I have some inspiring art-related posts coming up soon and it got me thinking about the work coming out of my studio these days. This month, I plan to work on some improvisational paintings on paper and wood. It's this idea that has me feeling excited. It all started with a modern painting that I made for the Minted x West Elm design challenge. It was freeing to create something expressive and loose for a change.

Have you ever felt overly attached to the outcome of an art project? 

To move past that initial hesitation, I decided to recycle some used canvases that I had lying around my studio. In a way, I feel less attached to a recycled canvas than a brand new canvas or a blank sheet of paper. To prepare each canvas, I needed to resurface them with gesso. 

Here's how you can gesso a canvas and start a fresh painting. 

For the full details, read on!

Today, I invite you to see how I repair simple slab of petrified wood in my studio. If you are interested in wood glue-ups or need to do a simple wood repair, then you can use this simple process.

This wood slab came from a high-end side table that my client purchased a few years back. When she reached out to me, I offered to repair the piece of furniture. 

I was excited about this repair because the table was so beautiful and I felt like it could be repaired. I do occasional glue-ups when making a table top or even a large cutting board and I use a similar process to combine the two lengths of wood. In my woodworking class, I learned that wood glue dries stronger than nails. I use Titebond III for glue-ups because it is water resistant, which is perfect for both tabletops and cutting boards, anything that you want to resist moisture. 

​I use my 24" bar clamp a lot because most chairs and small tables fit within that size. The next size up, which comes in handy is the 36" bar clamp. I got lucky with this glue-up and was able to position the sides of the clamp on two semi-flat sections on the side of the table. I've found that it can be tricky, when glueing to natural edges and it helps if you can find 2 flat spaces on the edge which to clamp onto. After I run glue along both edges of the wood, I position the wood and tighten my clamp. 

Once the wood glue had dried, I used a little bit of walnut wood putty with a putty knife to the crack to make it blend into the rest of the table. The crack is still slightly noticeable but gets lost in the style of the piece. I also sanded the wood putty filler once it was dry. Next, I used a multi-purpose adhesive to adhere the table top to the metal base. It works well and I use this product often when attached wood to metal or glass to wood. Then, I sand away the excess putty. 

Below, you can see the side table after repairs. I plan to add a light coat of polyurethane to seal in the wood putty and ultimately seal the crack. I hope you have enjoyed this mid-week project and that this info will help you with any simple wood repair.

If you enjoyed learning about this simple wood repairs, then you might like to see how I refinished a vintage desk recently and you can too! To see more, repairs and tricks on wood refinishing please join my mailing list to receive monthly updates on how you can improve your home. 

Who is ready to see how to transform a funky old dresser using various tints of a coral ombre?
I thought I would share a painted furniture technique that I have tried many times in the past. You will see how I created a custom ombre look on a vintage dresser.  Over the years, I have resurfaced several pieces of vintage furniture. This was one of my favorite projects to date. For the ombre effect, I like using color families of blue, gray or coral. For this project, my customer in Louisiana chose the the color Guava by Benjamin Moore.

Here is how the dresser looked before in green. It was super funky (yet charming?) but needed and update for the space. I look for sturdy wooden pieces without a lot of wear and tear, that are preferably light-weight for shipping.

For this project you will need: 

• small mouse sander or orbital sander, both of these tools are essential time-savers when refinishing a piece of furniture
• foam cabinet roller and tray set
• knobs of your choice: simple silver knobs or fancy hammered knobs
• paint and primer of your choice: I used Guava by Benjamin Moore  

Last but not least, you will want to install the hardware. You will want to choose knobs that accent your space and add to the piece. For mine, I used small silver mercury glass knobs that I found on sale at Anthropologie. 

Here you can see the final look below! Later, I was commissioned to use this exact ombre scheme on a custom desk for a client. 

To my joy and surprise, a design publication based in Germany included this piece in it's editorial.

I hope you all have enjoyed hearing about how to paint an ombre dresser using interior paint! If you'd like to see more ombre, then be sure to check out this Ocean Ombre Nightstand in Blue Lagoon, and request to join my Group Board, Hooray for Ombre! 

While we are on the topic of furniture, I am currently loving this chic painted DIY nightstand video that I enjoyed by Orlando Soria and Emily Henderson. Would love to try this one out.