A PBC Personal Project

The winter months are always the slowest for my mom, sister, and myself when it comes to working on our Point Breeze Cottage projects that we sell on Etsy. The majority of our inventory comes from Yard and Estate Sales, which tend to be strictly spring and summer-time events. So during the winter months we either work on pieces we've collected and haven't begun yet, or research for new ideas for the coming year.

This past summer we stockpiled a surprising amount of French Provincial furniture. This style is GREAT for re-purposing since it has a classic and solid look and tends to be very durable. In fact, you can check out some of the French Provincial pieces we've sold in the past by clicking HERE!

With the unusually warm weather we've been having, my mom, Donna, decided that she wanted to get back in the shed and try to work on some of our remaining pieces. I happen to live in a 1929 cottage (hence the name Point Breeze Cottage) that only has half of a closet; And I consider it half a closet because it's so poorly designed you really can't fit much of anything in it. So for me, storage is a HUGE deal. My husband and I have been trying to finish decorating our bedroom for probably a year now (if not more) and were constantly coming up short. Now matter how good it looked, it was never complete because there wasn't enough room for all of our clothes, shoes, grooming products, pictures, etc. Until now.

I decided to dip into our PBC inventory and have my talented mother restore a piece that fit exactly right for my own room. She was itching to start working on something and I happened to need some extra storage, so she got right to work. Here is the piece I picked out. A very old and DIRTY French Provincial chest of drawers:

The more she and I cleaned out the piece, the more we realized it was in rough shape. It was probably used in a child's room for many years before we found it, but all of the drawers worked, the hardware was intact (we had already removed it before we took these pics), and it was the exact size I needed. So we were determined to make it work.

I helped my mom clean the chest and get it ready for restoration and then I let her take over. She is just SO MUCH BETTER and painting and distressing than I am. She says it comes with practice, but I think she's just got mad skills! Anyway, we decided on a lovely light grey color for the base and then a hint of silver along the time and on the hardware. I think it is absolutely perfect and is neutral enough to put in any room in my house if I ever need to move it. Check out her awesome work!

I love the color combination of the grey and silver!

Fits perfectly in the space I was working with.

 

Hardware looking as good as new.

Thanks again, Momma! It looks great and it's so helpful to have the extra storage in our bedroom now.

Two Thousand Thirteen – A Time for New Beginnings

Having been sick most of the Christmas and New Year holidays, I was finding it hard to muster up the enthusiasm for New Year resolutions or promises. However, now that the sinus fog has lifted, I’d like to share a couple of things I’m looking forward to in 2013.

New Life. It seems like everyone I know is expecting a baby this year. My best friend from childhood, my best friend from college, two co-workers, and my sister-in-law who is expecting TWINS! (Fun fact – ALL but one of these expecting Momma’s will be having boys. Baby Boy Boom, anyone?!) This seems to be the year for new life, and I feel lucky that I will get to witness such a happy time in these families lives. Let the baby shower’s begin!

New Challenge. It’s been nine, yes, NINE full years since I've played an official game of basketball. Writing that still doesn't seem right, but I guess it really has been that long since I graduated from high school…Anyway, I’m so happy and proud to be part of a newly founded Women’s Basketball League in St. Mary’s County. Though we technically began our season at the end of 2012, the majority of the games are going to be played over the next two and a half months. I can’t think of a better way to journey into 2013 than by rediscovering my love for the game and hopefully getting back into shape along the way!

New Faith. Ok, technically it’s not a new faith for me, but I am excited and somewhat nervous to be restoring my Catholic Faith. Growing up I was immersed in the Catholic faith while attending a Catholic School from Pre-K to 8^th Grade, but once I left for high school and college, I found myself slipping away from the Church and losing my faith. Over the years I would attend mass sporadically and found myself praying only in my times of extreme need. Now how selfish is that? I expect God to be there for me when I’m desperate and then forget about him when everything is sailing smoothly? No, it shouldn't be like that. This is why I have started a new journey this year, by restoring my faith in the Catholic religion.

New Work. Finally, I am certain that 2013 is going to bring a surge of new creativity and work. Point Breeze Cottage was started as a way to sell our teams unique finds and re-fabulous furniture and home décor pieces, and we are hoping to refine our skills and increase the number of large ticket items that we sell. This unusually warm winter weather has sparked our “picking spirits” recently, leaving us yearning for yard and estate sales. We are all looking forward to getting back into our picking swing and to tapping into our creative sides this year.