Our space is starting to resemble a store. We’re still far from the finish line (or rather, starting line) as our intention is NOT to be just another antiques shop. The plan was to take in a bunch of furniture from a single source and sell it while we get the shop ready, so we can save the time of running around shopping. That’s fine. But we need more of our own reclaimed creations before opening!

So, I’ll run around shopping most of the week while Emilia gets creative back at the shop. Shopping and creating? Sounds like fun to me.

We got the keys to the store on January 15th. Waited about two weeks for Con Ed to turn on our meters, in which time we did renovations in the cold, running an extension cord from the basement to power up our lights and tools. It’s been such a tough winter that we haven’t wanted to even look outside to figure out what to do with the storefront. We knew we needed a sign. Well, now we can finally check that one off the list.

As you can see from the header of this page, Reclaimed Home’s “look” is a blue background with stamped white lettering. Emilia is all captivated by her precious reactive metal paints, so we used the blue patina on tin ceiling tiles. It looks great!

One problem. When she started to seal it, the whole thing darkened. We called Metal Effects. They told us that it doesn’t need to be sealed. It would be fine outdoors. Great! We just wanted to test it before getting up on a ladder and bolting the sign to the front of the building. Sprayed some water on it and off came some blue.

The sign is now sitting in the workshop until we figure out if there’s a way to protect it while keeping that lovely bright blue. Worst case scenario is that we’ll have a darker colored sign.

But at least it will look nicer than the “Store for rent” sign that’s currently there.

Our first revitalized piece in the shop! Meet our first child. Someone stupidly didn’t get before pictures (me) but if we decide to paint pieces, it’s because they are past their prime. In this case, the wood was all dinged up and needed filling, etc.

Emilia went with a patinaed copper top (Metal Effects!) and antique white base. High gloss poly finish on the top so it can be used for just about anything. The base is satin poly.

Lemme tell ya, it’s so nice to have one bright piece in the shop! Everything we picked up from the Beacon dealer is creating a sea of brown. It brightens up the joint!

This piece is for sale here. Go buy it.

No, the shop won’t be ready to fully open until April, but we’re slowly getting there. For one, we are letting people come in by appointment as it’s getting organized and sorted out. In other words, lots of stuff is getting stored in the basement.

Our workspace is coming along thanks to anal Emilia! She even started working on the first repurposed piece! It’s a dresser that was too beaten up to sell as is. Wonder what she’ll do with it?

We’re not going to tell you what we got the chrome and glass table and mid century dresser for. Nor will we divulge the cost (or lack of) of the marble table top that is not in the picture. Do we feel guilty for taking this stuff in and turning it over for a profit? Nah. It makes us feel better than begging for money to open the store via crowdfunding. At least we’re earning it by schlepping!

A big “THANK YOU!” to Nora, the editor of Ditmas Park Corner for taking the time to find a new home for items that might have otherwise ended up in the landfill. A bigger thank you for letting that home be us and for helping load the truck.

PS: Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.