The Story

Red Door Furniture Co. started from a table Jeff made more than a decade ago. It was made out of an old door his dad found on a job site in downtown St. Louis. He spent hours and hours stripping and sanding the top of the table. By the time he got to the underside, he grabbed the nearest thing he could find...a can of red paint and slapped on a coat. Years later, we named our little company Red Door Furniture Co.

First RDFCo. Table

I've been sharing alot of the new items we will be offering in our shop -- we are trying hard to stick to unique home decor that is handcrafted, restyled or found by us. It's not easy! But, we're building a curated collection where each piece holds it's own little story. Just waiting for you to bring it home and add it to yours!

Today we're going out to look for old doors for dining room tables, sofa tables, bars, headboards...you name it! We'll be setting up an area of the store where, if we don't have a table in stock that fits your needs, you can select the door that does (as you can see below...no two are ever the same).

This weekend, Jeff will be working on a dining room table that I'm really excited about. We found the door below at a local antique store. It's perfectly chippy and rustic looking. Follow us on Facebook for updates and pics this weekend. I can't wait to see it when it's done!

Shop Update & Preview

Let me start by apologizing for the following crappy photos. My favorite little camera decided it was tired of my incessant need to photograph furniture painting, food and my dogs, and has decided it would rather live in the world of dead cameras. May it RIP.

Besides my crappy iPhone camera, my only other option is our DSLR. I know I need to start using it more, but, it's kinda a pain. This sounds like something I shouldn't be complaining about, so I'll move on...

Things are moving along at the new store front. We spend last weekend painting the walls. We chose a light gray (although the pics make it look dark...it really isn't).

We bought the two dividers you see below from the previous owner. We'll be using them to section off our work space in the back from the rest of the store. I'm painting them with chalkboard paint, so I can keep them updated with upcoming classes, special offerings, love notes, etc.

 Today I started staining crates we'll be using to create a shelf/wall. Here's the inspiration:

Source / Source

AND, here's where I am. I've discovered that staining 14+ crates is a very tedious chore. But, they are going to look pretty cool when it's done. (Well, it's what I repeat to myself anyway).

 

In my spare time, I've been painting furniture and running around St. Louis and St. Charles counties looking for super awesome finds for the shop. There's already a few things that I'm going to have a hard time parting with. But, that's what it's all about!

I'm hoping to take some pics this weekend of more stuff...but, here's a peek of a few things.

Custom Work: Schulz Table

We have another busy weekend ahead of us. On Saturday, we're meeting some friends of ours who are wanting a sofa table. We've invited them along with us to help find the perfect door and be a part of the process (something we offer in our custom program). Which got me thinking, we never shared our first custom table we created! This table was completed earlier this year and remains one of the most unique so far!

 We met the Schulz's at one of our favorite local salvage shops. We arrived a bit early to scout it out and get a general idea of what they had (it can be pretty overwhelming). Initially, the request was for a window box table where the top could be opened and things could be stored inside for display.

We stumbled upon two nearly identical doors that they immediately fell in love with. One was a mirror and one was glass and both had the same leaded pattern. (It was also a similar pattern they had in the windows of their Clayton home). Some old spindles were found to be used as legs.

While the design itself was simple, the process to get there was time consuming. Both doors and the spindles had to be stripped. While we typically don't strip doors because of the time involved and chemicals, we did this time and used a stripper that contains no methylene chloride, is non-caustic and safe for indoor use.

 The oak wood on the doors was beautiful. The stain was chosen to match the other furniture in their living room.

Of course it got the signature "Red Door" treatment underneath.

Our custom program is available for dining room tables, sofa tables, side tables...whatever you need! Get more info here.

Liming Wax 101

I've been wanting to try Brimax's Liming Wax for awhile now. It promises to give an aged, whitewashed, "Restoration Hardware" look...without the hassle of the 1/2 paint, 1/2 water whitewash technique. All my searching online only brought up images of the wax used on lighter wood and not the darker stained table I was wanting to use it on. In the end, I decided to just go with it (and am now spreading it on everything I can get my hands on)...here's a few tips:

Liming wax is a smooth, white paste. It can be applied to bare wood, as well as stained and sealed wood. It works best when the paste can get into the grain, so some roughing up might be in order. Here's a before pic of the table I used it on. It had a good coat of gloss or poly on it, so I went over it with a sandpaper block. I also used a wire brush in a few areas to open up the grain and cracks.

Here is is halfway through. You can see how the liming wax is getting down into the grain and providing a whitewashed look to other areas.

The contrast of the limed top to the bottom.

Here's the finished top. There's one spot over on the right I want to add more to. They suggest putting a coat of clear wax on to seal it. I started to use my Annie Sloan Clear Wax and it acted almost like an eraser. So, I stopped.

I'm loving the driftwood, whitewashed new look it gives to the table. It took like 30 min. and I barely used any wax (it's a little pricey at $20/can. But, I barely put a dent in it).

Liming Wax 101

Then, I got this crazed look in my eye...what else could I put this magic paste on? We've had the table below for too long now. It's a simple coffee table on steel, hairpin legs. We've brought him to numerous shows, but alas, nobody wants to take him home.

