Amy Azzarito's Blog

Transformed dollhouse and the birthday girl.

I have a hard time walking away from a vintage dollhouse. And I probably should have walked away from this one. But I loved its size and it had the sweetest working elevator! So I bought it for around $35 and it sat in the garage until a certain almost-three-year-old spotted it. I promised that I would clean it up. And I got it ready just in time for her birthday. I’m sharing it because I know when I was working on mine, I was constantly looking for inspiration!

Several months later, this dollhouse has already been loved fairly hard so she likely has some updates in her future. Maybe Stella and I will do the next makeover together. In the meantime, I still keep my eyes open for all vintage dollhouse furniture at estate sales or on Facebook marketplace.

In situ at the estate sale. Filled with possibilities.

Here she is at the estate sale. Pretty charming, but she’s deceiving. There were chunks missing from the particle board. I ended up cutting a new piece for the roof because the original was warped. And I had to put the roof tiles on individually.

For me, step one is always rip out the old wallpaper and flooring. Then try to fix the structure. This is when I realized that this house was just made of cheap particle board and probably should have passed (it it so heavy!). But I was too far in it. For pieces, with giant missing chunks, I repaired it as best I could using Bondo. The prep work for Bondo is a pain, so it’s best so identify all the spots that you need to repair and do them all at once.

Then, I like to paint everything white and start figuring out the room arrangement and the decoration.

The bed is vintage. The bunting is from Etsy.

The bed and nightstand are vintage. The globe is from Etsy. The wallpaper is Jessica Cloe Minis.

The tub is Maileg. The sink was vintage that I painted and fixed up. The flooring is from HobbyLobby (seems to be out of stock. This is similar. )

I loved the wall panelling, which I found from a U.K.-based Etsy seller (they also sell the frames.) The sofa is from Macy Mae. The rug is from . The bird cage is vintage. The chair is a vintage ornament from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The coffee table is from Etsy.

I found the stove and other kitchen stuff in a miniature lot at an estate sale, but stove is a Roper Range (I got lucky with it!)

My definition of a beach read is a book that you can easily pause while reading — whether you glance up to look at the ocean or are reading (or listening) while en route somewhere. I also like something that maybe gives you a little conversation fodder. These books all do just that.

Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent by Mandy Aftel

As an artisan perfumer, Mandy Aftel has an intimate relationship with scent. She is also a fabulous story teller and shares the history of scent in the most beautiful and compelling way. In this book, she charts the story of fragrance through five scent superstars: cinnamon, mint, frankincense, ambergris and jasmine. My copy is completely dogeared as I've attempted to note my favorite stories. There are also scent recipes like a nineteenth century recipe for smelling salts.

The Medici Giraffe: And Other Tales of Exotic Animals and Power by Marina Belozerskaya

My fascination with material culture stems from how much objects reveal about their owners and the cultures in which they were created. This book uses exotic animals as a lens to examine those same concepts. Each chapter tells the story of a different animal, and a different moment in history. It begins with how elephants helped Ptolemy II Philadelphus establish his kingdom and make the city of Alexandria a center of learning throughout the world. She tells the story of how, in the 18th century, Empress Josephine brought black swans from Australia to her gardens at Malmaison. The final story is about how, in 1972, two giant pandas were gifted to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. after First Lady Pat Nixon commented to Mao Zedong how much she liked them.

For many of us, seeing animals in captivity has become abhorrent, and in the introduction Belozerskaya explains, “I hope to show that the way we perceive and treat animals illuminates our own values, concerns, and aspirations. By pondering the relationships we have had with them across the centuries, we may discover something about ourselves.”

Seductress: Women Who ravished the World and the Lost Art of Love by Betsy Prioleau

I adored Betsy Prioleau's deftly written look at women and the art of love and seduction. Prioleau paints fascinating portraits of women like Wallis Windsor (in Belles Laides: Homely Sirens), Mae West (Silver Foxes) and Josephine Baker (Sorcières: Siren-Artist). One of my favorite stories in the book is of early 19th century English aristocrat Jane Digby, who after multiple marriages and love affairs, didn't give up on her hunt for true love — which she found in Syria at age 46. She met and fell in love with Sheikh Abdul Mezrab, who was 20 years her junior. (She even learned Arabic and spent half the year living the nomadic life of her husband.) And when researching Elements of a Home, the chapter on Diane de Poitiers (Silver Foxes), was invaluable. I referred to in my history of Persian and Turkish rugs and in monograms.

