September Sweet Clover Barn Sale Preview

Hi friends! I've been crazy busy with school and work lately, but I wanted to stop in and show you a few pictures of my space in the Sweet Clover Barn in Frederick, Maryland. The Barn will be open this weekend and will feature many new vendors in the newly renovated upstairs portion of the barn. I won't make it to the sale this month but I definitely encourage you go check it out!

The barn will be open Friday - Sunday, 10am - 5pm. Happy treasure hunting!!

August Aqua Dresser

Last month I did a pretty dresser with a mirror in ASCP Duck Egg blue and absolutely loved how it turned out. Something about aqua over dark wood is just gorgeous when the wood peaks through a little bit, and I'm noticing that Duck Egg has a really nice depth to it.

Given that one of my favorite colors is aqua and my space at Sweet Clover is full of bright colors, I couldn't help but do another one this month. Aqua in a room is kind of like a great pair of blue jeans -- it looks good with just about any other color and works with many different styles and ages.

To paint this piece, I removed the hardware and drawers and gave the entire piece two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Duck Egg blue. I tried to go light on the areas on the side of the piece with the carved detail because those are especially nice when the wood shows through. Once the paint dried, I went over it with a high grit Ultraflex softback sanding sponge to a smooth finish all over the piece. I am in love with these sanding sponges because they seem to be finer than any of the 3M superfine sanding sponges at Home Depot, and they prepare your piece so that it takes wax or poly much better. I also use the sanding sponge to pull off some of the paint over the edges and the carved areas. The sanding sponges are great for that because they pull off paint but they generally don't remove the finish on the wood, which means you still get that beautiful dark color peeking through instead of the natural wood. The Ultraflex sanding sponges are available at Stylish Patina if you're interested in picking a few up!

After sanding, I gave the entire piece a coat of Annie Sloan Clear Wax and buffed it out. Then I reattached the hardware.

This dresser is REALLY solid. The frame and drawers are solid wood, and there are drawer guards in between each drawer. It was made by Kindel Furniture Company, which still produces high end historic replicas of furniture today. According to the information I could find about the style of the stamp on the inside of a drawer, it was made somewhere between 1930 and 1950.

I wish I had taken a better picture of the original hardware because it's seriously cool. The large metal knobs have a flower motif on them. Even though the detail of the hardware probably would've looked cool painted, I couldn't bare to paint it.

This piece will be available during the August Sweet Clover Barn Sale, Friday - Sunday, August 16-18, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. Hope to see you there!

Sharing at: Miss Mustard Seed, Elizabeth & Co.,

Mint and Brass Table

I'm a sucker for furniture with great brass hardware, so when my mom found this table with great brass pulls and caps on craigslist, I eagerly snatched it up. It sat in my living room for a bit while I debated what color to paint it.

I even asked everyone's opinion on Facebook and got a few votes for emerald. Loving the green and gold combination, I decided to mix my own emerald green ASCP using the combination I used on my Eastlake table. My original mix was Antibes, Florence, and Aubusson, but I didn't have much Florence, but I figured that Antibes and Aubusson would do basically the same thing. Unfortunately it turned out much smokier than I intended, so I decided to go a different direction and make a mint by adding some Pure White and Provence. It was a happy mistake because I absolutely love the way the mint and brass turned out, and I think it works better in my space than emerald green does anyway.

This table will be available at the Sweet Clover Barn Sale this weekend, August 16-18.

Sharing at: Miss Mustard Seed, Elizabeth & Co.

Appreciating Unpainted Furniture

For whatever reason, the trend in barn sales and updated vintage home furnishing shops seems to be painted furniture. At the Sweet Clover barn sales, almost all the furniture is freshly painted with the exception of big farm tables and other pieces that have a natural, chippy painted patina already. 

It's not like I'm not one of those vendors who doesn't paint anything-- I actually paint almost everything I sell. That's partly because in order to get something at a good deal, the finish can sometimes be beyond repair or I just can't justify the time to refinish it. But it's also because the unpainted furniture sometimes sits for a while, while aqua end tables and dressers fly out of the place faster than we can make them.

I love a good piece of aqua furniture as much as the next person (heck, my room is painted in it). But part of me feels oh-so-guilty when I paint a gorgeous old dresser. And I wince when I see someone turn a piece of Hollywood Regency furniture with really cool wood grain into a solid color, shabby chic, paris flea market wannabe.

I get it, it can be kind of tough to see how a traditional wood piece can make your home look updated. So here are a few great examples of how you can use unpainted furniture in a space without looking dated. Notice how they aren't in spaces overflowing with wood surfaces, and a lot of them use varied textures and lighter colors to offset the heaviness of the wood. Many of them are in rooms with other painted furniture. The wood pieces serve as a gorgeous backdrop to pops of color sitting on top of them, and add the depth of finish gives subtle interest to the space. Hopefully these images will make you think twice before you immediately want to paint an old piece of furniture, and keep you on the lookout for gorgeous secondhand wood furniture!

