My Homey, Home Depot

by Annie Posted on August 29, 2012

Over the weekend we took a trip to Home Depot. Sure we have Menards in town and it’s like our second home for the furniture refinishing business and a few home improvement tasks but I like to see all most of our options then decide. We were used to Lowes back home in Indiana or Home Depot, Menards being last on the list. It’s been a bit different over the last 4 years in Minnesota. Menards all around while a Lowes is hard to come by, Walmart used to be the place to go, now that is Target which is nice. Going to Target was like a special event growing up. Now we’re there a few times a week. Topsy-turvy. Swirly-whirly but that’s the name of a My Little Pony character. That I did enjoy. Let’s move forward.

We’re looking more to design the house with resale in mind than put our complete stamp on the place. Purple shag carpet is out. Darn it. Really wanted that and green stripes on the walls. Kidding, not my taste. Is it really anyones? I’d say somewhere in history, yes.

In the next year and a half is when we’d like to move somewhere else or be in a position to do so, be it closer to the Twin Cities (and Greg’s job) or another state. I said that so causally but it took some deep pondering to make that decision.

Our budget isn’t going to allow most of the options in the Minneapolis and metro design stores. Maybe one or two things. For the most part we are going to rely on Lowes, Menards and Home Depot along with our local hardware stores, Ace and Lamperts. There are bloggers putting together sweet sweet places with materials from those stores. I stalk them so I know.

Home Depot, the one we went to at least, started carrying more stylish products. It seems like they are trying to appeal to a wider audience because I’ve seen the penny tile, hex tile and marble in reno projects everywhere for years without a source nearby (nearby is still 30 minutes away) to see it in person. I’d see items on their website and never find them in the store. That makes Annie a sad homeowner. That makes Greg’s ears bleed hurt listening to Annie’s cries and bitching. The he laughs like Ricky Ricardo (Desi) at Lucy. At least he’s not cheating on me like Desi did on Lucy.

The flooring and tile section is mainly what I’m yapping about, not I Love Lucy…and I do. Living in southern Minnesota makes it difficult to find sources for things we want to see in our home. Our taste seems to be different and with that comes heartbreak over availability of adored products we see on HGTV/DIY shows (Income Property being one of our favorite shows) but moreso on the web. Someone would remodel their bathroom or kitchen and I would make a mental note about how I wanted to find a similar item, look, look some more, look with a crazy, wide-eyed gaze then make a wish to the home reno gods to bring some of those materials this way for us smalltown Americans to use while I’m throwing a giant tantrum on the aisle floor at the store 3-year-old style. This really nearly happens doesn’t it? It’s just me?

Those of us with stylish different taste than your average homeowner want more variety. There are products we see and cringe that people flip their freak over while Greg and I pretend to hurl all over one another. Very mature-like.

The local and first choice until we saw the darker Home Depot flooring.

Dark, engineered, wide plank, smooth, not shiny, hardwood flooring has been the hardest to find (my dream floor for upstairs)…at least in store, ready for my eyes to see. My preference is walnut and least preferred is oak. There is one I picked out at a local flooring store but it feels like I’m settling. We found a version at Home Depot cheaper ($4.74 sq/ ft. online and $4.94 in the store) that is almost exactly what I was hoping for so I easily put that local flooring in second place.

Many have said putting in dark floors is not only hard to keep clean but it will turn buyers off and I pffft in response (yeah, like a fart) and keep it as THE one. (Liar: I’ve actually had a hard time, switching it back and forth in my mind.)

This is the one we fell in love with at Home Depot. For now.

I’ve also ordered floor samples from online sources but it’s not the same. When I turned the corner at Home Depot, I spotted this-Trafficmaster Allure to be specific-vinyl, interlocking plank and was smitten at $1.79/sq. ft. online and $1.99 in the store. For the basement. It’s dark, it’s durable, affordable and looks similar to the dark hardwood. I couldn’t believe we found 2 floors in one place. (I am not affiliated with Home Depot. Seriously love the company. I marked that we’re in a relationship on facebook-that’s how serious.)

