Fall 2014 VMD Recap: My Booth

I’m baaa-aaaack!

 

What a whirlwind these past couple weeks have been! I can’t even believe everything that we were able to get done! I had a list 4 pages long of everything I needed/wanted to get done before VMD and thankfully, all the needs and wants were finished by last Wednesday. It was perfect timing, since we had to set up our booth on Thursday at noon, which was an hour away from us and we had to rent a truck! Nothing, and I mean NOTHING would have been possible without my dear, sweet husband, Bruno. He took some time off work last week to help me finish everything on my list and more. And he didn’t even get to enjoy the fun part of being at the show, since he ended up having to stay home almost all weekend to be with our kids. He WAS able to come out on Saturday afternoon for a couple hours and Sunday afternoon while I taught a demo class, and I’m so thankful for supportive friends who helped with our kids nearly all day Sunday!

 

Here is what our booth looked like as you walked in the first barn, on the first day:

I wanted to only use colors in paint and upholstery that I have in my home and work well in my personal style. I used mostly neutrals: grays, creams, beiges, whites; and then a couple pops of color: navy and dark green (and a light shade of blue-green).

Obviously those chandeliers hanging from the ladder were my focal point. I knew I didn’t have time or money to make a big fancy booth, but I knew I wanted to show off that dining set by hanging some pretty spectacular chandeliers over it.  If you can believe it, I found these 3 identical chandeliers on craigslist from a lady who owned an old tavern and these came out of the lounge area. They were extremely dirty, were missing nearly all the crystals, the candelabra covers and the light bulbs. I put a lot of work and money into making them pretty again, and I don’t regret it!

 

The table was something I was looking for, for awhile. I am pretty picky with tables and I had a vision for how big I wanted it to be and the general style, and this set hit every nail on the head. Easy upholstery, tall, wood-back chairs, simple but elegant-shaped legs, refinish-able top…. we picked it up one week before VMD. It was fate I tell you. The top was a custom stain of 3 different colors/brands, the bottom and chairs were painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White and sealed with clear wax. The fabric on the chairs was my fav grain sack fabric from Decor Steals. It sold on the first day.

I also used the same fabric on this cute side chair. And that stool? My son bought with his own money (along with 2 other stools that sold), painted, waxed and sold. The color is ASCP Napoleonic Blue. He tells me he’s working up to do chairs next. 😉

Here is our booth from the opposite angle… The fern dresser was a crowd pleaser and sold quickly. I’ll give that one a separate post soon, but I was sad to see her go. That ruffled ottoman also sold, but every child in attendance (I swear), sat on that. It was a fairly easy revamp and I used similar fabric, from Decor Steals. I stocked up on it a couple months before VMD and it arrived with just enough time to do all my upholstery projects.

 

…Including this set of 4 french dining chairs! I actually bought them back in March, but only got around to painting and reupholstering them this past month. They turned out so elegant and classic, I was so happy they found a home so quickly! I painted the frames in ASCP Old White with dark wax. I hadn’t exactly planned out how I was going to display them, but after realizing I would have to stack them for the purpose of space, I liked how they caught your eye from afar, and gave everyone a chance to see them at every level.

 

That green chest was my other serious favorite (besides the fern dresser) and sold on Sunday.

I stripped and stained the top with dark walnut, shellac-ed the interior of all the drawers to both seal off any smells and to revive the wood (it looked brand new), then I painted the exterior with Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint in Boxwood. I LOOOOOVED how it turned out and how there was some subtle variation in color. Milk paint is always like that and I adore that aspect.

Some other pretty details around my booth that sold out:

Dried Lavender

 

Small preserved boxwood wreaths (made by me):

 

 

Cotton sprays and blue bottles & jars:

 

 

 

and another pretty white chandelier:

 

It sat atop another stately highboy that sold the first day:

I didn’t get to stage this one, so it won’t get it’s own reveal. All the dressers that I brought home will get their own post (or I may combine/exclude a couple) so you can see some awesome before/after pics.

A lot of people thought that I used a lacquer of some sort and in dim light it almost looked tealish-black. But this color is Artissimo by Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint and I simply sanded it extremely smooth with a very fine grit sanding sponge, and sealed it with clear wax, buffing to a shine.

Another one that sold, you maybe recognize if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook. I showed a sneak of it a couple weeks ago when all my boxwood, lavender, and cotton arrived. This white two-tone dresser was fun to create.

I knew I wanted it to be white, but I wanted to create something different. The side slats are what gives this piece the most character, so I knew I wanted to show-case them.I’ve seen a lot of people use dark wax to highlight details like that, but I wanted this to look clean.

I also stained the top, and then to tie it all in together, I hand-painted the knobs. That is what really made this one special and I’m thinking I may have to hand-paint knobs on a future piece again. Creating little unique, artistic details is what I pride myself in. Anyone can put some paint on antique/vintage furniture. But to create something special… something no one else could duplicate… that is what is most fun about refinishing furniture.

Besides selling my furniture, which is always a thrill, the most fun I have during VMD is meeting those of you who actually read my blog or follow me on Facebook and introduce yourself in real life to me! I was blown away at how genuine and kind you all were. Everyone I met made me feel uplifted with their smiles and generous compliments. So, to those who came and those who couldn’t come but wanted to…. THANK YOU!

Thank you for making me, someone relatively unimportant, feel like I am making a small difference in a small way, with a talent that God has helped me work hard to develop. Thank you.

I’m coming back tomorrow showing some pictures of other parts of VMD that caught my eye and I will talk about how the demos went!