#22 And the answer to #20 is...

 My very own version of a Scandinavian country Gustavian sideboard for the summer kitchen:

I dry brushed a soft turquoise over the beat up, unattractive pine - the same turquoise paint I had used for the kitchen before I realized, with the help of my sister, that it was the totally wrong color for my kitchen. I sprayed the drawers with gold then sanded them a bit and did the same to the rope molding and appliques I added as trim. I painted the wooden knobs with turquoise first and then added a light spray of gold. Here's a closeup:

This is what the piece looked like before - when I was about ready to put it on Craig's List and just get rid of it:

It was in the kitchen being used as an island when we bought the house. It had a butcher block top that I've removed and am going to turn into a bench for the porch. For several years after we remodeled the kitchen, it sat outside under the balcony. The project will be completed with a perfectly sized piece of marble that has been languishing in the garden since we bought the house. It must have been in the original kitchen, but I don't know for sure. It's been propped up beside the original shed outside, and it's companion - a six inch back splash piece - has been used in the back garden as an edging. Both were green with moss but we managed to roll them on a dolly and put them on the picnic table where we power washed the crud off. They are super porous right now, so I need to do some research on how to treat them. But, more importantly, I have to find someone willing and strong enough to help Dean bring the pieces inside and place them on the sideboard. The big piece is incredibly heavy. Till then, here's what they look like:

While I was on a roll, I painted a washstand that had seen better days. Here's the before:

And the after:

I took the beat up pressed brass pulls from the washstand and used them on the sideboard, replacing them with glass pulls that I had used in the kitchen before the remodel. Everything gets used and reused in this house! The mirror over the sideboard is another example of creative re-use:

The rectangular mirror was one my grandmother used in her bedroom. Its meant to hang horizontally, but I hate mirrors hung that way, so I just turned it. Anyway, I thought the sideboard needed a mirror over it that had the same kind of Gustavian feel, so I lined parts of the mirror with a gold leafing pen and then topped it with a gold pediment I had gotten at TJ Maxx years ago for $9...it's resin, but it fits perfectly and I love how it all came together! Don't know if my grandmother would approve, but it was either do something with the mirror or get rid of it, so I hope she'd be happy that I've kept it - with just a bit of alteration!

I plan to hang the mirror a bit off center so I can hang a painted metal chandelier I purchased in Italy when I was stationed there in my 20's. I loved it the moment I laid eyes on it! I had lent it to my mother-in-law to use in her home, but since her passing, it has come back to live with me again. Here's a shot of it on the sideboard:

Its made to have a direct ceiling connection, so I've gotten a kit to turn it into a fixture that will plug into the wall, and some extra chain to swag it from the wall and down from the ceiling. Wish me luck with that project since I'm a bit timid when it comes to working on anything that has electricity involved!

So...that's what I've been up to! I think the pieces kind of have the feel of the Carl Larsson painting I posted here, don't you? Sort of light and airy and a bit grand - perfect for my summer kitchen!