Card Catalog End Tables ||And a Nod to a Fave Chick Flick||

If you have been sweet enough to follow along with me on instagram, then you may recognize these fugly babies:

Now I have BIG plans to convert these 2 sad end tables into 4 sexy pieces.  As of now, I've only halfway fulfilled my promise and converted them into 2 new beautiful pieces:

Did you even recognize them?!?  Changing the legs on anything really can go a long way!  (Need further proof, check out these chairs).  

The reason why I rescued these sorry lookin' little guys was actually for the 6-paneled drawer front.  I love the idea of a faux card catalog file (all the charm without the limiting compartmentalized storage).  Once I saw past the eyeball-like white knobs, I realized they could easily be replaced with brass library pulls.

Now I know what you avid readers are thinking, "But Cate!  Why did photographing these tables outside work for you this time when you wrote all about your al fresco staging saga in your Part I and Part II posts from last week?!?"  

Am I right?  Thought so ;)  Well what I realized last week was that staging outside wasn't capturing the "feeling" I was going for the piece I was photographing.  So what changed this time?  Well... the pieces!

Staging outside didn't create the right feeling for my cowhide bench, but it totally captures the exact ambiance I wanted for these card catalog tables...

Here was my chain of thought:

Card catalog tables make me think of old libraries.  Old libraries make me think of old books.  Old books make me think of old type writers.  Old type writers make me think of old-school authors typing away while on a secluded creative retreat...  Which then lead me to think of one comical scene in one favorite movie... can you guess it?

Yup.  Love Actually.  More specifically the scene where Colin Firth's character is typing outside only to have the pages of his book blow away and land in the lake.  

Lúcia Moniz [In Portuguese]: This stuff better be good...
Colin Firth [In English]: It's not worth it, you know.  This isn't bloody Shakespeare... 

Love it.

When I first saw the view at our "summer home" I couldn't help but think this scene.  And when I was looking around for things to stage the tables with, all I had on hand was my old type writer.  Perfeito [that's Portuguese for perfect].

This pair are still for sale at Sweet Clover and will be available to firthasize about [that's Colin Firth for "fantasize"] at our second  Pop Up Shop!  We hope you pop in and say hello - Chelsea and I will be there Saturday morning and would love to meet you in person!

Back to Style Event
Sept 5 & 6 10am to 5pm
Sweet Clover Barn 4051 Stanford Ct, Frederick, MD 21703

Southwestern vs. SOUTHWESTERN!!! ||One dresser, two options||

Howdy, friends! Yee-haw, yippy-yi-yo, and ride em' cowboy. Or whatever. Western doesn't roll off my tongue so well, but I had a southwestern itch, nonetheless. I found the dresser above last week tucked away in one of my favorite thrift stores, (Pender Regift Thrift in Chantilly, VA). I intended to give it a really rustic finish by simply stripping the blood red stain and then wrapping it's simple wooden pulls in some leftover faux cowhide fabric from Cate's stunning upholstered bench.

After a 'lick and a promise', there was no doubt that this was a southwestern style dresser:

(And I couldn't resist staging this one with my Axel Co. hexagon shelf and arrow. They just restocked their shop for Fall/Winter - check out all the new goodies here!)

However, the 'afterclaps' of this makeover was just all 'beer and skittles'. I wanted to create a southwestern looking dresser and I did. But something just seemed off. I didn't hate it, but it was missing an element of sophistication that I was hoping for. It was far too literal and I realized I was looking for more of a southwestern whisper rather than a 'cattle call'. 

So I went back to the drawing board and found these stunning hexagon knobs at Anthropologie. 

Bulls-eye!

This three-across business is just so fun, isn't it!? 

I had so much fun staging with this branch - when I saw it in our back yard I knew he needed to join this shoot. However...

...just keepin' it real here, folks! It was monstrous and definitely not something I would permanently use in our home. In case you were wondering if I was just that cool and abstract. I'm not.

So here we are with two looks. One will be comin' with us to the Sweet Clover barn this weekend for the Labor Day sale, (Sat & Sun, 10am-5pm)! And now I'm excited to sit back and hear what you guys think! Which do you like better?! 