The basement flooring option in vinyl (the one with the arrow)

Greg has next week off for my birthday and for us to go gangbusters on the backyard, adding tile for better drainage (to the part we haven’t touched yet),tilling and regrading then planting new grass. We have weeds to control somewhere in there. My method hasn’t worked. Screaming at them like a drill sergeant. Hopefully the yard turns out before it’s too far into fall or most of the backyard will be for mud wrasslin’.

I was hoping to add some plants, put in the paver walkway, make the rock stepping stone path, put in the rain barrel and chain, learn to tap dance, chop a board in half with my fist, go on tour with my beautimous renditions of songs (the stage will be a bathroom and I’ll be in the shower…the only place I really let loose…don’t go there, Annie) and a few other things but I partially doubt that happens that week. Maybe the following week.

Anything left will be pushed to spring. Pushed real good. Minnesota has long winters (most of the time). Long, sad, freezing, depression-inducing winters. Knowing there’s more left to do that wasn’t accomplished that week of weeks (especially involving growing more grass) would drive me batshit crazy. I’m a little stressed about next week. Not just cause I turn 30 on Wednesday, September 5th, either. Why are our days off and vacations spent doing things we kind of dread? No honeymoon and no vacation alone in 10 years and now I go turning 30 while my babymaking parts wither away since babies won’t come for years yet.

I won’t be back for a while around here. See you in my 30’s! I’ll be a new woman. Probably not.

Etsy Direct Checkout and Shipping Complaints

by Annie Posted on August 27, 2012

I’m gonna vent. Is that ok with you? Here it comes.

My Monday, this day, started with a request for a quote on one of our etsy shop items (joy!) but after getting the quote on these boots, the person then said that wouldn’t do (like I pulled it from my arse)…instead of walking away, she proceeded to try to magically get the quote lower. Like we’re going to once again eat the cost for shipping (we don’t like to but the quotes sometimes aren’t accurate and we have to pitch in $1 to $5 more…sometimes higher for furniture). Like we’re some giant superstore who can offer free shipping. Like somehow I’ll look up the quote for the 4th time, calling the local store on top of calculating the cost online from 2 sources-UPS and USPS-and it will come back something different. Wha?! (I triple checked, like I do, and it’s the same.)

UPS and USPS because those are usually the 2 cheapest methods and our local store provides both services if I should happen not to ship it from our doorstep…which was the method we used until I realized the store is open until 5:30 and I, by that point, have our shared vehicle to run errands…one third of the time. No driving for Annie during the day. That means I don’t have to wait another day to get the package out. We ship pretty dang fast.

Furniture is expensive to ship and international shipping can be too. But we’ve never had someone not approve of the cost for one of our small shop items. I know it can be a shock followed by denial of the cost…but that’s not my problem. I have no control over it. You either agree to it or don’t but don’t haggle the cost of shipping, something out of the hands of small business owners.

To make it worse, she has a store that sells boots. Is she grabbing mine up to put in her own shop? No biggie with me if you’re willing to pay what I want until you factor in that she’s trying to get the cost down. It’s not craigslist, sweetheart, it’s etsy.

Which brings up something else that weighs heavy on my mind. I’ve repeatedly praised and shown my love for etsy. You can read about etsy here-it’s obviously a cherished marketplace for people like Greg and I who sell our creations that make up our small business (my full-time, his side business).

Not long ago they started a service called direct checkout. No relying on Paypal for payment (although you can still pay with Paypal if needed). That means we can directly accept credit cards from buyers in our shop. Sweet! Many people have paid this way in the last few months. I can’t say it’s brought more sales because the exact time we put direct payment in place, we started putting our smaller housewares, clothing and decor in our store which brings in a crowd not looking for (but appreciating) our furniture.

But getting paid is slow, well, not being paid but having access to the money. Sllllllooooooow. The first payment we were told to expect a slow payment, about 10 days, which was fine for a one time thing. Since then, it’s taken 7 to 10 days to see the money in our checking account for all the other purchases. Horribly slow, much slower than the few days it took Paypal to transfer and on top of that, we could pay for things through Paypal so no problem.

