fabulous settee mini makeover

Here’s a peek at a little project I’ve been working on for my own house…

I spied this fabulous antique settee in my favorite antiques shop a little while ago (see "one of my favorite places" blog from April). After leaving it behind that day, I couldn’t stop thinking about how it needed a new lease on life and a new home.

Luckily, I have people in my life who indulge my obsession and I was able to convince them to go back for it, negotiate a wicked price, store it for a month, and then deliver it to Halifax for me. (You know who you are….THANK YOU!!)

When I put it in my living room, the scale was a bit off compared to my other furniture. I removed the wonderful old castors (and I don’t want to think about how many years of gunk!) and now, it’s the perfect height.

Don’t worry, I’m saving the original castors for use some day on some other fabulous piece, yet to be discovered.

While I’m not really into true antiques, you have to appreciate this one. It’s Victorian, so it’s original to the 1890’s to 1905’s. It’s an incredibly solid piece of furniture and the woodwork is ornate and beautifully carved.

I only hesitated for a minute or two before breaking out the high gloss black paint. This piece now has a modern twist on a vintage look…and that’s what I love.

I must admit that the upholstery (which I’m sure is not original!) now looks way more gold with the strong black frame, but it’s in perfect shape and I’m not ready to commit to getting it reupholstered just yet…

So, I’m living with this huge splash of color in my living room and learning that I really can live with it!

And now I have a lovely spot to faint, should I need it.

That’s it for me for this week. It’s been a busy one with a last minute staging job thrown in, so more on that next week…




For more about rouge, visit www.littlered.ca or check out past blogs at www.justalittlerouge/blogspot.com