Thank you for stopping by and making us a part of your day! We're so grateful for you guys. XO,

Shop Talk: Qs and As on Chalk Paint + A Fresh Finished Pair

Hi Friends! Goodness me has summer sizzled and fizzled already?! I spent the end of last week and this past weekend getting all back to school shopping done! Our twins start kindergarten in a month so this was our first time in the back to school chaos. My. Word. No need to exercise after THAT task! I didn't realize it's like a contact sport!

On a brighter note, I got a sweet little pair refinished and ready for the Sweet Clover Barn sale that we're hoppin' in on August 21-23!

The warm wood peeking through is the real diva here, isn't it!? SUCH a stunning contrast.

Not to be outdone by it's larger counterpart, this little nightstand / side table is lookin' pretty fly now, too!

For this piece I used Annie Sloan's 'Graphite' - her darkest chalk paint color and truly a top favorite. Since it's been a while since I've used chalk paint I wanted to answer some questions I've received recently on the product! Most of these questions came from Instagram, and a few more came in via Periscope, (I'm on @ChelseaStyleMuttHome if you want to catch my live demos on refinishing, styling and the like)! 

Q: Why do you prefer it, (chalk paint), and is it easier? Because I'm all about easier.
A. I only use chalk paint when I am going `for a very rustic, matte finish. It's a very flat, absorbent, 'loose' (like chalk), paint.  So, it adheres well to any surface, but can also be distressed beautifully. It's definitely my go-to product when I want to give a piece a really time-worn, weathered looking finish. Chalk paint has an old-world look to it because it is so flat and distresses so well. And it is easy! No need to prep a surface before hand; just make sure the surface is clean and you're ready to paint!

Q: I just bought a can of Annie Sloan Country Grey today to paint a nightstand. I have only painted 1 piece of furniture with AS chalk paint before, a dresser using Old White. Any tips you can offer? The nightsand is unfinished pine. I want to have a smooth look to it.
A: I love Country Grey! Just make sure the surface is clean and then you can get to painting! You will probably want to use 2-3 coats for solid coverage, especially if you do not want it to appear distressed. Chalk paint brush strokes tend to be really apparent because it's so thick, so if you desire a perfectly smooth texture, I would paint on two coats, sand it over using a fine grit sanding sponge, then seal it in clear wax. A fine grit sanding sponge won't take the finish off if you just rub it over lightly, but it will smooth out the brush strokes. 

You can see above that the left picture has really raised brush strokes. The right side shows the same section smoothed over with a sanding sponge. There's a little discoloration from the sanding dust, but once it's waxed, it's all evened out and one solid color. I apply wax with a staining pad, found next to the wood stains in the hardware store.

The photo below left is smoothing the finish out with a fine grit sanding sponge. The photo below right is using a staining pad to apply the clear wax. You can see that the color is 'reawakened' with the wax. :)

Q: I'm hoping to paint a wooden chest of drawers with chalk paint and would like a glossy finish - what should I use to finish it?
A: Chalk paint is very, very flat and matte in finish. NO shine, whatsoever. To get it to shine in the least with wax, you would want to use two coats of wax and buff, buff, buff. So if you truly want a high gloss you can either a) Choose a glossier paint that might make more sense for the particular finish you are looking for, (I LOVE Rustoleum's Clear Protective Enamel paints, but if you need a wider range of color, try Behr's Marquee paint line), then you can seal it in a Polycrylic clear satin sealer. OR b) If you'd prefer to use chalk paint, then I'd use the steps above to smooth it out once you're finished, then use a Polycrylic clear high-gloss sealer. It won't shine quite as much as a glossier paint, but it will shine more than if you seal it with wax.

Q: Why is 'Graphite' difficult to work with?
A: Graphite gets SO grey when you start distressing it or smoothing out the texture with sanding! It can be a bit alarming:

The right side of the photo above shows where I gently sanded over 'Graphite', the left side is untouched. To restore the color you will want to apply a liberal amount of wax. If you want to touch anything up with paint afterwards, the process, (gentle sand and wax), will need to be repeated over that spot to even out the tone. It's a color that needs a little more sweet talking than other colors, that's all. :) But it's so worth it!

I used to paint everything white. White and Duck Egg blue. I still love the softness of those colors, but I am totally crazy about the contrast of this deep color in a white room! What a show stopper.

It's really quite dangerous to stage a piece which you intend to sell in your own home. Especially a piece that fits right in. Oh forbidden love, it's torturous! 

Have a wonderful week, friends! Thank you so much for stopping by and making StyleMutt Home a part of your day. We are so grateful for you XO