While I was writing this post, I sold an item. The customer used Paypal, I could pay for shipping with the payment immediately and then began the transfer of the remaining amount to our bank account-it’s going to beat etsy’s transfer from a purchase made 5 days ago. Kind of crazy. Most of our customers have their items before we see a dime. That’s difficult for flow. Part of that money is needed to continue getting supplies and since our shop is small compared to other etsy-ers, we’re not having a regular flow to cover expenses. It’s for legal purposes I’ve read, to cover refunds and whatnot, but that doesn’t cut it.

Greg and I are waiting now for a big payment. One that will pay the bills. It’s been a problem. We don’t like that etsy seems to assume we have other funds to pay for shipping-yeah, because you don’t even get the money for shipping until the lump sum comes your way 7 to 10 days later (to your bank account). Sure they say it’s in your etsy account but you can’t pay for things with that. I’m not worried about being paid. I’m worried about how long it will take to get to my checking where I can pay for things. And the option to schedule an earlier deposit has not been available to our shop yet even though the button sits underneath our shop account.

We recently sold a dresser to a lovely lady and had to put the $340 shipping charge on a credit card. We’re going to put the money back on there once we get paid…which looks like Friday at the earliest. That’s not cool. We could take direct payment off but we do believe we’d see a decline in sales.

Greg and I are hoping etsy gets something better together. It feels like we’ve been rooting for them, enjoying their growing success and achievements, but they took a fall and we’re all “you can do it, etsy, ” as in get something better worked out for direct payment/we still heart you. I think they are working on it. Maybe rumors.

I just don’t think it works well for people who sell large items with large shipping costs or items that cost more than $100 (or whatever amount you deem worthwhile enough to complain about not having in a timely manner). It seems that most of our orders come in together. We’ll have 3 or 4 at the same time then nothing then 3 or 4 more at the same time again. Those can add up and like I said before, the shipping can too. Without at least some of the money off the bat, it’s difficult to afford. You don’t want to disappoint or aggravate customers (which can equate to bad feedback and that’s no good for an online business).

People are definitely upset and confused with this direct payment option. I bought something, a supply we need to finish a project, and the seller didn’t ship it for 4 days. I assume they waited on the money to show in their etsy account which takes 3 days after you mark it shipped. So people are marking it as shipped when it’s not and slowing down the process. Which is not how it works and goes against etsy policy. It took forever for it to arrive. So long I wrote to the person trying to find it and I had to move on to another project. I still have to get back on that one now that the item arrived.

Another thing etsy added is the ability to print the shipping label. I went to use this feature and it said I had only $2.02 allotted for shipping expenses so if it was going to cost more (and it does), I had to use a different method which just means going to another website, UPS, USPS, whatever. Why offer that if it won’t work? I had over $300 in my etsy account so what the hey? When I pressed the info button on why, it said I had to pay my etsy fees…which I had just done 2 days before. But I was going to have to pay the new fees not due for almost a month in order to be able to use the print shipping label feature. That’s a head scratcher, etsy.

Have you had any issues as a buyer or seller on etsy? Have you had any shipping problems or ridiculous requests?

New Pages

by Annie Posted on August 23, 2012

Been doing some late summer blog cleaning. The pages underneath our header have been hit the hardest. I added a portfolio for our non-furniture items we’ve created, think more home decor/housewares on the ‘decor projects’ page. Some are (or were) in our etsy shop, some are in the studio or around the house not for sale. I’m working to add the post links for the how-to’s of those.

Then, I’m continuing to update our ‘furniture we’re working on’ and ‘furniture portfolio’ pages. I decided to keep the vintage finds from garage sales/estate sales/thrift stores and whatnot without their own page but they can be found in our etsy shop and read about in our category section under ‘thrifty finds.’ Most of those we put on the market don’t stick around for long anyway.

