Summer finds: chest of drawers and mirror

I'd been searching for a chest of drawers for my living room for some time and finally found one I liked on Kijiji. The chest was being sold by a dealer at the Faubourg Des Antiquités - 15739 de la Caserne, Sainte-Genvieve. The Faubourg is an indoor flea market with a good number of interesting furniture pieces- I do recommend it.

Here's the chest:

and a close up:

Check out the tiger-y wood... grrrrr! 

 I love the way it looks in the room. It has such presence. Much better than before when I only had a tiny end table that was barely visible between the two couches as in the image below.

I hesitated to buy it because under the bright florescent lights at the market it looked really damaged and scratched. But once I cleaned it with some Orange Glow and got it into my living room it looked so rich and the scratches are barely noticeable. Don't underestimate the power of Orange Glow!

 

Some things to keep in mind when buying old furniture:

1. Make sure the piece is solid, meaning the legs are strong.

2. Open and close the drawers to make sure they open and close properly.

3. Check that the wood hasn't been eaten away by bugs- you don't want to bring extra friends into your home. The best way to look for this is by taking out the drawers and examining the interior of both the drawers and the furniture piece itself.

In my case, the chest passed the test so it came home with me.

 

Initially I wanted a painted chest and looked into getting a really damaged piece that I could paint. The inspiration for a painted piece came after I saw this chest by Miss Mustard Seed. I was obsessed with it all summer- love it! There is also this huge trend in blog land with chalk paint furniture and so many of them are just beautiful. But I must admit that as much as I want to be a painted furniture girl, I kept being drawn back to wood.  

Source: google.ca via Dream it..build it..style it! on Pinterest

 

 

Also, the chest came with a mirror that I didn't want (tried to negotiate the chest without the mirror- didn't work) but then discovered that it looks great on my fireplace mantel. I like the curved top part against all the straight lines of the fireplace. So it all worked out in the end.

I paid $200 for both pieces. Not a steal but not too bad either.

Have a restful Labor Day,

Nancy 

 

linking to Between naps on the porch and other link parties on my link party page

Part 2: project #​1 bathroom renovation

Yesterday's blog chronicled the demolition and rebuilding of our basement bathroom- our first renovation project. The work was done by my father, husband and myself. Our budget was very itty bitty- I was a PhD student at the time so just imagine the finances!


Once the necessary but not so pretty work was done (gyp rock, plumbing, etc.), the exciting part began (tiling, sink and toilet, yes the toilet is exciting!).

My father installing the shower base and tiles.When buying a pre-made shower base, make sure it is a solid fiberglass base. Otherwise it's bouncy and susceptible to cracking.

Boxes and boxes of tiles. Heavy, very heavy!

Tiling the shower in a brick pattern. We went with a classic 12x12 marble tile for the floor and shower. I really like the color variations in the tile: brown, gray, blue, red, etc.

Tip: when choosing tiles for your bathroom my suggestion is to pick something classic that will not look dated ten years from now. Some classics are 12x12 square tiles and subway tiles, classic colors such as whites, grays, creams, are great. You can always pick modern paint colors for the walls or hang some funky art, but tiles are difficult, expensive and messy to change. 



The Reveal:

Clean, classic and pretty. I love it!

The clear glass shower door allows the beauty of marble tile to shine. I love the simplicity.

Not much I can say about the toilet- it works! I have a small basket of toilet paper in the corner- a must. Also you can see that there's a bamboo rug in front of the shower. I don't know why but I have an aversion to actual rugs in bathrooms. There are many nice ones out there but it's not for me.

The mirror is a brushed nickle finish with a beaded trim. Above is the light fixture and it has a painted rose pattern on it. I believe it is original to the house. It's quirky but I like it. The only thing is that the metal plate is bronze so I need to spray it either black or a nickle finish.  

The pedestal sink was the perfect choice for this tight space. I'm a believer that the more storage you have, the more stuff you buy and keep. I did place a storage cabinet above the toilet (see first reveal image above) but the cabinet is practically empty. It's a second bathroom after all. The trash can and soap dispenser are made of travertine.

Total Cost: approximately $4000-  not bad, eh?




Smiles,
Nancy