Antique white shabby chic chippy painted tall-boy dresser with castors and brass pulls

I haven't posted on this blog in a while - I've got a few things coming down the hatch and they've been consuming lots of my time lately!  But stay tuned to see what's new and exciting.

Here is a piece refinished recently.  I have other pieces that are new, so check back to see those pieces coming soon!  This piece is all ready for a new home via Etsy (see the right hand menu to be taken to the shop, or for the piece itself, click here!)

This piece is so very pretty and ultra-shabby chic, I'm extremely tempted to hoard it to myself!  But, alas, my home is already chalk-full of pretty things that make me happy (and my hubby?  Debatable!!)

This piece is refinished with milk-paint and I wanted it to have that characteristically chippy/flaky paint that is so time-worn and farmhouse-chic!  Please enjoy!

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BEFORE:  a run-down piece with great bones:

After: A chippy farmhouse stunner!

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, on  Etsy, on Instagram, on Pinterest,and at sageandbalm.com.

Spring photography prints & Mother's Day SALE!

Spring has finally settled in, with its soft colours, promise of new life, and warmer weather.  It's my favourite time of year, and I'd like to share some of the spring-themed photography prints below that are available for purchase via Etsy or directly through contacting me at sageandbalm@gmail.com.  

I'd also like to point out that mothers, like spring, usher forth new life onto the planet, and deserve some love!  From now until Mother's day, ALL photography prints are 15% off - mom may like some prints to polish up her gallery wall!  Visit the Etsy shop and use the promo code MOMSMATTER1 to receive your discount! 

Happy spring!!

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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, on  Etsy, on Pinterest,and at sageandbalm.com.

Stunning shabby-chic, blue vanity desk with orange & gold lucite drop pulls, castors, and jewelry storage

Here is a fun transformation of a very derelict vanity that had been left in disrepair for years, to a beautiful and functional desk!  I thought hard about this piece and what I wanted it to become.  It had a funny blend of pre-war attributes (ornate woodwork, castors, and little storage spots) combined with retro touches (mahogany veneer, lucite pulls).  So it confused me, but also intrigued me.  I decided to just accept its odd characteristics and make it both pretty and handsome at the same time!  I kept the handles and let the orange-y wood tones underneath coordinate with each other, and let the underlying veneer play a role too: I took all the chips, dings, peeling veneer and deteriorated finish and highlighted them.  This way, the piece could have an old-world feeling, but still be attractive in it's shabbiness!  Then, to keep the piece from getting "too" shabby, the mahogany veneer that I could spare was revived with stripping and new stain and polyurethane to keep the juxtaposition of shabby with "polished".  I think it turned out as a really interesting-looking piece that is now able to work as a desk or vanity again, while still paying homage to its vintage!

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Before: very run-down and beat up!

After: with new life breathed in!

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, on  Etsy, on Pinterest,and at sageandbalm.com.

Introducing coordinated photography print sets!

Well...with spring and summer fast approaching (finally!) another seasonal gifting season is upon us!  From weddings, showers, birthdays, graduations, Mother and Father's day, and house-warming occasions to backyard BBQ's and other summer parties, there are lots of times when so many different occasions wear down your creative gift-giving ideas. Whether you're looking for a simple, but thoughtful gift for someone on your list, or simply changing up your own home decor, coordinated photo prints are an easy way to please everyone while making a decorative statement!

These carefully curated prints are grouped together to make your gallery efforts seamlessly come together for a striking collection of beautiful art!  How easy is that?  And to make things even better, you save money by ordering print sets - both on the price of prints, and on shipping!  Your gift-giving just went up a few points! :)

Click on the Etsy link on the right-hand menu to browse multiple print set options.  And just because YOU, dear reader, have taken the time to read this post, I'd like to give you the following promo code   - ThanksPrintSet1 - to use at checkout to save 50% off any print set for the next 3 months!!  I appreciate your love and support, and hope you will enjoy that deal!

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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, on  Etsy, on Instagram, on Pinterest,and at sageandbalm.com.

