The story of your family before you, whose china sat upon the shelves in the very hutch you brought me to recreate new life.  So that years from now, you will be able to pass down to your child.  But today you just want to love it and you were inspired by the latest trends & colors of Wisteria, Restoration Hardware, Ballard Designs or even Pottery Barn.  That table that you found on Craigslist, that you can’t believe you scored for such a deal and the lady told you all about the meals that were served on that very table… the story of history and you are taking it now and making it new, alive, and beautiful!! I LOVE painting for my clients… I love the storytelling and the gift that it is to be able to meet with you and give you back the treasure you saw in that piece that buying brand new can’t always give!!

Today I am looking back at 2013, preparing for 2014 and the excitement of new pieces and more goals and more challenges that I place upon myself.  I am sharing with you those top painted furniture projects that you loved the most- or so my analytics think!! So don’t feel like you missed anything and stick around and look all over there are sooo many pretty pieces to share!!  Some of my posts you loved the most weren’t even furniture pieces and you can hop over and those here… { click me and me}

You can click on each individual picture to be taken to the full post to see how the piece looked before and how the finish was achieved!!

Let’s begin our Look Back at the Top Painted Furniture Projects of 2013

I’ll start with one I loved too.  I tell you I loved this little gem from day one when I picked it up in Ft Worth.  It was a man that temporarily lived here and flew home often.  He had a little apartment that reminded me of Melrose Place.  {I was glad I had my husband with me- always take help & security.}  Anyway, he was moving back home and his apartment was full of treasures.  I didn’t have room for all of it but I wish I’d asked when I found the dresser over the phone… because they were all amazing antique French pieces… but alas this was the one I took home…  This picture she is still sitting in my craft room, however now that Christmas is down.. she may find a new spot.  I have loads of paper sitting in her and I worry the weight is just too much on those dainty drawers and legs.  There is a lot of paper in those two drawers!!

The next piece is from a sweet lady that had a darling little boy!! She and a friend came and both had pieces to be done.  I loved them both but y’all loved the little decoupaged music cabinet!! You can take a look at her French little tables here.

You will absolutely have to go see this one before… This desk turned out lovely.  I had done their bedroom set for the sweetest couple on earth!! Their the wonderful grandparents to the fun desks that I did for the twins the year before!! {You can see those here and here}  But the desk was the father’s and he thought for sure it was ruined and just needed to be tossed!! NO way!! If you love it and you want it- I’ll make it beautiful again!! It’s like magic!! And it was for him.

The next project isn’t so much of a painted furniture- although the top has a special milk paint wash… but rather a build it!! And it was a personal project.  I wanted a Restoration Hardware trestle table for my patio and didn’t want to pay the price so we built it!! On Mother’s Day weekend.  You’ll have to take a look… and through the elements of hot Texas heat and our ice storm.. it still looks the same!! I love that table and finish!!  Go take a look at the whole table!!

Oh this was a fun one!! I remember that I did her sisters table and chairs and her other sisters hutch and buffets… and now I was painting for the 3rd sister.  I love how many families I paint for multiple members.  I think that is the highest compliment!! She found this china hutch in McKinney and I drove to Dallas to bring it back to McKinney to work the magic on it!! She wanted the Wisteria look on it… and well although this cabinet is more traditional that French inspiration piece we still hit the mark on the finish!!

Nothing quite compared to the moment I had a moving truck pull into my drive with 20 beautiful French pieces.  The sweetest young couple referred to me through my blog and the music cabinet client, had just inherited all these furniture pieces from her grandmother.  Still shopping for a house and looking for where these treasures may end up… we spent the next couple of months redoing each and every piece!! I must admit that it was both fun and challenging.  Some of the pieces were just what I would have done… and some pushed me out of my box.  But that is one of the beautiful things in painting for someone else!! I am pretty easy going and confident, so painting for others is actually a whole lot more fun for me than hunting and selling.

I wanted to keep it all when I was done… I absolutely love chairs an it’s really no secret.. and I was truly Green with Envy when this set was done!!  They also had a sweet little server that we did a bold turquoise on and it was truly a beautiful piece!!

But You fell in love with the Red buffet… me too!! It was one that the wife chose and it fun and bold!!

I had two tables to makeover but the dining table was absolutely my favorite and yours.  Now the fabric option wasn’t what I would have picked but it still didn’t take away from the beauty of the piece~

The hutch was one of the largest pieces I had done… and it wouldn’t fit together in my garage and it was so heavy I didn’t even bother to fit them together for a picture.

And the table and chairs…. be sure to go see close ups.

I did a final round up post on all the beautiful pieces that you will enjoy.  It has individual link backs to each of the 20 pieces!!  But I will show you one more from that group, you loved it!! It pushed me out of my box!!

The bedroom set.  I think I grieved a little while painting this set.  This was the one time my vision and clients didn’t mesh… so silly.  They hadn’t decided what they wanted yet, and I had already painted it out in my head.  Well, black isn’t something I paint ever… it’s just not in my go to bag.  But when that’s what a client wants you go for it!! And it did turn out beautiful!!

That grouping of 20 took me a couple of months and in the midst of it I needed a creative break… and you loved it!!

I painted out this 1930’s dressing vanity that had been in my neighbors family… it was pinned shared and even shared by a competing stencil company… I wish I would have kept it…but not sure where it would have gone!!

Alright, let’s jump ahead.. I am going to skip over a lot of fun and unique pieces but I limited myself to the top, so I am trying to stick to it!! {If you want to see what I am skipping.. check out the bold desk with metallic accents or the beautiful antique wardrobe my friend bought, there are more.. lots more}

This one was an absolute amazing piece to start with!! I want to build this one day this year!! I loved the opportunity to be up close with this one!! She was getting married and living in Houston until she got married then back here to Dallas.  All of the pieces were from her family.  I worked with her on the phone and finally met her the day I delivered her antique secretary.  The Welsh Dresser  was loved by all!!

I have to chose a last one… wow, so hard to pare down a year into 12 amazing pieces… I feel like I am leaving behind so many!!

And there were so many fun crafty-goodness projects too!!

But I saved one of the most loved for last… these metallic nightstands  painted out with Modern Masters were such a hit!! They traveled by Greyhound to the Carolina’s…

I hope you will stick around for 2014.  I have clients already booked for January and February.  If you are holding on to some pieces you would like to have redone with love… don’t hesitate to call or email!!

Thank you for a wonderful and fabulous year!!

Linking up with:

Unskippy Boppy & Southern Hospitality & DIY Show-Off & Sand & Sisal