Antique china hutch before and after....

I have had this china hutch in my booth at Midtown for several months.

Sadly, I probably paid WAY to much for it...first auction of the season and everything was going for WAY more than what they normally do. I bought it because I think it is beautiful, but truth be told, it really isn't the "style" people look for these days, as is.

I have debated for some time whether I should bring it home and paint it. I just wasn't sure that would be the answer.

Just this weekend I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet but I was still uncertain. Until I saw this....

Marian at MissMustardSeed featured this beautiful piece she painted. You can see the "before and after" on her site!

Sometimes when we see what others do, it is all we need to find our own inspiration and relieve any fears we might have of doing what needs to be done to enhance a piece!

I love the grey against the mahogany, but right now everyone around here seems drawn to the "whites" so that is what I went with!

I used my favorite off-white, Swiss Coffee, for the "plaster paint." I did not sand or prime before painting it with the plaster paint...no need unless the piece you are working on is really rough! I distressed it just a bit (220 grit sand paper) to bring out the detailing and sprayed the exterior with poly to seal it!

I had originally planned to leave the inside stained...but it still seemed a bit dark so I removed the shelves and painted the inside a soft "teal." I taped and papered off the exterior and primed the interior with Kilz, sanded, tacked and then applied two coats of spray paint! I left the shelving the original stain finish.

I absolutely adore the original hardware so I left it!

One thing Marian does is beautifully style her pieces for photos. I rarely have the energy (or back!) to haul a piece inside and "pretty it up" before I take pictures. As I have said before I am more about the process than the pretty. HOPEFULLY someone else can envision the piece in their home and can find their own inspiration for staging it! Someday I may have the energy and space to make a pretty "backdrop" in my shop (okay, so it is really my garage!) Until then, the best you are going to get is a halfway decent "before and after" shot and maybe a little bit of instruction.

The two top shelves are a little "bowed." They are thin enough that I think I can lay them out with some weights on them to flatten them!

The debate raging right now is whether to reinstall the door (I did not paint it!) or leave it open.

Hum....

If this gives you a little inspiration to "makeover" a piece in your own home you have fallen out of love with, I have accomplished my goal!

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Universal Ballerina Mist....

When I check on my flea booths I like to mill around and see if there are any goodies I want for ME! I try not to do this often because I do have a hard-fast rule...if I bring something in, I have to take something out.

Every once in awhile I stumble on something I just have to have!

I featured my Grandmother's Universal Ballerina dishes here and here. They are not "valuable" dishes, but ones I treasure because it was my paternal grandmother's. She was not a big "china" person and only had a few pieces of this style. I have added a few pieces here and there over the years.

I love the mist color and the platinum banding and the simple styling. Unlike my maternal great-grandmother and grandmother's very ornate and expensive china (also featured) it is very simple...kind of "mid century-ish" which makes sense since it dates around 1950...and I absolutely love it!

I have never found any pieces in flea markets. I did find another salt and pepper shaker at an antique store one time. I bought it so I would have a set I would actually use! I didn't want to use the original for fear of breaking them! Good thing I didn't because sure enough, I broke one! All the other pieces I have added have been from Ebay or Replacements.com (both great sources for replacing stoneware and china.)

But today I scored a few pieces at the Tontitown flea market!

Two refrigerator jars with lids...both in mint condition!

And a milk pitcher. It is actually the "ivory" color rather than the "mist" but I think it is a lovely little piece and thought it would look pretty next to the other I have in mist!

(Oops...still has the price tag string on it!!)

So today, I broke my hard-fast rule...there is absolutely nothing in this display case I can "take out" because they are all heirloom pieces that have great personal value. So I rearranged a few things and made room for them!

Good thing I don't have a huge china cabinet...

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Heirloom china...

Envy is a bad thing. We all know that.

But occasionally I stumble across a beautiful display of ironstone on a blog or Pinterest. The crisp, whiteness of the ironstone is just beautiful. It just looks so "clean" and pretty. And for a second, I envy.

Don't ask me why. Truth is, I have no use for "knick-knacks" or non-useful items that require dusting...even if they do look pretty!

