On your mark, get set, GO

Hi All, well it just seems like I can't get myself on here more than once a week lately! But, if I'm scarce it's because I'm working hard on some fantastic transformations to show you soon! In the past couple weeks, since the March 31 sale, there have been a handful of custom orders coming in as well as dozens of appointments with people interested in the pieces left over from the last event. I'm very happy to say we have almost sold out of all the refinished pieces from 2 weeks ago. If you would like to see what remains please click on the photobucket link under 'Shop'. I'm in the process of creating a portfolio album of all the pieces I have done in the past. In my head that seems like a good idea so potential clients can see the range of work we are capable of here...it's just a matter of sitting down and doing it!

So, this little business is not just about being in the garage painting away all day every day. In fact, the last couple weeks have been my busiest yet and I have not painted a single piece! With the custom orders we have going on at the moment I have driven an hour and a half round trip just for a couple cans of ASCP, (Annie Sloan Chalk Paint), spent several days hunting for a set of dining chairs for my lovely, (and patient!), client L, and took a successful disastrous trip to Home Depot for some heavy duty supplies, (including our first power saw!). Free tip, from me to you: 3 little ones under 3yrs, a 4x8 sheet of MDF board, 2 8ft pieces of trim, extremely loud machines, and a handful of supplies to fit around your kids in the shopping cart DO NOT MIX! Leave the kids at home. Also, make sure your vehicle can fit a 4x8 piece of MDF board before you come. We are learning.

Anyway, I wanted to show you a very hard decision one of my clients, K, is having to make for her new TV console. She checked out the ASCP website to look at paint colors, and probably like most people who have seen the site, concluded that the tiny swatch of color they show online just isn't enough!!! She wanted to be able to hold a paint sample up to other pieces in her room and see which would go the best. Who can blame her! Since the store I buy my paint from doesn't have color swatches which you can take home, (and mail), I made my own! I was planning on using index cards but since I didn't have any I used the next best thing I had: the stationary my husband and I wrote our thank-you notes on from our wedding! Now they're in an envelope and en route to K!

Here are the colors K is deciding between:

Duck Egg, French Linen, and Paris Gray

Don't these three colors look scrumptious?! Good luck deciding, K!

Now, I am off to the Garage to work on a bench and set of chairs which I hope to show you at the end of the week! Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

~Chelsea

Dresser with a Surprise!

Hi All! Yesterday I mentioned a fun little dresser that I've been working on and today I finished it! When I saw this at the thrift store several weeks ago I almost walked by it without giving it a second look. I had just refinished a 4 drawer dresser of similar proportions and was looking for something a little different. I don't know why, but I started pulling open the drawers. The second one startled me when it fell open completely! As I pulled the drawer out it revealed the sweetest little writing desk!!!

Before:

This dresser/writing desk found itself a buyer before I even had a chance to refinish it, which put this person in the fun position of getting to choose the color and finish!

They requested gray with a shabby distressed finish.

This might be my favorite find of all so far - and to think I almost walked right by it!

We said goodbye to a few favorite pieces today as they went to a new loving home, but we've brought in a few new ones, too, which I am looking forward to showing you soon! It feels like we've got a good flow of pieces coming in and pieces going out now and we're just rolling right along. Thank you for following what's going on here at Chelsea's Garage and for your words of encouragement! They mean a lot :)

~Chelsea



Dresser turned Quaint Entertainment Center

If you are here to see a dresser transformed into an entertainment center, please see this post with a much better transformation!!! The one below is the first one I ever tried and not the quality I expect from myself and my business these days. On that note, please enjoy my first ever try  at using a dresser as an entertainment center. Boy, have I come a long way since this post! :)

Here's the deal: I promised the big reveal today, and it is HERE, but after I promised you I would show you today, Husband informed me that we are getting a brand spankin' new tv which will arrive this weekend. So, I am still showing you our dresser turned entertainment center today, but I might snap a few pics once the new tv is on and the whole thing looks nice and sleek all together. This might be the last 27" box tv to leave someone's home. Anyone else have a box tv out there? Anyone? Anyone?

Well anyway, here is what I picked up a few weeks ago at my trusty Goodwill:

We immediately removed the top drawer and 'defaced' it so we could still use the inside of the drawer to keep the media boxes. We also had to replace the hardware on the two lower drawers because one handle was broken. *Tip* - if you want to replace hardware for a quick makeover on any piece and you need to fill in old holes, use this:

Hardening Plastic Wood, (I like the brand Dap)

NOT this: Non-hardening Wood Puddy

The wood puddy leaves a little 'bubble' where the hole used to be, no matter how much you sand. Since it's non hardening it's very difficult to seal the hole. You want to apply a liberal amount of hardening plastic wood, wait for it to harden and then sand it down really smooth. You don't just want to sand over your filled in holes, but the entire drawer/door so you really get an even finish.

(photo before sanding)

After the sanding, painting several coats of 'Bayou', (a beautiful, neutral muddy-green), sealing with water-based Polycrylic clear gloss spray on sealer, and adding on the new hardware, this piece was ready to come inside!

The hardware was free! We will be redoing our kitchen soon, (which I will track on here), and I have already removed some of our cabinet doors. We just took the knobs from four cabinets and added them onto the drawers of the dresser.

Previously on the cabinets:

Rotated, now on the dresser:

And here are some pictures of the basement, in case you were curious:

I'm very excited to have the room looking a bit more complete with this 'new' set up for media stuff. I am always looking for dressers about this size as they are so versatile! I'm sure I'll have more posts about dresser transformations coming soon :)

Have a fantastic weekend and thank you for visiting!