So yes, there’s now a page called ‘our house projects.’ That’s where you can keep up to date with whatever tasks we’re tackling around this first, fixer-upper home of ours. Pictures and links to our posts with the idea to keep the page updated often (we’ll see…). That page also has what we’ve accomplished so far and what we hope to accomplish in the future. Things should start to heat up on inside projects when the temps cool down. Think replacing the carpet with hardwood flooring and bath remodeling…both bathrooms. And I mean a complete reno is coming up with moving the plumbing in the basement bath and figuring out what to do with the low ductwork, if anything can be done. Ugggghhh. Since we’ve almost paid off our second debt we can increase the budget. I’m not talking a ton but definitely something easier to work with.

Anyway, basically I made things all about the furniture we overhaul, our making of housewares/decor and about our house renovations for easier navigation with these pages is the point. You’ll never have to wonder what’s going on around here on the day you stop in at the Wits.

By the way, I’m still regularly oversharing sharing (said I wanted to paint a piano this week) on our facebook page if you’d like to be a part of that fun. I’ve met some lovely people on there. Hi, Krystin! She upcycles vintage and antique furniture too with some absolutely awesome pieces. Check out her blog-Everything You Do Is A Balloon or her etsy shop.

Double Dipped Leg Windsor Chairs

by Annie Posted on August 21, 2012

Just a quick drop in to say the Windsor chairs are finished and in our etsy shop.

I call them double dipped, some might consider them colorblocked, in ivory, gray and gold. Our first chairs. I think they are lovely.

It started here with some good ol’ Frog Tape. Love that stuff. I use it quite often and never have paint bleeding problems. See our etsy shop for the other Frog Tape projects, like cork boards/pinboards. I know I’ve been bad and haven’t been showing our smaller projects-just putting ’em right in our shop. Sometimes it feels good to be bad. And sometimes I say really stupid things.

That’s a look at what we’re up to now with the sample tray. And no, that’s not bird poop on the bottom. We’re dabbling in spray paint while we can get outside in this beautiful, almost fall weather. Greg is really excited. Obviously.

I can’t stop picking up armloads of spray paint with all their awesome colors. I got this owl at Target for $2.50ish-he was black but now a deep purple. Now I hoard hardware, furniture and spray paint. Great.

Gold Rush Days Flea Market and Antique Show Recap

by Annie Posted on August 20, 2012

The weekend was a beauty. Weather was gorgeous, Greg’s birthday was lovely, we were productive on the furniture design front and Gold Rush Days was an experience we’ll remember for years to come. (The pictures throughout the post are of items I thought worth noting.)

Let me give you the scoop on our first experience at the Oronoco (Minnesota) Gold Rush Days. This year was the 40th anniversary of the antique show and flea market with something like 400 booths/1200 vendors or so I read. It was bustling but not overly crowded when we went. However, we overheard a number of vendors say there were still plenty of booths available and that it wasn’t as big as years past. There was talk of pricing for booths as well. The website says $100 for a 15′ x 15′ or 15′ x 20′ lot for the 3 days but someone else said it was $125 to $150 for a 10′ x 10′ in an area that was hard to get to. I tell you this because we went mostly to see if we could be a possible vendor next year. And inspiration. (I thought we’d come home with a few things but can you believe that we didn’t bring a single thing home?)

We arrived on the first day about an hour after the market had opened. Cars lined the small town’s road…because they didn’t want to pay for parking. We parked in someone’s yard for $5. Friendly workers guiding our way (mostly kids). The entire market was on “someone’s yard.” It takes over the entire town. Greg kept commenting about how messed up the yards were going to be with all the vendors setting up shop and many with large vehicles on soggy ground. But that’s how it goes. Anyway, we walked a tiny bit and were enveloped in antique furniture, some residents wisely had a garage sale going on, there were food vendors (most not open until almost lunch time and quite expensive…$5 for a lemonade) and a decent sized crowd.

First view

My favorite booth was the first one we went to near the parking area (wise maneuvering, vendor) which lead to slight disappointment for the others. The first one set the precedent.

Love the doors
The first vendor had some awesome, quirky items.

