This is what the couch looked like when we picked it up.

Nothing really wrong with it, in fact the upholstery was in great shape.

It was just a little… blah!

It sat at my house for a while because I couldn’t work up the nerve to start working on it.  I had a client stop by to drop-off a chair to be painted and she came with a friend.  Her friend fell in love with the couch and she placed a deposit on it.  That meant I couldn’t put it off any longer and I HAD to start working on it!!

So needle nose pliers, an assortment of screwdrivers and hammer in hand, I set off to start removing the old stuff from it.

If there has ever been point in a project where I asked myself…

WHAT THE HECK DID I DO?????

This was definitely it!

But wait… it gets worse.

I really thought I had reached the point where I’d ask my husband to grab the keys to his truck to help me take this baby to the dumpster

I wish I had taken more pictures of the process but since I didn’t hold much hope for this poor guy, I sort of skipped the picture taking.

Do you want a sneak peek…

More…

OK, I’ll let you see the whole thing!

Isn’t he great??

My client didn’t want the tufting so all of the button holes were covered and new foam added for a smooth, clean look.

All the wood parts were painted a creamy white with several layers of brown and gray glaze.

A little double welt trim to cover staples and joints and he was ready to go!!

I loved the end result and after spending HOURS and HOURS working on it I didn’t want to let it go.  But I did and I know he is being loved and enjoyed at his new home!

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I wanted to go bold and bright and it doesn’t get much brighter and bolder than YELLOW!

The dark, drab brown of the before didn’t show all of its gorgeous detail.

Slight distressing make all the carvings and details pop!

The door

The bottom apron

and the legs…

He has been sporting his new color now for a few months and I still LOVE it!!

The comments when I posted photos on Facebook were love or hate, nothing really in the middle.  What do you think?

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]]> http://simplebutmatters.com/this-one-is-all-mine/feed/ 25 http://simplebutmatters.com/haley/ http://simplebutmatters.com/haley/#comments Thu, 03 Nov 2011 03:36:41 +0000 SImple Matters http://simplebutmatters.com/?p=1602 One of the perks of this job is the cool people I get to meet and work with to create pieces for their home. Shannon is one of those people.  She has purchased a few pieces from me, she picks out the most amazing colors and her pieces are always a hit.  This china [...]]]> One of the perks of this job is the cool people I get to meet and work with to create pieces for their home. Shannon is one of those people.  She has purchased a few pieces from me, she picks out the most amazing colors and her pieces are always a hit.  This china hutch “Haley” was the first piece she purchased.

I found Haley at a local Goodwill store.  I liked it because it was somewhat small yet it still offered tons of storage and display space.  Of course because it has great lines too!

Shannon saw the potential and decided to buy it for her newly purchased home.  She picked a great shade of green!

The handles got a fresh coat of ORB.

We didn’t do any distressing yet all the details pop!

Isn’t she awesome???

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She has wonderful lines and the marble is gorgeous but all that wood grain takes away from her beauty.  I had it posted for a while under my to be transformed pieces.  She was claimed by someone out of town and they picked French gray for the makeover color.  I was very excited since the marble has a gray vein throughout and gray is one of my favorite colors!

Here she is after paint, distressing and glaze.

A close up to appreciate the color and detail

And a look at the bottom section without the mirror

Isn’t she a beauty???

The lady who had claimed her unfortunately was not able to pick her up but we promptly found a home for her.  My husband and I delivered her to her new home and I was so excited to see how happy her new owner was to have her.

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September always brings all kinds of changes for me.  Maybe because it is my birthday month, may be it is just a coincidence but it always brings new challenges and a new perspective in life. Just to give you a couple of examples,  I found out I was pregnant for the first time (years ago) in September,  I started SImple Matters two years ago in September.

September 2011 was not the exception.  One of the things that happened is that I decided to embark in a new business venture, I am not ready to give details but let’s just say that the idea snowballed and it brought a WHOLE new set of issues.  Because of the project I am working on and because of Simple Matters growth, we decided that leasing a building would be the next step.  The day after we decided that while I was driving back home from taking Lola to school I saw a “for lease” sign outside a warehouse/office building.  I am big on “signs” and this one was bright and yellow and huge so it could not be missed. I thought about it for about 2 seconds and I called to get some info.

Long story short, two days later my husband and I were signing the lease.  I did call several other places and looked around but this place was perfect.  It has two offices in the front, a LARGE storage/clean work area and a huge garage area in the back.  It also has a tiny break room.  It is not fancy and it is not a retail space (which is a good thing because I didn’t want one) but it does give me a very comfortable and convenient place to work and THAT was the whole point.

We had to do some sheetrock and electrical work to accommodate our needs.  Since we were already paying rent, it had to happen fast.  Thank God for friends in the business!  Here are a few pictures of our new shop.

I have been working here for almost three weeks and I love it!  I have plenty of room to work and move around plus I have ALL my stuff in one place.  It is still quite an emotional rollercoaster.  Sometimes I feel like it was the best decision ever, some others I feel like I am in waaaaaay over my head.  Only time will tell.