From Wild West to Modern Farmhouse: Tea Cart Update
A little while ago, I met a woman at Salvation Army that had an abundance of milk glass looking for a home. We met up, and I inherited a tub (literally a tub) full of milk glass pieces perfect for organizing & for Allie's wedding later this year.
We chit chatted and got onto the subject of my hobby of flipping furniture, and later that month, she bought this little beauty for me to refinish how I'd like. Her only request was that I please lighten it so that it didn't seem so bulky.
If she liked it when it was finished, she'd buy it back from me for around $200, but if not, I could keep it to either sell to someone else, or for our house to be used in our own kitchen. Really the ideal win-win situation: freedom of design, a piece I'd like when it was done, and the possibility of money or a new piece for the house. I dove right in.
So here is the tea cart in it's original state. I apologize in advance for the super grainy phone pictures, none of these were taken in very good light and needed to be brightened. Slightly beat up around the edges, some scratches on the leaves, and a sticker in the middle of the center top. A removable tray, an old school wild west vibe, and a load of potential.
Initially, I thought, strip down the top, sand down the scratches, and stain it darker. I figured a dark top would pair well with a lighter color, and also rejuvenate the piece to it's former glory.
Then I thought, I'll just walk it home, we only live a half mile away (in case anyone's wondering, that was not fun, I do not recommend it, and I will not be doing that again).
I learned a few things on the way home: 1) decor wheels do not mix well with our bumpy asphalt roads (they kept trying to come off & I had to stop every few houses to bump them back into place) & 2) that kid down the street is embarrassingly terrible at skateboarding & really needs to put a shirt on.
Once I got it home, I sent a picture to Allie and Hannah for opinions on color choices. And while "Neon orange with flames" was quite tempting for the fun of it, we decided on either a cream/white or a light blue. I looked through my color stash at home & came across a sample of "Ice Cube" by Behr.
I started with a few light coats on the legs and wheels, and then moved on to stenciling the tray. The black on the wheels drove me crazy, so I scrubbed them clean with a Brillo pad & painted over them too.
Being more of a decor piece than a functional piece, the wheels won't be used very often, so the paint won't wear away very quickly. And for any incidents that do occur, I have the remainder of the paint sample to either give to whoever ends up with it, or to keep for ourselves.
Right now the top has been cleaned up, but otherwise untouched. The new color brightens up the piece enough to look dainty & feminine, while the wood grounds it & gives it more character.
UPDATE: She now wants it to be a dark navy. So the finished product pictures that were never taken will be taken at a later date, when the cart is dark again. I'm not really a fan of painting things more than once, but as they say... the customer is always right.
See you soon (now with the newly darkened cart)!
We chit chatted and got onto the subject of my hobby of flipping furniture, and later that month, she bought this little beauty for me to refinish how I'd like. Her only request was that I please lighten it so that it didn't seem so bulky.
If she liked it when it was finished, she'd buy it back from me for around $200, but if not, I could keep it to either sell to someone else, or for our house to be used in our own kitchen. Really the ideal win-win situation: freedom of design, a piece I'd like when it was done, and the possibility of money or a new piece for the house. I dove right in.
So here is the tea cart in it's original state. I apologize in advance for the super grainy phone pictures, none of these were taken in very good light and needed to be brightened. Slightly beat up around the edges, some scratches on the leaves, and a sticker in the middle of the center top. A removable tray, an old school wild west vibe, and a load of potential.
Initially, I thought, strip down the top, sand down the scratches, and stain it darker. I figured a dark top would pair well with a lighter color, and also rejuvenate the piece to it's former glory.
Then I thought, I'll just walk it home, we only live a half mile away (in case anyone's wondering, that was not fun, I do not recommend it, and I will not be doing that again).
I learned a few things on the way home: 1) decor wheels do not mix well with our bumpy asphalt roads (they kept trying to come off & I had to stop every few houses to bump them back into place) & 2) that kid down the street is embarrassingly terrible at skateboarding & really needs to put a shirt on.
Once I got it home, I sent a picture to Allie and Hannah for opinions on color choices. And while "Neon orange with flames" was quite tempting for the fun of it, we decided on either a cream/white or a light blue. I looked through my color stash at home & came across a sample of "Ice Cube" by Behr.
I started with a few light coats on the legs and wheels, and then moved on to stenciling the tray. The black on the wheels drove me crazy, so I scrubbed them clean with a Brillo pad & painted over them too.
Being more of a decor piece than a functional piece, the wheels won't be used very often, so the paint won't wear away very quickly. And for any incidents that do occur, I have the remainder of the paint sample to either give to whoever ends up with it, or to keep for ourselves.
 |
| In progress |
Right now the top has been cleaned up, but otherwise untouched. The new color brightens up the piece enough to look dainty & feminine, while the wood grounds it & gives it more character.
UPDATE: She now wants it to be a dark navy. So the finished product pictures that were never taken will be taken at a later date, when the cart is dark again. I'm not really a fan of painting things more than once, but as they say... the customer is always right.
See you soon (now with the newly darkened cart)!
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