They had a great selection of unique furniture and decor in this first booth and it wasn’t obnoxiously displayed. Meaning you could get to an item without having to remove a ton of other items just to see it. So their staging was great. I’m not a fan of layer upon layer of merchandise stacked on pieces. Their prices seemed spot on and even though we arrived only an hour after opening, many of the pieces that caught my eye had a sold tag attached. Not that we were into purchasing any finished furniture or decor.

That said, we didn’t see a whole lot of items we could both afford and that were ideal for our salvaging. Everything started to look the same-same style, same faux oak finish, we started counting the number of small items we continued to see throughout the booths. Some pieces were priced way off the grid. Sometimes 3x what would be reasonable. Not really the place for mid-century or more retro items like we were hoping. A number of things I’d already seen on craigslist.

Gumby was there but sadly no Pokey.

But there were some really cool items priced right. As pickers, diggers, collectors of vintage and antique items alike, there was really no finding something to put in our shop. I don’t think many people could walk away saying “I got a great deal.” Which is ok because this is what most of the vendors do full-time and they need to make their money like the rest of us. It just wasn’t the dream flea market I remember from other events. For someone looking to decorate their home in the shabby/cottage style, with the cash to do it, it was probably a dream come true.

I wanted this but I think it was sold.

There were some things I really enjoyed about the market.

1) Many of the vendors were on trend (not that you have to be) with colors, style, decor. Parts were great for inspiration and I ran to a few items just to get a glance at their beauty.

Lawn jarts/darts-a cherished pastime with my grandpa but banned because they will hurt you. The good old days.

2) Some vendors were creating pieces on the spot-like lighting and signs. It was nice to see the artist showcasing their process and creativity.

3) Haggling. I know that it goes on at flea markets but due to the scope and hype of the show I thought there wouldn’t be much of it going on.

Barbie's Dream House-I had this when I was young.

4) Friendly workers. You could tell that it was a big deal for the town and that they took pride in being a part of it. The kids especially.

5) The number of vendors. Even though we didn’t purchase anything besides food and drink (and parking), we were there for 4 hours.

This was one of the most unique booths with large animals and sculptures.

But for it being the 40th anniversary we hoped it to be put together a tad better.

1) Not enough “bathrooms”…porta potties but not many and they had a truck come to “clean them out” so that the crowd had to move off the road-smackdab in the center of the market and it seemed like it was following us. We bought an overpriced pizza and went to sit down at the only tiny picnic table one food vendor provided and the poo wagon came through to collect right by it…(oh yeah, lack of seating for people to eat). There was one bathroom you could use in the town hall with 3 stalls. For a large crowd of ladies that made a long line. And they were almost out of bathroom supplies when I went in in the morning. Yipes.

That's me waiting in line for the bathroom.

2) Traffic-as in the roads (where the event was going on) were still apparently open so cars and visitors would have to move and be cautious of moving vehicles, some were vendors rolling in and out for some reason or people that lived in the town which seemed ridiculous. A boat went through attached to a huge truck. Greg wondered if that driver wished they’d known a large flea market was going on along their path. Suck.

So what if pulled pork isn't spelled right, this vendor was nice and affordable.

3) Food was not very affordable beyond one vendor. He knocked down the price of my nachos because the cheese warmer was somehow unplugged and it was cold. So I had cold nachos but was ok with them at $1.

4) People brought those carts that took up the entire walkway. I didn’t see how someone would use those things anyway since 98% of the items were breakable or too large to fit in it. I can’t tell you the number of times the flow was held up by someone with that cart. Oh, and with that, small walkways and booths situated in valleys so that you had to walk up and down the grassy hills/gravel. I was surprised that some vendors placed items right on it which spelled trouble with their furniture falling over and being damaged. Many patrons were elderly and not able to see a number of the booths. I did hear a vendor say the aisles were smaller this year causing problems for traffic and people wanting to visit some booths. But I understand that’s difficult having it in a town where the yards have those small hills and valleys.

"We'll take the Duesenberg," is what I said (and say often...from one of my favorites, Annie, as in Little Orphan Annie) but this is an MG.

