainted through it's many years. Don't worry, I won't tell. :)

The dressers top had no finish to speak of left, so I just went over it with my fine sandpaper in the orbital, then applied two coats of Minwax Wood Stain in Dark Walnut, finished off with Water-based Varathane in a Satin Finish.

I'd love to hear what you think of her. Are you a fan of heavily distressed furniture? Will we ever make our husbands understand? ;)

Linking to:

5 days…5 ways, The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, Finding Fabulous, Miss Mustard Seed, Primitive & Proper, Domestically Speaking, House of Grace

Cobalt Blue and Kelly Green Desk and Chair

2012-03-13T16:31:00.001-07:00

GAH!! I was getting so good at taking before pictures for you all that I got cocky. And you know what happens when you get cocky? You screw it all up. So my streak is broken and I don’t have a hideous and out-moded before pic to show you. :( Will you forgive me just this once? Well, I think you might when you see how rad the after is anyways. ;)

I picked up a little 70’s brown petite sewing desk and equally petite chair with fuzzy, disgusting 70’s upholstery from my favorite thrift store for a pittance. It had the hole in the top that sewing desks always have (you know the one?) Do you have a good mental picture since I can’t provide an actual one. ;)

Now, there’s something about the pending spring that’s been giving me the fever to paint some BOLD colors, and this set is certainly no exception. I pulled from my well-spring of furniture inspiration on Pinterest, where I’m LOVING a nice, strong cobalt, either clean edgey and modern, or distressed.

Gorgeous!! Am I right?

I was especially inspired by the combination of the bright green foliage with the cobalt dresser in that last picture by the very talented Stilstskin Studios.

After getting a piece of 1/4 inch mdf cut at Home Depot to fit the desk top and gluing it to the top of the desk to cover and disguise the fact that it was a sewing desk, I used a water-based enamel I got at Ace Hardware for the bold, clean, glossy cobalt. I switched out the gross, brown upholstery for a fresh, springy kelly green damask print. And I’m in deep smit. Or, that is, I’m smitten. ;)

So fun! Donchathink?

I promise, I’ll get a before pic next time. It makes the after so much more dramatic when you can see the gross befores, I know.

P.S. – Some people have asked me about my HVLP sprayer from Rockler that I got for Christmas. I still love it to little bitty pieces!! And it’s ON SALE right now for $30 off the original price, so if you’ve been waiting for a sale to get your own, now’s your chance!

Linking to:

Primitive & Proper, Domestically Speaking, 5 days…5 ways, The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, Finding Fabulous, Miss Mustard Seed

Herringbone Cabinet

2012-03-03T07:30:00.001-07:00

I’m sharing my love for all things herringbone over at Perfectly Imperfect as my first post as a new contributing writer over there. (If you are not already a follower of my pal Shaunna’s fantastic blog, I highly recommend popping over and giving it a look-see!)

You’ll remember I proudly professed my design crush with herringbone on my Metallic Herringbone Desk back in December, and the web echoed my cheers and took that little project to it’s heart. It was even featured on Design Sponge!!

So I decided to delve into the herringbone craze yet again, this time on this maple cabinet.

This monstrously heavy maple behemoth of a cabinet was probably from the 40’s or 50’s based on the style. And I wanted to play up the mod style with the finished look.

I chose to paint the body a mid-toned gray in a semi-gloss, with the back of the cabinet in a mustard yellow. The gray and mustard color combo is super hot right now, and certainly kept with the edgy modern look I was going for.

I wanted the herringbone pattern on the drawer and cabinet fronts at the bottom of the piece, and had planned on masking and painting the pattern, but I happened to win a great giveaway from Royal Design Studio Stencils from I Heart Naptime, and guess what? They happened to have a fantastic herringbone style stencil! SCORE! So I got to skip the tedious process of masking and use their great stencil instead, which worked out swimmingly!

I just painted the stencil in one direction with a darker tone of my same gray paint, then washed off the stencil, flipped it over and went back in the next direction with a lighter tone of my same gray paint. The stencil had handy registration marks that helped to line everything up and keep your pattern on track. I’m in love with the finished piece!

I polished up the original brass knobs to pick up on the mustard yellow on the inside of the upper cabinet. Don’t they look fantastic?!?! I used my favorite metal polish, Brasso, to take them from bland to glam!

So, what do you think? Is the herringbone trend here to stay, or here today, gone tomorrow?

DIY Chalk Paint Dresser

2012-02-23T09:10:00.001-07:00

(I’m sharing this project as my first contributing post over at the SNAP! Blog. Please hop on over and check out this great blog. I’m going to be attending the SNAP! Conference for creative bloggers this April, and if it’s something you might be considering as well, I encourage you to register soon! Tickets are selling quickly and are sure to sell out. I’d love to see you there!)

I picked up this sturdy old dresser from the local Craigslist. It's mammoth weight and the dove-tail joints told me that despite it's ho-hum appearance, this piece was built to last and needed a fresh new look so it could be loved and enjoyed again.

DIY Chalk Paint Recipe

I've been hearing about different methods of making your own chalk paint at home. I'm always for ANYTHING that saves me moolah!! After some research and on the recommendation of some furniture refinishing friends, I settled on trying out this recipe:

(It actually ended up being way too much paint for the body of this dresser, and I would think a half recipe would cut it for most projects.)

I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed working with it! I've only had one experience with the pricey chalk paint (that shall remain nameless) so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but I applied the paint without priming or sanding and the adhesion was great!

