(Update: this hall tree sold! Although it is no longer available, contact us if you want one made just for you.) My oh my. Have you seen this beauty? We took it in to the Alpharetta Queen of Hearts on Thursday night. I knew it was cool, even from the beginning. Shane and Audrey started planning this the second they got their hot little hands on a batch of doors, and it is finally real. I didn't realize how cool it was until I posted it to our Facebook page and got a record 250+ views, 2-3x more likes than our average post, and more commentary than I've ever seen on a post before. My awareness became even more heightened when we showed up at the Queen and got lots of stops and inquiries. I'm predicting this item will sell before the weekend is over. I'll let you know if I'm right or wrong. Either way, we're doing something right with this lovely piece. Let me show you how Shane & Audrey's talent brought this hall tree from a salvaged door to the awesome piece of furniture that will adorn someone's entry way or hall way or other living space! Once Shane made the door into a hall tree with a storage bench, Audrey took over and upholstered the bench and painted the piece. Of course, after the paint & upholstery is finished, Shane added the hardware. So not only does this have storage and a bench to sit on, but it also has two very good 3-way hooks and a door knocker. The door knocker may just be an embellishment, the jury's still out on that.
The fun has really just begun. I can't wait for someone to buy this and love it and set it up in their home. I can't wait for Audrey & Shane to start on their next one, which will be so different and awesome in so many other ways. I also hope that our piece inspires others to create their own hall trees or to go find one that works for their space. If you are reading this and end up with this piece or a piece like it because of this blog post, do let me know ;) TPH
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Although we make some things from scratch, we also have lots of things that start as something else or that we find, clean up, and sell. In all cases, we often find ourselves wrapped up in the stories the items tell. Take this cafe print with a gold frame. I thought it was a cafe from "somewhere else" and admired it for the colors and artistry. A quick search on the internet informed me that this is a real Parisian cafe that is open and thriving. Now I admire it even more! This trunk has seen a lot in its ~60 years, and when we encountered it, it was covered in brown textured tape. Underneath the tape were several interesting story lines. It turns out that the manufacturer, Belber Trunk & Bag Co., has a great story that's easy to research online. And there are at least two names written on the trunk, one is military, and the other appears to be a relative of the military person. It also has old shipping stickers still partially stuck to it. Who knows what kinds of things this trunk has been a part of! We don't have a lot of history on this mirror, but we do know it was previously part of a dresser. We can't research that, but if we're not careful, the imagination takes over. Did this live in a couple's bedroom, did they have kids, did the lady of the house use it to check her reflection one last time before heading out for evening? Who knows!!! And these irons! We have yet to properly identify their original story (one is marked with a star & a number, and the other one has a star and a different number), but we will start the search soon. Finding, researching, designing, breaking down, cleaning up, repurposing...all of these things are part of what makes this venture worth it. And of course, sharing the outcome with our fans & patrons too! Sunshine @ TPH Each week, our retail partner, the Queen of Hearts, will feature a different theme. This week, the theme is the coffee table, and although we don't have any actual coffee tables at the moment, we do carry lots of fun stuff to adorn coffee tables! Here are some current options. Each week, our retail partner, the Queen of Hearts, will feature a different theme. This week, the theme is red, white & blue, so I thought it would make sense to share some of the items we're currently carrying that fit this theme! If you see something you're interested in, visit our Facebook photo album, which we keep up to date with photos of our most current inventory (we update it nightly, moving items that have sold). We'll start with a collage of reds. Then whites. Then blues. And a bonus category, blues with white (or tan). Enjoy! Sunshine @ TPH Before the hall tree and before the upcycling of the wire spools, there was the headboard bench. It was my first true love at The Painted Hammer, for one very important reason...it was the first pure design & build collaboration between Shane and his sister. They had done several things together at that point, but they were more like placing an order and taking an order. Shane would say, "hey, I'm making these shelves that spell out L-O-V-E, and I need you to paint them, okay?" So Audrey would paint them. Audrey would say, "hey, I need a piece of wood that is 3'x2' that I can upholster, and I need you to cut it for me, okay?" So Shane would make it. The hall tree was more organic and collaborative. Audrey acquired a metal headboard. She showed Shane. She said she'd been thinking about making it the back of a bench constructed from salvaged pallet wood, and she had a sketched out idea. Shane started work on the bench, making changes to Audrey's design where he needed to or had inspiration to. They talked throughout the process too, passing snapshots and ideas back and forth. And then it was complete. They had designed and built something pretty amazing, which Audrey then finished. I look forward to many, many, many more of these originals from Audrey and her brother. And I look forward to sharing them with you. Each week, our retail partner, the Queen of Hearts, will feature a different theme. This week, the theme is travel or wanderlust, so I thought it would make sense to share some of the items we're currently carrying! If you see something you're interested in, visit our Facebook photo album, which we keep up to date with photos of our most current inventory (we update it nightly, moving items that have sold). If your wanderlust is the lake, the coast, the beach, or the open seas, we have fantastic inventory for you: If something more distant and introspective is part of your wanderlust, have a look at these items. We hope you enjoy this new topic for our blog.
TPH As usual, another unknown designer term has been introduced to me. Finial. Now that this is my umpteenth completely new word/definition combo, I'm starting to get used to the fact that I'm in learning & absorption mode. When Audrey used finial when describing something to me the other day, I actually got excited when I started thinking about the process of looking up what it means and then sharing it with you!
*** fin·i·al noun \ˈfi-nē-əl\ 1 : a usually foliated ornament forming an upper extremity especially in Gothic architecture 2 : a crowning ornament or detail (as a decorative knob) *** This is a pretty broad definition, so I found two examples of finials to help us understand this thing better. One is stand alone, and the other serves as a resting place for a candle or some other object. They can also be used as bases in lamps! I like this new word, and I like what it is! Enjoy! Progress! Mr. Hammer spent another slice of time working on the custom modular shelving project. He finished one 21' wall, end-to-end and top-to-bottom. He got fancy with the panorama shot, but it was a necessity since it was the only way to capture the whole unit! Until next time... We have arrived. We have our first guest blog post!!!
The blog article I wrote for the Queen of Hearts went live overnight. Read it when you get a minute. That is all! Mr. Hammer & Mrs. Paint needed some hardware for various projects they have in flight and planned for the very near future. I was going to spend a 12 hour day shopping, so I took it on myself to look for some used hardware. I was successful, in that I found two 4-packs of drawer pulls and a knocker. As I took pictures and then planned to tell Mrs. Paint what I had purchased, I realized I didn't have the vocabulary to tell her. So I asked the internets. The internets took me here, to Cliffside Industries. Cliffside tells me that the hardware I purchased falls into the "pulls" and "handles" category of cabinet hardware because they require more than 1 screw for installation.
Once I had that tidbit, I had to get creative. From about 5 different sites, I concluded that I found:
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