Lake Sunapee Cabin-Cottage-Cabin-Cottage

Before I continue reminiscing about my old log cabin.....

Let me first point out a

SENIOR MOMENT!!!!!

I host a Q&A on the FIRST TUESDAY of each month.

This past Tuesday, I put up the form to ask questions.

NOBODY pointed out to me that

it was the middle of the month!!!!!

Now I figure that you guys were either being

polite.....

too scared of me to say anything.....

or you didn't notice either, 'cuz you're as brain dead as I am!!!!!

So don't expect any answers next Tuesday...

BECAUSE

it is the 

first

Tuesday 

of 

July!!!!!

(so I will be taking questions.....

because that is what the FIRST TUESDAY is for!!!!!)

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Now back to my cabin.....

Back in 1985,

 I thought it would be a good idea to buy a home on water.

So first I looked along the ocean on the north shore of Massachusetts,

only to find that anything in my price range

 was next to some hovel with a car up on cinder blocks in the side yard.

That's not a look I'm crazy about.....,

so I decided to go farther afield into the neighboring state of New Hampshire.

I heard of Lake Sunapee through some friends,

so thought it would be interesting to look up there.

(Going for an "On Golden Pond vibe")

I checked out the newspaper for properties for sale,

saw something and called the real estate agent.

And he said.....

"The property in the ad wouldn't appeal to me,

but to....

BRING MY CHECK BOOK,

'CUZ HE HAD JUST THE PLACE

I WAS LOOKING FOR!!!!!"

I walked in and went straight for the screened in porch....

And bought the damn place.

Knowing nothing about the area, the lake, the mountain, the people, the activities, the flora or the fauna......,

I still buy property the same way.....

When I see something I like, I'm so afraid someone else will snatch it from under my nose, that I don't take the time to really research it.

Doesn't matter that this house had been on the market 

FOREVER!!!!!

It just takes one other person to want it, and ruin all my fantasies.

I didn't have to do much to get it to what I wanted it to be.

Just.....

reroof it

varnish the outside

redo the kitchen and the bath

put in an artisian well

refinish the floors

put in skylights, cuz it was so dark inside

winterize it 

add another floor downstairs with a bedroom, bath and study

put in new windows

add a laundry area

repoint the fireplace

replace the floor on the screened porch

add storm panels for the screened porch

put in a new driveway by regrading the hill, so a car could actually get down to the cabin.....

add a deck

redo the stairs to the lake

add Adirondacks railings to the deck and stairs 

put in a stone terrace 

AND DECORATE THE $%& 

OUT OF THE PLACE!!!!!

You may have not noticed, but I like to collect 

themes of stuff!!!!!

So I started acquiring Black Forest bears.

according to Amen Wardy

From the European Alps to the American Rockies, Black Forest carvings are timeless works of art that celebrate nature and mountain living.

Their name causes abit of geographic confusion—they are often mistakenly associated with the BlackForest of Germany but are in fact from Brienz, Switzerland. 

And according to Wikipedia

Wood-carving is a traditional cottage industry in the region and carved ornaments now are produced in substantial numbers as souvenirs for tourists. Cuckoo clocks are a popular example; they have been made in the region since the early eighteenth century and much of their development occurred there.

All I know is I bough a whole $%& load of them.....

I had to blow up pictures of my magazine article, so they are

VERY

fuzzy....

Notice the big bear outside the window......

I got it in Rutland Vermont, on the way back from visiting my parents up in the Adirondacks.

It's a wonderful example of chain saw art, 

a truly

American type of folk art....

But lets go back to the screened porch, because that is definitely the most wonderful space in the cabin.

In the evening.....

with the sun setting over the lake.....

sitting on the little wicker loveseat.....

with a good lowbrow paperback and

a bag of Chexmix

IS HEAVEN!!!!!

(shesh, look at how young I was.....OY!!!)

As I mentioned.....

the living room was so dark, that I put in two skylights to add much needed sunlight.