A tip if you try this recipe out for yourself: Don't try and overwork the paint. Just lay it down and let it set. If you try to brush it on and keep brushing over, it will just lift up, and you'll get ticked off.

This beachy blue gray color (a mis-tint I picked up from the hardware store) took 2 coats to cover, each coat taking about 30 minutes to put down. Quick and easy!!

After the paint was set up, I did quite a bit of hand-distressing with some 120 grit sandpaper to give it a beachy kind of look. After that was done, I applied Minwax Paste Finishing Wax with a clean rag (I keep our old t-shirts around for just this purpose) and when that was set, buffed to a nice luster with another clean rag.

The original wood pulls got the same treatment as the dresser's body, but I wanted to bring in a natural wood treatment on the drawers for a two-tone look that is SUPER hot in design right now.

Weathering Wood with Tea and Rusty Vinegar

To achieve a time-worn, antique looking wood finish I tried another internet method that has intrigued me, and it was so fun and remarkably effective! Using just a strong brew of tea and a concoction of rusty vinegar, you can age any wood to weathered gray.

First, fill a glass container with white vinegar, some fine steel wool, and something rusty. (I added the "something rusty" part. The online recipes I saw just said to put the steel wool in the vinegar and it would start to turn a dark brown, but after leaving it soak overnight, no such thing happened to mine. I'm not sure why. The next day, I decided I would try and put a rusty ol' valve that I had in there too, and that seemed to do the trick for me.)
Brew a strong cup of tea (I used Lipton Black Tea, but I think just about anything you have that isn't an herbal tea would work.)
Remove any finish that's on the wood with sandpaper.
Paint on the tea and let it completely dry (about 20 minutes or so).
Apply the rusty vinegar with your steel wool, then watch the magic happen as this dries! You'll end us with a nice weathered, gray wood!

With the addition of some Howard Feed-N-Wax, you can take the gray, weathered wood to a deep, natural brown that is stunning! This is life changing, people. I may never use stinky canned stains again. Who knew you could get this look completely naturally? I sure didn't.

And here are the beauty shots. I could totally see this piece is a little boys room, or a beachy guest room. TONS of great storage!

On an unrelated note, take a quick look at the weeping willow tree in our backyard...

Yep! Those are buds! Spring is just around the corner!

(Our early springs and late falls in Arizona might make you in colder regions jealous, but you'll be laughing at me come mid-summer when it's as hot as the lowest setting on your kitchen oven!)

Linking to:

Finding Fabulous, 5 Days 5 Ways, Miss Mustard Seed

The Hob Knobery

2012-02-03T10:04:00.001-07:00

I introduced you to my Etsy shop, The Hob Knobery, back at it’s launch in late July (right before the birth of my 4th child.)

I’ve been blown away by the response and want to thank all of you that have made purchases!

One of my staple products has been the Vintage Salvage Water Valve Knobs.

I create them to order and have been putting together fun sets of these valve knobs for a variety of buyers since the shop’s launch. Last week I had the privilege of putting together a set of 50 to be used as coat hooks at a new bar in New York with a decidedly industrial feel.

You’ll remember, I used them on this fun red dresser (an Ikea hack) a while back.

Hop on over to the shop! I’d love to put together a custom set for your project! Remember, I always offer a 15% discount on purchases of 10 or more custom knobs!

Another one of my shop staples is the line of natural gemstone knobs. There’s lots of great stone/color options, or if you have something particular in mind, I can always try and accommodate special requests. They’re available on either Oil Rubbed Bronze or Satin Nickel bases.

I’m running a special right now on both the Milky Quartz and Rose Quartz knobs. Regularly $8 per knob, on sale for $6 per knob while supplies last! (Cannot offer the 15% bulk buy discount on the sale items, but if you order more that 10 knobs, you can still get the 15% discount on non-sale knobs. Just message me at the shop and I can put together a reserved custom listing for you.)

Thanks again for your business, and I’d love to hear your ideas for new knobs you’d like to see me make or carry.

Faux Zinc Topped French Side Tables

2012-01-20T19:41:00.001-07:00

I picked up a cute little pair of French, two-tier side tables from my very favorite thrift store a while ago. (Yes, the same favorite thrift store I bought this headboard at. Stay away!!)

They were leather topped, but the leather had seen far better days. I knew I had to do something about them. I formulated the plan to prime the whole of the tables with gray primer, including the leather tops. Then I went back and painted the tops with some Mirrored Silver Metallic Spray Paint I bought from Ace Hardware. I really loved the stuff!! I think it’s going to be my go-to silver from now on. Fabulous stuff!

Once the silver dried, I went back with some black craft paint that I watered down into a glaze, painted it on and dabbed it off with a piece of paper towel. It turned out looking just like zinc, with the texture from the leather! I love it!

Then I masked off the table tops and sprayed the body of the tables ivory. After that had thoroughly dried, I hand-distressed with some fine sandpaper until some of the gray primer showed through in places and on the edges.

Some of the silver spray paint and black glazing tied in the original brass handles, and I called ‘em done!

Speaking of my very favorite thrift shop, guess what I picked up there day before yesterday. Check this awesomeness…

I’ve wanted to do an antique sideboard for about as long as I’ve been refinishing furniture, so I’m on cloud nine to find such an awesome one for a great price! What should I do to it? It has to live up to it’s potential. ;)

Happy weekend!!

Fabric Winner, Chicken Dinner!

2012-01-19T21:35:00.001-07:00

I forgot to draw a winner of the adorable Moda “It’s a Hoot” fabric that I had left over from my dresser redo!

The winner is Jenni from The Roseland Family!!

Congratulations Jenni!