The "French" Desk

I found this little desk at a local thrift store and decided it was a great piece to adopt and give a new home and life.

I decided that it needed a little personality and since my youngest son is a French student, I decided to give it a little French twist. I painted it black and finished the top with a golden color."

Translated, the top of the desk says ( And I hope I remember this correctly!)...

"One day a lady who loved her two sons very much found a little desk. She painted the desk and secretly wrote that she loved her sons very much. Her sons laughed at her painted desk until they realized it was an expression of her love for them. Then they loved the desk too."

I refinished the handles as well. I think it turned out great. I've kept it in my living room/dining room combo. It's the perfect spot for a small accent piece like this.

See other transformations by the talented bloggers you'll find posting to Metamorphosis Monday at

 Between Naps on the Porch

Take a look at my blog list as well.  What a creative group of people!

Murray Man

This is an pencil sketch I did one evening. I reminds me of a kitty we once had. Murray Man was a sweetie and died recently of old age (and having his old kitty-butt kicked by a local Tom cat on a regular basis!)

I found this stained glass room divider at my favorite consignment shop, Then and Again. It's beautiful but I can't seem to find a good place for it in our home. I'm looking for a new home for it. Hopefully somewhere I can visit??

Monkeys

 $120

for the pair

Screened Porch Staging

A Realtor recently asked me to stage a screened porch of a beautiful lake house. It had white wicker furniture and some neat features but she wanted it to be a little more inviting. As always, my goal is to spend as little as possible to create the most dynamic room that will appeal to a buyer. Here is the "before" shot. Note the driftwood pterodactyl flying by the chain on the far end of the room! Quite a find but not exactly what we wanted in the room.

Here's the AFTER shot. I was tempted to cover the chair cushions but instead, I just built on the green and rose color palette. I found the rose and green pillows at Goodwill for $1 or so each. The tablecloth is actually a Shabby Chic drapery panel I found for $1. The mirror came out of a house I recently staged. (see the photo below for the original version) I simply primed it with Kilz spray paint and then gave it a coat of ivory.

The porch AFTER shot. And below you'll see the initial version of the mirror.

I added a simple tablescape using green, pink and white dishes.

And then sat in the rocker and enjoyed the view for a while! Did I mention the gardens?

Take a look!

At the risk of sounding like a Goodwill addict....

OK... let me clarify... I do NOT go to Goodwill everyday. HOWEVER... I had a late appointment in a nearby city and had ample time to run by their Goodwill before heading home so I did. MY excuse was that I need to find a fourth wooden charger to match the three I found at an incredible deal! Here's what I found...

This hand-thrown pottery teapot with little airplanes is obviously not from a highly skilled potter but I'd love to know how to thrown pottery and so when I see a piece like this, I just have to give it a home. Besides... how many pottery teapots do you know that have airplanes on them?? Cute!

A unique 2 bulb wall fixture for $2.25. I'll use this to replace an old one in a future house I stage (there's always an opportunity to replace a builder grade ugly light fixture!) I will probably paint it either a cream color or bronze it depending on the room. That and two nice glass globes and it'll be great! Who knows, I may put this in my house! It's kind of interesting.

Off to find more! Take care! Lori

Tuesday Goodwill Finds

I love going to Goodwill on Tuesday evenings. The new "goodies" are in and with my "Smart Card" (perhaps a Middle TN Goodwill thing) I get an additional 20% off my entire purchase. Also, our Goodwill has a color of the week. anything with that color tag is 50% off. You can find some amazing deals.

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Pewter Mug with "Happy" engraved on the side.

Gold silk window scarf with Deep red jeweled embroidered border.

White beadboard magazine rack. Perfect for the "library!"

Treasure transformation # 1

I found this trellis candleholder at Goodwill for about $2. It was pretty nasty and one of the glass votive holders didn't match (see the cobalt blue on the front corner?) We cleaned the whole piece, took out the old blue candles, bought a new matching glass votive at KMart and some simple ivory votives and it looked great. I used it on a screened porch of a lake house I was staging. Since I was building on a pink and green garden theme, I decided to run a mini rose garland through the trellis. I really like the final result. What about you?

The Alligator Box

I was browsing around The Antique Gallery in Barlett, TN with my friend, Holley, and her buddy, Anita, a while back. We were within a booth or two of Anita when she yelled over, "Hey! Do either of you have a small alligator?" Looking at each other with a hint of curiosity we answer in unison, "No. Why?" "Well..." Anita shouted back, "I just found a box over here marked "small alligator box" and I thought I'd check!" We laughed until we cried.

There's nothing better than an afternoon goofing around antique and "treasure" shops with dear friends! You never know what you'll find!