Fois Bois Changing Table

Hi all! Amelia is 6 weeks old now and letting me sleep through the night. I don't feel nearly as exhausted as I have felt the first weeks after her arrival. I thought I would finally post my DIY Fois Bois changing table/dresser! Fois bois means "false wood". I have wanted to try this technique for a very long time and it turned out great.

For the nursery I knew I wanted a long dresser to use as her changing table. I had been researching on Pinterest for a while and considered using a mid century dresser. I used to see them ALL THE TIME in the thrift stores, but now that I actually needed one, they were nowhere to be seen. Here are some of my favs from Pinterest.

 

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SIGH.... so seeing as finding a mid century dresser is near impossible, I went back on Pinterest and kept looking. Then I found

THIS......

 

 



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Wow! Hello beautiful!! I was in love the first moment I saw it! I think it's just beautiful and would go with the other furniture in the nursery. How do I replicate this?? I started by looking for a cheap 6 drawer white dresser. I went to all the local big box stores and didn't see anything. Then I came across this on Amazon.

 

 



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When I purchased it, it was $172 with free shipping, now it's $192.98....geesh, got lucky there. Well, when it was delivered the box weighed a TON! Did I mention that I was 9 months pregnant when I did this DIY??! I had to have Caiden and his buddy carry it into the house for me.

 

 

9 million pieces...no really there were 9 million pieces!!!

 

 

It took 2 days to put it together. My butt was going numb from sitting for so long while doing this project! Here's the after picture. I left off the kick plate piece. I didn't like the way it looked as it took away from the faux mid century look I was going for.

 

 

 

 

 

For the fois bois paint treatment, I went to Home Depot and picked up two paint tools, a "wood grain rocker" and a "graining comb" both made by the Martha Stewart brand in the paint department. I did a google search on how to do the fois bois technique. It definitely takes some practice! I recommend having some large cardboard on hand to practice on. Start with a coat of primer, I like Zinnser Cover Stain Oil based primer. The dresser is laminate, so I had to finish it with 4 coats of oil based polyurethane in satin finish.

 

 

waiting for each coat to dry!





    

 

I wanted to replicate the drawer pulls that were on the original dresser but while searching the Internet, all I found were very pricey options.... not in my budget. Then thankfully I found this tutorial from Sarah M. Dorsey Designs, for DIY ring pulls. AWESOME!!

 

 





 

 

 

I found all the materials at Home Depot, and YES! they were made for under $2.00!! I used nickel instead of brass and they came out really nice. I love it when people come up with awesome alternatives!

 

Here's the finished product! I love how it came out! The paint and topcoat have been very durable. I'm so glad I didn't settle on just a regular, boring changing table. This fits the room perfectly.

 

 

 

LOVE!!

 

 

 

 

Next projects: Babushka crib mobile, twin bed skirt and crib skirt!!

 





Collections: Lu-Ray Pastels

You may have noticed in some of the pictures of my kitchen redo found in this post, were some lovely, soft, bright, happy dishes called Lu-Ray Pastels. I personally call them my "beloveds". They are pretty, add a bright freshness to my kitchen, they make me extremely happy and if you can't tell by now I am madly in love with them. 

Beautiful new kitchen

This madness started way back in 1996 when I was a new mother and started receiving Martha Stewart Living Magazine. (which I also collect, but that's another story of crazy) The issue was April 1996. Once I opened to the page that showcased this dinnerware reminiscent of Easter goodness I was hooked. I had to find them. I needed to find them. And soon!

Here is the magazine article that started the crazy...



All photo's above are from Martha Stewart Living Magazine; April 1996: Number 38

They were made by the Taylor, Smith and Taylor Company from 1938 to 1961. The four original colors are Surf Green, Windsor Blue, Persian Cream and Sharon Pink. The color Chatham Gray was added in 1949 and at the time proved not to be popular and was discontinued in 1952, which now makes this color extremely rare. What is fun about this collection is that when you find a piece all you have to do is flip it over and you can tell what month and year it was made. Unfortunately towards the mid to late 1950's they stopped marking some of their pieces this way.

This "after-dinner coffee cup" shows a manufactured date of January 1942.

Here it is next to an average sized tea cup, so cute.



I received my first Lu-Ray Pastel from my ex sister-in-law Deb as a housewarming gift when my ex husband and I bought our first house in 1999. She had gone to an auction and found a beautiful set of Windsor Blue dishes.