But heirloom pieces are another matter and I decorate with them whenever possible! I love the dishes and china I do display because every single one of them is an heirloom piece inherited from my grandmothers, great grandmother and mom, as well as a few pieces of my own.

As I have mentioned before, my decor taste has transitioned over the years from "traditional" to more "mid-century." But truth is, my home decor is probably more "traditional" than "modern." I describe it as "eclectic." Regardless of the style, I have worked hard to remove the things I don't particularly care for and fill my home with pieces I love.

I seriously cherish the heirloom pieces I have inherited from family, and in spite of the fact most lean more towards "traditional," I display them with honor and pride.

That is what makes a house a home.....surrounding yourself with pieces you love and cherish and have meaning!

Several years ago I bought this curio cabinet so I would have a safe place to display my heirloom china. (I'm seriously thinking about painting it!) It is obviously not big enough to store ALL the china I have inherited, but I decided to display one place setting of each set. The rest is carefully wrapped and packed and stored in clearly marked boxes in the attic.

I have two sets from my maternal great-grandmother....

One of my maternal grandmother's....

My paternal grandmother's stoneware....(interesting story about the tea pitcher you can read about here) This is my favorite (right now) because it is pretty much "my style" right now. Simple, soft "blue mist" color and platinum edge.

My china...I have THREE sets (One isn't even displayed). Don't ask me why, other than the fact that I love china. And I hadn't inherited my grandmothers' yet so I felt I should have a set...or two...or three. Funny (only now, years later!) story about the first set. I bought a full set at an auction 25 years ago. Years later, while in the process of moving, I had displayed the entire set in my china hutch...not realizing that the top shelf was not secure...and it ALL came crashing down. Naturally, it broke the least replaceable pieces...the tea pot, salt and pepper shakers, sugar and creamer set.

Six years later, I went to an auction at a house my (ex) husband and I were buying...the lady was in her 90s and she had a beautiful set of china...identical to the one I had!! She had all the "select" pieces I had broken. PAY DIRT!

I bought this set at an auction as well.

I have filled the cabinet with a few other heirloom pieces.

A Fenton tulip vase that was my mother's. She has another that matches this one!

A pink carnival cream and sugar set...

...and more!

I run across beautiful pieces like this all the time in estate auctions. Fine china, Fenton and carnival glass, painted porcelain and Wedgwood...all for ridiculously cheap prices. Primarily because in today's world of decorating everyone wants the "clean, crisp" of stoneware and ironstone. And let's be honest, who really USES these pieces any more? Most of it is not even dishwasher safe...GASP!

But it is beautiful...and if they are pieces you have inherited from you family, you should display them with pride.

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Wicker chair fit for a little ballerina...

It is so hard to take a picture of a piece of furniture that was white but is now a PALE mist green...but I tried!

It may not appear in the picture to be a huge difference, but it really is! And it is perfect for a little girl's room! Now if I only had a "little" girl....

What is truly amazing about the color I painted the little chair (Valspar, Mellow Spring) is it matches the color of my 60+ year old Universal Ballerina Mist stoneware to a T!

My paternal grandmother wasn't a "china" kind of lady...so this was really all she had. My mom bought the gravy bowl and plate, the serving platter and the tea pitcher at the estate auction after Grandma passed....while she was carrying it back to her car she dropped the pitcher!! So when mom gave me what she had, the pitcher was beyond repair. So I did what I always do...I Googled the pattern!

Turns out it isn't a real expensive stoneware pattern...but the color and style is really beautiful and very "mid-century" since it was probably made and acquired in the 50s. It is a "mist green" with a platinum band...just awesome. So when I found more pieces out there, I bought another tea pitcher, the milk pitcher, salt and pepper shakers, a serving bowl and the sugar and creamer set.

Being the "family historian" and "archive fanatic" that I am, I carefully wrapped the broken pitcher, put it in a box, and wrote the story of why there was a broken tea pitcher in it and how I acquired a replacement.... with a Sharpie...on the box! Hopefully my family won't think their mom was crazy for keeping a broken tea pitcher in the attic (trust me, they have enough reasons!)

This week while I was sniffing around a new antique shop in town, I found another set of salt and pepper shakers!