Anna Spiro via Apartment Therapy

Chancellor Hotel via Toby Fairley

Via Lonny

Via Lonny

Jenny Komenda via Little Green Notebook

Via Jenny Komenda Interiors

Emily Henderson via Design LoveFest

Chairs and More Chairs

For some odd reason, I have a habit of picking up random chairs from thrift stores, yard sales, and auctions. I end up accumulating them in my basement until I have the energy to take on another upholstery project. So it seems natural that my space at the Sweet Clover Barn should be overrun by chairs.

This month I have four in my space itself. I have a pair of these really fun cane-back armchairs on casters:

I also have this cool mid-century channel-back armchair with funky orange upholstery, which is in great shape. And do you see that little high chair peeking out from the right side of the photo?

As if those four weren't enough, I also have two upholstered chairs out in the cottage behind the Sweet Clover Barn. Every month, Sweet Clover will be featuring a theme in the cottage, and will use pieces from a number of the vendors to fill the space. This month they are doing a "Summer Soiree" theme, which uses white and neutral foundation pieces surrounded by colorful chairs and accessories.

I actually have two more of these types of chairs in my basement, but I need to repair them and reupholster them, so look for them at a later sale!

And does this little stool count as a chair? It's for sitting, right? Does that bring my total for this month to 7? I think I might have a problem.

All of these items will be available at the Sweet Clover Barn Sale this weekend, Friday - Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm!

P.S. I stole photos 1, 2, 3, and 5 from the Sweet Clover Barn Sale July Preview album on the Sweet Clover Facebook page. Check out the other awesome stuff that's available this month!

Linked to:

Duck Egg Blue Dresser

Last night I finished setting up my space at the Sweet Clover Barn in preparation for this weekend's sale. We'll be open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 am - 5 pm. Hope to see you there!

I only added two pieces of furniture to my space this month. The first is the herringbone table I showed you last week, and the second is a gorgeous antique dresser that I painted in ASCP Duck Egg. I gave it two coats, but I went light around the details on the drawers because I like the wood to show through a bit. The detail on the front was missing in places, but I think that adds to the interest and texture on the drawer fronts.

I stole this photo from the Sweet Clover Facebook Page since Cassie of Primitive and Proper is a way better photographer than me!

I finished this dresser with wax, and I love the way the top looks. There's a very subtle variation in the color which gives it more depth.

I'll be back tomorrow to share more of my Sweet Clover space! I'll also upload most of my inventory to my facebook page, so be sure to like it!

Linked to:

Herringbone Drop Leaf Table

I'm busy working on some furniture and accessories for the Sweet Clover, and I wanted to share one of my latest projects.

Photo from the Sweet Clover Facebook Page

This table was in ROUGH shape when I picked it up. It was painted lime green with a really crummy paint job, and the top of it was all kinds of beat up. I decided to strip and power sand the top. I stained the top with General Finishes Java Gel stain, and put a layer of Varathane poly to seal the stain so that it wouldn't bleed through the painted pattern. Then I measured and taped off the herringbone pattern, and painted two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Duck Egg. I painted the rest of the piece Duck Egg and sanded it all down with a super fine grit sanding sponge. I opted to seal the table with poly since I had already sealed the stain with poly and I figured it would be more durable. 

I love it! It will be available in my space at Sweet Clover next weekend. Hope to see you there!

Inspiration for my Sweet Clover Space

My first go-round selling furniture in the Sweet Clover barn was decent, but I'll be honest, I had no clue what I was doing.

Considering I'm in design school, this concerns me a little. I should be able to put together a cohesive space easily, right? I didn't mind how I arranged the space, but it had a bit of an identity crisis. Part of my challenge is that I don't assemble a master plan. I don't pick a color palette, I don't select a style. I pick what I love, and I let the piece decide what it wants to be. That's an OK strategy to a certain extent, but I need to rein things in a little. I love to mix styles, but there still needs to be something cohesive.

One thing that I'm finding incredibly challenging about selling my own vision is that I have to create something that is marketable while staying true to my design. Given that I am learning about different design styles and constantly picking furniture, I love to experiment with different styles, and I'm willing to take risks that a lot of people don't want to take in their own homes. I need to remember that my customers might not always want to take those risks. I also need to keep in mind the general aesthetic of Sweet Clover, while setting myself apart and maintaining my colorful, playful vibe. I've decided that I should use my own bedroom for inspiration since it's a total reflection of my personal style, and I think that it fits a little better with the Sweet Clover look than what I put together last month.

Here are some of the other images I'm using as inspiration.

Via Caitlin Wilson 

Ana Spiro Via Apartment Therapy

Emily Hart via Because It's Awesome

Emily Henderson via Design Love Fest

Charmean Neithart via Houzz

Todd Kelin via House Beautiful

What do you think? Would you buy something out of a booth inspired by these spaces?

Sweet Clover Vintage Barn Sale this Weekend!

Remember a few weeks ago when I was talking about how much fun I had at Lucketts and how I wished I could be part of the community of vendors more often? Yeah, I made that happen.

This weekend I will debut my booth inside that Sweet Clover Vintage Barn sale in Frederick, Maryland! Sweet Clover used to be the Stylish Patina barn, but Kelly gave up the barn sale so that she could get some warehouse space in Falls Church where she'll be having monthly tag sales.

