Norma Oliver’s Furniture Rescue:
A little bit of this, a little bit of that

This week I’m not showing any before pictures. I have a hodge-podge of things I’ve been getting ready for “Derby Day” this Saturday May 5th in Williamstown KY. I’ll be having a booth but decided to have smaller items available. I know when I go to a small town festival I’m really not planning on buying and hauling around a big piece of furniture.

A variety of colors as well as techniques have been used overall. Some things are painted and clear waxed so the full color blossoms. I love stencils and think they can often enhance a piece that otherwise could be uninspiring. Some pieces I purposefully gave an aged look too by means of using a crackle finish and layers of paint. Dark wax of course emphasizes this by clinging in the cracks and crevices.

One piece I really had fun “aging” is the ladder back chair with a woven seat. This already had some natural attributes leading to the old look. A dog or some such critter had gnawed on the legs! So of course I just went with it and sanded these parts relatively smooth. I was not at all trying to make it look perfect, mainly smoothing out the splintered parts so they wouldn’t scratch someone!

I began by using custom mixed steel blue color and color washed the woven seat. The rest of it was painted in Paris Grey Chalk Paint, applied heavily and in some areas allowed to crackle to give it that old farmhouse layered look. I even dribbled some of the steel blue here and there so it would look as if this chair had been found out in the barn somewhere after many years of use, paintings, and abuse. Mostly clear wax was applied to the woven seat part, with clear and dark wax applied to the wood parts. The dark wax is a must for the aged and timeworn appearance. It looks amazingly authentically old and shabby.

I’m not finished with everything I plan to have in my Derby Day booth but so far here is the list:

Two wood bread boxes, a chalk board and small sweet demi Lune table that matches but can be separated, another chalkboard that is reversible (stenciled art on the other side), three different repurposed cabinet doors with beautiful stenciling and awesome layered paint techniques, a spice rack, two knick-knack shelves, and more in the works!

I hope to have some pretty little signs made from up- cycled floor boards for Mother’s Day gifts or Derby Day memorabilia.
 

Additionally I will have two more sweet little demi Lune tables done in the shabby chic style. Two small matching wall scones/shelves are also on the “to do” list as well as a small stack of barn wood begging to have stencils applied. More ideas for signs from the floor boards are spinning around in my thoughts so we’ll see how many I get done. This has been a fun adventure and a great outlet for the creative juices that have been flowing lately. I LOVE what I “get to” do!

Norma Oliver, owner of Norma’s Kentiques is a happily married empty nester who has raised six children. She loves to hunt down ugly and rejected furniture that is still valuable and sturdy. Each piece is given a distinctive look, often through a professionally applied chalk paint and wax finish process. These bargain accent pieces are then sold at her booth within the Georgetown Peddler’s Mall (inside-far left). See more of Norma’s Kentiques on her Facebook page and visit her blog at www.normaskentiques.com.