How I Spent My Memorial Day Weekend - 2014

Last year I spent my Memorial Day weekend frantically preparing for an upcoming show.  I was a machine, cranking out piece after piece, and when I finally surfaced from the basement bleary-eyed from not having seen the sun for days, my long weekend was long gone.  

I promised myself that wouldn't happen this year.  This weekend was the weekend I was going to wrap up all of my little half-finished projects.  That vintage make-up case that I've had since January was finally going to get the ribbon trim needed to be complete.  That upholstered bench that I have sitting in my closet was going to get the touch-ups needed to be done, so that it can be listed for sale.  The cookie tins that have been waiting for months to be painted with chalkboard paint would finally reach their end.  And in between it all I would enjoy cook-outs and sunshine and Summer.

Well.  None of that happened.  

No, that's not entirely true - we did enjoy a cook-out, see?

That was on Saturday, and the weekend held such potential then!  The potential to get things done, while doing a little bit of nothing in between. I had three whole days - I was going to accomplish EVERYTHING.

And then I got distracted and there was OTHER stuff that had to be done.  A dear client who we've done several pieces for found a beautiful china cabinet, a piece that she had been looking for forever.  She called and asked if I'd be available to refinish it and make it a little more her.  Always happy to do it, we agreed to meet her Monday morning with our truck to move it and talk finishes.  With a hope and a prayer this beast fit with an inch to spare, and is now hanging out downstairs.

This is quite possibly the largest piece I have ever done.  It's huge.  It's Mahogany.  It's heavy.  But it's delightful, and I'm anxious to get started.  This sweet client has waited so long for the perfect piece, and I'm thrilled to (hopefully) give it to her.  And of course, you can't come over and hang out in the basement and leave empty-handed!  She fell in love with this sweet little pitcher, so I'm happy to say it's now been sold and has gone to a good home!

While we were picking up the china cabinet for our client from the woman who was selling it, there was another piece.  A beautiful piece.  A buffet.  It was old, and lovely, and I've wanted a buffet forever.  Well, luck was on my side, and this beauty is now mine:

But of course to put her there, I had to move what was our old "buffet".  This sweet dresser now lives in our bedroom:

Naturally in order to put that there, we had to move the piece that was there, which we will eventually get rid of but for right now it's sitting behind the sofa because my God I am tired of shuffling furniture.  

While my newly acquired buffet is amazing and everything I could have ever wanted, there is one problem.  It's massive and makes our kitchen table look like doll-house furniture in comparison.  See?

Yea, that's not cute...  And then a suggestion came from the most unlikely source - my fiance - who wisely pointed out what I spent all morning saying to my client.  To tone a piece down, paint it.  To make a piece blend and not appear as massive as it really is, paint it.  A piece that stands out (and not in a good way) can complement any space quite nicely simply by painting it.  I know it's gorgeous as is, and to some people painting a piece like this would be the furniture equivalent of kicking a kitten, but for now it will be painted.  While I know how to paint, I also know how to unpaint and I can always return her to her natural state.     

So folks, there you have it.  Not only did I not complete one single project this Memorial Day Weekend, but I took on two more.  Two massive undertakings await me; the end results will be unrecognizable transformations in the best way possible and I am beyond excited for the opportunity. I just hope it all happens before Memorial Day Weekend 2015.