The Card Table of the Past

There are times when having a spare table comes in handy.  How many times have you wished you had such a table and resorted to the reliable card table?  Not that card tables are a bad thing— heaven knows many a party has been saved by them.  Owned or borrowed, they are handy to have and easy to store.

However, have you ever wondered what folks did a couple of generations ago?  Those thrifty colonials and Europeans had such a solution when an impromptu table was needed, and the table did not have its legs folding into the top and side for storage under the bed; they had console tables that doubled as game tables and tea tables and whatever kind of table they needed.  These console tables had a flip top, and the top swiveled around to support the extension; like magic there was a game table for a quick lesson in cards or chess, or a table for additional treats at tea time.  When not in use, the table would stand in the entry or against a wall with a few pictures or a vase of flowers in it, paying no attention at all to its surroundings; it was just ready whenever needed.

I came across quite a nice selection of such tables this past weekend at an estate sale. The company sponsoring the sale had a bit of overstock on baby grand pianos, tall secretaries and console/game tables.  On the last day of the sale, I arrived in time for them to announce everything was 75% off.  As I wandered through the nearly empty warehouse, I was surprised to see so many of these tables still left and now at true bargain prices; they were well priced on the first day; but on the last, they were a steal.  I am guessing that people did not know about them or their value.  These tables were quite popular in the Victorian times, and their popularity lived on for more than a hundred years.  The furniture came in every style that was manufactured.  I have often thought of them as the card table of the past.  They do not flatten down and slide under a bed, like our modern day card tables, but they are infinitely more attractive and have many uses.

I was saved from buying one or two of them and painting them, because I am in such a state of chaos having just downsized.  And, I have a large refinishing job looming ahead of me this month just as soon as I can clear a spot in the garage to get to it.  I was certainly tempted though, and even made another trip into the warehouse to take another look.  

Several of the tables would have been better off painted rather than refinished, since refinishing them would leave them looking like they belonged in a great grandmother’s parlor, but painting lends a whole new meaning and life to such a table.  No longer, great granny’s old stuff, now it can be a fun, colorful table for a kids room and a great play space for them to do crafts and even enjoy a little tea party.  You can get very creative and paint whimsical patterns or simply a checkerboard in a fun color for the family room.  It is a great table with many uses; if you come across one, you should consider it.

Refinishing with Stain

My current project is another round oak table.  My clients were impressed with the painted oak table that I did several months ago and talked with me about changing their oak table.  This family’s style is not country, but the eat in kitchen table was pure country, and completely incongruent with the style of the rest of the house.  The table’s condition was another source of frustration: its stained top was chipping, and there were bare spots, and bubbles left the surface anything but smooth.  We had talked over the years about what to do with the table, and replacing it was considered;  but the table had sentimental value, since it had been the table my client had grown up with from childhood, and she wanted to hang onto it for that reason. 

While the clients both liked the painted oak table, that was the inspiration for their table; we discussed the durability of a painted surface verses a stained surface. Staining was the most practical application for the heavy use this table receives on a daily basis.  A family of five can dish out a lot of wear and tear.  These clients’ have different circumstances from the client with the with the painted oak table, so staining was the right option.  

A stained oak table is what they had, again way too country for this modern family.  Since the black painted table was the inspiration for changing their country oak to something more modern, we talked about staining the table black or ebony.  Oak, stained or painted black gives it a decidedly more modern look.  

I checked out the stains offered and bought a name brand I have used for years in an ebony color.  Once I stripped, sanded, and washed the table, it was ready for the ebony stain.  Fortunately, I stained the leaf first.  The stain went on black and solid, but once the requisite time passed, when I wiped off the excess stain, I was disappointed to see the color was hardly what I had hoped for.  The brown color of the wood was still quite evident, while the more open grain of the oak absorbed the stain nicely, giving me the blackness I wanted.  I followed directions and allowed the stain to dry, and applied a couple of more coats of stain, not getting anywhere near the color I expected.  Additionally, I knew the wood would not accept any more stain, since the more open black grain was “weeping” out bubbles of stain.  

