Say hello

...to Johnny!

2 out of 2 Sphynx kitties agree that Johnny looks much better black!

It's a bit hard to take pictures of, especially with my iPhone and especially with it being black. I'm literally counting down the days to when I'll be able to get a new camera, I so impatient and can't wait. But he looks soooo much better. Johnny is the same color as Jeffery, Beluga by Behr. I left the hardware on and painted it an oil rubbed bronze. After all of that dried...I'm not sure if you can see it well enough... I scuffed up the handles with some sandpaper on the curvy edges to make it look worn and sealed it with a satin spray poly. It made those 50's handles not so "50's".

In the end everything turned out really well with Johnny hanging out with Jeffery in my friend C's living room! C ended up flipping the two and Jeffery became her entertainment center after all. He was just a little more stable for a big TV. No wobbles wanted in that situation.

But the really awesomely great news is C wants her whole 1930's dining room set restyled and guess who gets to do it? *squeals!* Me! Yay! It's so beautiful and I cannot wait to get started on it! 6 chairs, a beautiful multi-footed dining table, a huge intricate buffet and an equally cool china cabinet.

WOOT!

Wait... DOUBLE WOOT!

Ha! Anyways, before I get out of here I just wanted to let you all know that I am taking a break from customer commissions for a little bit. I need to take some time off to reorganize the biz and get some furniture pieces here in my house completed for my family. But don't you worry, you'll get to see those restyles that pop out of the R.R. lab for sure! See ya soon! :)

xo

2012 eh? Ok, BRING IT!

How crazy is it that 2011 is over with. I know people scold and celebrate it, but a year is never perfect. If it were we wouldn't have New Year's resolutions or New Years Eve parties for that matter if you think about it! But as I reflect back on the year, through its struggles.. its ups and downs, highs and extreme lows, I am appreciative for it.....

Just a year ago I was nose to the grindstone working on this blog, re-branding the bizz, networking like crazy to build a customer base, and pieces of furniture the likes of Elizabeth and Alice were just glimpses of an idea in my brain.

One year and two days ago, on New Years Eve 2010, we had a horrible tornado hit a few miles away from where my husband was working. Little did we know how Mother Nature would tear across the Midwest over the next six months wreaking havoc and causing mass amounts of death and destruction....

... Joplin, our hearts are with you...

Then there was the remarkable day that Anne was featured on the Dwell Studio blog.

*girly squeals!*

I'm still so very thankful that I made a completely "designer fabric stupid" decision to pick the prettiest print ever for my telephone chair that just so happened to be a Robert Allen fabric. WOOT!

Later in the year my heart swelled with happiness when I was finally reunited with a close friend of mine I haven't seen in a couple years. Over a dinner filled with laughs and reminiscing, a commission to restyle a beautiful piece in an equally stunning color....K's curvy dresser was born.

To top it all off, Jeffery and Suzie finally found homes after chillaxing in the Retro Restyling lab for what seemed like forever. Suzie hanging around for so long really threw me off because everyone would swoon over how cute she was but NO ONE would take her home. So weird!

So moving on to 2012... I'm so ready to own it like a boss. Ha!

I have so many adventures, in the lab and out, planned for this year. Looks like I'll be working on the blog again (there's a lot of nonsense that needs to be fixed) and I'm feeling a full blown Retro Restyling website will be in the works. A basement full of furniture is ready for new life and commissions are stacking up for the first quarter of the year, and all the while you all, the best part of this adventure, are tagging along silently and verbally supporting what I do! You guys are great and I hope 2012 will blossom into a magnificent year for you all!!!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

~ Susan xo ~