Reuniting

Creativity is a funny thing. 

        Consuming, 

                  fleeting, 

           raw, produced, demanding, 

                             energizing, 

   aloof, 

                         restorative, draining.

Nearly a year ago I was startled to find myself unable - unwilling even - to work on anything new. My creative vision that had once been so abundant, had gone. It disappeared gradually; somewhere between the empty excuses, misguided priorities, and ill-fated comparisons.

Luckily, my friends and family were insistent that I not give it up permanently. It was recently when one of my friends basically shoved this $30 thrift find at me (and insist with friendly, though very real, threats) that I reunited with creativity in a creepy basement.

I dusted off the old brushes, cranked up the Charles Bradley, and sincerely hoped this didn't turn out to be a complete failure.

Meet Zora.

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Pages from a 1962 copy of Structure and Form: Modern Architecture.
Huzzah for $1 book bin finds.

Playing in the background:

• Big Little Lies soundtrack
• Harry Styles' album

Partnering

This lady has been patiently awaiting her big debut and I'm so excited to finally be able to share this project with you all! 

Its been about a year since I was approached by BEHR Paint to redesign a piece of furniture for their site's new Designer Stories campaign. They assembled a fantastic group of designers to partner with them who are passionate about DIY projects and color design to inspire readers to use their products in unexpected ways. 

I found this  g n a r l y  chest of drawers at a local thrift store that was begging for some TLC. She looked helpless, but I knew with a few coats of paint she'd be a show stopper.

Head on over to BEHR'S DESIGNER STORIES to read more about how I used BEHR's Premium Plus Ultra Paint and Plaster or Paris to create homemade chalk paint at a fraction of the cost to boutique brands to make this chest fabulous! 

Hope you're inspired to give furniture redesign a try yourself! xo, GMR

Disclosure: I was provided product by BEHR and compensated to write about this project but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own!  

Adulting

A list of my current favorite TV Shows to binge because my latest project is also my new TV Stand:

• Jane the Virgin
• The Good Wife
• Parks & Rec
• True Detective (but only Season 1... I reject Season 2. Ugh.)
• My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Ways I should be adulting instead of camping out on the couch with Netflix for 8 hours:

• Laundry
• Grocery Shopping
• Making a real dinner (instead of cereal or hummus)
• Getting my oil changed
• Switching out my spring and fall wardrobe
• ...basically anything else

Meet my new TV Stand, Ione. 

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Playing in the background:

• Bleachers, Terrible Thrills Vol. 2
• Alessia Cara
• Betty Who, Take Me When You Go

Troublemaking

Did anybody else ever notice that the teacher's favorite students were always the charming troublemakers? As a self-proclaimed straight-laced girl (albeit reluctantly - I always wanted to think I was a Jen Lindley, but in reality I'm a total Joey Potter (Pacey + Joey = 4-ever, but I digress...)) this frustrated to me to no end. I never understood why teachers would prefer an impish grin & misplaced potential to my... reliability. 

Well, I get it now. 

Don't be deceived by this lovely dresser's sweet and charming exterior. She went kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. As you can see from the before pictures below she was a bit weathered and coming apart in a few places. She simply needed a gentle (hard) nudge (shove) in the right direction to reach her full potential. I've refinished several pieces and the transformation the top of this dresser went through still impresses me (so much so I had to do two Before & After shots). Such gorgeous wood underneath all those layers of laquer and stain! Despite the extra elbow grease she totally won me over.

Say hello to my favorite troublemaker, Lindley.

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Playing in the background:

• Chvrches, Every Eye Open
• Jill Andrews, The War Inside
• The song, "War Paint", by FLETCHER

Nesting

Apparently, "Nesting" is a common instinct Mamas get to prepare for the arrival of their babies. There are several legitimate sources that back this theory up. 

                    *This is probably where I should mention I am not, I repeat NOT, pregnant 

Oddly enough, none of these sources mention Aunts being struck with this very same urge. Because they do. They totally do. Please see photos 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 below as evidence to this statement.

I had the distinct pleasure of helping my brother and sister-in-law prepare for my very first niece, Baby A, when I went home for a couple weeks. My plane landed in Birmingham and one of the first things I hear from my brother was, "Welcome! So... want to paint the nursery?". My answer? "Will there be pizza?" I mean... let's be honest. I would have done it without the pizza, but if its all the same to you, let there be pizza!

Give a warm welcome to Belle! 

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{Ombre Recipe} 

My SIL had a very clear vision of what she wanted the nursery to look like and that included an ombre changing table - a first for me! I've included the ratios I chose to go with, but feel free to play around with it. I also recommend swatching the different shades to see how they look before painting (see below).

Attempting to stage their dog, Yukon. I see other furniture bloggers stage with their dogs all the time! Um, its super hard...

Success! Yukon is excited for his new Sister to arrive too.

So. Many. Feels. Awwwwww! We're ready for you, Addison Grey!

Playing in the background:

• Joy Williams - Venus... I am still heartbroken over the Civil Wars breaking up, but I am really loving her solo stuff. Brava!

Reintroducing

I feel like I need to reintroduce myself after taking such a long hiatus.

Hi there! I'm Jenni aka Girl Meets Restorations aka GMR (and hopefully one day, aka Mrs. Stanley Weber - see below). Mucho gusto.

If you're unfamiliar with this Frenchie go watch one of his movies immediately. I really should be more diligent about my French lessons...

Ok, now that we are well and good reacquainted I will jump right in. 

I recently moved to a new place in the DC Metro Area and its been hectic getting settled in to the say the least. My inaugural furniture project is this stunning dresser I found at Goodwill painted in Miss Mustard Seed's Artissimo, a gorgeous indigo blue that should immediately be added to my Swoon List. 

I gave her a quick sanding, filled holes on the drawers with wood putty for new knobs, applied a couple coats of milk paint, another quick sanding, furniture wax, lugged her up two flights of stairs to my room (not recommended), and profusely thanked The Gov for lugging said heavy dresser up two flights of stairs with me. 

Without further ado, I give you The Duchess.

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I found these knobs at Anthropologie to add a bit of whimsy.

That pigmentation variation though.

My Grandmother's locket which gets worn at least once a week.

Playing in the background:

• Bleachers - love, love, love, love.