Tag: refinishing

Before & After, DIY, furniture, Uncategorized

Chair SALE

lauraleeimhoff

Chair 1
Chair 2
Chair 3
Chair 4
Chair 5
Chair 6

Chair Sale. That’s right, I said SALE. I’ve never had to have a studio sale but my workspace is flooded with one off chairs. These babies have yet to be refinished. I will finish them to your liking. You can buy one or two or all six. (One chair, Chair 6, is already refinished.)
I’m desperate to make space for some bigger pieces that are needing to be refinished but I can’t do it with these lovelies taking up valuable space.
I will be selling these babies for $50 a piece.
Contact me ASAP to let me know what chair you’d like and how you’d like it. lauralee@madebylauralee.com

Before & After, furniture, Uncategorized

Ready, Set…. Desk!

lauraleeimhoff

What a month!  From mid-June to today, I have had the most amount of custom work I have ever had!  I love it.  Nothing makes me happier.  I hope the custom orders just keep on coming. So tell all your friends!  (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)

That being said, I wanted to share with you a couple of the pieces of furniture that I have just wrapped up.  These pieces consisted of a desk and chair to match.

I was gifted this great little desk from someones garage and the chair was a curb side find.  I stripped them of their finish, sanded, sanded, and applied a white paint with my favorite walnut stain over it to give it that aged look.  It’s the perfect finish for the farmhouse that they will be calling home!

Not only are the desk and chair creating a fabulous new office space but the bookshelf from my previous post (Furniture for the Fight: May)  also made it’s way into the mix.  Check it out!

Desk Before
Desk Before
Desk after (not the best photo)
Desk & Bookshelf in new Home
Chair Before (left)
Chair After
Chair After Detail
Chair After Detail
Chair After Detail

If you are in the Austin area and are interested in having a piece of furniture that you already own refinished, please feel free to message me at lauralee@madebylauralee.com

Before & After, furniture

Furniture for the Fight: May

lauraleeimhoff

Okay! I am, admittedly, a little behind on my blogging.  The hustle continues though: crafting, creating, custom orders, playing music, Kickstarter stuff, etc.  I have not given up on my Furniture for the Fight project!  I may have fallen a little behind, but this project is so important to me.  I had the month of May carved out in honor of Immigrant Asian American Month and a percentage of the proceeds will go to National Immigration Forum.

A little back story…

I found this handmade bookshelf at the side of the road.  It had a lot of texture and personality.  It was solid, for sure.  I pulled over, put her in the back of the truck, and brought her straight to the studio.

After stripping off the drab brown paint, I got her a good sanding.  I applied a creamy white paint with my go to walnut stain.  The grooves in the wood held the stain nicely to accentuate the unique texture of the wood.  My favorite part of this piece is the vibrant Japanese paper applied to the back of the shelves. The red and the gold really give this simple bookshelf a lot of personality.

If interested, go ahead and contact me.  Again, a percentage of the proceeds will go to National Immigration Forum.  Email me if you are interested (lauralee@madebylauralee.com)

furniture, Uncategorized

Furniture for the Fight: April

lauraleeimhoff

Furniture for the Fight! Yea!  With every month that passes I am more and more excited about this project.  The entire month of April in this little project has been carved out for Earth Day.  The environment and our planet is so precious.  It’s the only one we’ve got.  So that being said, I have the following transformation below dedicated to Earth Justice.

A little backstory….

I went to the giant garage sale held at the Palmer Event’s Center here in Austin.  It was hosted by a local church and was overwhelmingly large.  It took me thirty minutes alone just to go through the furniture section of the sale.  I spotted this beauty right away.  I flagged down there nearest attendant and settled up.  I felt like she had so much personality that was just being masked by the plain wood finish.  She got loaded up in my truck and got taken to the studio.

I gave her a light sanding and applied a moss green milk paint, distressed the paint, and applied a clear wax finish. My favorite part was replacing the old hardware with the beautiful pink knobs from Anthropologie.

Seriously, I want to keep this piece, which is how I feel more and more as I keep refinishing pieces. Please, my 650 sp. ft. apartment is starting to look more and more like a furniture and home decor store!  Again, a percentage of the proceeds will go to Earth Justice!  Email me if you are interested (lauralee@madebylauralee.com)

Before & After, furniture, Uncategorized

A Chair that Rocks: David Bowie Inspired

lauraleeimhoff

I’m a few days overdue for my weekly post, but I promise I will make it up to you with the best piece of furniture I’ve refinished yet.