Overall the experience was a good one and we loved getting to hone our skills and knowledge of our craft. It felt good walking up to a booth and having a good idea of the item’s worth and understanding of the wood, style, era as if we know what we’re doing (apparently we do). It felt even better being around people that love what they do and have it show. We also drooled over a new-ish sprinter van with a gleam in our eye that meant we know our time to get one is coming up…which makes us feel like we’ve arrived and we’re all business-like and professional…haha. And aren’t events like this showing, for a small furniture refinishing business couple, something to aspire to. For that feeling, we’re grateful.

High five! (It's a phrenology hand.)

After the flea market, we headed back to Northfield where we went to several garage sales. I’m pleased to say I didn’t leave empty-handed, finding more clothing than anything that might interest you lovely folks. (Ladies, I picked up a new, never worn, Vera Wang jacket for $3 that hugs in all the right places and you know how fantastic/rare that is to find.)

But wait, I did too. These Benjamin Moore paint sample fan decks for $.50. Nice.

Our little pilgrim...he's still in the "cone of shame."

For those of you concerned about Henry’s snip snip surgery recovery, he’s resting…just kidding, he’s the same hyperactive pup as ever and I snapped this pic because he hardly ever does this during the day.

Flea Markets and City-Wide Garage Sales

by Annie Posted on August 16, 2012

While the pup recovers from his “snip snip surgery” and pouts upstairs, I’m in my office studio buzzing about Gold Rush Days in Oronoco, Minnesota this weekend. (And my honey’s birthday.) It’s not very often we get to go to events because of money, travel/time off from Greg’s day job, and lack of finding someone to watch Henry dog. Sure we went to the Junk Bonanza last year and had a good time, although it wasn’t really our cup of tea. (I was surprised by that too!) It was still lovely seeing how the booths were staged and the atmosphere if we should ever decide to be a vendor in such an event. Talent and creativity abounded that’s for sure.

But Gold Rush Days, from the looks of the past events in pictures, seems more our scene. Low-key, not too staged, like you’re going to have to dig for treasures and I like getting down and dirty searching for unique pieces. I like being the one to salvage the thing. I’m not very girly nor into shabby chic all that much so that could explain the appeal. Being surrounded by people who appreciate the same things that we do and the inspiration that comes with that will be great too. I’m as excited about the small, vintage items as I am about a possible furniture find. The only issue is that we have only so much moolah allotted with the ol’ budget and we have room for maybe one piece of furniture and a few smaller things in our Subaru Forester. Someday we’ll have something bigger to haul our finds and deliver our salvaged furniture. Someday.

The bonus though is that we aren’t so far away we can’t come back for something (that is something paid and held by the seller…I’m not crazy enough to believe something will still be there the following day). Garage sales are great and all but they are not to this level. I think my mind will be blown when we arrive. To think there was once a time I was not very fond of flea markets and antiques. I was a fool. I was a child.

That said, we have plans to go again to the city-wide garage sale in a town near us mid-September, Cannon Falls. While verifying that info, I came across this website for Minnesota city-wide garage sale listings! That makes my day. Last year in Cannon Falls we found a house that had amazing mid-century and vintage furniture, clothing and knickknacks. There were some free seats we passed on…I think I mentioned this and we thought gee, no one will be interested and we’ll come back. Rookie mistake. We saw those seats on craigslist and etsy the next day for $600. Never found out if they sold or not. I was in a corner for the next week, hitting myself and repeating stupid, stupid, stupid. Kidding. Slightly.

Are there any events you’re going to and/or freaking out about?

Gold Rush Days and Progress

by Annie Posted on August 13, 2012

Not much worth noting in today’s post. To be honest, I want the week to fly by so that Friday arrives. That is Greg’s 28th birthday and we have plans. Hot dog! Besides grilling steaks and decadent peanut butter cup cheesecake that is. Greg’s request this year. We do birthday meals for one another or, in my case, I request restaurants. Not that Greg doesn’t cook but the homecook/foodie in me wants to go out. What are the plans you ask?

