Crystal's Palette

11/03/2024

This table is for SALE!
She’s a beauty!
And, she’s diverse!
52” round or 8’ oblong.

Check out the before pictures at the end. The table is an antique made from good, solid wood, probably mahogany.

The top was sanded down to the bare wood; the large k***s were removed and replaced with wood rosettes.

Its surface was painted an antique white; the pedestal a greenish beige.
Extension board is included with the sale.

Message or text me for more information.

She is perfect for a small or large kitchen/dining area and ready to gather around with love, laughter and new memories.

05/28/2024

The latest diaper cake for a special customer. This one is a tropical theme to go with the nursery and shower invitation.
I loved using the vibrant colors and adorable sea creatures. It’s my new favorite!
I had some chuckles making the card too! 🐙

Thank you for thinking of me . I had so much fun creating this masterpiece!
Blessings and love for the mama-to-be and her soon to be baby boy.
💙🐙🧡🌴💛🪸🩵
Sea creatures came from my favorite lil shop

04/01/2024

Signed, sealed and delivered!👏🏼🙌🏼

This secretary desk was a challenge, very tedious and time consuming, but so worth it!

Before pictures are at the end; check ‘em out as I think this is one of the most involved pieces I’ve ever refinished.

“Lots of elbow grease” so to speak, removing the lattice, hardware, doors, drawers, masking and then painting all of the locks, hinges,handles and clasps.
Plenty of nooks and crannies kept me busy painting and papering this beauty. I am super pleased with the final product. May it hold and beautifully display pieces for another 100 years!

Once again, thank you for your amazing paint! I couldn’t even tell you all of the colors used to create this beautiful pale blue, a little bit of this and a little bit of that. 😉
Grey wax added depth, all metal was painted with a black shimmering luster and paper finished it. Without the lattice work in the glass, pieces will show up so much better inside the cupboard. The peel and stick wallpaper adds a more modern touch and a lil extra pizzazz. 🥰
Thank you for entrusting me with this beautiful family heirloom. It looks stunning with the rest of your living room and completes the vibe. 💜🫶🏼😘🩵

11/09/2023

She is finally finished! We couldn’t be happier with her new look; what an update!

This is a family heirloom of my customer, sentimental and cherished. (Take a look at the before pictures toward the end). Such a huge difference.

A new bottom was needed as well as some skirting to help hide the rotted and deteriorated wood. Feet were added giving it a more sophisticated look and to help protect the base.

My customer wanted an olive branch on this piece; she had seen the previous olive branch piece I painted. The louvred doors presented a challenge in doing that, so the branch was painted as if it is coming up from the bottom instead of the typical top to bottom. If you’ve ever seen an olive tree this is exactly how they grow, twisted, gnarly and filled with determination. How about that tiny branch on top? (I had to 😉)

Thank you Mercedes for trusting me with this priceless piece of your family’s history. My hope is that it brings you years of joy and peace in your home. Olive branches are a symbol of peace and friendship. May your home always be filled with friends & family and may the peace that passes all understanding bring you comfort, joy and love, ALWAYS.
🫒🫶🏼🙏🏼💜😘

09/24/2023

Love a great find at Home Goods!

I think this rug ties the whole room together; for a fraction of the price I would have paid elsewhere.

Love the soft, muted taupes, greiges and creams throughout the rug. With a touch of teal here and there I could hardly believe the size was the perfect fit! 🦚

Just in time to decorate for my favorite season!

🍂

08/21/2023

Ta Da! This nightstand was headed to the garbage until a friend asked if I wanted it. Thank you for sending this piece my way!

This one really took some “elbow grease” and lots of TLC. Be sure to check out the before pics, kind of a metamorphosis.

Plenty of sweat equity went into ripping it apart and having Eric help put it back together.
(I always tell him we make a great team!)
My vision- his sweat! 😉 Lol
JK

Seriously though, it was a team effort; The finished product looks like a new piece of furniture!

I am really loving this stick on wallpaper! It makes adding some pattern and color so much easier and definitely adds interest. Thank you and for creating such a fabulous, user friendly product!

This transformation began by removing the top drawer, feet and drawer handles. The crowbar and hammer did a nice job removing the outdated ornamental trim and back cover. Eric added a shelf as well as some plain trim on either side of the drawers.

A blend of dusty miller, snowdrop, cattail and mulberry were mixed to create the gray color for the cabinet body. The top is a blend of cattail and snowdrop.

The new shelf was wrapped in wallpaper. I chose a print with a beige background to tie in the table top. All of the drawers were lined with wallpaper as well just to dress it up a bit. The new farmhouse handles are an oil rubbed bronze color to pair with the dark flowers printed on the wallpaper.

She is now in her new home. I wonder how many more books, clothes and “stuff” she will hold…🩶🤍

08/14/2023

Final and favorite piece of our living and dining room makeover.
This corner cupboard was my grandmother’s, Grace Evelyn Becker, love that name. 💜 It has been passed down through the family and made its way here a few years ago. My grandmother was full of grace and love, having a piece of her in my home is very special to me.
Most of the items in the cabinet were either gifts or ‘treasures’ passed from the Coover/Becker/Strous families.

I began by removing the
lattice work from the front of the cabinet to open the viewing area. I liked it but the lattice made it hard to see everything inside and really dated the piece.

The entire cabinet was painted with hydrangea, a very pale green color. Using a dry brush again, griege was added to the cupboard, particularly around the moulding, dentil molding, corners and crevices to bring out the dimension and depth of the piece.

I wanted to brighten the inside so a very neutral wallpaper was added to the back walls and drawer of the piece. I love how it softens the cupboard and brings a peaceful look to it.

Finally, the k**b. Whew! It took some time to find the perfect one but was totally worth it. It fits perfectly with the original brass drawer pulls and adds a pop of green to finish the piece.

I love to sit and read in my living room, esp late at night. This entire room fills me with gratitude, peace and love knowing all of my loved ones are right beside me. 💜🫶🏼

Hope all of you have enjoyed the transformation of our living and dining room. ☺️

08/07/2023

07/25/2023

Chairs are next on the list.
The 6 side chairs are painted the same creamy color as the chifferobe and rosettes on the hutch. They also have some grey/griege added using a dry brush.

The two captains chairs are opposite- painted gray with a creamy dry brush on top. The captains chairs were painted about 6 years ago, long before I had the energy to tackle the rest of the chairs.

Fortunately, when I purchased the material for the seats I bought enough for all of the chairs and tucked the extra away in a closet for safe keeping.

These were pretty easy to update esp since I no longer use a manual staple gun. How in the world did I use that for sooo many years?! Ughhh, in the classroom and at home, boy do my hands feel it.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the new, old chairs! 😉

Two pieces left to share… I’ve saved my favorites for last.

07/18/2023

Our hutch needed an update as well. I chose not to paint the piece because I didn’t plan to paint the table, but still wanted to freshen it a bit. I also did not want to paint all of the furntiure; I chose the table and hutch to keep the original dark cherry color.

The following helped give the hutch a new look:
-removed the top scroll work and finial
-removed the doors
-removed the hinges
-removed the hardware

-added wallpaper to the back mirrored walls
-ordered handmade rosettes to cover the hinge holes
-painted the rosettes to match the chairs and chifferobe
-installed rosettes
-added new hardware

Removing the scroll and finial was pretty easy and made a huge difference! (Scroll to see before and after)
Removing the doors was a much bigger deal. Everyone told me I’d have to dust more without the doors. I realized that but was tired of not being able to see things inside the hutch because of the doors. And, cleaning glass, without streaks, has never been a strength of mine.
So, I removed them and now dust easily with a feather duster. (Much better)
I was very happy to cover the mirrors, again hard to see stuff with all of the reflections happening inside.

The hardware was a simple change once I found something I actually liked.

Finally, I needed to cover the holes from the door hinges. I had rosettes made one other time for a customer’s hutch and really liked the look. Once they arrived I painted and installed them in one day!

Next up- the chairs!

07/14/2023

As promised, here is one of a few individual pieces being shared from my recent living and dining room makeover.

This is a sentimental piece, a chifferobe, that belonged to my great aunt, Marguerite Bare. I’ve had it for many years using it to hold decorations and displaying some antique books, clothing and dolls.

I wanted to give it a fresh new look to use in the updated dining room.
I like the look of raw wood so I sanded the legs, front and inlay on the doors. The door faces, sides, top and inside were all painted a neutral off white. Using a dry brush technique, a blend of gray and brown, or griege, added some texture, depth and character.
Wallpaper was added to the inside of both doors, drawer fronts and several of the walls.
A couple of ceramic antique k***s completed the update with a bit of taupe and brass.
I love it’s new look; check out the last picture to see how it was used to display ’s trousseau. 🫶🏼👗💍