The David Bowie Inspired Rocking ChairFullSizeRender

I had acquired this little rocking chair probably 6 months ago.  I was planning on refinishing it in such a way that I would keep it.  Right around the time I was moving into my studio, David Bowie had tragically passed away. I thought that maybe this rocking chair had more purpose than just a plain rocking chair in my apartment. I put my feelers (aka a Facebook post on my personal page) to see who would be interested in a David Bowie inspired rocking chair… much to my surprise, there was plenty of interest.

This rocking chair went through such a transformation!  From removing the upholstery that had stain all over the edges to a lot of the structural repairs (a lot of the joints were loose), to the actual painting and learning how to reupholster a chair…. It is now a Chair that Rocks!

 

DIY, furniture, Story, Uncategorized

One, Six, The Year of Legit

lauraleeimhoff

IMG_3459Yes, this year, 2016, is going to be my year of becoming just a little bit more legit. I really don’t care that it sounds corny.  I’m making things happen.

I have high hopes for the next twelve months.  Some of these dreams I’m hesitant to share, mainly because I’m afraid that someone will try and talk me out of them or, if they don’t happen by December 31st at midnight, that I will feel like a complete and utter failure.

So… Let’s talk about what has happened since the ringing in of the New Year.

  1. I have moved my work into an artist studio so that I have a place to start refinishing furniture.
  2. I have met with a graphic designer who is going to help me with a logo, branding, and advertisements.
  3. I have received an overwhelming amount of support, interest, new clients, and donated or inexpensive, high quality furniture to start building an inventory.
  4. I have sent in an application to the biggest craft fair in my craft fair attending history for April 2-3 in San Antonio.
  5. I am in the works of landing my first whole sale account for my handmade wares.

12495224_10208666719885058_7315349647363472479_nNot bad for only being 18 days into the New Year, right? I’m so excited.  So excited.  I’m proud of what I am doing too.  I have a lot to learn… like bookkeeping, accounting, writing a business plan. All that fun stuff… It’s a little overwhelming too, but in a healthy way.  It’s comforting knowing I’m getting closer to something I really, really want. It’s going to be an adventure and I hope you’ll enjoy my updates: good, bad, and the crafty.

 

 

12 Day of Crafting, DIY, furniture, Uncategorized

Blue Christmas, Blue Dresser

lauraleeimhoff

IMG_2753Ok, Ok, it’s no secret I’m completely head over heels, and googly eyed over refinishing furniture.  Like most projects they need a home.  A stack of embroidered towels is one thing, but a collection of furniture seems to build up a lot quicker in a one bedroom apartment.

I reached out to my friends to see if anyone was interested in having me refinish a piece for them.   I cast my line and I waited, waited, and finally got a bite, or in this case, a dresser.  I couldn’t be more thrilled!

A couple days later, Melissa dropped off this unfinished pinewood dresser.  She gave me her guidelines of what she was looking for and I ran, ran, ran with it.  I think I was just so excited to finally be able to work with an item that I could put new hardware on! I mean, let’s be real, who hasn’t stood in the home goods section of Anthropologie and ogled the various knobs and handles? I mean, I even have my best friend saved in my phone as “Lindsey Door Knobs” because of our first bonding moment of Anthropologies gorgeous door knobs.

I digress… back to the dresser.  It was fun to work with a completely blank slate. After priming it, I painted this it bright blue with a top a little bit more neutral to be able to tie it into it’s surroundings. The blue was really blue, so I put a nice coat of walnut stain over it to mute the blue and give it some texture.  I lined the drawers with the teal and white patterned paper and screwed in the glass knobs for the final touches.  This piece is so far my favorite that I’ve done!

If you need a piece of furniture refinished, contact me today! lauraleeeimhoff@gmail.com

One more thing, while I have your attention: I will be in another craft fair this coming Saturday at OPA Coffee & Wine from Noon to 4 PM.  Details here.

Before & After, Mixed Media

Before & After: Big Time

lauraleeimhoff

IMG_1674It has been a long time coming, but I have finally completed a furniture piece that I have had in my possession for years.  This little table deserves it.