This process took days to work through, and resulting in more research.  I have been painting and staining furniture since I was a teenager, and I have used a variety of stains and paints; but times change—and so do products.  In California, many of the products of my youth are no longer available here.  I decided to do some online research and tried some home-grown ideas, like soaking steel wool in plain white vinegar; the color of the vinegar does not change, but there is a chemical reaction that affects the tannin in wood, and that will make it black or dark gray—not quite black enough for my goal, but interesting just the same.

I went to a salvage yard in downtown Los Angeles and talked with a man there who showed me what he uses, another familiar name brand stain I have used in the past.   After testing this new stain on the underside of the leaf, I was delighted to see the results would be perfect!  This brand was much more viscous; after only one coat, I knew would give the result I sought. 

After stripping off what I could of the first failed attempt to stain the leaf, I sanded and washed the surface.  I applied the new stain to the base as well as the leaf.  I saved the top for last, wanting to do all my experimenting on the base and leaf.

I used an oil based finish of the same brand that I felt would be the best under the circumstances; however the weather turned and drying times took days to get to the point I could lay the first coat of finish.  Having to wait at least 4 hours between coats means that it will take another day at least to finish this project. 

Once there are sufficient coats of finish, this table will serve the family well for many years, giving them the modern look they want, while preserving the sentimental value of the old oak table of my client’s youth

A Trip Back in Time

This is one of my favorite times of year because the Pasadena Showcase House Tour is running through May 17th.  I have been visiting this showcase for decades and always marvel at what designers can come up with in new and inventive ideas of the designers; I do not always agree with what I see, but I usually come away inspired.  This year was no different; there were some likes and some not so much.

One of my favorite rooms was the Artist’s Retreat.  I nearly gasped when I saw the quiet color palette, the same palette that I planned for my new office, and some of the same materials.  The designer who was responsible for this particular room, used very expensive oak planks on the walls and spaced them tightly together, while my plan is to use wide pine planks with a shiplap look instead.  Cost is always an issue for me.  I loved the use of cork for the floors, they actually looked like travertine.  I had planned to use travertine, but I think cork is the way to go.  With advances in the use of cork, you can find it in a variety colors.  You can mix and match to create designs such as the harlequin pattern in this room.  Cork is warm, quiet and renewable, therefore a very “green” product.

Another take away from this year’s house was the liberal use of Edison light bulbs.  No doubt you have seen them in many magazines, brochures and other advertisements.  One of the designers commented that the Edison lights used in the room he designed were from a local and well known lighting shop—Lamps Plus.  I guess even showcase designers have to find savings where they can.  Edison lights were used throughout the house in a variety of designs from industrial to elegant.

Pasadena Showcase House 2015, from Google Images

The color palette for this year’s house has some of my all time favorites and some new colors from Dunn Edward’s newest collection that I have already used—it is good to know I’m on trend.  There were some pretty bold colors but they were well balanced in the private rooms upstairs where the family stayed, while the more public rooms were much more neutral but had accent colors repeating some of the bolder colors used upstairs.  I found it to be a good exercise in the use of the color palette keeping it unified without creating a rainbow effect.

Pasadena Showcase House 2015, from Google Imagaes

As I mentioned, there were some “misses” for me.  I felt some of the bathrooms were a bit overdone with the use of stone, and I love stone in a bathroom; but I felt there was too much pattern conflict.  There certainly were a lot of bathrooms to choose from, something for every taste, and I had some favorites there too.

You can go online and see some of the photos from the Showcase House, this year and past years; but if you have a chance you should go and see it for yourself this year’s Tudor style house designed by Fernand Parmentier in 1910.  There is always something gained, besides the benefit to children’s music programs throughout the community that the Showcase House funds.

Finding the Perfect Vanity

Grimy Find

The search for the perfect bathroom vanity set my client and me on a journey to the flea markets at Pasadena City Collage and  the Rose Bowl, into Orange County’s antiques streets and up to Main Street in Ventura.  Along the way, we were able to fine tune exactly what was needed to fit the space available and satisfy my client’s aesthetic sensibilities.   Keeping an open mind helps you find something and adapt it to your needs as opposed to having something custom built and incurring the additional cost.

