Our new stamp!

We recently picked up a stamp to mark our work with on Etsy. This site is great for one-of-a-kind and hand-made items. You can get anything from clothes to furniture, housewares and art. It would be an excellent place to buy Christmas gifts. Worth checking out!

The Peacock twin chairs

  Every project we work on is a learning experience. Each has its own set of challenges, and its been exciting to work through them. It may seem strange to take on furniture restoration when we have other hobbies and interests, but the neat thing about this is that it all seems to tie together. Dave's background with woodworking and his creative eye, along with my background in illustration and photography blend nicely with this venture. It helps that we both have a love for design and antiques as well. Also worth mentioning, that it's great for the environment! Most of the pieces we acquire are sitting on the curb in front of someones home waiting for the garbage truck, or offered on FreeCycle. It's great to see the potential in a piece, and then see it come to fruition.

  The peacock chairs were from FreeCycle. They didn't look like much when we picked them up. In fact, I was toying with the idea of not working on them and moving on to something else. When we took a closer look, we realized that they were originally hand carved by the Chesley Chair Company in Ontario, Canada. It's great to come across 'Canadian' made furniture. They have been repainted in primer-red and reupholstered with a Waverly screen print fabric. The paint colour and distressed highlights are a perfect match with the pattern. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do...

Mellow yellow

We had lots of fun restoring this old antique chair. It got a complete makeover from head to toe. The new blue upholstery compliments the Arles yellow very nicely. We tried bees wax for the first time, and really liked the result.

Upcoming projects!

This summer we picked up some really unique and interesting pieces for upcoming projects. Most of them need a lot of work to get them in stable condition again, but we're excited to see their transformation. We'll keep you posted on their progress. Here are some 'before' pics of the pieces. You can click on the images to see a larger version...

This chair will go along with the desk that was made for Trace.

It has this sticker on the underside that says it was made by the Chesley Chair Company, from Chesley Ontario.

These two twin chairs were also part of the set from Chesley, although slightly different in style.

This Art Deco piece would have been a dining room hutch, but could also work as a dresser.

It has a sticker on the back that says it was made in 1939 by the North American Bent Chair Company from Owen Sound, Ontario.

This little table was a writing desk, but might turn into a laptop table.

This sofa/entry table is in great shape considering it's over 100 years old.

This odd little side table is very functional. It has a magazine holder on either side.

The little blue desk

Dave and I recently had a weekend away to visit Prince Edward County. On our way back we stopped in a small town called Bath to visit a store called The Melon Patch. They sell antiques, and offer interior/exterior design services. They also sell Annie Sloan chalk paints. I had read really great things about these water based paints, such as they adhere to anything and are non-toxic. No need for sanding and priming. They also create that distressed look very nicely. So for this desk/dressing table that Dave salvaged, I decided to give this chalk paint a go. 'Greek Blue' felt like the right fit. There were some issues with the drawers, so Dave fixed them up. Here are the before and after photos:

Finished product

Ruby red

Our first piece was this dining set. Here are some before photos:

 I liked the curvy legs and spindles, and felt red was the perfect colour to highlight them. Two shades of red help to make them pop. I created a weathervane stencil to accent the table top. Here are the after photos: