Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween...and I have a special "treat" for you: I have compiled a collection of my eeriest photography...to put you in the spirit!  These photos epitomize the haunted, lonely, despairing, and  dreary feelings we sometimes get on our life journeys...but fear not: photos cannot hurt you.

Have a safe and bappy Halloween!

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To place a custom furniture order or to purchase an existing piece or photography prints, please contact me at sageandbalm@gmail.com and I'll be happy to assist you!  You can also follow Sage & Balm on Facebook!

How do custom refinishing orders work?

As you may already know, Sage & Balm is about transforming things from the forgotten or mundane to the functional and beautiful.  That's my goal: to take things destined for the trash or thrift store pile and remake them so they can be loved again.  I believe this is one little way we can recycle and curb excessive consumerism; and having a piece of furniture that holds a story is something special, too.  That being said, there is also room for wanting to be surrounded by beauty and to have belongings that you find lovely to look upon in your home.  We are drawn to things that are beautiful, and science has shown us that this is both healthy and inspiring to us.  By refinishing and up-cycling your previously loved furniture or other home decor items, you are easing the burden of the trash-pile while also infusing your space with beauty - what a great thing to do!

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Before & After - an example of how refinishing can transform!









Here is how to place a custom order for furniture refinishing:

 ~ASSESS~

Start by assessing and considering what you're looking for or what you already have.  Do you have a piece of furniture that you love to hate?  Have you inherited a piece of furniture that just isn't your personal style; or perhaps you stumbled across a beautiful, but outdated item from a second-hand store?  Maybe there is an empty spot in your home that needs a functional and attractive furniture item, but you're dissatisfied at the mundane or poor-quality things available in big-box stores?  Or are you put-off by designer price-tags at up-scale boutiques and becoming exasperated knowing that what you like is out of your financial reach?  Lastly, it is possible that you found a derelict piece on the side of the road and had high hopes of fixing it up for yourself...but now, a year has passed and it still sits in your garage, collecting both dust, and your frustration?  This is where to start.

~FIND INSPIRATION~

 Once you have decided that a piece you own or have discovered second-hand needs a make-over, set about looking for ideas on what you'd like this piece to look like or to do for your home.  If you require a consultation on what would look best in your space, I provide consultations free of charge!  Look for pictures or inspiration for your furniture piece, then once you know what you want, contact me through email (sageandbalm@gmail.com) or through the comments section of the blog, and I will walk you through the process to ensure you're happy with the final result.

~GET A QUOTE~

You can start by presenting your ideas, thoughts, and wishes, and I will give you an obligation-free quote (also free of charge) to make sure that refinishing fits your budget while also making sure you are satisfied with your "new" piece.  

~PLACE YOUR ORDER~

 If you decide that refinishing is what you're after, we simply arrange ways to get your piece to my workshop, and I will do the rest!  It's as simple as that.  Along the refinishing process, I like to document the progress with you so you are involved in the transformation.  We can work together to make your custom piece just that - something that is exactly to your desires and specifications!

~ENJOY YOUR "NEW" FURNITURE!~

Once your piece is refinished, we arrange for either delivery or pick-up (contact me for more details, or see my website* for details).  Install your like-new piece and enjoy it, and rest assured that you have done well for the environment and your wallet!

If this is a road you've been longing to travel for a while, please contact me, and I'll be more than happy to help you remake your furniture -  all while providing you with a budget-friendly, professional, and high-quality process so you can bring function and beauty to your home!

* my website will be launching soon and will be full of more details!


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For those who have placed a custom order before, I thank you for supporting a small business!

Dark-stained, chippy-painted farmhouse trestle table

As previously mentioned, here is another farmhouse-style table!  I must make the disclaimer that photos are not staged to be very pretty as this table is so heavy and hard to move that I have worked on it and stored it on my front porch where ample light and staging are not happening.

I wanted this table to have a very interesting final look: one that would blend "rustic farmhouse" with "shabby-chic".  This is essentially what Sage & Balm is all about: merging the worlds of two styles I hold dear to make something a little off-beat, but still beautiful!

