Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Paint it White

I grew up in New Rochelle, N.Y. in an Arts and Craft's Style home. 
I think my parents bought the house the year I was born. 
I remember my mother standing on the front porch stripping white paint off of each interior door. 
They stripped and stained every door in that house to a more original finish.
 I decided to see if I could find a google image of my childhood home. Instead... I saw that is has been listed and has sold recently. 
How fun to be able to virtual tour my childhood home.

 I noticed that some of the doors have been refinished in a lighter tone and others have been repainted white.
I guess it was time. It was in the 60's when my parents were working on it.

That memory of my mom refinishing those doors has been deeply ingrained in me.

Which is why I had a bit of a hard time finally brushing paint on some of the surfaces in my home. 
I started painting stuff white back in January when I did a post on the dish dresser.  
Bill built it for me back in the 80's. 
It was light pine which was super popular back then. 
He was not feeling sentimental about this piece and said I could give it away, but I couldn't do that. He built it with the tools and skills he had at the time from a drawing I gave him.  
He thinks it is crude, but I love it. 
I just didn't love the pine stain. 

The effects of the paintbrush were so unbelievable and immediately gratifying that  
it started me on a quest of painting some of my furniture.
My parent's voices were kind of echoing in my head.  
But, I couldn't stand some of the stained wood around here. 
vintage Ethan Allen clock

$5.00 shelf from a antiquing weekend.

10 year old wholesale shelf

a thrift store make-do cupboard.

the bucket from an old ice cream freezer

our mantel
 an $8.00 chair
the kitchen desk. 
my kitchen cabinets.
Read about those here. 

I have had more paint in my hair than you can believe but
I think I am about done. 
I still have to decide what I will do with the banisters.
Am I going to paint every antique I have in this house?
No because...
I can still hear my parents saying
"You don't paint good wood."
I hope you enjoyed my stroll down memory lane and 
the painted finishes as well. 

16 comments :

  1. The white makes everything pop and look so fresh and cheerful. I like it. I need some around my house!

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    1. I hope you can find a few to paint. I only did the ones that weren't too precious.

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  2. I have very VERY few pieces of unpainted furniture. I LOVE painted furniture.
    Great post.

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    1. I don't have that many either. Once you start....
      Thanks for coming by for a peek.

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  3. Oh that was my Grandma... no painting good wood! But I love the look of crisp white and the changes in you home looks just fabulous! Dee dee

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  4. I love furniture painted white! I did a lot of mine last year, so I can relate to the paint in the hair situation. LOL! I think white goes with everything. It is nice though to leave a few pieces in their natural state so that it doesn't look too matchy everywhere. See? Your parents were right!

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    1. Thanks, Kelly. I think they were. White goes with everything except my brown hair.
      :)

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  5. Oh... I have those voices in my head, too! Actually, my parents have given me furniture then told me I wasn't allowed to paint it! (and we're talking recently!) I really want to incorporate more white... right now it seems that everything is brown, brown, black, and brown. Thanks for your great post. Time for me to get started! :)
    Hugs,
    Nif

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    1. Oh, I know. I don't think I will regret painting any of these pieces. I have a few more I would like to paint. Thanks for coming by.

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  6. You grew up in a beautiful home, how fun to find updated photos of it.
    I love to paint furniture too, and you had done a beautiful job of it.
    Hugs, cindy

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    1. Thank you, Cindy. It is beautiful isn't it. I still love that style of home so much.

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  7. Lovin' all the NIFTY THRIFTY items you have here. If you like to paint…then you need to come by and enter my Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint GIVEAWAY…hope to ya there!!!

    Blessings,
    Linda

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    1. I would love to win milk paint. I will pop over.
      Thanks for stopping by.

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