10 Plants To Deter Deer

Creating A Garden That Deters Deer

Yesterday before work, I decided to admire my garden that I had worked on all weekend.  I was surprised to find 2 of my vintage pots completed turned over with all of the flowers on the ground that I had planted.  I looked around to find deer tracks all over the new soil, however I noticed nothing was eaten!  Why didn't they eat anything?  After a little research I found out I have planted everything deer do not like! 

Deer often steer clear of plants that are bitter, spiny, poisonous, fuzzy, coarse, or very aromatic. When designing your cottage garden there are so many plants you can use that fit this category!

Here are 10 fragrant and thorny plants that will look wonderful in your cottage garden and that deer will stay away from.

Roses:

Climbing Pink Rose

Source 

Herbs:

Rosemary

Source 

Lavender

Source

Mint

Source

Thyme

Source

Salvia

Source

Cat Mint

Source

Perineals:

Coneflowers

Black Eyed Susans

Source

Bell Flower

Source

Iris

Source

Astilbe

Source

Keep It Simple

 

Keep It Simple!

When decorating your room or staging a piece of furniture, try to keep it simple!

There's no need for extra frills.  Simple makes much more of a statement when decorating!

A small ironstone pitcher filled with fresh cut flowers not only looks pretty but adds a wonderful smell to any room!

Stacks of old books in contrasting colors to match your room's palette is always a winner!

Bring in some natural elements!   Try adding twig balls, pine cones, branches or seashells to your rooms decor!  Simple things make for a well staged room.

Rehab Cupboard!

Addicted To Rehabbing!

I just finished another cupboard!  I love collecting the 1920's - 1930's pieces!  This cupboard was originally a two tone piece that had a glass door with an ornate wood screen.  To update this piece I removed the door!  Yes, some of you may be cringing but the door distracted a bit from the items placed on the shelves.  Now it is a more versatile piece.

This one took most of the week because I did a 6 step color process on it.  

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

My base coat - French Linen

My second coat Old White

My third coat - Cocoa Wash

My fourth coat - Old White Dry Brush

My first coat - more fine tune distressing

My last coat - Clear wax to seal.

I loved how it turned out and now up for sale.  

Ready to start my next piece.....hmmmmmm another wardrobe coming up:)

Questions on Rehabbing Furniture or My Other Tutorials?

Email Me @ vintagecountrymarket@gmail.com

I will be glad to answer them!

Or Follow Me on 

Buffet Rehab

Happy Thursday!

Today I am going to share a few helpful tips for selling & "Rehabbing Furniture".

Each week, I'm constantly looking through Craigslist ads, antique stores, thrift stores and yard sales to find that perfect piece of furniture to "Rehab".

My client list is mounding up and I have become addicted to Furniture Rehabbing!

Here's some steps to start "Rehabbing" and selling furniture.  I use only Annie Sloan chalkpaint, but there are other paints available.  

1) Find your Piece!

Look through Craigslist ads, Ebay, Yardsales and Thrift Shops.

Once you find your piece, make sure the piece is structurally sound and all drawers working properly.  Selling a piece of furniture that is falling apart is not good business and will not help your business expand.  

2) Fix anything that is possible wrong with the piece.  Veneer chipping?  Fill it in with wood putty and sand!  Missing or loose screws on door hinges?  Fix them!  

3) Wipe down the inside and outside of your piece with a damp cloth to remove dust prior to painting.

4) Choose Your Color Palette!    

Make sure it is something that would appeal to a large number of clients. 

5) To paint the top or not to paint? 

If it is real wood, I prefer not to paint.  If the top is veneer and cracking or chipped, than painting may be better for you.

The original buffet was stained a very outdated orange.  I stripped the top of the buffet completely down to the bare wood and stained the top a dark "Kona" color.  I choose this color often when refinishing furniture.  Then sealed with coat of Poly.

6) To Paint or Not To Paint The Hardware?

 I NEVER paint over the hardware.  I feel in most cases it cheapens the look of the piece of furniture.  Once removed, the hardware was cleaned, then repainted a Chestnut color by Rust-oleum.

Most of my pieces are a 4-5 step color process.  Yes, most of the time I use 3 colors, then dry brush with a color and seal.  It takes more time but in the end it is so worth it.  The multiple layers of colors truly reveal the beauty of the Annie Sloan paint.  

7) To paint, or not to paint the inside of the the drawers....hmmmmmm that seems to be the question!  I do both!

If the inside of the drawer is scratched up and you are wanting to resell your piece, I would suggest taking the time to paint the inside of the drawer.  If the wood is nice inside, then use your own judgement.  On this piece I did not paint the inside of the drawers, however I did paint the base of the cabinet only.  I wanted the true charm of the French Buffet to show through with the knotty wood that's why I chose not to on this piece:)

8) Staging your piece to sell!

Pictures say a thousand words!  Take the time to stage your piece!  No matter how nice the piece is, a bad picture won't help sell that piece!  An simple ironstone pitcher with flowers is all you really need on top.  Try not to over clutter your piece when taking pictures.