The Back Story:

In 2010, my Ex and I both taught a class at Skill Share. (If you haven’t heard of Skill Share, I highly suggest you check it out.)  My Ex, Dave, is a skilled electrician and was volunteering his time to teach a light re-wiring class.  Dave also had a knack, a gift, whatever you want to call it, for finding the coolest free treasures.  Most would probably call them junk but for those that were fans of the vintage and antique, he was the best magnet to have.  He collected and pulled together bins full of lamps for this class.  I was unable to attend his class, as I was teaching my canning class at the same time, so I never got the tutorial, but I was so happy to see many of the unwanted lamps come back home with him!

A couple of years passed, Dave and I were moving on with our separate lives, I was relieved and thrilled that he did not have a lot of interest in the two lamps that I so desperately wanted.  One is the cutest yellow lamp which sits on my nightstand and the other was this little side table with a light in it.  I’m assuming Dave thought it was more trouble than it was worth, just by looking at it.  It was wobbly, the light fixture needed to be replaced, and the finish was shedding off at an exponential rate.

I have moved several times with this diamond in the rough.  Every move, I tell myself, “Someday, I will refinish this,” or, “I swear I will get to this project.”  I don’t know if the timing was just right or that there is some magic force within the walls of this current apartment that is a driving force behind me completing lingering projects, either way… this side table got the treatment it deserved.

Admittedly this project took a little longer than anticipated due to the cold weather.  I do most of my work outside for ventilation and the sake of my downstairs neighbor.  Thankfully we’ve had a few days of exceptional weather and I was able to sand and finish this project.

This little table no longer wobbles, it’s been painted and finished, the metal bits are cleaned up and polished, and refreshed, as well as a spiffy new light fixture.  This project has left me feeling more handy than ever and satisfied to have finally completed it.  What a learning experience!

Before & After

A Learning Experience

lauraleeimhoff

IMG_1301

IMG_1311

I have a new piece of furniture! The little stool was a great first project, but I thoroughly enjoy moving up and graduating to more complex projects.

A little back story on this chair:  A few years ago when my Ex and I had moved into this charming little house on the East Side, we discovered this white chair that was left behind.  The structure of the chair was, for the most part, sound, but it had been carelessly painted white.  Like a lost puppy, we kept it.  When my Ex and I split, I kept the chair.  I always had it in my heart that I would give this chair some TLC.  Several years later, it got just that.

Eager to get started on this project, I applied stripper to the chair, chomping at the bit to peel off the layer of unwanted paint.  I let it sit and when I went to scrape, I was more than disappointed.  I wanted that somewhat weird satisfaction of peeling paint; similar to pulling glue off your fingers when you were a kid.  (Is this weird or are you coming with me?) Needless to say that only thing that came off was the stripper. (insert inappropriate joke, go ahead and get it out of your system)

Learning Experience #1: When stripper is applied to paint that has been applied over stain: it turns into a gel and doesn’t actual get you anywhere but frustrated.

After this discovery, I quickly felt myself getting sick.  I was hit with a strong wave of seasonal allergies, which landed myself in bed for a week.  Ahthankyooou, Rag Weed.  This brings us to….

Learning Experience #2: Don’t work on projects when you are not feeling 100%.  You will end up doing more damage than good and therefore make more work for yourself.

After recovering from being Sneezy’s lost cousin, Snotty, I got back to work.  I trucked my sander and my chair off to a friends house to whip this stripper/paint/stain layered mess into submission.  After hours of using my power sander (YAY!) the job was done.  I then applied some wood filler to cracks in the seat to get it back to an even and smooth surface.

I’ve always wanted a teal or turquoise piece of furniture.  I was fortunate to locate a color I really liked, appropriately named “Smoked Turquoise.”  Once a few coats were dried, I applied stain to the entire piece.  I have never used stain before, admittedly I was nervous, but it turned out very easy to work with.  I lathered on the stain, let it sit, and then buffed it off.  Applying the stain over the latex paint gives a subtle aged feel without making it look forced.

This piece was a little more labor intensive than the previous, but I must say I found it valuable.  I worked with new mediums and gained a few new techniques.

Learning Experience #3: Take better before pictures!  (I did take more “In the Process” Pictures, but I wish you could have seen a better before picture!)

Needless to say, I believe I have fallen in love with refinishing furniture.  In love.  I cannot believe how satisfying it feels to convert an ordinary piece of furniture into something special.