I think many of us understand the immortal words of Tim Gunn who says “Make it work.” to designers who are struggling on “Project Runway.” Even though what I do isn’t fashion, I still struggle with ideas, implementing them, and making what I have in my mind actually become a reality.
When I find a piece of furniture sometimes it tells me right away what it wants to be. Sometimes, I wait. Sometimes I make a decision and know exactly what I’m going to do, but as I’m sanding, painting, decoupaging, etc., it all changes. Sometimes the piece just says “No. I don’t to be blue with checks, I want to be red with flowers.” I listen. And usually it’s the right decision.
I was working on a piece this past weekend to be donated to the Salem Arts Festival. It was a table that I’ve had sitting around for several months and I’ve tossed around a few different ideas of what to do with it, but nothing definite.
It’s a good, solid, mid-century end table that just needed some pizazz. When I decided that this was the piece to flip and donate I knew I wanted it to relate to Salem somehow. No, not witches!! I was thinking more along the lines of the beach. My first idea I had I realized I just didn’t have the time to do. I’ll save that idea for another piece! My second idea was to do some sort of pattern on the top level that would be sorta cool and mod looking. The stencil I used didn’t quite work out the way I wanted, so I just made it work. The pattern that emerged made it look like sand and pebbles! Perfect for Salem! See? It’s sorta cute….I thought at the time. Sorta.
But as I looked at it over the next day, I realized “That doesn’t look like sand and pebbles! That looks like bird poop all over the top!!”
YIKES!! NOT an attractive look for a table!
This realization was at about 1:00 p.m. yesterday and I needed to get the table to Kylie, the woman in charge of the event, that afternoon. So I looked at it and had to make a quick decision of how to re-flip the flip, or as my friend Dave called it “a double back flip.” LOL!
Enter the paper and decoupage fairies! It’s not a technique I’m great at, but I am getting better and I knew this would be a relatively quick fix and I could still get the table turned in. In the end, it I think it still has beachy feel, although maybe more Miami than Salem, but it’s cute, I like it and I made it work!!
flipsbyphipps 