9) Pricing The Piece!

For many of us Furniture Rehabbers, we need to put into account several factors!

The cost of the piece of furniture.

The time it takes to go get the piece of furniture and the gas we spend getting there!

The cost of our products needed to refinish each piece:

Stripping Materials

Sanding Blocks

Paint/Primer/Stain

Hardware

And our course, our time!

You should factor all of this when pricing your piece.

In the end, when the piece is done, I am always satisfied and excited to get my next piece started!

This is how I have been rolling lately....and I'm having so much fun doing it!

Any questions?  Contact me!!!

vintagecountrymarket@gmail.com

FREE Mother's Day Gift Idea Tutorial Butterfly Pot

FREE DIY

Mother's Day Gift Idea!

Vintage Flower Pot With Butterfly Tutorial

Supplies Needed:

Small Clay Pot

Dollar Store Book

White Craft Paint

Small Styrofoam Ball*
(*Size of Ball will depend on what size pot you want to use.  It will need to fit snuggly inside top of pot when up in half)

Hot Glue Gun

Spanish Moss

Floral Wire & Piece of Jute or Twine

Cup of Coffee or Tea For Staining Pages

Butterfly Template To Download For Your Pages!

••••••

Vintage Buffet Before & After

Happy Sunday!

It's been a very busy week here rehabbing furniture for clients.  I have to say I am becoming quite addicted.  Here is another buffet that I just finished I wanted to share with you!

This piece was originally a dark mahogany in color.  I usually love keeping the top a wood finish, however this particular buffet had a lot of veneer damage so I decided to paint the top with my favorite Annie Sloan "French Linen" color.  

I wanted this piece to be more distressed than usual.

I first needed to fix the top.  This time I chose to use Auto Body filler instead of wood filler.  If you are going to paint a piece, the Auto Body putting is stronger and will not chip out like the wood putty does.

Here is a before shot.

As you can see below, there was quite a bit of veneer damage that needed to be fixed.

A little bit of filling in with Auto Body Putty, than once dry sanding a bit with my palm sander and I was ready to start painting!

My Technique:

Base Coat French Linen 

Entire piece inside and out

Second Coat (1 Part Old White/1 Part Pure White)

Using short brush strokes.

Third Coat - Cocoa Wash Over Entire Outside Piece.

Fourth Coat - Lightly Dry Brush Over Outside Piece With 1 Part Old White/1 Part Pure White)

Top of Buffet:

After you have painted the entire piece with the above technique, repaint the top only with French Linen.

Wet Distress Edges Using A Wet Sponge With A Scrubber On One Side.

I prefer to distress using the "Wet" method instead of using sand paper.  You can see more of the colors using the wet sponge, by just rubbing the wet sponge until the next color starts to show through,  instead of using sand paper where you go directly to the wood.

This seems like a lot of steps, but once I figured out the look I wanted, my next piece went pretty fast.

For the hardware, I chose Rust-Oleum Hammered Chestnut.  I love using this color for most of my pieces.

Until the next project!  Have a great week!

Before & After Flea Market Find

Happy Thursday!  

It's been a while since I've posted, but I have been so busy on furniture projects for clients!  I wanted to share one of them with you!

This lovely 1920's Chifferobe Wardrobe..

I found this Chifferobe on Craigslist.  Wow...was it beat up!  I was not really expecting all of the prep work before I actually started painting this but in the end, a sturdy piece of furniture is key when you are selling!  

To fill in all of the broken veneer, I used wood putty then sanded down once dry.  You can see the clamps holding a piece in place while some glue was drying:)

This piece was going to be done in my favorite color palette,  using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  First, I had to make a trip to my favorite Annie Sloan Stockist in Fredericksburg, VA - Emporio.  They fully stock all of Annie Sloan products.  I absolutely love this place and they are always so helpful with questions I may have!

The palette choice will be French Linen as base, Old White as second color, Cocoa as the Wash, followed by a dry brush of Old White, and then clear wax to seal it off. 

I first applied these amazing wreath furniture appliques that I found on Ebay with Wood Glue and allowed them to completely dry before painting the piece.

1) First coat - French Linen

2) Second Coat - Old White

When I paint the Old White on I use short strokes allowing the French Linen to show through.

3) Third Coat - Cocoa Wash

4) Lightly Go Over Again With Old White Here and There

5) Seal The Piece With Annie Sloan Clear Wax

I always finish the inside of the piece of furniture with a contrasting color or the same.  In this piece I used the Old White for the inside of the entire piece, but the insides of drawers were done the French Linen.

I absolutely adore the way it turned out.

I always love doing this color combination ~ just in case it does not sell, it will always look lovely in mine:)

You can see how the Cocoa Wash shows up in all of the corners of the Wardrobe.  This was done by dry brushing before sealing with the clear wax.

As always, if you have any questions, let me know.

Have a great day!