That's one of the biggest disadvantages about having a porch off a room, it cuts down on daylight getting in the windows.

I struggled with the idea of painting the wood white,

which would have really lightened up the room.

But the thought of covering that wonderful honey color was something I couldn't face.....

The kitchen was another black pit.

One of the reasons I don't have a before shot, is because the room was so dark, my Polaroid....

 (yes, that's how long ago this was!!!!)

couldn't get an image.

So on Tuesday, I will pick up at this point,

and tell you all about the kitchen,

and other good $%&.

Latah Gatah

Partying at

Annie Sloane and Me, all alone in my basement.....

I'M NOT TRYING TO BE 

DIFFICULT.....

But, rather than show more of my cabin today, 

I want to reveal the table I just painted.

I WILL CONTINUE WITH MY CABIN ON SATURDAY.....

A couple of weeks ago, 

I went to an Annie Sloane Chalk Paint workshop at Maison Decor....

I loaded up on a bunch of different colors, 

and gleefully carried my bounty home.

This is the end table I painted.

It's style is Renaissance Revival.

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According to About.com

Attributes of the Renaissance Revival style are turned and fluted legs, raised or inset burled panels, heavily carved finials and crests, inset marble tops, and cookie-cut corners. Many pieces are further decorated by black and gold incising, marquetry inlay and bronze or brass mounts. These pieces were often gargantuan - ideal for the Victorian "more is more" philosophy. The preferred wood was walnut, as it had been in the 1500s - and that was the most accurate thing about this revival style, which also borrowed heavily from the 17th-century Baroque and the earlier Gothic periods.

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I found this table 6 years ago at an auction with my bidness partner , Kris.

It 's been sitting in my basement ever since, waiting to be painted.

It was pretty beat up, but was begging for a soothing coat of paint,

 to rejuvenate it's battered hide......

Since it was made out of walnut,

 it was close to a sin to paint the wood...

But for something that would work in today's styles,

a lighter look was needed to sell this baby.

Also, 

it's more fun to paint than to refinish!!!!!

First I painted a coat of Lois Blue....

Then I painted a thin coat of Old White on the top,

and wood grained it.....

and I freehanded  a white stripe around the outside edge....,

I used these tools, for the woodgraining.....

While I'm showing you my tools.....

let me show you my fancy smancy workspace in my cellar.....

And these are my fancy smancy painting sneakers!!!!!

This way, I don't track paint around my house.

The red scrunchy is to keep hair out of my projects.....

It's amazing how much time I spend down in this dark hole

 on nice summer days.....

Any way.....

back to the paint job.....
For the body, I needed to add another coat of Old White, as the way I painted the first coat, it didn't cover the blue enough.

I added some combing details on the table's apron...

and other places.....

And a little white stripe around the curly parts.....

And then started the fun part!!!!

Distressing!!!!!

At this point, it was time to wax.

With my lose of memory and lack of attention,

I couldn't remember what the process of waxing involved.

Now, Amy had been thorough enough to send us home from her workshop with printed out notes on the steps we needed to take for a complete project.

BUT I'M A BABY, AND I WANTED HER TO EXPLAIN IT TO ME ALL OVER AGAIN!!!!!

So I kept calling her, 

at each stage,

 to ask what to do next!!!

I put a coat of clear wax on,

IMMEDIATELY followed by a light coat of dark wax.

The dark wax adds the aged look, and you need to be careful how you put it on, so it doesn't look too fake.

SO HERE'S THE FINISH!!!!

I carried it up to my living room, so I could get some shots in natural light.

I LOVE THE WAY THE PAINT SHOWS IN LAYERS!!!!!!

And finally.....
I wanted to show it with the little footstool I did last year.
When I painted the stool..,,
first I sanded...
then I primed...
then I painted two coats of the color...
then I distressed...
then I waxed.

Soooooo...
campers, that's the story of my first experience painting furniture with 
Annie Sloane Chalk Paint.
It was fun.
There's a learning curve......
Latah Gatah

Partying at: