Tag Archives: Giverny

I Can Top That

1 Reply

Thrift store. Ten dollars. Need I say more?

First it got a good cleaning.

Then I took the top off…

and popped out the particle board insert. It took a little elbow grease to scrape off some of the glue it left behind.

I painted just the table top and the ball feet with Provence, and the rest with 1:1 mixture of Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue and Provence. I tried Old White on the insert but decided to toss it all altogether. I had an idea for that gaping hole in the table top.

But first the wax. As usual, every surface got a coat of clear.  I wanted to highlight the details with dark wax but didn’t want the stark streaks it often produced. ***Before I brushed on the dark wax, I directed a hair dryer on the can, which gave me a little puddle of melted wax in the middle.***  DO NOT DO THIS! THE WAX IS FLAMMIBLE!!!

Brushing on a warmer, wetter wax helped provided a smoother effect. You can see my progress in the photo below. All but the leg on the right have a coat of dark.

Notice that I didn’t screw the top back on the base. I reimagined the tabletop as a removable tray.

I bought two of these handles on Ebay from a seller who had six of them. (I loved them so much, I went back on Ebay and ordered the remaining four, for future projects.)

Now to take care of that big hole in the tabletop:

I took the top to Cooper’s Glass and Mirror, and for forty dollars, the enthusiastic owner of the local shop had the glass cut and siliconed inside the grove. He even had it ready for me the same day! More often than not, artisans are happy, and sometimes even excited, to be a part of the creative process.

I glued felt pads (normally used for chair feet) to the bottom corners of the tray. These keep the tray from slipping around on the legs and it also protects the surfaces wherever else the tray might rest.

I love the subtle difference in the two paint colors and I also love the functionality of this table.

Imagine bringing drinks or snacks from the kitchen and having a handy place to rest the tray. Even if the tray stays put, it’s a pretty great side table. It’s hard to top that!

www.karenraelevine.com

Pretty as a Peacock

1 Reply

Call me crazy, but look what I picked up on the side of the road, in the pouring rain, wading ankle deep in a curbside torrent.

There were a few times in the course of this transformation that I thought my skill set would run a sorry second to my imagination, but I managed to pull it off.

Phase 1, The Frame:

The vinyl upholstery had to go, which left a problematic hole in the back (to be tackled in Phase 3).

I cleaned my “new” barley chair and because some of the wood was flakey, sanded it too. I took my fabric to Suite Pieces, my favorite place for inspiration, where I received many ooh and ahhs and some great advice: Annie Sloan Giverny and Provence.

Highlighting with Modern Masters Olympic Gold popped the details on the top.

I treated the whole frame to a soothing coat of clear wax.

Phase 2, The Seat:

As for the seat, all I can say is, Yuck!

The wooden base had obviously been a patch-up job.

The cushion was originally meant to sit inside the frame. My handy, helpful brother cut the board down to size.

I covered the board and two inches of foam with fabric, then pulled and stapled the fabric to the back of the board.

The fabric had been slated for a different project but this chair had “peacock” written all over it.

Phase 3, The Back:

Get ready for a long and sometimes painful operation.

Two generations of staples and some residual vinyl had to be pulled and pried from the annoyingly deep crevice. I did this before I painted.

Post-painting, using craft paper for an initial template, I cut a form of heavy cardboard to fit inside the gaping hole.

To make it easier to find the right section of fabric, I made a silhouette by tracing the form onto another piece of craft paper. I cut two pieces of fabric, about four inches wider than the opening, one for the front of the chair and one for the back.

I made a diagram of the next step because I didn’t dare lose my concentration by taking pictures. I basically sandwiched the board and some batting between the two pieces of fabric, attaching each layer with spray adhesive. I made sure the fabric stayed nice and smooth on both sides.

From the front, I pushed the fabric-covered board into the opening far enough so that the front-facing fabric was even with the front of the chair. This created a nice flat fabric-covered surface on the back.

A double layer of fabric, from both the front and the back pieces, poked out in front. I pulled both layers taught and pushed them tight into the crevice.

I used brads to nail the fabric to the chair because that pesky crevice was too deep for staples. The brads, I soon discovered, were too long to nail straight in — the first three poked out of the back. With that lesson learned, I nailed the brads in about a quarter of the way and used an awl and a hammer to bend them over.

Next, I trimmed away the excess fabric. I only poked my fingers with the utility knife twice. (There’s a reason I stay current on my tetanus shots.) If you try this at home, please be careful.

I needed trim to cover the raggedy edges. After a series of internet searches, I couldn’t find anything I liked. Necessity is the mother of invention. I bought a clothesline.

I soaked a section of the clothesline in water and then in a bowl of slightly watered down Giverney paint. I let it dry on paper towels until it wasn’t dripping and then hung it over a chrome shower curtain rod to dry thoroughly. (Don’t do this on a decorative rod because the damp cord will leave some paint.)

The cord was a bit stiff, but pliable. I didn’t wax it because wax and glue are never a good combination. I ran a bead of fabric glue and pressed the trim into place on top of it.

Inexpensive and a perfect match. I love a successful experiment!

Phase 4, Enjoy my chair!

After some touch-up painting on the back where the nails had poked through, my pretty peacock chair was finally finished. Paint me proud.

www.karenraelevine.com