Saturday, April 30, 2011

Farmhouse Tables

Farmhouse tables come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
 Barb and I love farmhouse tables!
White ones
Black ones
Brightly colored ones

We are drawn to them like an ant to a picnic!

We both have great farmhouse tables. 
Very different, but both amazing.


This is Barb's farmhouse table.
Distressed white and awesome! And, she painted it herself.
Her room is draped in turquoise and white.
It's a beautiful space!

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 This is my farmhouse table.
Definitely different than Barb's.
Black and beautiful with a rich wood top.
Scrolling iron legs.
Windsor chairs.

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My favorite thing about Barb's table is how it looks in her dining room...
the BIG picture!
Ah-mazing!
White, distressed, very ethereal.
You definitely get a sense of peace and calm in this room.



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My favorite thing about my dining table is it's iron scrolling legs
and the richness it adds to the room!
With the brick wall... very rustic.






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Then there are very traditional antique farmhouse tables,
like my sister's table in her kitchen.

I love the mismatched chairs and the bright cheery red decor.



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This round farmhouse table is in my sister's formal dining room.
This room is very simple, but so special because you can see
the richness of the wood of the table.


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As seasons come and go, our dining rooms are dressed up for each and every occasion. 
Our favorite people gather round our tables and share food, 
stories and lots of love. 
Whatever kind of table you own... 
farmhouse or not, 
Barb and I hope you experience many special blessings
around those tables.

xoxo
Vicki

We are linking up to Cottage and Vine, Room by Room

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Two Day Display

Hey everyone!  Hope you all had a great weekend and the start of your week is going well.  I'm in Florida for a quick 2-1/2 days.  It's hot and sunny here and I'm going to enjoy every minute of this gorgeous weather because I understand Chicagoland had snow yesterday and cold rain is in the forecast for today.  Ugh...

Today I spruced up the entryway with my old potting table and some things I pulled from the house. Because we don't live here full time, the  entryway  has been sort of neglected.  I can't keep any real plants because there is no chance they'd survive. When I'm here for a visit, though, I like to do a little display so the house looks occupied and welcoming.  It's a fun place to showcase seasonal displays and add some color and excitement to the front of the house.        

The "potted" plants are really trimmings I cut from the landscape.  Most everything will be taken back into the house before I leave or it will be covered with spider webs by the time I come back.  Geckos, too, love to hide among anything nestled in the table.  Next time I return, it will be the same routine... sweep the entry floor, knock off the spider webs, shake off the dust and set up a new fun display.   










Hope everyone has a super Easter weekend.  I'll be in Indiana for a very special bridal shower!  Yay!  Vicki and I will surely share the details about it next week.

Be safe and have a great week,

Barb

          

All Things Heart and Home



 

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Thursday, April 7, 2011

Broyhill Fontana Redux

Well, I don't think we want to bring the Fontana series back,exactly. There's a lot of it still out there and it's great but it just needs to be freshened up and brought up to date with new paint. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just take a look.




Recognize it now? This was the look of the '90's. The pieces are all classic and well made but the finish on the pieces really date them. The honey pine color and the thick laminate coated top have got to be updated. A farmhouse table will forever be classic. And so will ladderback chairs. And the chests are a welcome fit in any room.

I loved this set when I got it in 1993. It was the first "real" furniture we owned. We bought the farmhouse extension table, six chairs, 2 chests, the buffet with hutch, a bookcase and 2 night stands. I guess we didn't know it was ok to "mix things up". I'm pretty sure we walked into the showroom and said, "We'll take this entire room. As it is. All of it".

Last summer I finally had the time to paint the table, chairs and chests. The other pieces still need to be rejuvenated. The table top needed heavy sanding to get rid of the laminate and waxy buildup. The chests had water damage on them from my boys. They had used them as night stands and never used coasters for their water glasses. I sanded them really well, too. After the sanding everything was primed and then painted everything off white. All the pieces were lightly distressed before I added a coat of satin polyurethane.




Oh, and I removed the decorative scroll from the chairs and sanded that really well, too. The chair seats were easily recovered with remnant fabric.




I'm pretty pleased with the results. I think the table looks as good as the Norfork table from Pottery Barn.


Maybe someday I'll be able to replace the chairs with the upholstered ones I'm dreaming of, but for now, I'm satisfied with this redo. I think we'll be able to love this table for another 20 years.

I know you've seen umpteen white painted table posts, but I hope this will push you into believing that you, too, can do the same thing for your own home.

Hoping to inspire and I hope to see you at this weeks parties!

Barb











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