Before & After: Modern Grey Dining Set

While I may only be dabbling in my furniture painting lately, my hubby seems to have fully jumped onboard. He recently completed this gorgeous dining set, restored from a nasty garage sale find. I'm bummed I didn't take any before photos - he started the project on the sly - but rest assured they were an ugly honey wood frame with stained mustard velvet seats. Ew! 

After some elbow grease, lots of sanding, priming, painting, finishing and re-uphostering - ta da....a fresh and chic dining set that would go with many different decor schemes.

The frames are painted a soft dove grey and the seats are covered in a creamy neutral fabric with a touch of whimsy - polka dots! Here are some pics and if you live in Winnipeg and are interested in purchasing them, they're listed for sale on Kijiji here!

Hope you're all having an amazing week!

Before and After: Espresso with Cream Dining Chairs

Hey everyone! As promised, I have a Lather Creations furniture reveal. The twist is that I had a guest upcycler for this project....my husband Jack!

Jack has his own hardwood flooring company so he's a total wood guy - loves working with it and loves the rich visual appeal and warmth it adds to a room. He's been wanting to get involved for some time and was just waiting for the right passion project to come along.  So when our friends were getting rid of their old dining room chairs - Jack snapped them up. The chairs needed some work, so Jack ended up taking them apart and reinforcing them, sanding them down to the bare solid red oak wood.

The chairs have regal spindle sides and a classic ladderback design. Being so fond of wood, it was hard for Jack to think about losing it completely. So he came up with a unique design that blends the bright modern feel of the Crisp Linen paint with richly Espresso stained wood sections. 

His work is absolutely meticulous and I love how they turned out! They would be equally suited around a clean white table, a more elegant black table or even a classic dark wood dining table - depending on your style. A huge thanks to Jack for bringing your impeccable style to Lather Creations - we have to think about more than just a marriage partnership.... :)

Here's some shots of the individual chairs...

And the complete set...

If you live in the Winnipeg area and are smitten with the set of Espresso with Cream Solid Oak Dining Chairs then click here. Or if have an old piece of wood furniture laying around that you'd like refreshed, email me at lhume1@mts.net and we can chat!

Have a lovely day friends!

Lather in Flea Market Style Magazine

Good morning! I hope you all had a fabulous last weekend in August? For my bloggy friends on the US east coast...so glad Irene wasn't as bad as expected and sending warm and dry thoughts your way!

Wedding week just happened to start with something fantastic - I got the new issue of Flea Market Style Magazine in the mail and I couldn't be more excited about being featured as a fave vintage blogger!! Yay! I love this magazine, poring over all the cool upcycled projects and unique ways of repurposing vintage treasures. Thank you so much for sharing my blog with your readers!

 

The other cool thing is that I just sold the 'All you need is love' Blue Half-moon Table (in the pic) on the weekend and I was able to share the feature with my customer Carrie! 

If you get a chance to pick up the Fall/Winter issue of FMS, it's a great magazine full of very cool ideas!

Have an amazing start to your week friends!

Before and After: Sunday School Cream Writing Desk

Yes, I do still paint furniture! It's been eons since I've posted a Before and After for Lather Creations, but I did accept one last commission before the wedding and she is now complete. Vanessa contacted me about working on this gorgeous solid wood writing desk she had been holding on to...and wanted refreshed with a new look. How sweet are those spindle legs?

The top of the desk was pretty beat up so after some heavy duty sanding and wood filler, I primed and painted the piece in CIL's Crisp Linen - a slightly yellowish white that looks perfectly antiqued. Some distressing around the edges and few coats of water-based finish completed the process. Vanessa chose a chic antique-looking Anthropologie knob from my collection for a little pop of sophisticated colour. The desk made me think of penning hand-written letters on the weekend to loved ones...isn't she pretty?

 

Hope she enjoys her new look in Vanessa's home office - thanks for letting me work on your special piece!

If you have an old piece of vintage or antique wood furniture in need of a fresh new Lather Creations look, get in touch. I won't be taking on new projects until September but we can definitely chat...email me at lhume1@mts.net.

Have a lovely day friends!

Before and After: Vintage Photobooth Sign

Well hello! I almost forgot to share with you this sign makeover (okay, we should call it a MAKEUNDER) that I did for local photographer Erin. She had already hired Lather Creations to remake a bench a while back and was looking for a sign to use at weddings for her photobooth so guests would know what it was. This was my kind of challenge!

I had originally planned to use a vintage frame and build a piece inside for the sign but after some trial and error, I decided to repaint an existing sign with all the hanging hardware and structure in place. I went a thrifting and you won't believe what I dug out of the pile...I looked pretty silly buying it in the middle of July. Never mind buying it at all!

