Has this ever happened to you?

Or:

  An Ode to Chemo-Brain.

This is just a quick post to share my joy. 

Not.

Really. Has this happened to you?
I came across this beat-up chair and loved the lines and detail of the crusty old thing. And, I thought it would be a fun challenge to reupholster it.

I didn't want to keep that mouse-eaten, mouse-habitat fabric around so as I took off all the sections I laid them on craft paper and traced a pattern, carefully labeling as I went, then set it aside.

Weeks later I was rushing to package up a rug I was returning. I vaguely thought, as I rolled the rug up, "What are these drawings on this paper?" Then, off to the post office and one errand crossed off my list.

The refund didn't show up and didn't show up so I emailed the company. No one had ever seen a rug. Nope. Didn't. No siree.

(The company was gracious enough to send me a gift code.)

Weeks later I had time to start my upholstery project so I went to get my pattern ........

My pattern. 

Riggght. 

It's all coming back to me now ....
So, THAT'S what those drawings were. Wrapped around a rug and lost in space forever. Good grief.

So, this is how my upholstery-project chair looks now.

Sigh. Nice bones.

My heart sings! Another empire dresser!

Usually a song lyric pops into my head when I write my post headings. Not today. What ended up stuck in my head is Three Dog Night's Out in the Country. Good grief. Really?

Anyway! Enough of my lyric obsession. Let's get back to my empire furniture obsession. This is the empire dresser I picked up while in Washington a couple months ago.

It used to look like this:

Not bad, really. The metallic paint didn't bother me as much as it bothered Mr. Bad. He really thought it was ugly. What I was desperate to change were the pulls. Little brass icky things.

When the blue empire dresser finally came around to its turn the first thing I did was toss the pulls into a drawer and slam it shut. There!

I've wanted to do a graphite dresser for some time and even toyed with the whole faux zinc idea but in the end it just had to be solid graphite with just a little whimsy. 

I decided to do just a couple rows of harlequin with the top fading out. I used 3 - 4 different silver craft paints, some black and a pewter glaze from Home Depot. The trim around the two small drawers got the silver treatment as well as the bottom front. The front of the legs got a topcoat of the pewter glaze. It's very subtle, just a little glimmer when the light hits just right.

Love those curves!

I love the graceful chunkiness of this style of furniture.

And casters, too! My other favorite!

This dresser is going to my pathetically empty booth at American Mercantile. My Pie Safe sold, as well as the UNPAINTED buffet my father-in-law took such a fierce stand on. So, two huge pieces are gone and I'm scrambling to fill the holes.

I have two more empire dressers and an empire chest waiting in the wings. I plan to keep the little chest. It's an odd size - somewhere between a hope chest and a small dresser. I don't have pictures yet as it just came home yesterday, but it's a cutie.

But for today here's the before and after:

Is it just me? The graphite paint and traditional pulls seem to make the dresser look more .... substantial. Right?

Linking to:
mod vintage life
boogie board cottage

coastal charm
my uncommon slice of suburbia
primp
funky junk interiors
savvy southern style
my repurposed life

My, what a busy little bee I've been

I haven't posted in forever! It's been crazy around here again! With going back to work at my corporate job and opening up a new booth, (Yep, a new booth) I've been nose-to-the-grindstone for weeks. 

The new booth is in a "mantique" antique mall. It's all cool industrial loft stuff, which I dearly love! Now I can rotate my industrial and steampunk treasures from my home to my booth. Yay. I always get to bring home new stuff. I can tell Mr. Bad it's for resale. Really! Eventually......

Meanwhile.

I have 4 custom pieces I'm working on. This adorable little smoking table was first. I adore this little guy! Notice there are no square edges? Such a sweet design. For cigars. Oh well.

Update
I forgot I had before shots on my phone. :-)

I'm really liking warm red with black glaze right now. It's a nice change in between the softer historic colors I usually use.

Almost like a commercial break, huh? 

I'll be posting the other custom pieces soon, as well as an ASCP graphite empire highboy dresser that I'm not going to enjoy parting with.

Linking to:
shabby nest
my repurposed life
funky junk interiors
be different act normal
under the table and dreaming
boogieboard cottage
mod vintage life
coastal charm
my uncommon slice of suburbia
primp
savvy southern style
thrifty decor chick