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A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham

Franklin Table Re-Do

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Never heard of a 
Franklin Table? 

Why, that is a little 3-legged table 
found at an antique store in Franklin, Tennessee.

Love the hand-carved leafy detail at the top of each of the legs...
BUT, this is the AFTER picture...

A BEFORE photo of the leafy detailing...

Many of you, my blogging friends, would love the little 3-legged table as I found it. 
What loving words you would use to describe it! 
... distressed, chippy, shabby-chic, ...

 My best shopping buddy (my little sister), a close friend, and I had heard of 
Franklin's fabulous shops from family members 
who live in north Alabama. 
After listening to my sister-in-law rave about Franklin's wonderfulness, 
sister, friend, and I decided we HAD to go. 

My friend and I drove from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Nashville, TN 
so we would have a way to bring home our new-found treasures. 
We met my sister's plane from San Diego at the Nashville airport. 

Off we went to Franklin! 
Only a 15-30 minutes drive due south on I-65 from Nashville. 
Just inside the front door of one of the first shops sat this little 3-legged table. 
It had arrived just that very morning. 
Didn't even have a price tag on it yet. 
Arrived the same day I did.  
Sounded like to me it came just for me. 

Then I spied the look on my sister's face as I was looking at the table. 

Wrinkled nose, furrowed brow, head cocked to one side, hand on hip, 
an expression that said, "You aren't seriously considering buying THAT." 

Why, Yes, I was. 
Seriously considering buying it. 
Negotiated with the shop owner. 
Bought it. 

Loaded it onto the back seat of the car UPSIDE DOWN 
so we could pile more treasures in it,  
and still have room for one of us to ride in the back seat. 

The AFTER photo... 
This is what I could see in my mind 
as I looked at the chippy little table in Franklin, TN. 

Several coats of paint later... 
A soft shade of blue, 
even though it looks a little grey in these photos. 
The first paint I used peeled off. 
More sanding... 
Back to the hardware store for an oil-based paint... 
I still haven't tried Miss Mustard Seed or
Annie Sloan chalk paint. 

One leg was missing the hand-carved leafy detail 
on one side at the top right. 
So, I free-handed painted the detail 
just like I painted inside the carvings elsewhere. 

The creamy white accents in the carvings and
 along the ogee-edged curved top turned out 
just like my mind saw them. 

My sister loves the little 3-legged Franklin Table. 
Now. 
After it's painted. 

Today she said she thinks it should live in her bedroom. 

Yes, big sisters sometimes can see things little sisters cannot,
at first look. 

But then, little sister was the one who spotted the 
blue barn on the winding road in the 
Appalachian foothills of Alabama. 
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Love Give-Aways? 
August seems to be the month for Give-Aways. 
W - E - L - L
I will be having a Give-Away 
for a little something French-inspired that I absolutely adore 
within the next two-three weeks. 
You will want to be part of it, 
I'm POSITIVE.
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Please join me at these inspiring sites...
MONDAY

TUESDAY
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