by Donna Pochaski of Vintage Chic Furniture
I started painting distressed furniture “shabby chic style” first out of necessity. I pulled a piece of furniture off the curb that someone was throwing away. I just moved into a small and super cute old cottage style house and I realized I needed more furniture. I found great candidate that somebody had left on the curb. I loaded into my vehicle, went to home depot, bought some paint, a brush, and some sandpaper and went to work. I chose white paint – I love white, and it’s the cheapest paint to buy! After priming and painting, I proceeded to sand the edges to give it that aged distressed look. I loved the way it came out. Then it hit me – this is how I’m going to decorate my whole house!! The white finish was light and bright and I just loved it.
Then I was on a hunt- I needed more pieces. There was a wall in my kitchen that I needed to fill mostly for more storage. I remember driving down the road when I passed this big Victorian home and sticking up out of the dumpster was a tall kitchen cabinet. I thought- WOW this is really old and it’s perfect. Bursting with excitement, I brought it home, went once again to home depot and purchased 4 fence post caps. I screwed them to the bottom of the cabinet and they became the feet,. Of course, I painted it white and then distressed it with sandpaper. The result was absolutely the cutest little cottage style cabinet that fit perfect on my short little wall in my tiny cottage kitchen.
This was only the beginning for me. Any one of my friends that came over all started to say that they looked so good I should start a business doing this. I loved the thought of that, so, to make a long story short, that is exactly what I did!! I still absolutely love transforming pieces as much today as I did when I first started (almost 5 years ago.)
So, I now paint just about anything and everything, mostly white, in case you haven’t figured that out yet- it’s just my thing. With a nice wall color and all the furniture and accessories painted in white, I can make a room look fresh and inviting. But you don’t have to choose white – the same will go for other colors you may love as well. So don’t throw out that old furniture, d’ECO-rate it! Use whatever color you love; furniture and accessories alike – have no fear! Like me, you may just find that this new hobby becomes your obsession. And if you don’t want to do it yourself, I will gladly give that old piece of furniture a new look for you! 🙂
I’ll be sharing more eco friendly decorating ideas here at eco-local soon…
Donna Pochaski, Vintagechicfurniture.com
182 River Street, Troy NY 12180
(518)326-5222
(631)790-5310
