Home - Summer Project
Some pieces are so special, you just can’t say goodbye. This is one of those. Over the summer, my husband and I embarked on a much-needed refresh of a sweet little chifforobe. I have fond memories of being in my Mema’s house when I was a little girl, playing dress-up with her hats which resided in this cabinet. It was in her tiny guest bedroom and was stained a 1970’s avocado green.
Eventually, it was passed down to me and lived in our oldest daughter’s nursery. My daddy, Mema’s son, lovingly painted it white to go with the color scheme of the nursery (Laura Ashley’s “Hey, Diddle, Diddle”). Later, it would grace the nursery of our youngest daughter. We changed only one thing, adding cute pink flower knobs to match her nursery (Laura Ashley’s “Mary, Mary”). A few years later, it moved into the attic, where it housed dress-ups for the girls. As the years passed, it sat unused in the seasonal extreme heat and cold of the attic; the paint peeling and gathering dust. It was in a sad state when my husband moved it out of the attic, down the hall and into our guest bedroom (formally Lizzy’s nursery, which became a playroom full of toys, which became a teen hang-out room, which lastly became an art studio). It sat in this room for months, as I recovered from a broken foot and back issue.
Finally, we began the transformation this summer. We cleaned, sanded and painted it a beautiful green, paying homage to the original green stain. Now, it has new life as my art cabinet. It’s a home for my canvases, paints and brushes. We exchanged the pink flower knobs for brass pulls and I love it, all over again. The fact that it’s also an example of sustainability and repurposing is very important to me. As I write this, I look out the window at the glorious shades of green of the oak trees outside. The name of the paint we used is “Oak Grove”. Sometimes, your happy memories (Mema’s hats, your daughters’ precious baby clothes & childhood dress-up days), and other things which are important to you (nature, recycling, the Earth God created) meshes together…and the simple piece of furniture that could have easily been forgotten or sold or donated, lives on and represents so much more than a summer project.
