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Discover Mid-America — May 2005

Paint grandmaÕs table?

A fter all these years of stripping off layers of paint to get to the natural wood of vintage furniture, it seems as though retro has hit the home decorating scene.

Twenty years ago, we spent hours taking bright blue paint off Jenny Lind bed spools, a torturous task. Working the paint out of crevices of carved areas was laborious, but finally! — there would be the beautiful oak patterning of quarter-sawn oak. Then, we were all taught that to do anything to the old finish of an antique piece was WRONG!

Many a time I would remind folks that if the "antique" piece they had was Montgomery Ward or Sears and Roebuck quality, it was mass-produced and it was fine to strip it and restore the luster to the wood. That still goes today. Mass-produced furniture is not museum quality, therefore, one can restore the finish.

Many years ago, I visited a neighbor that had a cute little shop in her white barn. In looking at her stripping area, there was a beautiful corner chair, gilded but worn at the edges. Her plan was to strip the gilding off this absolutely wonderful piece. Today, that slightly worn look would be exactly what many decorators desire. But, sadly, the gilding went and there was a rather nondescript corner chair instead, painted white.

Better Homes April issue has many a table, and all of them seem to be painted white. Here and there one can see a chest of drawers, a group of dining room chairs all painted white. Plain stark white. No worn edges, just plain stark white.

This might restart a revival of those rather dumpy, unstylish tables that were grandma's that we just don't how to put into our modern homes. Let's face it, some of these things we have that belonged to earlier generations just don't have the look that today's young homeowners want. But now there is a lift to the look just by giving that Beidermeier-style clunky table a few coats of white. Voila! It looks quite stylish.

Remember by all means, if the furniture is fine quality and has a good finish it would be best to leave it alone. The common things are the ones that can be tampered with.

This retro period is a good time to look for flea markets, garage sales and downsizing sales. With an eye for line and quality, a smart antiquer can find a jewel in these milieus. It is not unusual for the heirs of larger homes to get tired of pricing and as they reach the end of their work period price the questionable chair at a ridiculous price. This is just the kind of deal a smart buyer is looking for.

Also, most everyone knows that the price usually drops after the second day of an estate sale. If an item has been overpriced or overlooked, this might be just the item that will fit into your decorating plan.

It is fun to hunt for these treasures. Spring is just around the corner and these sales will start to pop up everywhere. So if you are in the mood for a fun shopping trip this might just be the time for you to put on comfortable shoes, grab Friday's want ad section and go hunt for something that will put a gleam in your eye! Oooops, Remember, take money, just in case you find a really wonderful antique to take home.

Norma Crews is a native Texan, graduate of Texas Tech, former teacher and rancher, mother of three grown sons and six grandchildren, and raised in South Texas on a ranch as a member of two pioneer families.

Upon retiring from teaching and ranching, she and her husband James became pickers for large Texas shops, before branching into doing shows for a number of years in Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. She currently resides in Neosho, MO.

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