Here's the top after a coat of liming wax and some of Annie Sloan's clear wax. What a difference! The white wax got down into some deep holes and cracks and the clear wax took away some of the hard edge of the liming wax. Leaving a lovely aged piece.

I would love to know...what do you think of the liming wax look? Would you try it?

Upcoming Show Preview: Boulevard St. Louis Etsy POP!up Shop

In typical RDFCo. fashion, we're making a made scramble to get ready for a show next weekend. I guess it's just a part of our creative process :-) 

We're looking forward to trying out a new venue here in St. Louis. The Boulevard is home to tons of great little shops and restaurants and a whole new potential client base. And, I can't wait to team up again with so many great STL Etsy shops, including:

www.kakabaka.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/emkcreations
http://carriejeanhawkins.etsy.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sewgoodandtrendy
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Parsimonia
www.Etsy.com/shop/TheWeavingGuys
http://www.etsy.com/shop/PattySheppardArt
www.sticktoyourknittin.etsy.com
http://downzipper.etsy.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/AnnaOurthJewelry?ref=si_shop

The Boulevard St. Louis Etsy POP!up Shop will take place Saturday, Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

The Boulevard St. Louis Etsy Pop!up Shop on Oct. 12

We'll be bringing out a few pieces we've had on-hand, as well as bringing along some new things we've been working on. Here's a sneak peek:

Live edge coffee table on stainless steel hairpin legs

Gold and Blue Tray

Footstool with recycled grain sack

Sofa table with reclaimed boat wood

Side table from old Paris door

If you're in the St. Louis area, stop on by and say hi! It's a great chance to get a head start on all that holiday shopping.

Steppin' up to a ReDesign Challenge

There are so many great fall festivals and events around St. Louis this year. Sadly, we've had to limit RDFCo. to two. Trust me, it wasn't easy not applying to some of our faves. Somehow I managed to sit on my hands until the application periods were over.

We're currently gearing up for an Etsy Pop-Up in early October (we'll be sharing more info soon). A few days after that, we're taking on a whole new challenge. We were tapped to participate in a local fundraiser called Lost + (F)ound to benefit Perennial (a community workshop and store in St. Louis offering educational programming in creative reuse and sells creatively repurposed home furnishings and eco-friendly supplies for reuse projects.)

Besides the promise of wine, beer, pie and paper pinwheels, the event also features a ReDesign Challenge. Local artists, architects and designers are given three windows and have to transform them into a usable and functional piece for the home. The items are auctioned off at the event, with all proceeds benefiting Perennial. Since I love a good competition, I said hell yes!

Last week we picked up our windows. We aren't allowed to purchase anything new for them. We can take them apart and use fasteners to create a unique piece. They also provided us with green paint strippers and paint. We've already been kicking around some ideas & I can't wait to get started. Stay tuned for an update!

Pottery Barn Tivoli Table Knock-Off

As you may have noticed, RDFCo. has taken a little break these last few months, as we are in the process of building a new home. Typically, we do all of our work out of our house and garage and our two-room,  second-floor apartment doesn't lend itself to building. {insert frown here}

Last month, out of the blue, we got an email from the person who purchased one of our tables from our very first show, almost a year ago. She was wanted a table similar to Pottery Barn's Tivoli Console table. Of course, we wanted to make it happen!

The Tivoli table is long and skinny and measures 84.5" long x 17" deep x 30.5" high. She wanted similar legs and no drawers. Here's a pic of the inspiration:

Pottery Barn Tivoli Table

Jeff wanted to find one piece of wood that could be used for the top. Because the table would be so narrow and long, a door wasn't going to be possible. We found a large (and very heavy) piece of white oak at a local hardwoods store. It was harvested about 50 years ago in Ohio. It's supposed to be close to 100 years old!

Once we dug all of his tools out of storage, Jeff got to work!

Here's shot before it was stained.

 

And here's the finished product. Nearly perfect match!

Tivoli Table

The board came with a couple of cracks on one end. We opted to leave them in. Cutting it would have made the table too short, and, since we wanted a more worn, rustic look, it fits the table well.

Tivoli Table

Jennifer is coming tomorrow to pick it up -- we can't wait for her to see it!

Green with Indie Preview

Paint. Sew. Strip. Stain. Sleep. Wine. Whine. Repeat.

That's been life around our house lately. We're not only getting ready for our first show of 2013, Green with Indie, but we're also working on a very unique custom order. Once we get it all finished up, we'll be sharing all of the details. Until then, here's a sneak peek:

Our inventory in our Etsy store has been pretty low as we're stock piling stuff for GWI. We've been working on alot of really cool, upcycled and repurposed home goodies (it's what GWI is all about). I thought I would share some of the stuff we'll be bringing. There's still a couple of cool pieces made from old boat wood that we'll be bringing, but here's a couple other things:

Chalkboard made from antique cabinet door and handmade pillows made from vintage grain sacks.

Corkboard made from an old mirror. Distressed with ASCP

Handpainted, distressed and waxed Union Jack on canvas

Large pillow made from coffee grain sack and vintage grain sack scraps

Chalkboard upcycled from antique mirror. Handpainted and distressed.

Antique letterpress side table with hairpin legs

Side table with antique sewing machine legs

Side table with antique sewing machine legs

Stool recovered in coffee grain sack

Coffee table made from old door on hairpin legs

Paris cabinet door side table