Pretty special eh? Hopefully someone got some good holiday cheer from this snazzy decoration. I was ready to take it in a WHOLE new direction!  After some serious priming (don't skip this step kids) to cover up the past discretions...I painted the entire sign a pale linen cream, then used a brownish-grey to fill in the hand-drawn lettering. I don't care to use black, it's just too stark. Some vintage photo tabs on the edges frames the sign.

How's that for Extreme Makeover: Sign Edition??

Another great thrifted item saved from the landfill and made to be beautiful again! Have a lovely evening friends!

Before and After: Luxe Blooms Cherry Bench

Hello! Long time no talk Before & After! I've been so wrapped up in busy summer life that Lather Creations has been on the back burner. But I have been plugging away at a few commissions here and there. Like this simple bench...

Local PR gal Michelle contacted me to see if I had any benches in stock for her entranceway. Luckily, I just happened to have this vintage cherry wood piece with long and lean legs that I handpicked for Lather during a thrifting hunt earlier in the year. *Michelle is a repeat customer and I have to say - it warms my heart when someone loves their Lather Creation enough to come back for more!

Michelle picked out the most luxurious velvet flocked fabric in rich jewel tones of rasberry and violet, against a modern grey linen background. She chose to keep the original cherry base, it was a great match to the fabric and the few knicks and dents adds a bit of vintage personality to the look. Isn't it striking?

I just love how it turned out, so regal and chic! Michelle promised to send pics of the bench in her new space and I can't wait to see!

Have a lovely Wednesday friends!

By the way - are we Twitter friends yet? If not, we should be - it's such a fun way to chat throughout the day.  Follow me here!

New Lather Creations in Progress

Wow! I've really taken a much-needed break from Lather Creations. My studio is still filled with the most amazing hand-picked vintage furniture treasures and my rainbow of paint colours sit patiently waiting for me to pick up a brush. But life, work and wedding planning have all kept me from my love. I'm okay with that, sometimes the passion wanes and you have to wait for it to surge back inside yourself. Luckily, my surge came from two repeat Lather clients looking for commissions.

The first is from Michelle, a very cool local gal who does PR and Marketing for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. She was looking for a bench for her foyer and I happened to have this one on standby.

She selected the most glorious rich velvet flocked upholstery fabric in dreamy and elegant shades of violet. She's going to keep the original dark cherry wood frame and I can't wait to finish it - it's going to be the ultimate in luxe!

I was also approached by amazing photographer Erin about doing a photobooth sign for her upcoming summer weddings. This was the inspiration point she sent me....

 {image via}

I picked up some vintage wood frames and I'm playing around with a few ideas of my own! I love branching out my painting into something new like this.

This is what's keeping me busy these days, I'll be sure to share the finished projects with you!

What kind of DIY are you up to these days friends? Got any cool projects on the go? (it's so hard to resist the inspiration in the nice summer weather!)

Have a lovely day! I'll be back later with an outfit post...

The 20-Year Old Tray

I made this tray in my Grade 9 woodworking class. Not too shabby, eh?

Would you believe my my mom still uses it everyday to hold her copious amounts of tea while she reads curled up on the couch? Yup, that means she's had it for 20 YEARS!! How's that for motherly devotion...and craftsmanship for that matter?

I really think my high school shop teacher would be super impressed at how well this little tray has stood up to daily wear and tear. 20 years worth...

This is WAY behind, but my mama approached me about refreshing her tray "Lather Creations" style for Mother's Day and I thought that was a pretty fun idea. She's in the middle of a kitchen redo so it's the perfect time to revamp her beloved tea tray.

So the plan is to sand her up, do some repainting and add a little something special - I have a cool little graphic idea and I  promise to share the 'after' shots once it's done.  Remember friends - if it's solid wood, odds are you can do something cool with paint to give it a whole new look.

Do you have an old wood tray? Why not paint it creamy white or soft turquoise and distress it heavily for a vintage look? Or paint it a sleek solid in a vibrant bright like raspberry or lime green? Such a great, inexpensive way to add a pop of colour to your space.

Does your mom hoard your childhood items? What would she show off of yours if I stopped by for a visit?

By the way - love you mom and thanks for all your ongoing support - your my biggest cheerleader! Now we just need to figure out how to display those synchronized swimming medals!! Tee hee...

Have a great night friends...

Before and After: Tiny Turquoise Weathered School Chair

Hey! It's Tuesday, my invites went in the mail today and I'm feeling light as a feather! What a weight off. I took lots of pics that I'll share with you tomorrow. For now, here's the final Lather reveal in the set of commissions I did recently. Local photographer Melanie picked out this teensy little toddler chair I had on hand to use in her wee one's photogaphy.

It's the perfect little size and super solid. So I painted it in a bright and vivid turquoise colour then roughed it up real good. It was coated with water-based poly for finishing.

Recognize the sock monkey? Yup, it's the same one I made for my nephew Wyatt, that my dog Gus promptly chewed into and ate his eye. Sigh.

Hope you're having a good week? Anything new and exciting to share?