My Favorite Place is the name of a flea market I go to in Chamblee that has the best bargains. I like to find pieces that with a little imagination have a ton of potential. With enough sand paper and faux finish methods it's amazing the things you can create. When I stumbled upon this sofa table it was bright blue and green with white legs, like it had outgrown a child's bedroom. I picked it up for around $20 and now it's matured into a fabulous piece.
I was desperately seeking an interesting lamp at a reasonable price down the wrong stretch of Antique shops at Miami Circle. If you know anything about this area, the words reasonably priced and antiques don't quite go together. After browsing quickly through several stores I was about to give up when I saw this beauty. It cost me $40 and the shop owner threw in the lamp shade for free. You can see in the second picture I found a new shade with a wooden bead embellishment on it that was just what it needed to be at home on the refurbished sofa table.
For years I have loved the idea of old windows as pieces of wall art. One day at My Favorite Place I found this old window with dirty panes and white paint chipping at every corner with a price tag of just $8. I sanded the window until all that was left was old faded wood. I decided on a barn red color after I applied a creamy yellow base coat. I sanded it again to bring out the wood grain and hung it in the den.
My friend Kaelan's mom gave me this mirror that she retrieved from someone's trash in her neighborhood. The frame was originally a metallic silver. I gave it a faux wood finish by dry brushing brown paint onto the newly painted cream colored frame and it suddenly fit right in.
My mom is always giving me old magazines from her office which I particularly enjoy when a coworker happens to subscribe to Country Living. I could flip through the pages of that publication for hours and hours, continually coming up with another idea that I just have to try in my own house. One such idea was the grouping of different plates that were monochromatic in theme. After searching all over town, plate by plate, I was able to create the look in my kitchen for under $40.
I continued finding white plates that I loved so I decided to extend the idea into my dining room-
I've had these old milk glass lamps in my bedroom since I was a little girl. Growing tired of the simplistic white shades, I rummaged through my arts and crafts drawers seeking inspiration. What I found transformed the shades and gave them two much more interesting looks- The first one is rimmed with a collection of old buttons (different in both color and size) and lined at the top with two pieces of silk ribbon. The second is covered in an old swatch of fabric I had lying around and detailed at the top by alternating colored wooden beads. By holding onto scraps of fabric and stashing away my extra buttons and loose ribbon I was able to revamp the lamp shades for free.
The furniture in my house that was not purchased at a flea market or antique store was handed down to me from family and friends. A few years ago when I moved in to my first house out of college, my parents gave me their kitchen table. While not an antique, it's a classic piece that is altogether versatile. The sturdy white base holds the chestnut colored top that seats four intimately. An added leaf allows for more.
Accompanying the table were chairs that, while they are a perfect match, never seemed in their element among the otherwise eclectic inhabitants of my home. And so began my lengthy hunt for the right chairs. After several months of combing every place I could think of I made a trip to The Treasure Mart (also located in Chamblee). There I found a set of four chairs that could not have been more perfect. For $60 I brought the chairs home and excitedly placed them in the dining room. Their petite femininity instantly complimented the more substantial table, their rustic quality flattered by its newness.
For now, the distressed antique white paint and sand colored fabric fit the bill. However, I imagine these chairs will be refashioned somewhere along the way.
I recently decided to revamp a mirror I found in my attic that I purchased years ago. When I bought it in college, the dark cherry wood and wrought iron detail went well with the mix 'n match decor I shared with my roommates. Although now it no longer appeals to my style, I didn't want to toss it until I tried to give it a facelift.
I rummaged through my paint collection pulling out every shade of brown I could find. I first applied a base coat of a leathery tan color to the wooden part of the mirror. Once dry, I crinkled up an old Kroger bag, dipped it in the different pools of brown tinted paint, and dabbed it over and over again around the circumference of the mirror.
You can see in the close-up, the Kroger bag finish resembles old worn paint. Now the mirror has been retuned to my style and I'm glad I decided not to trash it!
