Thank you again to Holly, Anne, and Anthropologie for letting us be a part of this fabulous event! I never thought I’d be able to say I styled a table at Anthro–everyday great things are happening around here. Thank you to everyone who made this thrilling day possible!

Old suede upholstery on this wingback…ready to get removed

So I worked on them day and night with my assistant, adding new padding, tufting, fabric, piping, and nail head trim.  Yes, it took me staying up 36 hours straight to finish them before the wedding, but we got them done and I’m thrilled with the results!

I’ve learned that sometimes I just have to dive in because, as in life, if I’m always worrying about not knowing exactly how to add the piping or how to secure the tufting, I’d never start a project and never get to the result.  Sometimes it’s about learning as you go along on uncertain journeys and sometimes we are lucky enough to get beautiful nailhead wingbacks at the or a vintage rental business at the end.

It only took two days and tons of scrapes and bruises to get it done.  The hardest part was molding the rigid zinc around the table—because I used a gauge that was too thick.  Lesson learned.  After I finally hammered it all around the table, I used galvanized roofing nails for the nailhead trim around the edge.  After all, I love details!

This is me putting  contact cement on the tabletop.    Yeah, the table looks cool in this pic, but I chose this table because the boards had become too brittle, loose, and there were big knot holes in it.

Pretty zinc sheet.

Here’s Hanna cutting the zinc to the corners of the table.  Stylish and crafty all at the same time!  She later soldered the corners together.

Here, we clamped the sides of the table down under a 2×4 to keep the top from bubbling up when we were nailing in the sides.  Believe it or not, the nails were not so easy to pound in the side.  I still have some bruises on my hands from missed attempts

This is the final stage of the table—and clamp city!  The blue stuff on the table is the patina solution that I used.  This was the really fun part.  I experimented with different concentrations of it on a scrap piece of zinc.  Then used a lot of finesse, steel wool, and hammers to create the just right look.  I think it turned out awesome!  Now it’s another lovely addition to our inventory available for anyone to rent.

PS. Please ignore my atrocious yard and the mess I made.  I’m a messy crafter.  My grass tells the story of how many projects Something Vintage has done here….

Last summer, my wonderful neighbors and I gathered to celebrate Sandra and Jean-Paul’s upcoming addition to their family.  We are so thrilled that this was featured on Style Me Pretty.  We styled the shower and chose French country theme for the brunch fete because Sandra is French. We used white and grey as the main colors with orange accents to keep it gender-neutral (they didn’t find out the sex) and keyed off the cute bird that is painted in the baby’s nursery.  Look how gorgeous this couple is!  I can’t believe she gave birth like two weeks later.

We held the brunch in a community garden near our house Columbia Heights (in DC), and took advantage of the natural elements on site, creating a brunch buffet out of wood pallets and using old garden fencing to hang a lace ribbon curtain made out of vintage tablecloths. We wanted to incorporate chicken wire (come on, who doesn’t?!), so we used it to create plate chargers, photo frame backdrops, and as accents in the invitation. At the last minute, we were thrilled to find an oversized antique bird cage to house the baby gifts and a vintage French baby carriage for a prop!

Our chicken wire chargers

Our favorite details?  The little birds we created from the pages of old French novels. We used a large bird punch to create them and mounted the birds to chicken wire frames. We then used them to label plants in the garden.

Anne Robert, an incredible photographer in DC and NY, shot the event and captured the memories for the new parents. Aren’t her photos amazing?  I swear she can make anything look beautiful through her lens.  It’s truly a gift!

Jennifer Claire from Memento Designs created these gorgeous invitations.  She always hits the nail on the head with capturing the right feel for events  (she also designed my wedding invitations!)

The delicious French pastries and baked goods were provided the French bakery Le Caprice DC, which is also located in Columbia Heights.

Meredith from Singing Frog Farms provided the gorgeous florals.

It was a real pleasure to help Sandra and Jean-Paul celebrate the impending arrival of their little one Noah, who was born just two weeks later! Didn’t Sandra look amazing for being just shy of 9 months?! Congrats to Sandra and Jean-Paul!

Photography>>Anne Robert Photography      Styling and Vintage Rentals >>  Something Vintage Rentals    Invitations >> Memento-Designs        Fabulous French Pasteries >> Le Caprice DC       Florals >> Singing Frog Farms     Venue >> Wangari Gardens

Suggested Uses:

• Dessert display prop–use pulled out drawers to display candy, desserts, silverware etc
• Bar Prop–hold straws, napkins etc in drawers
• Display photos on top in drawers
• Flower display
• Wedding favor holder
• The list goes on!