Furniture, update:
First of all, those three links I posted about a year ago - well, almost a year ago - none of them came through. I did get a bed frame and a cabinet and a sleeper couch, but not the ones pictured.
Now, in the summer between my first and second year of grad school, I'm going to make over Pama's old 4 drawer dresser that I've had since forever, w/ it's got 'em cause they were cheap gold and white knobs and globby white paint. Do you know, I finally realized that I COULD replace the hardware just a few weeks ago? I found some cute ceramic sun and moon cartoony style knobs butthey just didn't work; so I looked around for some sea glass ones and they worked nicely. Then, having done that, it came to me that in all the decades that I've had it, I've never once cleaned it or even considered that it could be done over. Thanks to seeing this in the sidebar of my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDYVOOwwBSMDCKvcfbZBGDg I've got a bunch of ideas for it now and of course I can't decide which way to go. For the moment, I'm working w/ the idea of a pale metallic yellow over all, w/ pastel drawers (pink, lilac, pale green, and blue). I'll add an arabesque to the top drawer, medallions under the knobs on the second, then a pretty rose transfer on the bottom three drawers. The arabesque and the medallions will be gold leafed. I can't decide if I want to gold leaf the detail carvings as well, or just use gilding wax for those. I'm also going to do a texture stencil on each side in my favorite Spring green.
I've been collecting supplies like mad from Home Depot and Jolie and Amazon and Etsy and Dixie Belle, but the thought occurred to me recently: If I buy Dixie Belle products, aren't I supporting/promoting at least a negative stereotype if not a downright racist one, no matter how anti-racist the owner/s may be personally? Because "Dixie" isn't just The South, it's a specific mindset regarding The South, a way of thinking about it and remembering it. I guess as a Yankee I can't be expected to understand the nuances of that labyrinthine history. Still, it makes me uneasy so I'm hoping I can find another one stop vendor like them because dang, they've got everything a furniture DIYer could need.
I'm looking forward to getting started!
Now, in the summer between my first and second year of grad school, I'm going to make over Pama's old 4 drawer dresser that I've had since forever, w/ it's got 'em cause they were cheap gold and white knobs and globby white paint. Do you know, I finally realized that I COULD replace the hardware just a few weeks ago? I found some cute ceramic sun and moon cartoony style knobs butthey just didn't work; so I looked around for some sea glass ones and they worked nicely. Then, having done that, it came to me that in all the decades that I've had it, I've never once cleaned it or even considered that it could be done over. Thanks to seeing this in the sidebar of my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDYVOOwwBSMDCKvcfbZBGDg I've got a bunch of ideas for it now and of course I can't decide which way to go. For the moment, I'm working w/ the idea of a pale metallic yellow over all, w/ pastel drawers (pink, lilac, pale green, and blue). I'll add an arabesque to the top drawer, medallions under the knobs on the second, then a pretty rose transfer on the bottom three drawers. The arabesque and the medallions will be gold leafed. I can't decide if I want to gold leaf the detail carvings as well, or just use gilding wax for those. I'm also going to do a texture stencil on each side in my favorite Spring green.
I've been collecting supplies like mad from Home Depot and Jolie and Amazon and Etsy and Dixie Belle, but the thought occurred to me recently: If I buy Dixie Belle products, aren't I supporting/promoting at least a negative stereotype if not a downright racist one, no matter how anti-racist the owner/s may be personally? Because "Dixie" isn't just The South, it's a specific mindset regarding The South, a way of thinking about it and remembering it. I guess as a Yankee I can't be expected to understand the nuances of that labyrinthine history. Still, it makes me uneasy so I'm hoping I can find another one stop vendor like them because dang, they've got everything a furniture DIYer could need.
I'm looking forward to getting started!