Hill-Rom Side Table

This gem of a table Mr. B found on his travels in southern Indiana.  She stands tall at almost 34".  The top is a little over 20"  wide and 17" deep.  While it was not in bad shape when he found her, we could tell someone tried to refinish the wood.   The sides and shelf had an "orange peel" texture.  The drawer front, which we believe to be tiger maple, was not in too bad of shape.  

The very worn and somewhat legible tag on the inside of the drawer let us know that this table was made by the Hill-Rom Company right here in Indiana.  After some clicking around the internet, we discovered that the Hill-Rom Company makes hospital furniture and they have been doing it for 80 years!  The company's founder, William A. Hillenbrand, had a dream to "bring home into the hospital."

We decided to keep the colors warm to highlight the beautiful drawer front. 

 We chose Cinco Bayou Moss with Dark Aging Wax by CeCe Caldwell.  For the top we used Virginia Chestnut also by CeCe and Martha Stewart Metallic Glaze in Black Coffee.  I just can't help myself that black coffee glaze is addictive!  I want to slap that stuff on just about everything but I better be careful.. don't want to end up in rehab.

Mr. B sanded down the drawer front and gave her a new coat of high gloss polyurethane.  

After painting the table, I did some distressing.. not just some, I did a whole-lotta distressing.  Then I waxed it in Clear Wax.   It wasn't good.  I was not happy.  So back on went another coat of Cinco, Clear Wax and then the Dark Aging Wax.  Check out the dark and light spots on the shelf.  Me likey!!

I hope we did you proud Mr. Hillenbrand! 

Thanks for reading! ~ Mrs. B 

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Off with her legs!

This is the trunk we have had in our living room for years.  We have used it for a coffee table and as storage for the dozens of VHS tapes we own.  Prior to painting it with CeCe Caldwell's  Traverse City Cherry it was black.  Someone, ok it was me, decided to add feet or legs to the trunk to make it more "table" like.  We waxed it with clear and dark aging waxes and buffed it. 

 

It sat on the furniture slides until the wax hardened.

I really like how it fits under the table.

We shared this pic with friends and it didn't get many thumbs up.  In fact some of the very people who live in this house couldn't stand it.  While most were not opposed to the color, it was the legs that got the worst reviews.  Even I was not sure about the color or the legs. We gave it a fair trial period, about three weeks.

After surfing the oodles of blogs and websites on furniture painting and refinishing I came across something that I had to try on the trunk.  Martha Stewart Metallic Glaze (available at The Home Depot) in Black Coffee!  It was easy to use and I think I payed less than $5.00 for it.  Here you can see I have applied the glaze to the side, the top has not been glazed yet.

Then I waited a few minutes and wiped away the excess glaze until I was happy with the finish.  I also removed quite a bit of paint from the hardware before glazing.  

The glaze tempered the red and added a great gilded finish.  

And.. no more legs!!

Thanks for reading!  ~ Mrs. B

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This is not The End.... table.

 Ok, so here is the other fantastic find we made at The Peddler's Mall.  This sturdy little end table was cheap and in need of some TLC.

Loving the shape of this little table. 

We used CeCe Caldwell's Chalk Paint for this project.  CeCe's is easy to use and NO fumes.  This paint requires no primer, just make sure what you are painting is clean and you are ready to go! I painted this in my kitchen.

I used three colors of CeCe's..  Blue Montana Sky went on first in all the spots I planned on distressing so it would show through.  Then Johnston Daffodil, a buttery yellow, went on the entire piece.  At the last minute I decided to add Texas Prarie, a pale green, to all but the top.

Lots of ridges to show off on this little table!

With this paint you can distress your piece one of two ways.  Of course, you can use sand paper but sometimes that is difficult to control.  With chalk paint you can distress using a damp cloth.  Simply wipe the paint off!  Some elbow grease is required if you have layered your paint on like I did here but so worth it to see those colors come through.

To finish this piece I used CeCe's Clear Wax and Dark Aging Wax.  Waxing the piece protects it and deepens the color of the paint.  You can apply the wax with a soft cloth or a brush.  I followed the Clear Wax with the Dark Aging Wax.  Since the colors I chose are on the light side I did not allow the Dark Aging Wax to stay on long before removing most of it with a soft cloth.  

 I let the waxes dry overnight, then buffed the entire piece with a paper towel.  This gave a nice luster.

CeCe' paint is quick to dry, easy to use and all natural with NO fumes.  I painted this entire table, two coats, with the sample size pot of the Johnston Daffodil and had left over of the accent colors I used.  I would recommend that you thin the paint with a little bit of water.  The paint as well as the waxes cleaned up with soap and water.

Thanks for reading!!

School is in!

Several weeks ago Mr. B and I went in search of cheap and needy furniture.  We found ourselves at the The Peddler's Mall on the east side of Indianapolis.  This was our first visit there but probably not our last.

It was an interesting mix of just about everything and by everything I mean everything.  I'll leave it at that for now and lets focus on what we found!

 It was a bit on the rickity side when we found it but all the wood was in pretty good shape.

 There were a few cracks in the seat, so Mr. B got out his wood glue and clamps.

Sanded and stained and several coats of polyurethane satin finish.  He also cleaned up the cast iron and spray painted them with Rustoleum Gloss Black.

It found its home in our dining room as a side table.

Thanks for reading!!

To start or not to start..

When you have no idea what you are doing, how do you start?  We don't know but we are starting anyway.

So in this blog we will chronicle our furniture finds and what we are doing with them.  We will share our trial and errors.  We will post loads of pics of the good, the bad and the ugly and hopefully along the way entertain those who read.