Oh Happy Day...Oh Happy Day

Don't you just love the smell of lead-based paint in the morning??

This past weekend we were in our hometown for my neice's 1st birthday. (a post and pictures of that later!!)

My aunt has had some "treasures" in her garage, collecting dust, that I've been eyeing. With our trailer in tow, we headed to the garage. American Pickers style. I don't know why old things "speak" to me. I get butterflies in my stomach and start drooling when I see something old. Really old. (sorry dad, only furniture, not you) I love thinking about what it's been through or who used it. Who sat in a certain chair or what happened that it needed to be repaired. I read a quote one time online and someone said, "Objects have been a witness to many things." How true is that? Also, they just don't make things like they used to. Old furniture and antiques have "character." They weren't pressed out of a computer-generated assembly line or made by the millions. They were mostly hand crafted, nail by nail, tongue and groove, REAL wood pieces. Then they were passed down from generation to generation because they could be...they were well built.

OK. Off my nostalgic soapbox and back to the picking...

I couldn't go through the stuff fast enough. A headboard and footboard, a wooden wall telephone (1920's), an awesome old trunk, a really cool old chair that, poor thing, has seen it's better days. Some mason jars, a vanity with castors, and a three drawer antique wash stand with a marble top! (my fav) This thing has character! Original hardware, old castors, three key holes, and a marble top? I'm in heaven...

It was hard for me to even want to repaint it. I thought it was so "cute" just the way it was. Distressed...check. Chipped paint...check. Rusty...check. 1900's lead-based paint...check. Big hole in the side...check. :( oops

So a repair had to be done. After I took the board off the side that someone had patched, I was shocked to see that it was actually a hole from a fire. What? What's the story on that? What was it next to that caught it on fire? I guess we will never know. What I do know is that this was on my Great Grandmother's back porch and she used to stack her newspapers on it. I decided to strip it, prime it, paint it, and distress it. I want to keep the original feel of the piece and not change it too much. I'm so excited and I can't wait to see it finished.

Here are the drawers that I stripped and sanded. The yellowish paint wouldn't come off. It became part of the wood as much as the actual wood! I took the hardware off to save it. I am only missing two so I'll have to come up with something...Stay tuned!