The table is a lovely trestle-style and already had great wood-work.  I wanted chippy paint all over the bottom to give the table lots of character.  It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I really enjoy the look of a very  well-loved piece of furniture.  The table base has been sealed in a semi-matte finish to stop any continuing chipping, yet it also keeps up the look of nonchalance (this also makes the base scrub-able in case of spills).  I completely rebuilt the table top from rustic pine boards (similar to the table in one of my custom orders...see here), and I selected specific boards for their interesting appearance.  One board has a giant "gash" of knotted wood that is cross-grain and chipping away, while another board has very intricate streaks in it.  The boards were stained a dark brown to match the wood underneath the chipped paint to provide something cohesive and to make all the wonderful quirks in the boards "pop".  After several coats of an extremely durable finish and several sanding sessions later, the boards are smooth to the touch, but they retain the rustic, rough-cut look.  Together, the farmhouse table-top and shabby-chic base make one lovely and entirely unique table!

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Before: an "OK" trestle table that was missing something....

After: a beautiful, and functional blend of styles!

Beautiful details in the wood planks:

Chippy paint in a cream colour mixed with bits of gold

 make the walnut brown pop underneath:

Unique details that will be sure to elicit conversation and lasting interest!

And LOTS of chippy, character-ful paint!

To place a custom furniture order or to purchase an existing piece or photography prints, please contact me at sageandbalm@gmail.com and I'll be happy to assist you!  You can also follow Sage & Balm on Facebook!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!  We have so much and more for which to give thanks!

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Gorgeous white and pale grey, shabby-chic hutch

Here is a dramatic makeover of a very unfortunate-looking hutch into a thing of beauty!  The hutch was in decent condition when I bought it and I immediately fell in love with its gorgeous lines, scrolled filigrees and wood work.  I bought it with intentions to make it look quite old and established, but wasn't sure what to do with the glass paneling and glass-top shelving inside - they wouldn't work with that style.  Thankfully (?) my delivery helpers nearly dropped the piece and every single pane of glass on the interior shattered into bits.  I was startled at first, but challenges like that intrigue a creative mind and I was already thinking of alternatives to the glass shelves.

After rebuilding wooden shelves and having a plan laid out, I set to work shellac-ing the entire piece.  I wasn't pleased with the smell from being in someone else's previous ownership!  I also really wanted the outside of this piece to have a very old, worn, crackled and full of character look!  Sometimes, a layer or two of shellac will let you do just that!  (It also conceals smells where conventional cleaning just doesn't cut it!)  I also removed all of the exterior glass paneling so that access to the shelves was made possible instead of having to reach around one open door to get items in and out.  I decided I was happy with that and refrained from adding paneling.


The whole piece was crackled, chalk-painted a bright white on the exterior and pale grey on the exterior, stenciled with damask-work, then waxed and further shellaced for protection.  I even white-washed the original fixtures because I didn't mind how they looked overall.  The final look is nice in pictures (despite poor lighting), but gorgeous in person!  This hutch looks like it came straight out of a 17th century French farmhouse - just what I was after!

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Before: a very dated, ugly 70's number that screamed for help:

After: a French country, shabby-chic wonder!

In a brighter indoor light (it takes on a creamier colour under bright lights): 

No glass paneling and sturdier, non-breakable shelves!

The interesting decals looks like they've withstood ages...

To place a custom furniture order or to purchase an existing piece or photography prints, please contact me at sageandbalm@gmail.com and I'll be happy to assist you!  You can also follow Sage & Balm on Facebook!

Two different table make-overs!

The first table today is one that was already in good condition.  I just didn't like the heavy, dark wood finish on it since the table actually has a very nice shape.  So I chalk-painted it a powdery-soft blue and white washed the whole table so all the grooves and millwork were highlighted nicely.  Then I painted on a French script motif to make the table unique as well as pretty. Suddenly, the heavy, drab table became feminine and light, and all the millwork and script turned this boring table into a beauty.

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The second table that got a transformation is a fun little patio table that just needed some small repairs and a facelift.  I chalk-painted it a very cheery mint green colour and distressed it to let some black paint from the original finish through.  It received a good amount of exterior-safe sealer and a glass cover so it can withstand indoor or outdoor weather.  It's a cute table that would be as charming in the backyard as it would in the living room.

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Before: dark and heavy:

After: bright and beautiful:

Before: broken and blah:

After: all prettied up!

To place a custom furniture order or to purchase an existing piece or photography prints, please contact me at sageandbalm@gmail.com and I'll be happy to assist you!  You can also follow Sage & Balm on Facebook!