Gray and White Striped Desk with Faux French Grain Sack

I have a small corner in my family room where I keep my computer and printer. I use a sofa table for my desk because it happens to fit the space.

I have painted that table a few times over the years. First I painted her black, then white and lastly anamite (a goldish green). This time, I wanted to try something different. Along came gray and white stripes.

The table started as a basic 80's Queen Anne Sofa Table with a Golden Oak Finish similar to the one pictured above.

Unable to find a fabric that I liked, I decided to create a Faux Vintage French Grain Sack to recover the chair. I used a blend of matte black and white fabric paint to achieve the gray color that I wanted.

I used drop cloth for the base fabric. A couple lines of evenly spaced masking tape were applied to the fabric. A fairly dry stenciling brush was used to apply the paint with a stippling motion.  I allowed it to dry with the use of a hair dryer and then removed the tape. Additional tape was then placed for the narrow lines and painted in the same way.

It turned out beautifully imperfect - my favorite way.

A quick recovering of the seat and a coat of distressed gray paint and this is the end result.

 I couldn't stop with the desk and chair, so I gave the striped treatment to the end table as well.

 It is amazing how paint can transform any piece of furniture.

This little desk area worked out fine in my book. It's fresh and clean and gives the room a little lift that I felt it needed. 

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Fabulously Creative Friday at Jennifer Rizzo

Night Stand Makeover

A friend gave this little night stand to my son but it was in need of some TLC. (Please ignore my badly worn mahogany floors. They are in need of some TLC as well, but that's a project for another day.)

After a good sanding to repair it's tattered finish, I brushed on a couple coats of some nice creamy white paint.

I decided it needed some 'character' - so, I gave it some gentle distressing with sandpaper.

For the areas that were just too hard to reach with sheets of sandpaper, I used my trusty emery board. It works like a charm.

The old tired night stand now has a new lease on life.

Until next time ~ Suzanne.

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Chair Makeover

Our laptop is set up on a sofa table in the family room with a wooden bench for a seat. My kids have never liked the bench and tell me their bottom side hurts when they sit on it for any length of time.
Along comes this 'well loved' chair that I found at a local antique shop. The 'gilding' really wasn't working for me and the padded seat had been badly neglected, but I figured with a little TLC it could be 'loved' once more.

Here she is now after a fresh coat of paint and a newly upholstered seat. I knew from the moment I saw her that the printed linen from my throw pillow would be perfect for the seat.

I gave it a coat of 'Mopboard Black' followed by a coat of 'Anamite'. To give it some character, I added some 'gentle distressing' with some sandpaper - just enough to let the black show through. I finished it with a couple coats of 'Minwax Polycrylic Clear Satin'.

We saw this cute little guy the other day feasting on some ferns. We watched each other for 10 minutes before he went along his merry way. I have seen more deer this year than any other - not sure why, but it's always such a nice surprise.

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Until next time ~ Suzanne.