I hope you had a good weekend!  And happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there.  We finally saw the sun in our part of the world, which was nice after a week of gray skies and rain.  I’m hoping it gets all of the rain out of its system, so it’s nice and dry for Lucketts.  I know it doesn’t work that way, but still… As I said we would, my mom and I worked on in the studio on Saturday.  We make a great team and were able to get a lot accomplished.  I upholstered two chairs, made a bedskirt and rearranged the furniture and smalls that are going to Lucketts.  The pile was getting a little (a lot) out of control. My mom packed breakables like ironstone and glass cloches and jars while I worked on the sewing, upholstery and furniture scooting.  (Thank goodness most

I was done buying furniture, but my friend Traer offered this old wash stand to me at such a great price that I couldn’t refuse.  It’s sort of like fitting in dessert after a big dinner.  It’s just a little piece of furniture, so we can find room for it! The finish was pretty messed up and it was dirty and lost its luster, so painting it was an obvious solution. This was another tag-team project in the studio.  Kriste’s friend Leslie, who’s done some organizing for us in the studio, was hanging out with us for the day, so we put her to work.  Turns out, that meticulous organizing translated very well to tidy painting, so I told her she can come paint any time she wants to! Kriste applied the second coat, we worked together on the distressing, and then applied matte Tough Coat to seal the chippy areas.

When it comes to paint, sometimes I just can’t help myself.  Something comes into my possession and I just know it will look better painted.  I think it’s partly because I’m a paint enthusiast, but partly because the designer in me wants to put my stamp on everything.  That can be an asset, but it can also work against me when it comes to taking on a mountain of work that one person cannot possibly move alone. Anyway, there’s my daily mini-therapy session.  Thanks for listening. So, this pie safe or, as one reader called it, “garde manger”, is a good example of me not leaving well enough alone. I had to look up “garde manger” and it means “keeper of food” in French.  That sounds more exotic (and healthier) than pie safe, so let’s go with that. This particular one is a reproduction I bought from a wholesale company.  It

I find my furniture-loving eye lately enjoying more primitive and humble pieces than I did even just a year ago.  There was a time that anything curvy and flouncy stopped me in my tracks, but now I love more simple lines and looks that are a bit more casual.  Don’t get me wrong, I still love a good turned leg and appreciate the curves of a bergere chair, but there is something about simple pieces, that can even be a bit crude in their construction, that tugs at my heartstrings. Take this little “cubby shelf”…  When it was brought to my studio, I looked at it and said, “A man clearly built that.”  Many men build beautiful things, but it was obvious to me that this was built by a man who needed a shelf, probably in his garage or workshop, and banged this one together. I can picture his