The barn is full of amazing other vendors who have picked some great stuff for this weekend's sale. Make sure to "like" the Sweet Clover Vintage page on Facebook to preview all the great stuff that will be in the barn this weekend.

My mom is helping with the barn sale, so some of the pieces in this space are her work. I drove up to the barn yesterday with her and brother, and we loaded a bunch of stuff into the shop. I am leaving in a little while to go up and put some finishing touches on the booth and load a few more things in it. Even though it's a hike for me to get there, I really enjoy driving through the rolling hills and enjoying all the farm land out there. The barn is located on a horse farm, and the horses come right up to the fence next to the barn. It's so peaceful out there and I really enjoyed spending the evening out there yesterday.

Make sure to "like" my page on Facebook -- I'll be posting pictures of all my goodies on there later today. Come out to the barn this weekend and make a day of it! There's a ton of other great shops/barns near by too that are listed on the Sweet Clover Facebook page. I'll be in the barn on Saturday so make sure you come find me if you decide to come out!

Lucketts Spring Market 2013 Recap

I had a great weekend at Lucketts despite the questionable weather. Friday Bro Brennan and my mom helped me pack up a truck, load all my furniture into the space, and secure it so that it would stay dry in the overnight rain.

Saturday morning the boy and I got out to Lucketts early and set up the space. Even though it rained Saturday afternoon, I sold most of my big pieces on Saturday, which was a huge relief. Last year I ended up hauling home my three biggest pieces, so we were VERY happy knowing that two dressers and a large desk would NOT be coming home with us.

I sold this piece right before the market closed on Saturday. It was my first attempt using milk paint and I loved it! I did this old dresser in Miss Mustard Seed's Linen. 

Sunday morning we got there even earlier to load a few more things into my space. We even stopped at Home Depot on the way there to pick up some clear tarps in case the skies opened up on us again. My theory was that in a worst case scenario rain situation, I could still have my stuff out of the tent and visible under clear tarps instead of packed up in the tent where none of the shoppers could see it. We held our breath almost all day, but the weather actually got better as the day went on, and I never really had to use my tarps.

I did this little piecrust table in ASCP Aubusson Blue. It's still available and will soon be in my Etsy Shop.

Bro Brennan called this my "ace". I was happy to sell it to a really nice couple Sunday. Thanks to the boy for helping us figure out how to take it apart and fit it in a sedan!

I had a set of four of these guys out Saturday, and they sat with little interest all day. Fearing they wouldn't sell Sunday, we cut our losses and brought them home Saturday night. I may paint them and reupholster them, but we'll see. Let me know if you are interested in them! 

I made hanging planters/tea light holder/vases on Saturday night but sold not a one Sunday. A lot of people commented on how they thought they were a great idea, so I'll be writing a blog post about how I made them soon.

In the words of Bro Brennan, "This thing is going to end up in some poor hillbilly's living room." I this ox yoke it to a guy who collects them. Another person who was interested in it wanted to remove the bentwood pieces and run pendant lights through the holes, which I thought would be a really cool idea. Her husband wasn't buying it. 

This little table is still available. It's a custom blend of ASCP Provence and Pure White. This picture doesn't show how blue it is, but I believe it's in a few other pictures on this post.

I sold a pair of these chairs to a lovely woman on Sunday. I have another two that I haven't redone yet, so come back to see how I end up redoing those two!

This old antique Eastlake table is also still available. It has a custom gray blend on the first layer, covered by ASCP Pure White. It will be in my Etsy shop shortly!

The moisture made things difficult -- paint was scratching off of things easily and I ended up having to find a sample of chalk paint to fix a scratch or two. Good thing someone was selling paint at the Market!

I was a little disappointed to see this chair go because it was sooooo comfortable. I don't need another upholstery project (this red wasn't exactly working in our living room), but I could have seriously sat in that thing all day. 

Last year I had put so much prep work into my pieces that I was not willing to negotiate too much on my pieces. This year I made a conscious effort to collect pieces that didn't need a ton of work, so I was willing to let them go for less of a profit margin. I also knew that I would have a tough time offloading some of it post-market since I've been getting low-balled to the extreme lately on Craigslist. I know my prices were lower than a lot of the people around me by the end of the market, but most of them have physical shops to sell out of if their pieces don't sell so they could afford to demand higher prices.

I ended up coming home with three end tables, a trunk, and a bunch of small items that I mostly brought to make my booth look more finished. Those tables will probably be for sale on Etsy shortly, so let me know if you're interested in any of them.

The chairs and the mint table in the back were already sold when I took this picture. Everything you see here ended up coming home with me. Too bad I don't have a before picture so you can see how much was here to begin with.

Did you shop the Lucketts Spring Market? Were you a vendor? I'd love to hear how your experience was! With the Lucketts Market and all the barn sales open this weekend, the Leesburg-Frederick stretch of route 15 was a veritable furniture Mecca. It's a good thing I was a vendor because I would've spent my life's savings on furniture and knick-knacks if I had been a shopper.