Crackle Queen

I am a total scavenger. I can find junk and make it work...know what I mean? For instance, if you were to take a look around our little living room, the only pieces of furniture that we paid for were the TV, and the TV stand, both of which we got good deals on, I might add. Everything else was found and reworked. I love that kind of challenge! The ones that I'm proudest of are the sofa/loveseat/overstuffed chair. I inherited those from my parents next door neighbors after the Cancer Society refused to accept them as a donation b/c they said that they were too "sundamaged" (we think it was just a hot day, and they didn't want to load anymore furniture onto the truck). Score for Kate! Even though they were not attractive to me, I saw potential. I took them, and figured that slipcovering them would be a cinch. Little did I know what it all entailed. Luckily, I was able to find a lady who went to my church who did upholstery, drapery, and bedding as a little side business. I showed her a Pottery Barn catalogue as I guide to what I wanted and she said no problem. It was really fun to learn to use a surger, and see how things like that are pieced together. We covered the sofa/loveseat in a cranberry twill, and the overstuffed chair in a khaki - I absolutely love them! But I digress back to the title...

So, when I was on the quest to furnish our living room, I found an old beat up side table at a garage sale that I talked the seller down to $10 for, and found the coffee table in a pile of garbage waiting to be picked up on the curb that the owner said I could have for free. They were both pretty gross. Especially the coffee table. It was oozing sticky stuff, and had to be scrubbed and sanded a lot. Because this was right before the wedding, I had a lot of stuff on my mind, so for lack of a better idea, just painted them black. Bottom line is black no longer suits, and I was super motivated to try my hand at something new; a crackle finish to have some of that antiqued, shabby-chic thing going on. So off I went to Home Depot, and $20 was ready to go. I have to say, it was a lot easier than I predicted. I would highly recommend this project to anyone who is a little intimidated by the painting process. It really is something that could be completed in a day, and definitely a weekend. Here's the finished result close up:

I am really pleased at how it turned out, and can't wait to bring the pieces back into the living room. I'll post a pic when I do. What's even better is that Joe likes it too, although I do think he's a little concerned that I'll get crackle happy and try to do all the furniture that we have, which I won't. I don't like everything too matchy-matchy. I love the accomplished feeling that completing it gave me though. It makes me feel really confident, and happy to know that you don't have to be stuck with the same old boring furniture or styles. It is really amazing what some paint and 2 hours can do. So I say to you, get thee a can of crackle finish and transform your own piece for a little change to your space!