It is important not to become discouraged when you head out on your search, because what you have in your mind’s eye is not likely to be found in the world of existing products.  My client had established the hard surface finishes, which are stone and tile; so she was looking for some warmth in natural wood for her vanity-- that is, not a painted piece.  Of course, a found, usable vanity could be stripped and refinished if otherwise worthy. 

We didn’t have any success at our first weekend out, which is not unusual.  However, when we hit the Rose Bowl, we were amazed to find a great, aesthetically pleasing dresser at the first stall we saw.  We especially liked its large, round mirror; usually mirrors attached to dressers are oval.  Even the color was perfect, had she wanted a painted piece.  The design added to its feminine appeal.  We assessed the piece with a practical eye: how much work it would take to add a vessel sink and the necessary plumbing, and how much drawer space would need to be sacrificed.  The vendor took our cell numbers and we moved on. 

Rennovation In Process

Our second find determined that a dining room server or sideboard might be a better choice.  We determined the central top drawer might be sacrificed for plumbing,  but the side cabinets would be perfect for keeping curling irons and a hair dryer for easy access.   We especially liked the turned legs of the piece adding to the feminine quality.  Unfortunately, detail work lost over the years needed to be replaced by a furniture restorer, ultimately adding to the cost.  The last problem was that the piece was painted; beautiful mahogany wood, but the missing detail work was key, so we moved on.

Our last option at this site was a pretty Bird’s Eye Maple dresser.  We loved the wood, but the piece was pretty plain and the top was damaged, so more work or a stone top would need to be added, increasing the cost.

The search continued the following week into Orange County.  Because we had little time and had honed in on what we wanted, we looked at a more limited number of pieces;  we found only one piece to seriously consider, but it was costly, and  reviewing our “option” pieces, we passed on it.

The next day we headed up north to Ventura, and BINGO!  We found the perfect server piece.  A previous owner had cut the legs down, so it was low enough to accommodate a vessel sink and, we didn’t have the anxiety of doing it ourselves.  It is  narrow in depth, which suits the available space nicely, and was not painted.  It did have decades of old stain and no doubt a variety of oils and grime on the surface, but that just means it needed to be stripped.  

The stripping down part was going to be messy and time consuming, but the price was negotiable, and that made it very appealing.  Unfortunately, the most effective stripping agents have been eliminated by the EPA over the past several decades, so the process is more lengthy.  If you do not do it yourself, stripping can be very expensive.

Completed Vanity

In the end, the search process was fun and, as usual, educational, as we fine tuned what would work best.  The stripping continues, but we are convinced that the search was successful, and it will become the perfect vanity.

Make an Entrance

I have been house shopping with a friend and have become aware of how many houses, old and new-er, open directly into the living space-- be it a dining room, kitchen or living room.  I find it much more pleasing to open a front door without exposing the living space to whomever is on the other side of the door.  

It is simple enough to create a “foyer” feeling from the front door, especially when the front door is off set from the center of the room into which it opens;  the homeowner thus has a bit of space in which to put up a screen or something to distract the eye, which protects the privacy of the home.  A simple piece of furniture can do the trick, creating a bit of a barrier between your living space and the person outside your door.  You can set up a hall tree or a table or a screen to add to the privacy. 

If you want to create such a screen, there are so many materials you can use, and you may have them around the house already.  Shutters that are no longer in service can be adapted into a useful screen by joining two or more together with reversible hinges; you can connect shutters that are the same width to make them taller as well.

There are plenty of uses for decorative screens, not just at the front door to make an entrance more private.  Screens can make a serve more than one purpose without the benefit of floor-to ceiling walls. A large room can be divided easily into multiple service areas with the clever use of furniture, screens or even sliding panels that attach to the ceiling.

Large sized cube-type book or storage units make great room dividers, and the open cubbies can be filled with useful baskets or containers for last minute items you need before heading out the door, like gloves, hats or scarves.  You also can fill the cubbies with decorative items that suit your decor, an especially good way to display collections you may have as long as the scale is in keeping with the size of the cubby; remember tiny objects can become lost in large spaces.

