A Nursery Project

I thought I'd do a quick post on one of our nursery projects.

Here is the inside of the antique French armoire we purchased for the nursery. The piece was missing shelves so Hubby made these using pine tongue and groove planks. We are striving to make our nursery as green as possible, and didn't want to use any wood products such as plywood that contained glues and adhesives.

My Mom came up with the brilliant idea to cover the shelves in cloth - so we used 100% cotton duck cloth. After washing and ironing it, my Mom made slipcovers, which she was able to slide over the wood shelves as shown above.

Years ago I saw a photo of a linen closet that had a nice lace detail running along the edge of the shelves. We decided to add a similar detail to the armoire. Here is my Mom pinning the lace to one of the shelves before hand-sewing it.

And here's the result.

The cloth covers add a nice freshness to this piece that's been around for well over a hundred years.

I've received a lot of inquiries into when I'll be posting photographs of the nursery and honestly, I thought I would have been able to do so by now. But as it is, I am still waiting for a few items to arrive in the mail - one of the those items being the rug!

I'm typically not an on-line shopper but it's been helpful as I'm no longer making trips into the city. The downside of course is that sometimes things aren't always what they seem online, returns have to be made, and items reordered...for example our cribs.

However, things are coming together and we're really close to having everything completed. So photos to hopefully follow soon!

Library Table

Yes, it's true...I cheated on my furniture diet yet again. I was browsing through Deseret Industries (Utah's own "Goodwill") last week, and I happened upon THIS:

Seriously, what's a girl to do?? I love the look of old library tables...it had to come home with me.

One of the drawers even has a lock! There is no key, but...it's CUTE!


A year ago, when we got rid of my husband's monstrosity of a desk, I looked everywhere for one of these...not luck. Eventually he bought a used IKEA Gallant desk for our basement family room. I cherished the hope that once this one was refinished, he would let me swap his IKEA desk for this one.

No such luck!!
**That man does not understand the concept of "furniture fate"!**
(sob!)

I refinished this desk in my favorite Sherwin Williams Creamy white with a walnut-stained top. (That may have something to do with the fact that I am had half a gallon of paint on hand.)


I kept the original knobs, but stained them darker as well. It gives it more of a "furniture" kind of look, I think...less desk-ish.


I distressed the edges and then glazed the bottom with stain. I used it pretty heavily on the corners and edges where I did the most distressing.


I'm sorry these aren't very pretty pictures. It would not be an easy piece to move into the house!

Goodbye, dear desk...you will be missed!

What about you? Do you understand the concept of "furniture fate"??

Funny French Looking Side Table

I mentioned earlier, when it comes to decorating I usually take the unplanned approach. I tend to dive into projects and then figure out all the missing details later. (Perhaps this is why I can never declare rooms in my house completely finished? I have no ending point!) Finding things rather than actively searching for specific items is great fun for me. So a few weekends ago I was thrilled to add another piece of the puzzle to my living room redo.

I came across this funky table at one of my favorite local shops – Schuyler Pond Home and Garden. It is a funny little French looking table with a marble top. It almost looks unbalanced as the top is bigger than the bottom. I think it was this quirkiness which made me like it in the first place. After close inspection, Mr. RDH believes it was pieced together from two different tables. Oh well!

When I first placed it in the room I was convinced the gold metal legs needed to be painted. Black? White? Pewter? I could not decide so I did nothing. After living with the table for a little while I am now leaning towards leaving it as is – at least for a bit longer. The finish mimics that of the mirror and chandelier and has grown on me. As you know I am always up for painting project but for now this one will have to wait.

Update: Thanks to everyone who voiced their opinion in my curtain fabric dilemma. I have made my decision – a secret for now – and will be showing you the new curtains soon!