Black-Washed Antique Side Table

As of May 4, my work schedule slowed down immensely. I've been pumping out furniture pieces during this down time. If you've been following for some time, you know that this year I've been obsessed with painting things black. 

(Click here and here and here and here and here to see what I mean). 

Well, here's another one for you. 

I first introduced you to this little antique table in this post:

It was just simple wood. This little corner of my house is funny shaped, and eventually I found the perfect spindly corner bookshelf to put here and store all our books. Click here to see that post.

So the little antique table floated around the house, until finally I was ready to part with it. I've seen this exact same piece painted in bright crazy colors, like turquoise and red, but that isn't really my style. 

So I decided to "black-wash" it. 

I used my go-to black: Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Typewriter

I painted the whole thing, and then sanded it off, heavier in some places to show that great wood underneath. 

I finished it with a coat of Miss Mustard Seed Furniture Wax. Of course, all her products are VOC-free. 

It sold already, to a lady in a red shirt, via Craigslist. 

Aloha, Rebecca

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Home Tour - The OTHER Hawaiian Plantation House

You may remember my post from a little over a year ago showing off my brother-and-sister-in-law's plantation house here in Hawaii... (click here to read that post and see pics of their gorgeous home.) Well last weekend I flew over to their neck of the woods and participated in a trunk show, hosted by my amazing sister-in-law. It was my first trunk show ever, and the environment was awesome. It was mostly ladies I know who are just so creative and sweet and sell the coolest products. Everyone basically invited people they knew, so the clientele was friendly and fun. I made more $$ than I anticipated and just had a good time all around. 

The trunk show was actually held in their OTHER plantation house a few minutes from where they live. It's a 3 bedroom 3 bath vacation rental, and they blocked it off for the weekend of the trunk show. Like the house from my other post, my sis has decorated this house in her flawless, effortless style. The pictures do all the talking. So without further ado, enjoy this Hawaiian Plantation House Home Tour. 

Sailboat photograph by Bobby Schutz Photography

 Who still uses these? There are two in this house!

Kilauea Lighthouse artwork by Nick Kuchar of "Everything Is Jake."

I just checked out his Etsy Shop, and he's got some great prints in there!!!

That adorable little table isn't normally in front of the armoire, but we were already in Trunk Show remodel mode when I started taking pics. Haha-- I just noticed a gecko on the wall in upper center of the next pic. Welcome to Hawaii!

Here's where we got to stay for one of the nights we were there:

 Isn't this house amazing? The front of the house has a great "parlor" area, with this swing. That was my section for the trunk show. My 50" bunting fit perfectly across it. 

Here's some more of my booth:

 I'm so glad I went over for this and am also glad I got to share these shots of their house. If you're interested in renting this house out for your next Hawaiian vacation, or just want to see some professional photos, visit their website: www.naholokai.com. If you want to see more shots from the Trunk Show, head over to Ivy & Co on Facebook, or click this link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.737482286267290.1073741837.718771341471718&type=1&l=72e2c77929

Have a great weekend!

Aloha, Rebecca

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Ombre Bench

Just finished this ombre bench:

It originally looked like this:

Kit surprised me and picked it up on craigslist for $40. 

I was inspired a while back by this bench I pinned on Pinterest:

Source: anthropologie.com via Lindsay on Pinterest

Here's my go-to steps for painting wood furniture:

1. sand

2. prime w/Kilz

3. paint

4. varnish (if there's going to be any wear-n-tear risk)

At first I painted the top portion yellow:

The middle color is actually a combination of the yellow and the espresso color on the bottom. I like to call it "puke green." I actually LOVE "puke green." But, I hated the bright yellow up top. It looked way different on paper. As much as Kit and I want to go back in time and live in 1970s Hawaii, I just couldn't keep these colors. Too "in-your-face" 70s. 

So, I turned to my trusty Benjamin Moore Hollingsworth Green, which I've used on my Kids Vintage Rocking Chair and my Upcycled Shutter, and painted over the yellow.

I used painters tape to mark off where I was going to switch colors. It wasn't the best tactic, because I did it right after I primed. I should have done it after I had a good coat of the puke green, then done the light green afterward.

Look at cute Godiva lounging in the background. :)

With some careful strokes and tiny brushes, I got up close and personal with the section where there was painters tape, and did my best to make it flow nicely.

I love it, but don't know where to put it! Kit wants it outside by our BBQ. I did put a clear varnish on it, but don't really want it exposed to sun, wind, Kihei dirt, etc. I want it on one side of our dining table. We will see. At some point I'm going to have to start selling some of this stuff I'm painting! Our 700 sq ft cottage can only fit so much!

Thanks for checking out my bench! Also, we've got a link party happening here till Wednesday night. Would love to have you link up!

Aloha, Rebecca

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