As we start to prepare for a powder room in our lower level I’ve been stock piling incidentals for that project.  An antique chandelier, a screen door (what), I’ve inventoried the left over barn siding.  A pair of vintage heavy oak closet doors I picked up at Restore and have been waiting!  A huge stencil to paint the floor.  Stripping wallpaper, interviewing electricians and waiting for bids!  In the mean time, small projects have been going on over here.  Nothing dramatic but here is the low down.

A bunch of little seemingly insignificant small projects that can make things better.  I painted the round table in my bedroom with Amy Howard One Step Chalk Paint.  (Not a sponsored post, I just like the paint!)  

It was due for a paint job because the top was showing some wear. 

 I still love this little table that I picked up when I was still working at Ethan Allen years ago.  Love the shape of the top and the pedestal base still really appeals to me.  I liked the white finish but I wanted to bring in just a touch of blue into my new much cooler bedroom.  I have pictures of ships on the walls in here.  They were the right size so I moved them into this space.  

They work for now.  I wanted to bring a bit of the blue in the pictures over to the other side of the room.  I chose the Bergere Blue color which is a very soft blue grey in my room.

After a good cleaning and just a bit of scuffing with some 150 grit sandpaper I turned the table upside down and gave the pedestal a coat of paint first.  Then I turned it over and started on the top. 

This is after a coat of Magnolia Home Clear Wax just on the swirl part of the pedestal.

 I Repeated the process to make sure I had good coverage everywhere and then I hit it with sandpaper again this time 220 grit and just here and there.  After a coat of clear wax I added some Annie Sloan Dark wax because I wanted a bit more contrast.  After a good buff out with 0000 Steal Wool it was ready to go.  The whole project took me 2 hours tops!

Here it is back in place.  What do you think?  Not a dramatic change but at least the top looks better!  

Then I turned around and painted this 4.00 basket I picked up at the antique shop in Fremont the same color, boy was that an improvement!  

Then there are the infamous meat hooks.  I had a set of antique iron meat hooks that I brought over from my parents house.  They have been sitting in the garage for almost 3 years waiting for me to figure out a way of using them effectively.  Mom had them hanging off her soffit in the kitchen to hold her pots and pans and they were perfect for that.  I don’t have anywhere in my kitchen where I can use them.  But, I did have all this blank space above my TV in my office.  This is a room I will probably never share.  It is purely function but it is the room where I dream, imagine, and come up with crazy ideas.  This being one of them!  

Not only is it my office but it is also my work room where I do everything from polish to paint.  I kept imagining them up there but then what.  How would I use them.  I knew if I could find some wall baskets that might help, but then what would I put in them.  Stuff that drives me crazy that’s what.  I so wish I could get all my table stuff together.  Dishes, placemats, napkins, you know all the stuff!!!  The crazy 4.00 basket is holding all my candles  The next basket is holding my napkin rings, an old Longaberger cake basket that I added dark wax to holds some of my napkins ready to be placed on a table.  Let me tell you this was such a big improvement to this basket.  Longaberger baskets are great function but that orange natural finish just doesn’t do a thing for them.  It never ceases to amaze me what a bit of wax can do.  More candles on another hook and the last basket holds a favorite fabric sample that I hope to use someday when I’m a grown up.  It only retails for about 400.00 a yard!  And green stuff you know the stuff that was supposed to go in the tub downstairs but you forgot this stuff and now that tub is in the back of the deep dark closet under the stairs.  Yeah that tub.  Oh and my displaced copper chestnut roaster because you know everyone should have a chestnut roaster, just in case!!! 

Well, that’s it for now.  We hit a record 91 degrees today in preparation for some very bad storms coming in tonight.  Please stay safe out there.

Thanks for stopping!

Shelley