I've Got a Crush On You....

Since my last post I have been busy, busy! Mostly working on and searching for old scruffy items to make "New" again. I even found a few pieces of furniture that I am really starting to fall in love with...

My first little crush was this basic brown desk.

He's not fancy or special, and the owners of the store had forgotten all about him, tucked into a corner covered in papers and random belongings, he didn't even have a price attached.

My heart immediately went out for him and I knew it was meant to be....now the question was, how much would they sell him for? The gentleman working the store said $15....What?! I thought. You didn't even know he was here..so I counter offered with $10....and he was mine!

I spent the next day cleaning this desk up, and let me tell you...there were cobwebs on the cobwebs! It was dirty! He was well put together and had a strong structure, and I was thankful for that.

After spending a whole day sanding, painting, waiting and painting some more, I gave this newly GQ'd table a home. He lives in the entry by my kitchen and every time I see him, I fall in Love.

My second crush began with a Craigslist ad. "Need to get rid of this desk asap!" read the ad...The desk was old and worn and needed some work, but boy was he handsome. Leather inlays on the top with gold accents and lots of storage.

When I saw the desk for the first time I knew this one was going to be different. So I headed to Home Depot for the perfect shade of Green to compliment the Gold accents. This desk was going to look suave and sleek, with a touch of roughness.

It took more time than expected to refinish him and there were some bumps along the way. He was warped just a little on one side and I could not fix it without removing the entire side piece of wood. So, I did the best I could but left the unique feature in its place, a beauty mark of sorts.
Then there was the large pink stain on the wood that began to bleed through the paint and that was frustrating to fix...and the leather...Oh the beautiful leather that lead me to this desk. It was covered in some sort of goo and not taken care of at all.  So, I cleaned and conditioned the leather and covered it with paper and tape as I took care of the rest of the desk.

The end results were amazing, even I was surprised at what a gorgeous desk this was. Big and strong with gorgeous green and gold accents. This desk was perfect.

(Excuse all the oil stains on the concrete...These were taken in the garage)

You've Got Real Potential Baby

Here is one of my "Auction Day" treasures...a dresser with loads of potential. At first glance one might assume this dresser will never amount to anything. Think again friends, think again. Before placing my bid however, there was some investigative work that needed to be done.

When looking for a piece of furniture to resurrect from the dead, there are several factors that come into play.

1. What type of material is the piece made of?

2. Is the piece in decent condition and able to withstand a rehab?

3. Is it usable?

4. Lastly, is there are market for this item or will you keep it for yourself?

This piece is in perfect condition to revive. So I start by sanding it down and find that there are several layers of paint beneath this rosy pink on the drawers.

After it is sanded and two layers of paint are removed from the drawers I paint it Black.

(I begin to hum "Paint it Black" by The Rolling Stones, "I see a sad pink dresser and I want to Paint it Black")

As you can see the paint job doesn't have to be perfect, as I am going to cover this black with a beautiful turquoise.

Once the black dried I slathered a beautiful turquoise layer and let that dry for a few hours. I didn't take any photos of the in between stages, but here is a photo of the drawers and the vintage Gold and white hardware I added to keep the look light.

I just LOVE the black crevices in the drawers.

Side shot of the Jewel toned beauty

With a little love and lots of make up this old and shabby dresser became a Chic Beauty!

Going Once, Going Twice, SOLD!

Hello...my name is Amy and I am a newly addicted auction participant. I don't know about you but I have noticed auctions everywhere. There are countless TV shows dedicated to this one seemingly boring topic as well as online auctions popping up everywhere.

Well friends, let me tell you....I know why auctions are so hot....they are addictive and FUN!

One evening my husband informed me that he had spotted a sign for an auction on his way home from work. Turns out this auction was less than a mile from our house and was on the upcoming Saturday. Three days away....the countdown had begun.



First mission: Locate a friend who is willing to sacrifice their Saturday to see this little country auction in action. Surprisingly, this was easier than I thought. My sister-in-law Michelle said she wanted to go to an auction and so she was in!

Second Mission: Devise a game plan of what I'm in the market for and set my spending limits.

Since we recently moved, I am on patrol for interesting pieces of furniture or decorations to add to the house. And if I got really lucky at the auction I would find a kitchen island.

Saturday morning arrives and I hardly slept the night before due to excitement. Michelle arrives and we head for the auction.



Like two excited yet timid school girls we enter the warehouse wondering what treasures will be available for us today. We slowly make our way around the room and decide that we should stay. We register, get our numbers and decide take a seat. I follow Michelle's lead as she heads for the front row. It’s hot and muggy and there is no A/C, instead there are strategically placed fans for cooling, and Michelle has placed us in the perfect spot for viewing items, watching the auctioneer and staying cool. So we sit. Anxious. Nervous. Excited.

The first item for bid is a Tony Romo bobble head and Michelle and I both look at each other and laugh, is this for real? That’s when we notice the tables of random items that are going to bid on, and we realize today is going to be a long day.

As the auction continues we loosen up and get our bidding hands ready. I laugh as Michelle hides her bidding card between her legs. She jokes that she may lose control of her arms and start bidding wildly on items. I begin to laugh because the energy in the warehouse is electric and I can't help but think the same thing. I break the ice and bid on some old Kodak photographs of celebrities for Michelle because it seems her arms are now paralyzed and she is not bidding on them....and I know these are the items she likes because of her love of movies also known as a cinephile. I win the bid at $4 a photo. As we carefully scroll through the stack of photographs we see it....a Jaws photograph that Michelle immediately grabs, this is one of her favorite movies (and yet I have not seen it).

The ice is broken and all bets are off…we begin bidding on item after item. And then we realize...we are hooked!

When the auction is over we gather our treasures and cash out. After it was all said and done we spent approximately $180 combined. This includes 6 chairs, a dresser and a ton of other goodies....not too shabby for first timers.

As a new auction enthusiast I have been scouring the internet for auctions and let me tell you...I'll be getting my auction arms ready quicker than I thought!



Till next time friends....Also, I will be posting photos of our treasures.