Our beautiful sale day!

Hello friends! Well, this past Saturday was another Chelsea's Garage on-site sale and the weather couldn't have been more perfect - quite a contrast to the snow we got on our February sale day! The Garage looked great and even featured a couple pieces I hadn't even posted here, (the Cottage Chic Dining table and the Sweet Dreams Headboard, see photos below). The day started with a lot of sweet friends coming by to say hi and take a look...I feel so blessed to have such supportive and encouraging friends and family, let me tell ya! Then slowly, but surely, a lot of new faces started coming in. Some saw the Chelsea's Garage sign from the road, (best Christmas present ever! Thanks, Mom:) ), others had heard about it from a friend, (amen!). So, the word is slowly spreading which I am really grateful for; that's what my little furniture refinishing business depends on!

Here are some photos of the morning, right after I finished setting up:

Tulips instead of snow this time:)

Cottage Chic Dining table debut!

I will always have a few goodies out. Always.:)

Sweet Dreams Headboard debut!

All three of these china cabinet doors sold; the middle one to one home and the two on the sides to another. It was such a joy to see others so interested and taken by something that was so out of the box. Thanks to Husband for rigging them up to be hung on the morning of the sale!

I saw a handful of pieces leave the Garage and go on to new homes on Saturday, but since I've had each piece listed individually on craigslist, the responses have been pouring in and I've had daily appointments set up with folks interested in seeing/purchasing. A handful of pieces remain but the garage is starting to look spacious again....time to start furniture hunting all over!

Thank you so much for following the buzz in the Garage! If you saw anything in the photos that you're curious about, click on 'Shop' and you'll see an entire album of pieces with full descriptions and prices listed under the first photo of each piece.

Also, I have a small collection of decorative items I'd like to be able to give away soon, so if you're a regular here, please become a member, (Garage Guest), so you'll be elligible for some free cute things, (even if you're a friend or family member)!

~Chelsea

A newfound love in 'Duck Egg'

Hey there! I've been starting to get some technique questions and was thinking about addressing all of them in one post sometime soon, but one popular one that I thought I would bring up today is how do I pick my paint color/decide what color to paint which pieces? Here's the thing: I am definitely not a person who collects sample after sample of various shades of the same color. I usually go to the paint store with a specific color in mind and scan the rainbow of swatches until I see it. Perhaps it's because I always have 3 little ones in tow and do not have the time to stand there and compare, but I rarely pick up any more swatches once I've found 'The One'. Colors that catch my eye tend to be very earthy; in fact, here are some of the paint names in the Garage: Coral Reef, Sandstone, Duck Egg, Bayou, Pebble Beach, Cumberland Fog, and Spring Mint. At the moment the Garage is full of over a dozen pieces all ready for this Saturday's sale, and I have each of the above colors represented somewhere in the collection. I absolutely love how the entire group of pieces look together! So many shades of gray, tan, cream, aqua, green, blue..it looks like a cohesive group simply because they're all very earthy tones. I love how you can mix and match natural colors in the home. You don't look outside and think the trees clash with the grass and the sky....so if you have earthy colors in your home, you can really do anything you want! And 'earthy' doesn't have to mean dull or lacking bright colors... Why not have an aqua end table with coral throw pillows and a foggy gray coffee table? Nature works so well inside the home! I know not everyone has the same taste, and thank goodness for that! I love walking into homes and seeing how people show their own personality and individuality through their decor and use of color.

Ok, enough chit chat, (and if you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to contact me)! One of my new favorite colors to use is Annie Sloan's 'Duck Egg' chalk paint. Such a FUN color! It's saturated enough that you could use it year round, mixing it up with golds, dark greens, burnt orange and eggplant purples in the fall and winter, or lighter peaches, corals, grays and tans in the spring and summer.

 Here is a beautiful side table with dental wood trim, fresh from it's 'Duck Egg' makeover:

(29.5d x 22w x 23.5h)

~available for sale~

Here is a chunky wooden chair which had originally been painted forest green on the backrest and legs. I just painted right over the green in 'Duck Egg' and then distressed it enough to see some hits of green here and there on the piece:

(17.5w x 17.25d x 37h)

~available for sale~

The last piece before the sale on Saturday is a cute little headboard that is in the Garage drying from it's fresh coat of....you guessed it, Duck Egg :)

If you are interested in coming by on Saturday contact me and I will send you the address. I hope you have a fantastic finish to your week!

~Chelsea

'20s Style Desk Makeover

Hi All! 4 days and counting until our next Open Garage event! I am so so excited about all the new pieces in the Garage and feel like they're really coming together for a lovely cohesive collection. Fresh from a new makeover is this chunky 1920s style desk! I still cannot get over those extra large knobs, (original to the desk). Aren't they awesome?!

I refinished this piece in Annie Sloan's 'French Linen' chalk paint. I dry-brushed a very thin layer of cream, (Behr's 'Sandstone'), over the drawers, letting the 'French Linen' show through the brush strokes. Next, I heavily distressed all the trim and parts of the surface.

(42.25w x  19.5d x 30h)

~available for sale~

On an unrelated note, yesterday was our Mason man's 1st birthday. I couldn't imagine our life without this totally awesome little boy. What a joy he is to all of us!

Remember, this Saturday, March 31, 10am-4pm, Chelsea's Garage sale! Contact me if you would like to come by and I will give you the address!

~Chelsea

One week until the door opens!

Well, it's that time again! The Garage is full of fresh new pieces all ready to go to new homes. The door opens this Saturday, March 31 at 10am. I will be open all day until 4pm, so even if you aren't interested in any furniture please come check it out and say hello! There will be refreshments available, of course; it just wouldn't be Chelsea's Garage without some food around somewhere ;)

Here are some photos I posted after the last sale in February. To see some of the more recent pieces, please see my 'Shop' link in the left column.

For the address please contact me and I will be happy to send it to you! Hope to see you there!

~Chelsea

Beachy Stools - Get your kitchen ready for summer!

Hi there! Things have been busy, busy around here but I dropped everything when these stools got into the Garage. My lovely sis-in-law, Megan, replaced her kitchen island stools and gave me her old ones, (I've lost track of the number of pieces she's either found or passed on to me - what a blessing)! Anyway, I have been on my last thread this week trying to refinish a monstrous china cabinet in time for the March 31 sale and there have been some very frustrating moments. After hours of work on this piece and not even adding a touch of paint yet, I needed some time away for some *fun* work. This pair of stools was just the distraction I needed and it was so much fun giving them a fresh makeover just in time for Spring and Summer!

I sanded them down and then sprayed on some white primer, (Kilz odorless oil-based primer). Then I brushed on a coat of cream, (Behr's 'Sandstone', semi-gloss finish), and heavily distressed (using 220 grit sandpaper), to let the natrual wood show. Some areas I distressed lightly enough to just show the white primer underneath. The fun part was adding an aqua blue stencilled design to the seats! I love how the cream and aqua blue contrast one another - and with the subtle pops of white on the legs....! So yummy. If I had a kitchen island or counter bar, I would so be keeping these! But alas, they will be available at the March 31 sale :)

This candle is Coconut Milk Mango from Anthropologie. It was a birthday gift last June and it's one of my favorite Spring/Summer candles to burn - plus the can is so pretty :)

This weekend we are travelling down to Williamsburg to celebrate our Mason's 1st birthday! This little business of furniture refinishing has been a dream come true for me, but I have truly never known such joy as 'experiencing' my babes. They just rock my world every day. Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

~Chelsea