old country house blog

HOUSE TOUR -WWCD AND THE ENTRYWAY…

IMG_0049…bear with me, I AM going to take you
 on a House tour…but first I need to vent…
You know what I hate…
…being gone  for a few days with my High School Girlfriends and
missing my kids and then coming home and getting this:
…from Mr. 15 – “hey Mom, is Dad picking up Pizza?
From Miss 13 – (when I walked over to the track and watched her finish up her practice, because I was so excited to see her )
I got a very loud but clear, non verbal  –
 “um, could you walk over there, and I will hug you at home.”
and from young Master 11 – the baby,  –
 “Oh! Hey Mom, can you come back in a while,
I’m playing soccer with my friend. Love ya!”
NICE.
This from the same 3 kids who, a few years back…
risked life and limb running
across a parking lot to leap into my arms
after I TOOK an overnight away…

I have flashes of Claire from Modern Family,
and wonder… what Claire would do?
WWCD

 

It’s the slow drip…
The Teenage Chinese water torture,
like the very slowest pulling off of a band aid…so slow that you feel each hair pull out…
…letting go of your children’s baby selves …
my children’s sweet little kid selves…
well, it might just be one of the hardest roads I have walked.
Watching friends go through it, hearing about it…
is about as close to the real thing as hearing SOMEONES Labor and birth story
is to you ACTUALLY giving birth…
… not EVEN close…
They tell me it gets easier…

 

SO…
Lets talk about furniture!…
Last Month I had so much fun transforming my
made in China
Swedish Grandfather clock
with the Annie Sloan Chalk paint
for the first time…
…finally I got around to tapping the second can, the can of
“Provence”

…and decided, on a whim, in between,

finishing my shabby vines and packing to go to D.C.
I decided to paint the most used piece of furniture in our house…
The Hall/Entryway PEW or as we call it
“The Red Bench”.

This Antique Church PEW
was the very first piece of furniture we put in this house.
We got in at a porch sale at my favorite
used furniture store in Charlottesville, VA.
I think it cost $50, …if that.
It was very beat up, and I slapped on some leftover red paint I had at the time.
It was
the “Red Bench”,
as in
“If I have to tell you to stop hitting your brother one more time
you will go sit on the Red Bench!”
or
“That’s it! TIME OUT! Red Bench!”
or
“Mommy, where are my cleats???”
“Check the Red Bench”
The RED bench has gone from Red, to Hot Pink to Gray and now to
Provence…and yet, it is always referred to as…
THE RED BENCH

THE (hot pink) RED BENCH
THE (Gray) RED BENCH


and now…
The Makeover…
It was easy…

1. I painted…
2. I lightly sanded
3. and I waxed…
and now
The Red Bench is
“Provence” Blue…
and I love it!

 

I love the teeny glimpses of the Red Bench peeking through…

 

…on a sad note, the lamp in the forefront ,
the stupidly expensive , Orange “Slip” lamp with the pink shade…
the lamp I bought when I sold my first painting…
broke the night this photo was taken…
“Don’t throw the ball in the house! Red Bench!”
Back to Front
Front to Back

latest UPDATE
10/12

one door closes…and another one opens…

just like life…
it is all just one big fat metaphor!

Tell me…do you ever have any WWCD moments?
With your kids? With YOUR parents?

Do you have a mudroom?

Ready to follow the HOUSE TOUR
go HERE next…
The Dining room…

4 thoughts on “HOUSE TOUR -WWCD AND THE ENTRYWAY…

  1. Hi Lesli, I want to paint a beautiful old school chest that I’ve recently acquired from my kids’ school.. it’s original Victorian oak currently painted bright blue, but I want to paint it a turquoisy colour, distressed in the way you have painted your wonderful Red Bench (love it’s back story). You say you painted, lightly sanded then waxed.. why the wax? What does this do? would love some advice! Many thanks from London!

    Bush Mummy x

  2. I’ve been on the hunt for an old church pew for ages now. Id love one for our upstairs hallway. I really like the transformation you did on this. I’m not a big fan of red to begin with but the chalk paint looks perfect.

  3. You’ve done a great job, Lesli! From time to time, you painted the pew with a different color I’m wondering what shade you will paint it next. Hehe. Anyway, it has a good spot in the entryway. It will look good in the living room, too. It provides an adequate seating to the living room. Just put cushions or quilt so that your guests will be able to sit more comfortably.

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