A few people have mentioned the Gold Rush Days in Oronoco, Minnesota to us over the years. We’re going this time after not being in the state the last few years. Minneapolis and the metro area is usually where we find our furniture but southern Minnesota holds some amazing pieces as well. Traveling to the metro area and traveling farther into southern Minnesota take about the same amount of time from our house so it’s nice to have options. We’re not too far from the town and plan to check the festival out for the first time. That’s like 50 garage sales in the same place. That’s how elated I feel…oh, and Greg is pumped too. We tend to share the celebratory planning for birthdays since ours are only weeks apart. (He’s also getting a new computer game. He knows this because any possible purchases get approved by one another. There’s hardly ever a surprise. Those are for when we’re sitting pretty financially.)

Greg, age 5. This kid turns 28 Friday.

What are the Gold Rush Days? Ummm, some kind of flea market/antique show but I just got that from the website. I know it’s celebrating its 40th anniversary. Also from the website. We don’t know what to expect. Someone said antique furniture galore. Goodies, bargains and finds at every turn perhaps. What we hope not to see are inflated or outrageous prices. And people carrying something away that I desperately want. Or something we can’t fit in our Subaru. Sad face.

We looked at engineered hardwood flooring. I want to move the photoshoots upstairs for our finished pieces and I just plain want hardwood flooring upstairs asap. The studio has become the place where pieces are stored along with the smaller decor items in our etsy shop. It’s crowded in here. Did I mention we’ll be moving on to projects inside? No more living in the old, bland rooms that someone else put together. Beige, walls, beige carpet, warm trim and doors. Soon the season will change and work outdoors will cease. I’m picking out shades of gray…no, not that book going around. The naughty one. I’m set on gray being in the living and dining rooms. Most likely a Benjamin Moore color. I love that brand and it’s at our local Ace Hardware store.

Nothing new going on with the yard beyond the grass growing at a wonderful pace with all the rain. It’s lush. I find myself taking it all in from our kitchen window. Never thought that moment would come. We are without the tiller so anything involving digging gets passed over; instead, we’ve been working on the furniture that sits everywhere around the house and garage. Seriously we have about 13 pieces waiting. The other day I sat and wrote down my ideas for every single one. Some I’ve known all along upon viewing but some I just knew could be great and let it come to me later. Inevitably I’ll change my mind about something but the overall looks/styles seem pretty well set in my mind. Greg is on board. His trust is a beautiful thing.

With fall coming up I’ve been inspired. It is my favorite time of year. New colors, I’m going to finally get to try new techniques and supplies I’ve been sitting on in the name of reducing debt and keeping costs low. We’ve gone a bit safer than I’d ideally like to go in the last 6 months to appeal to more buyers. So, different looks are on the horizon for the Wits. What would you like to see us do in the future?

The antique cabinet is taking longer because frankly, we have to rebuild several parts with wood putty/filler which takes time. We have to put it on in several coats until it’s finally built up and each coat requires drying time then we sand between those. We’re trying to keep the integrity of the piece by keeping some of its dings but most of the damage requires some attention. The paint needs to adhere and the old finish has been hard to remove. The base had water damage so we cut off a tidge on the legs. We bought new semi-hidden hinges and a drillbit needed to insert those. I have my hands on the secret touch (you’ll see) and hardware.

The windsor chairs are nearly done. The species of wood used is a bit soft so it dents easily and we’ve been trying to fill the very noticeable areas. But we’re at a point where we have to say that’s good because they are vintage and we want to keep some of those characteristics just like the cabinet.

And of course, I’m coming back from a summer weekend which means we went to some garage/estate sales and I found a few goodies. One is more than a goodie, better than a greatie…what’s that make it? I don’t know. Wait, yes I do. It makes it a vintage, solid brass tray top for a coffee table. Only missing the base which I have found online. It’s another “mid-century” (the overused, all-encompassing term) piece. The 32″ diameter top was a whopping $.75. Gorgeous in person. And it’s worth about 400 times that.

I was needing something to store family art/posters/background props/paper and was lucky enough to come across this vintage case.

Excuse the horrible picture-I can't find the "good one."

The remaining finds will end up in our etsy shop soon. Excuse me, I’m going to get to work on the cabinet. There’s sanding to be done.