Have you ever seen a Side by Side?

I had never seen a side by side til this year at auction~I fell in love with it and had to have it for the store. Of course that mentality set me back a few pennies, as another guy wanted it too~for his wife as a gift.  After the auction he tried to buy it from me, but I wouldn't sell...I was dying to breathe new life into it...

But before we get into all that, a Side by Side is a Secretary desk with a bookcase, side by side.  Its a very smart design I think~and would make a perfect piece of furniture for today's world. 

 It has a slant front desk top~perfect for the laptop and

 you can tuck it away when you shut the desk.

 Keep all your business cards and paper clips in here~

 The desk has old world details~and little key holes...they had key holes on everything!! What do you suppose they had to lock up in these old desks?  Its funny to think about...but they are attractive decorative details that speak to another time.

 This side by side has a bow front glass door to the bookcase too~

I lined the back of the desk with the seagreen metallic taupe damask wallpaper.

 The desk itself is done in Old Ochre Chalk Paint™ with a 

French Linen wash followed by a wash with a 

blue green color I mixed up~this piece looks really amazing in person!

Its hard to get the subtle colors across the computer monitor,

so you will have to trust me on this.

 This is carved wood~not an applique stuck on made out of resin or plastic.

I added just a touch of antique gold metallic for

 a slight shimmer on some of the carved areas.

Here is the BEFORE~

Please don't write me and tell me I ruined a piece of nice furniture.

I am into painting furniture and I won't apologize.

You can not paint your furniture and I am cool with that.

When I saw this, I saw it all painted in white...

so I painted it white and it looked blah...

so I came up with the Old Ochre and the washes.

 Can't you see this desk in a kitchen or a family room? 

Looking all splendid but really doing double duty.

The bookcases could be filled with BOOKS(!) ~

or grey washed baskets holding hidden supplies.

 It has a pretty beveled mirror that has silver crazing on it 

and a tiny little whatnot shelf to put something special on display.

So you see why I fell in love, right? 

Come into the shop and see for yourself...

Its waiting for a new home...