Creole Thrift

Recently, I was having an email chat with Linda from Restyled Home. Again... I LOVE her. Anyway, as I was typing my latest to her, I sort of had an epiphany. I even told her that I may just have to copy and paste what I realized... so here it is...

"...It's really a lot harder to get over living in an area like New Orleans than I expected. The fullness of life there is just unparalleled. I've been trying to force myself into this "Texas" state of mind, and it has been totally depressing me! Today I came to the realization that to have any peace, I'm just going to have to bring a little decadence to Houston. I just thought, To Heck with It... I'm doing this my way! I love how the pictures of your home really speaks to who you are. If we can't be ourselves in our own place, where can we be?..."

Now, for most people reading this blog, you don't know that I didn't grow up around New Orleans. My upbringing was far more rural and straight-laced than that. However, after my husband and I got married and his first job out of LSU was in New Orleans, we made the area our home for nearly 11 years. The division between "North and South" Louisiana is striking. One's not better than the other, but they could be different states, on opposite sides of the country for all of those differences. I never felt more at home than I did in Southeast Louisiana. We loved the time-worn beauty, people, and of course the food. It was us. It was home. (Sorry Mom)

So keeping with the square peg in a round hole theme... here's my latest project.



The piece was originally a terribly worn console table that I found at a thrift shop. I paid my $75 and took her home, cleaned her up, and gave her a nice little black dress. She stayed that way for a while... then she started to beg for some bling... I know, I KNOW... a girl's gotta have some jewelry.

I found a graphic that I liked online. (hence the paper taped to the front) Then I leveled the picture onto the front door panel.



I traced the parts that I wanted using a ballpoint pen. The impression from the roller ball inside of the pen makes guidelines for painting later.





I took a metallic glase (in gold)and went to work...
(sorry... I've tried to fix the rotation on this photo... but it's not changing...)


After I followed along the drawings, I highlighted the bamboo trim and distressed the top a bit. So now the girl's all dressed up and ready for a party. She's sitting in my dining room ready for that table and chairs to be delivered...





So, I guess this is a shot of her flashing you (New Orleans style), but I just had to let you know what's really inside... it's a bar with a glass rack on the top... Get it?... Nice Rack... ;-) Sorry, I couldn't help myself...