After receiving those dishes I purchased the book Collector's Guide to Taylor Smith and Taylor "Premier Potters of America" Lu-Ray Pastels U.S.A.: Featuring Conversation, Pebbleford, Vistora and More by Kathy and Bill Meehan. To this day it is still considered the "bible" to all collectors of this dinnerware.





As the years have gone on I have found different dishes at several antique stores. Once scoring a Chatham Gray platter for only $14 because the store owner thought it was Windsor Blue. In reality it was worth quite a bit more!! Win for me! Jeff has given me a few expensive pieces for our anniversary (that I just couldn't convince myself to purchase) such as this Sharon Pink flower vase known as an "Epergne". 



Epergne



I don't buy pieces off of Ebay myself, I'm not sure why. My guess is that somehow I feel it's "cheating" when it comes to the "hunt" of collecting. I have been lucky enough to find a few pieces at my local Salvation Army and Thrifty Shopper for mere pennies! Like this small Sharon Pink bowl called a "36s" which I had never ever seen in an antique store, even at an outlandish price!

Sharon Pink  36s sitting atop of a Chatam Gray saucer.



I'm not sure what my favorite piece is.... I do love my covered casserole, it was part of the set that Deb had given me all those years ago. I really love them all. =)

Covered casserole and salt and pepper shakers

Dinner plates in all four colors with a Windsor Blue sugar bowl on top. A Surf Green salt and pepper shaker. In the back is the awesome find Chatham Gray platter. In front of the platter is a Surf Green juice jug, Sharon Pink egg cup, Windsor Blue sauceboat with a Persian Cream butter dish underneath.

Cups and saucers in all the colors with bread and butter plates in the back.

Persian Cream water jug, Windsor Blue sugar bowl and platter.

Notice the difference with the Chatham Gray platter and the Windsor Blue sauceboat?? What a score!

Persian Cream Nappy (veggie bowl) with Sharon Pink creamer (sitting inside) and baker in the back. Windsor Blue teacup sitting on a Surf Green pickle dish.

Sharon Pink sauseboat and a stack of fruit dishes, the top dish is in Chatham Gray.

Two bakers in Surf Green and Sharon Pink and also a creamer.

I just love the top of the lid, like a dollop of cuteness.

There are still so many pieces of Lu-Ry that are yet to be found, the hunt will always continue.... they just make me smile. =)



Kitchen redo!

We have been in our house for 5 years. Slowly but surely we have tried to get each room to reflect "us" and our personality.

Our house was built in 1978 and is the typical raised ranch style you find in older developments throughout Upstate New York. Our kitchen was remodeled in 1993 by the previous homeowners which had oak cabinets and ivory/bone colored appliances. It just felt dreary and sad. Nobody likes a sad and dreary cook! We I lived with it for 3 1/2 years...and then I just couldn't take it anymore!! After major hunting for ideas all over the blogesphere, ahem....Pinterest, I decided that white painted cabinets were just what the doctor ordered.

The previous owners kitchen

First I painted the walls a dark gray called Creek Bend by Behr. We purchased new stainless steel appliances and Jeff installed a dishwasher as the kitchen didn't have one before....best.thing.ever.

I decided I wanted open cabinets on one side of the kitchen, the other side near the fridge would keep their doors. I just love the look of open cabinets! So I took almost everything out of each cabinet and then all the doors off.





The white standing cabinet in this pic housed my colletion of Lu-Ray Pastel dinnerware. I got rid of the cabinet and those dishes now live in the open shelves.

Where the wine lives ;)

The paint I chose for the cabinets was Powdered Snow also by Behr (with the primer included) BUT the freak that I am also used primer by Zinsser first. It was a long process but totally worth it!

Cabinets before trimwork

Ahhh, my beautiful Lu-Rays!

Next came the trim I added to the tops of all the cabinets, I really like how they turned out.

So we lived with that for almost a year then I FINALLY finished the shelves I had wanted to put up inbetween the cabinets above the sink! That will be where my everyday dishes (Fiestaware) will be stored. I purchased four shelf brackets, two wood boards and trim for the front of each shelf from Home Depot.

Shelves being installed, new sink, faucet and door hardware.

New fridge and pantry

The keeper of all things important!



My new beautiful bright cheery kitchen. I love you. I love you. I love you!!

We kept the tile floor because it was in great shape and I am living with the countertops we had before. New countertops not really in the budget for now and I would really like to tackle the master bedroom next, so tag this baby DONE!!

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