Removing Stickers and Sticker Glue from Wood/Antiques

In front of me stood not only a gorgeous antique dresser, but the task of removing the Avery labels that were applied by a previous owner.  Someone obviously needed reminding of which drawers had their pants and shirts so labels were stuck to each drawer.  When I purchased the dresser, most of the drawers had the labels pulled off and the sticky residue was left behind.  Other drawers had the sticker paper still on. 


These labels needed to go!

Let's first start with what not to do to remove stickers from wood.  And when dealing with antiques, you need to be extra careful. 
1. Do NOT use nail polish remover.
2. Do NOT use an Exacto knife or any other knife to scrape it off.
3. Do NOT use Goo Gone or any other harsh remover.

Now that I've taken away your "old-standby" products, what's left? 
1.  Minwax Wood Cleaner:  According to a rep for Minwax, this can be applied with a cottonball.  Saturate the sticker and let sit a few hours. Then the sticker should wipe off.  Unfortunately, in my area, I could not find this product.  We only had the hardwood floor cleaner by Minwax and that didn't do the trick. 
2.  Howard Feed-n-Wax:  Since I already had this amazing product on hand, I decided to see if it could do the same as the Minwax cleaner.  I applied it with an old t-shirt to the drawers that were just glue (no sticker paper).  I didn't even need to let it sit.  It started to come right off.  So I alternated between the saturated cloth and a clean cloth until it came off.  As for the stickers with paper, I soaked them for a few hours and then gently worked on getting them off.  Carefully, I peeled them off with my fingers and then continued to saturate and rub off.

No more stickers!

In the end, the Howard Feed-n-Wax did not harm the wood, and there's no sign of there ever having been stickers except for one small area that was there from the previous owner trying to peel them away.  I'd love to hear if you have any other ideas that have worked for you.

Cushman Colonial Dresser: My Latest Bargain!

I get excited about old furniture.  I especially get pumped up about finding a piece for a bargain!  Yesterday, was my turn at a great deal.  I wandered into Goodwill to find a dresser for my youngest son.  The last dresser I found him, turned into a beautiful antique and I kept it for myself (click here for that dresser).  So, I went on the search for him again.  This time, I found a great dresser, but unfortunately, it will once again pass him by.  Not only is it too large for him, but it is a beautiful antique that my husband has decided to get in line for.  And Dad trumps son.

While I was ready to leave Goodwill empty-handed, I overheard someone say that a bunch of furniture was just dumped on the porch (instead of at the drop-off zone) and it was just sitting out there.  I bolted out the door and to my surprise, found a whole bedroom set!  Unfortunately, some other people beat me there and had already started claiming pieces.  It was a furniture frenzy!  I snagged the dresser before the employee even got the price gun.  When all was tagged, I walked off with this beauty for only $30!  Yes, that's a bargain!  The dresser is large, strong, really sturdy, and not a piece of wobbling or coming apart anywhere.

Better yet, when I got home, I looked up the company, Cushman Colonial Creations.  They produced furniture mainly from the 1930s-1050s and focused on using birch wood and solid craftsmanship.  The birch accounts for its sturdiness and the craftsmanship for how well it has held up.  Some of the Cushman pieces are quite valuable. 

"Pants" labels on stickers

So with that in mind, I had to wonder where this piece had been that it'd been reduced to a storage unit with stickers.  Really, did someone need to junk up the drawers to tell themselves what was in each drawer?  That's what we do to Ikea funiture (sorry Ikea) not antiques. 

So now it is in my hands.  The stickers will be removed, the stains will be assessed and this dresser has found a second chance at life, and a second home.

LOVE those drawer pulls!

Lifesaver for Old Wood: Howard Feed-N-Wax

If your old furniture needs a second chance at shine, or the scuffs from years gone by are making it look old, do I have the product for you!  A friend of mine just introduced me to this best kept secret on the top shelf at Home Depot.  It seems simple, beeswax & orange oil.  The smell is yummy.  For the wood, it's a new lease on life.  I wish I had taken a before picture of the antique table that holds our bowl of keys.  Over the years the keys have often missed the bowl while being dropped leaving many scratches on the table.  I was thinking about sanding down the top and restaining it.  Then along comes Feed-N-Wax.  I applied it and the table looks brand new!

I'm now going nuts through the house applying it to knicks and scratches, to old wood needing conditioning, and even on squeeky drawers.  Just a swab of this stuff on the drawer bottoms and they slide beautifully again! 

The directions are simple (taken right from the bottle):
1.  Saturate a small pad of cloth and wipe on.
2.  Let stand at least 20 minutes and wipe off excess.
3.  Polish out with a clean cloth.

