Ultra rustic & Industrial-chic live edge console table

I bought some beautiful live-edge boards from a girl I know in town and thought I would make a few pieces with them.  But I actually liked the look of the board as it was - even with a saw slice in it and all of its imperfections!  This piece is blue spruce and it had been drying for over a year and had lovely knots and wavy barked edges that made it quite interesting.  I decided I wanted it to look quite rustic, instead of the usual smooth look that live-edge has so often boasted; so I sanded it a lot, but not to a point where I would lose the "hairy" wood which is so great at soaking up stain.  After a few coats of dark walnut stain it was left with a really cool patch-work pattern of knots, rich texture, and pretty wood grain streaks.  I love it!  I finished it with 5 coats of varnish, buffing in between coats so the glossy finish would make every bit of personality pop!  After ordering custom-made steel hairpin legs and affixing them to make the whole thing level, a beautifully rustic and industrial piece was ready for a new home as a console bench or coffee table!  

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Before: just a board!

After:  live-edge beauty!

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 and at sageandbalm.com.

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Rustic & Shabby-chic cable spool clock

Here is a fun project that I whipped up just in time for my HOPE in the street festival which ran yesterday in downtown Guelph!  A sincere thank you to all who came out!

Since I've had a custom order request for a large spool clock, I thought I'd use the matching top from the same spool I disassembled and make another one!  That's recycling :)  So after dismantling the spool, sanding, angle-grinding nails, chalk-painting, aligning number-placements, stenciling Roman numerals and setting up the clock mechanism, this clock was sealed and ready to become someone's next statement piece.  Aside from being quite pretty, the clock is functional, too, making it a great display piece, as well as a means to tell time!

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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 and at sageandbalm.com.

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Pretty & shabby-chic vanity with chalkboard

Since it is June, it is officially wedding season; so when "H" approached me with a small vanity that she wanted refinished for her wedding, I was happy to oblige.  "H" really likes the antiqued, shabby-chic look, and the vanity was going to play a decorative part in her wedding display.  It's a pretty little thing with a nice shape - perfect for holding a guest book or card box.  Transforming it from a papered-on mahagony print to an antiqued white was fairly straight-forward, and after some choice distressing, it was ready for waxing with both clear and dark antiquing wax to give it that old-world feel.  It looks sweet and so much nicer compared to its original state!  Have a fantastic wedding, "H", and enjoy your prettily made-over vanity!

*Are you getting married?  Know someone who is?  Need someone to make wedding decor or furniture for the big day?  Scroll to the bottom of this post for contact info and I'd be more than happy to help you make beautiful decor for your big day! *

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Before: red, beaten-up and in need of TLC:

After: a pretty improvement, perfect for a wedding!

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 and at sageandbalm.com.

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Beautiful matte-black side board with walnut top

This handsome vintage number was in decent shape when I acquired it; but the top was covered in deep gouges, scratches, scuff-marks and discolouration from water damage.  While the all-over wood look is nice on furniture in many cases, I wanted to make this piece a bit more dramaticand less "boxy" to really show off its clean lines and pretty, original ring-pulls.  I settled on a matte-black, suede-like finish on the body because I think that looks very soft and gives the piece immediate patina.  Rather than just looking like black paint, I custom mixed a black with other colours so there would be some grey and blue tones coming out.  I purposely tried to "wash" the paint by doing a bit of my secret dry-wet-brush technique and I love how the finish looks like time has gently worn the paint back, allowing some of the original ruddy colour to peak through.

  I wanted the top to stay the same colour, so I refinished it, trying to closely match the original stain colour and adding a durable satin varnish on top.  I left some darker streaks in the stained top to keep it from looking too clean and give it some depth.  The fixtures were so pretty as-is, I merely cleaned them.  The cupboard interiors got another coat of stain, while the drawers were in great shape, so they were just cleaned.  I think this piece turned out exactly as I wanted it to - handsome, striking, and a beautiful statement piece that will grace any dining room nicely!

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Before: nice, but needing some TLC and a bit of a change from the heavy all-over-wood look.

After: A classic, beautifully patina'd sideboard!

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 and at sageandbalm.com.

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