Hanging a long fabric “screen” from a rod in a ceiling of a loft is an excellent way to create rooms within a large space.  This division can be achieved with a long drape, with a beautiful colorful piece of fabric, or a great textured piece, as simple as bamboo.  Lofts offer you lots of ways to create clever separations while allowing your space to remain open and airy, which after all is one of the great appealing factors in loft living.

A strategic chest, table or area rug can give a room a boundary, thus making the room feel more comfortable and oddly enough more spacious.  It is a misconception that placing furniture around the perimeter of a room will make the room feel larger; actually the opposite is true.  Floating a table, chest or folding screen will allow you some privacy at your entrance and actually might make your space feel a bit larger.

To Paint or Not to Paint

For many of us, painting natural wood is considered either difficult or forbidden; these views are understandable and have been handed down for generations.  In the past, people did not paint furniture of good quality and workmanship; it took valuable time and resources to do so; in Victorian times, it simply wasn’t done.  As furnishing were passed down, they may have been revered as family treasures, and to paint them would be to dishonor them.  As these pieces were passed down further, such feelings became less important and more distant; and painting was more acceptable and in vogue.

Not much has changed today.  Pieces that hold fond memories from a favorite aunt or grandmother still may be left untouched.  However, if you have such a piece, have grown tired of it, but still can’t part with it, and know that the next generation is not interested in it, why not consider giving it new life and paint it?

Painting often is dismissed as a solution because it is considered time consuming and difficult; thoughts of stripping the piece are shunned.  It is true that painting is time consuming, but painting is not so difficult; taken step by step, it is really quite easy.  If you consider it boring, plug in a book or your favorite music on your CD player; being entertained while doing a task you have been putting off, makes it enjoyable and a new hobby might be born.

Once a piece has reached the end of its life cycle for me, I think first of reusing it in another way or place in my home or yard; doing so usually involves recovering the fabric portion or painting the piece, sometimes removing or adding ornamentation.  If  I can’t reuse the piece, I offer it to a family member; if there are no takers, I move down the line, friends, associates and charities.

I remember my mother-in-law telling me how exciting it was when painting furniture was in vogue.  Living with furniture from previous generations was oppressive; such furniture often was dark and dated, and the freedom to paint it gave the family a lift, like coming out of a depression.

The pendulum swings back and forth in both fashion and interior design.  We experience it daily in print and television shows, as we see what was old is new again.  Take, for example, the renewed interest in Mid-Century Modern and the juxtaposition of a Victorian piece, or the mod-textile prints popular in the 1970’s, placed in a more contemporary setting.  In some cases, a little paint and color can go a long way.  Today there is a plethora of colors as opposed to what was available a few decades ago.

A Little Molding Can Go a Long Way

Homeowners with a yen for a little more interest in a plain room may find that molding can be a great solution.  It does not take great skill to cut molding with today’s materials and tools plus a steady hand and a little patience.

Today you can find deep crown moldings that are light as a feather, being constructed of sturdy foam with a light plaster coating.  Crown molding will add architectural interest to any room.  You can find many moldings in different styles and great tutorials on-line to help you install it.

If crown molding seems a bit too formal for your country home, but you still want a little interest in a plain room, consider a slim molding framed out long rectangles along a wall.  Painting them the same color as the wall will give it subtle interest without appearing to be too traditional.  Painting the molding a contrasting color, say white or even beige over a colored wall, will give a room a soft traditional look.  Adding a bright contrasting accent color can add just the punch a quiet room needs.

Casing your windows with molding is an investment that will pay off immediately with your enjoyment and later when you sell your home as molding will be an added feature that not all homes can boast.

A long, uninteresting wall can be upgraded with a simple chair rail plus molding to represent panels below the rail.  Panels can be painted or wall papered for additional charm.  Using a rail and panels in a room that lacks personality is a good way to add color and pattern without a big expense.

Panels would be an excellent way to add a color punch in a child’s bedroom.  Also, consider painting a single panel with chalkboard paint; this paint comes in a variety of colors now, not just black.

Molding that is painted the same color as the wall can stand alone nicely as architectural element; later, if you decide to change the look of the room you can do it simply by painting moldings or the walls.

Changing out your baseboards is another way to give a room a fresh update.  Doing one room at a time is a budget wise way to increase your enjoyment and the value of your home.