French shabby-chic cream and grey distressed lady's secretary desk with lock and key

This darling little desk caught my eye as I was hunting down an item for a custom order.  I jumped on it, knowing I could make it quite the beauty again, although it had been kept in good repair.  It is a reproduction piece, so I was happy to paint it out a gorgeous creamy linen colour with a pale grey glaze.  I also added some onlay details and changed out the old hardware for something fancier.  The interior is pretty too: I liked the original wood on the inside, so I just did some stencil work to give it a little "je ne sais pas" and add some personality to the sea of brown wood.  Now it is ready for a new home!  Check it out on Etsy - just click the shop link on the right!

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Before: nice, but not as alluring as I'd like!

After: a gorgeous and perfectly shabby-chic desk!

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, on  Etsy, on Pinterest,and at sageandbalm.com.

Gustavian style pale grey/taupe and whitewashed antique dresser with mirror

Here is a gorgeously shaped antique dresser that I had acquired as part of a set.  The vanity has since sold (see it here), and the beautiful 3/4 bed is now my daughter's (I converted it into a daybed: stay tuned, as I'll post about it in a while)!  

This piece has such a classically beautiful shape and lovely woodwork; but as it was in really rough shape when I got it, I decided to paint it a light colour to brighten it up, rather than strip and re-stain it.  I find that big looming pieces with nice woodwork can take on a softer, more curvy appearance when painted out.  This piece required lots of repairs to the drawers, and after finally getting it in working order, I had an idea for what I wanted its finish to be.  Since I love the Swedish Gustavian style, I thought it would be a nice way to bring out the pretty lines of this dresser, without getting overtly shabby-chic, which I thought may distract from the woodwork.  After painting out the dresser with a creamy-beige taupe colour for a base, I finished it by hand-painting to get that quintessential Gustavian look, layering shades of the same taupe and ivory colour family to bring out the details and give a sense of patina.  I even happened to remember that I had a lovely wallpaper stashed away with matching colour tones, and that was cut to fit as pretty drawer-liners.

If you or someone you know would love to adopt this lovely piece, it is looking for a new home!  Click on the "Etsy shop" button and you'll find it listed there!

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Before: very worn, chipped, and damaged with broken drawers on the interior!

After: A beautifully subtle "Gustavian" dresser!

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, on  Etsy, on Pinterest,and at sageandbalm.com.

Gorgeous shabby-chic antique white tall boy dresser with French script and blue drawer interiors

Here is a lovely piece that I admittedly finished a while ago, but never posted about!  It had came as part of a 6-piece bedroom set from the 1940's; and the other pieces have since sold, with the exception of the bed (here).  I had brought it to a market vending show and it got some serious love from the customers and people milling about my booth; but sadly, it did not go home with anyone (although its sister dresser did (here))!  So now it's up on my Etsy shop, after spending some time on the back-burner until I wrapped up this past year's busy custom order season.  

This dresser wasn't a total hot mess, but the finish was in need of some re-doing.  I really thought the piece could err on the heavy masculine side (fine for some projects, but not my idea for this one); and so I went lighter to highlight the pretty woodwork and fixtures that were previously lost in all that brown.  The whole piece got some TLC and many coats of white chalk-paint (fixtures included!).  After that, I sat for what seemed like eons with a tiny stencil and I stippled the French script along the drawer-fronts, letting the words fade in and out, and having them change shades of taupe and pale grey.  I was careful to move the stencil around to match up words, lines, or shapes, and to give the appearance of a bigger block of text. I think the final look is really stunning, and it breaks up the sea of white. After some selective distressing and painting out the drawer interiors in a pale vintage blue, the whole piece was sealed and stamped (I stamp my logo on every piece I do), and ready to be loved again!

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Before: a really nice, solid dresser, but in need of refreshment.

After: completely transformed into an artful statement piece!

Find this on Etsy here!

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, on  Etsy, on Pinterest,and at sageandbalm.com.

Light through the darkness

Today was a big day in politics; and while I'll not make any political ramblings here, I'll simply let art speak for itself.  Let there be light and hope through the darkness.

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