Monday, December 18, 2017

The Chalet: Shingles and Antique Vanities

So, remember when I said everything hurts and I'm dying two weeks ago? Well things didn't get better but I kept putting off getting checked out until I started to panic that whatever I have could get passed to my ninety-two year old grandmother on Christmas Eve. In truth, I was fairly certain I have shingles. I've seen the commercials for Zostavax. I know the symptoms. And I knew how much pain I'd been in for too long. And also the blatant, angry rash. So I got checked out and no surprise to me I have shingles. I was scolded by the doctor for not having come in much sooner. I was stupid. I shouldn't have waited. Lesson learned. So yeah, shingles isn't just for the over-sixty crowd. If you've had chicken pox the shingles virus already lives inside you. And if you get stressed out and run down then the shingles virus might awaken inside you and wreak absolute havoc on your nerves. Unless you've had shingles I don't think you can understand how miserable nerve pain like that is.

But enough about me. Just kidding, still on me. In the upstairs bathroom there's a massive closet and when we bought the house that closet housed clothes, a sewing machine, a jar full of various buttons (which I kept because I collect weird things), and a slightly beat up old vanity. The front of the drawers are a little nicked and I thought about just tossing it in the dumpster, but then I thought better of it. 



I figured I'd take it to my dad's and sand and re-stain it over the winter, but we're reaching the end of this renovation which means I'm in the staging state of mind and I realized the other day that I could use it for staging in front of the fire place in the master bedroom. So over the weekend I asked my sister to paint it with the leftover blue paint from the front door. Everyone made a fuss. Why are you painting it blue? You'd think by now that everyone would just trust my vision. It's not like I suggested painting the house orange. (Which I would never do, just for the record.) 



I also realized, quite perfectly, that I had two knobs at home gifted from a friend a while back. I couldn't figure out what to use them for until now. Serendipitous, no?




Originally, I asked my sister to do at least two coats, but once she started painting I realized that just one coat was the right decision because going on thin and imperfect keeps the antique charm. 



It came out so good that I could hardly contain my excitement. I mean, it's lovely, isn't it? It makes me realize how much I enjoy working with furniture and how I hope we find more toss-aways left behind in future flips so I can continue to fix them up.



Maybe it's too much blue for some people (said the girl who basically only ever wears black, grey, and navy), but I think it's darling and it works perfectly in staging the space in front of the master bedroom fireplace.




And a quick thank you to Olivia for coming on Saturday to help with painting and cleaning. It means a lot to me that you were willing to sacrifice your Saturday to get dirty, and greatly lessened my stress. Also, thank you to my sister for coming both days to help out even though she'd much rather have stayed home in her pj's. I asked her a while back to look in the yard for some sticks and to paint them metallic colors. They are now in a vase on the stairs and I think they add great dimension to an otherwise blah space. 



So that's probably it from me for the next week. We're in the final stretch and nearing putting it on the market but with Christmas fast-approaching this week is going to be hectic, but I will post the final photos and before/afters after the holiday. So until then, have a wonderful holiday and remember, shingles isn't just for the elderly. It's also for thirty-something drama queen hypochondriacs (that's how my dad would describe me anyway) who let life's stress get the best of them. But I mean all things considered, Pox2.0 is a way sexier virus to have than say Ebola or Rabies. At least I'm not frothing at the mouth.

~ Stephanie
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3 comments

  1. I love the way you transformed that left behind piece of furniture and I am obsessed that you staged it with a copy of "The Royal We." Whoever gets to live in The Chalet is one lucky duck.

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  2. Love the color of the vanity and the knobs! Cant wait to see the before and after pictures! Sorry about the shingles, having had them twice myself!!

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  3. Guilty as charged being a blue-paint skeptic. You proved me wrong big time! It really looks so fantastic, and what a cozy nook up there!

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