Kid Night Table redo

When my oldest son got his dresser and night table repainted, my youngest wanted to have his done as well.  This was not a fancy night table. I had gotten it for free awhile back and chose it for it's slim frame.  We needed a really small table to fit between his bed and the wall--something just to hold a clock and some books on the bottom.  This country-style table was just the right size for a second chance in our house.  Although country is not the theme of their room, the size was perfect. 

BEFORE

My youngest is very into bright shiny colors so when I asked him his choice of colors to paint the table, I was surprised he chose somewhat tastefully.  The brown he picked was to match his brother's dresser top.  And the cranberry was because he liked it and it matched a cranberry color in his quilt.  Best yet, both paint colors were already in the house.  So this was one of those completely free projects.  The best kind! 

AFTER

Antique Dresser Reveal: Mahogony

Free dresser BEFORE shot, one knob was broken

Oh, if drawers could talk!  I recently came upon this 1920s dresser for free and couldn't wait to get to sanding and see what was underneath.  The current state of it made us laugh and say, "I wonder what this grandma did during Prohibition.  Just look at all the wine glass marks!" 

There were too many water stains to count!

Nothing gets me more excited than restoring an antique piece of furniture to its original glory.  Painting furniture is a last resort when it comes to real wood.  If it's veneer or chipped up, bring on the paint.  However, if there's solid wood, it's begging to show itself off.  Some sanding and new stain can transform a piece.  Just look at this one.  Look at that grain showing through just from a little sanding!

Sanded down to show off it's grain

When it came to stain, I thought about going light and picked "Honey".  However, the wood soaked it up and turned it into its own beautiful color.  Here's the finished piece.

Who would have thought that beauty was in there?!

And where the water stains used to be is now a gorgeous top.  Just look at the wood grain on top now!

The top of the dresser

So the kids kept asking me who this dresser would be for and I answered, of course, "for me!"  I'm not sharing this beauty.  One last side by side look.

BEFORE

AFTER

 

Free Dining room chairs reupholstered

Dumpster Diving....Curb Alert....Bulk Trash....
All these terms might make some ashamed, but for others, it's a chance to get free stuff.  In this case, my "new" free chairs fell under the heading of Curb Alert.  An ad was placed for a curb alert for some items near me.  By the time I got there, the items I was after were already taken but there were dining room chairs in desparate need of a second chance.  They were very dirty and the seats were covered in pet hair, but I saw the potential.  So into the back of my SUV they went for a second chance at usefulness.  Afterall, they couldn't be worse than the spare folding chairs we would pull out at the holidays to make seating for the extra people.

My husband has learned to see the potential in the stray furniture I bring home.  Or at least he pretends to see, trusting that I can see it even if he can't.  So here's the before pictures. 

Nice black iron and wood for a sturdy chair

Ewwww!  There was so much pet hair that the elephant pattern was barely visible.

Once the seat was removed, I got a bucket of cleaner and hosed down the chair.  After that was cleaned, I moved on to the task of removing the old fabric and cushioning.  Normally, I would save the foam if the chair had been ours, but who knows what lurked inside this foam. 

After all was removed from the wood board, I added new high density foam (40% off from JoAnn's) and the batting (also 40% off from JoAnn's) with spray adhesive and a staple gun.  Once ready for the fabric, I picked new upholstery fabric that was also 50% off.  Gotta love sales!  Here's the finished chair and seat.  The two new chairs will go at the heads of the table.

 

DIY Deck Makeover/Redo

This Summer we're celebrating 9 years in our house.  Over the years, we've made several changes to the house as well as the backyard.  However, nothing has undergone more "touchups" and "redos" than our backyard deck.  In an attempt to modernize it and make it more appealing, we've tried several steps along the way.  Finally, this past Spring, the deck was looking so drab that we thought about ripping the whole thing out and laying stone on top of the concrete slab underneath.  It was very tempting until it was pointed out to us how much a pergola costs and how everything was still structurally sound.  So back to the drawing board we went.   Here's a picture of the deck from 2003.

Over the years, we yanked out the wrap-around benches, added a privacy screen to hide the heat pump, and tried several shades of stain.  Meanwhile, those tiny black-eyed susans grew to overtake the bed.  The only thing stopping them were the daylillies anchoring the corners that filled in even more.  It was a jungle and a half! 

So my husband added a box step (which you can click here to see step-by-step instructions in my other blog).  And I ripped out the ugly wood edging to replace it with brick (which you can see here in my other blog).  The final step was to get the old wood powerwashed and stained.  And TA-DA!  Here's the deck today!

Here's some other angles.

And on a sunnier day

And with that, we're finally finished trying to "fix" the deck.