When Painting is not an Option

Whether you are a long time follower or new to Red Door Home, you have most likely figured out I am not shy when it comes to wielding a can of spray paint.  I have painted lamps, tables, chairs, mirrors, stools, light fixtures and much more.

So it may come as a little bit of a surprise to know there are times when I believe painting is not always the best answer to making over a piece of furniture.  Case in point is the display cabinet shown below in my kitchen.

Womens Day Budget Decorating – Photographer,  Michael Partenio

Stylist – Donna Talley, Regional Producer and Editor for Meredith Publications

 While I love the lines of the cabinet, I could do without the large expanse of oak wood.  (You may have noticed a theme here in my kitchen eating area.)  Since painting is not an option, several ideas on how to “fix” this cabinet have come to mind.

via Restoration Hardware

I thought about sanding and waxing the wood – similar to the Restoration Hardware furniture shown above.  A second idea which I playerd around with - and just did not work - was adding fabric or paper to the back of the cabinet like the photo shown below.

via Martha Stewart

In the end, however, the best option for me was simply to change out the contents of the cabinet.

By relocating my blue and white transferware to the dining room and replacing it with my collection of white ironstone mixed with a few pieces of silver and mercury glass, the cabinet immediately felt lighter and brighter.

Big changes without any expense – the best kind of makeover!

What I bought for $1.98

Like many of you, I enjoy seeing all the wonderful garage sale and thrift store bargains people purchase. It is amazing to me what can still be found with patience, a little bit of luck and imagination.

That being said, since I do not have a shop or an established way to resell, I try to only buy things which I can use and truly love. To me, a bargain isn’t a bargain if you are just buying something because of the price. So in all honesty, I do my best to limit yard sale and thrift store stops. However, every once in a while I do visit the local Salvation Army. Most times I leave empty handed but a few days ago I was lucky and found a few great deals.

Here is the brake down of my purchase - two silver-plated utensils at 10 cents each, one milk glass vase at 79 cents, and a large vintage ironstone platter for 99 cents. My grand total for the day was $1.98!

Not bad if I do say so myself!

Have you found any great bargains lately? If so, I would love to hear about them.

Linking up to:
Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous
Show and Tell Wednesdays at Blue Cricket Design
Whatever Goes Wednesdays at Someday Crafts

Simple is Better

This coffee table is not my first choice for my living room. In all honesty it is not my second, third or even fourth choice. It is however, what I have at the moment so I have decided to make the best of it.

You may remember this picture which was taken right after we repainted our living room.

Although the space looked considerably lighter, I received many comments about the table appearing dark. I totally agreed.

Since replacing the table with something new is not an option right now and I couldn’t bring myself to paint perfectly good cherry wood I settled on adding a new piece of fabric to the display drawer.

I kept the contents simple – three white ironstone dishes – and used a piece of vintage French feedsack cloth for the inside.

I guess simple really is better!

How to Whiten Ironstone

On a recent trip to the Salvation Army I purchased a white ironstone platter for 49 cents.

Although it was somewhat discolored (not the worst I have seen), I thought it was a great bargain. It was also the perfect price for attempting Pam Stamey’s simple three step process for whitening ironstone. (July/August 2001 edition Country Home magazine)

Country Home magazine

What I Did:
#1 - Soak ironstone in clear water for 24 hours.

#2 – While wearing heavy-duty rubber gloves, fill a tub with 40-percent clear peroxide. (I purchased mine at Sally Beauty Supply for $5 a bottle.) Place ironstone in the peroxide, making sure the entire piece is submerged. Pam recommends letting the ironstone soak for 5 to 7 days.

I let my platter soak for 6 days. After removing it from the peroxide it was already much whiter.

#3 – Preheat an electric oven to 250 degrees. (Do not use a gas oven.) Put ironstone in the oven for about 20 minutes.  Pam bakes her pieces on glass plates. I used a cookie tray lined with parchment paper.

The brown color should rise to the surface (which it did on my platter). Remove from oven. Let cool. Wash in hot soapy water.

Final Results:
You can see from the pictures below this process really works. Most of the large brown spots have disappeared and the platter is much whiter.

What I learned:
Since this is such an easy process, I won’t be passing up ironstone that is significantly discolored any more.

Although my results were not as dramatic as the Country Home picture shown above - my platter still had a few brown marks - it was definitely a lot whiter and brighter.

I am looking forward to trying Pam’s method for repairing chipped and cracked ironstone - as soon as I find an appropriate piece of china.

The saleswoman at the beauty supply store told me the peroxide would remain good for a year after it was opened. She also told me it could be saved and reused. Does anyone know if this is true? I saved the peroxide I bought but want to make sure it is safe to use again.

Linking up to some of my favorite parties