Oh. My. Goodness....I can't believe I found one....UPDATE!

Okay, I told you about my absolute obsession with the mid century Lane Acclaim tables.  So in my quest for all things "mid century" I stumbled upon a line of furniture that literally makes me drool....Brasilia by Broyhill.  Manufactured in the 60s, this line of furniture is absolutely one of the most beautiful and desirable mid century designs floating around right now!   I have always wanted a piece of this line, but honestly I could never find one in my budget!

So when I found a Brasilia hutch online for an unbelievable price, I just knew something had to be wrong with it it!  It was at one of my favorite flea market haunts, White Elephant. Even though I was exhausted and already in my pajamas, I called my son, who lives a few blocks from the flea market, and told him to go stand guard in front of the hutch until I could get there and inspect it. 

Beautiful.  Near mint condition, less a few bumps and bings...but honestly, that is to be expected from someone in their 50s!  And even though I really don't NEED or even want a dining room hutch, I just couldn't pass it up!  Maybe I can trade it for the bedroom hutch I REALLY want!

I took a few days off this week but Monday morning, that puppy will be on it's way to my house! 

It is now in my garage...it ended up costing me about $1200 damage to my truck!  The hutch is still in mint condition...the trailer I used to bring it home can handle a lot of abuse...but the truck...not so much! 

Today's lesson....do not forget you have a trailer on your truck and back out of the drive way.  The corner of the trailer can do some serious damage to a side panel.  Just another helpful hint. 

Dressing up an old dresser....

I'm tryin' here! Smarmy comes easy..."witty"...not so much! 

But it dawned on me....I have never posted my dresser makeover! 

I use to have this HUGE hulking dresser in my office/dressing room.  It was a "matchy-matchy" to my bed and highboy...which I love, but the dresser was seriously huge and just seemed to shrink the entire room.  So when I was out digging around for the desk (featured earlier) I found this sweet little dresser and said to myself "Why not!" 

I LOVE the style.....kind of a mid-century modern with walnut veneer.  The top was laminate, so I knew I was going to have to paint the entire thing...and I did.  But later I found a picture online of an identical dresser and they had painted the top and sides, but refinished the wood veneer drawers...GORGEOUS! And you know how I loooove anything wood, especially walnut!  Live and learn...maybe next time! 

As with most of my furniture, I had a piece of glass cut for the top...lets me clean it with Windex! 

My home office....

I will try to post "before/after" projects as I muddle along and try to figure this all out.  I always have something new in the works, but a lot of the "old" projects are fun and interesting....and hopefully inspiring! 

Last year I decided I was fed up with my old office....big clunky desk, big clunky dresser, big clunky mess.  The problem is, when I first bought this house 13 years ago, my "style" was more traditional...now I am to the point where I want sleek and more "mid century."  Honestly, if the only cleaner I had in my house was windex, I would be happy....which might explain why I put glass tops on all my furniture! 

Anywho, I was digging my way through a little "junk" shop one day and stumbled upon a desk and a dresser with distinct "mid century" flare.  I couldn't get it in my truck fast enough!  This led to a complete transformation of my entire home office!!

Once I got the desk home and stripped down the nastiness from the top, I knew I couldn't paint it. Less one little cigarette burn (a reminder of WHY I shouldn't start smoking again) it was beautiful!  So I coated it with 4 applications of my favorite tung oil and kilzed and painted the bottom of it.  I had the "modern" hardware leftover from my masterbath remodel, so I slapped it on there to save my nails.  The desk chair has been in my attic for 13 years...and honestly, I have NO idea where it came from or how long I have had it.  But again, after stripping it down, there was no way I was painting it....solid mahogany under all the dirt and grime!  So it too got a few coats of tung oil and a new seat cover.   

One of the things you will see I do through out my house, is decorate with things I love.  The large diploma on the wall (to the left) is my great grandmothers University of Arkansas diploma from 1920.  The little bulldog statue on the desk (left corner) is one that sat on my great grandfather's desk umpteen years ago....both worthy of display! 

I will feature the dresser, refurbished paddle fan, and the sitting area (including the antique wingback chair I was literally carrying to the street when I decided to experiment on it)  in later posts....this room is loaded with "charm" and almost every piece has been refinished, reupholstered, repurposed or reinvented....stay tuned!!!