Blanking

I have writer's block. 

I have been staring at the blinking cursor on my screen for two days. Ironic considering this desk makes me want to hunker down and write the next great American novel. 

Without further ado, I give you Delilah (aptly named because despite her beauty she stole all of my strength trying to strip off the 18 bajilion layers of paint).

Improving

I paint most of the pieces that I restore so you might be surprised to know that I love wood grain. 

Like, First-Pumpkin-Spice-Latte-Of-Fall love... Handwritten-Letter-In-The-Mail love... Pizza-And-Netflix-On-A-Friday-Night love... Rainy-Sunday-Afternoon-Nap love... Good-Hair-Day love... you're catching what I'm throwing down, right? I love wood grain. 

I have a strict conviction that you only paint furniture if it will improve the piece. Its a relative concept so preferences will vary from person to person, but I would encourage you to appreciate and consider the wood grain before deciding to paint. For me, this sometimes means I do nothing at all to the piece, sometimes I rejuvenate the wood by rubbing oil into the grain, other times I partially paint a piece leaving some wood grain exposed, but mostly I choose pieces that will greatly benefit from a complete overhaul.

Same as my last piece, this piece (who I lovingly refer to as Casablanca) was from that fantastic thrifting haul I came home with several weeks ago. I was immediately drawn to the design of this lovely dresser with its cabinet drawers on top (I'm sure there's a much more correct industry term, but its beyond my scope of knowledge). I hadn't planned on leaving any of the wood unpainted, but once I saw the black with the wood grain on the cabinet drawers I was a goner. Mesmerized. I won't complain when inspiration strikes and creates less work for me in the process!

Hope this piece makes you think twice about painting all furniture you restore! 

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Thanks to my roommate for the use of her fabulous thrift store stool.

The artwork is from a street artist in Barcelona.

I used maps from a vintage travel book.
Spain/Portugal is on the left and Casablanca & Algeria on the left.

I felt like these handles were in line with the exotic feel from the maps...
but maybe that's just me. 

You'll notice variations in the paint color.
That's the beauty of milk paint.
I love the more primitive and natural look you get from milk paint.

 Playing in the background:

• Bootstraps
• Amos Lee (Arms of a Woman anybody? Add that to my "Swoon List")
• Air Traffic Controller