I have dipped my toe into the world of auction buying, and I’m not sure that I’ll be quite the same (or at least my wallet won’t!)

I found this beauty using LiveAuctioneers, which is basically a platform to participate in auctions around the world. So far, I’ve stuck fairly close to home. Most auction houses don’t ship so it is definitely easier to shop close to home. I was able to check my lady out in the auction preview (where you get to go in person to peruse the lots). She was smaller than I had pictured, but I thought she was super cool and on the day of bidding, I was the only one who put in an offer.

This is what is known as a caryatid - basically a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support. (That top column on her head makes her a caryatid and not just a sculpture). The best known example are at the Acropolis in Athens. Then during the Renaissance, the practice of incorporating caryatids into building was revived, and a favorite interior spot for them was decorating a fireplace.

Calling a book a BIBLE is a big deal. In my experience, most publishers are fairly cautious about throwing out comparisons of literal biblical proportions. It creates a sense of expectations that you want to be careful a book can meet. If ever a title deserved the bible moniker, it’s certainly this one.

It’s written by Christophe Pourny, whose parents owned a antiques store in France that specialized in supplying rustic, Provençal furniture to Parisians looking to furnish their country homes. After obtaining a history degree, he apprenticed with his Uncle Pierre Madel who ran an eponymous antiques gallery in Paris. (Credentials, check!) The gallery had a lot of American clients and so Christophe found himself in New York.

There’s a lot in this book - explanation of different furniture styles and wood types. But the meat of the book is on how to care and refinish furniture. I’m not sure that I’ve come across another book in recent memory that goes into such great depth. You really can’t find these how-to’s elsewhere. There are detailed instructions on how to ebonize, how to repair veneer, and how to french polish. There are tips on how to fix loose drawers and stuck drawers and what kind of tools to buy.

If you love antique furniture, you need this book in your library.

I almost feel guilty about recommending this book. I’m sending you out on a near impossible quest. The used copies online seem to be running in the $95 range. Just know I feel your pain, I’d like to get my hands on Saladino’s second book, which chronicles the design of his villa in Montecito (which Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi later purchased for $26 million). That book is running at around $250 - so I’ll see you at the Goodwill, flipping through the book section and hoping I strike gold.

Style by Saladino was published in 2000. At which point, John Saladino had already been working as a designer for nearly 30 years. He is known for effortlessly mixing old and new — in a way that is both architectural and classic (Did I mention he graduated from the Yale School of Art & Architecture?)

This is one of those design books that isn’t just eye candy. For example, when choosing color, Saladino writes “Relying on paint chips is unsatisfactory. Color multiplies in intensity when the square footage increases. Rather than settling immediately for the color that you think you want, my advice would be to select a color a few shades lighter; that way the color of the finished painted space will often have the effect that you thought you would get from the small sample.

(Note in the image to the right that a garden gate is hung on the wall like a modern painting.)

He does spend a fair bit of text explaining ways to make a large space feel more intimate (at the time of the book’s publication he was living in a huge New York City apartment — his living room had once been a ballroom) But the suggestions on how to create smaller rooms within rooms, how to light a space and of course, how to choose color — can apply to any size space.

I did the majority of my adulting in big city apartments. I learned a lot. However, none of that learning included gardening. Fast forever several years and now I’m living in a house in the suburbs, with a toddler and a backyard.

For the first couple of years here, everything was neglected. There was a wedding to plan, honeymoon, then baby. The baby became the catalyst for attempting some gardening. Turns out, when you have a baby/toddler, you are actually constantly going outside. Eventually, the sad plants started to get under my skin. While planning, I found my way to this book. Written by P. Allen Smith (who was a PBS television host), it has become one of my favorite books.

Firstly, I should confess that my gardening knowledge is the step before beginner. And this is not a beginner gardening book, but it changed the way I thought about how the yard should look as Allen explained how to create garden “rooms” and how to frame a view. He writes about how to color, texture, pattern and rhythm. It also happens to appeal to my personal outdoor style — he goes for more of a “natural” look.

The book is filled with great ideas for how to create little garden moments and outdoor “rooms” For me, it somehow makes it a little easier to envision what to do what it’s broken up like this. There are so many ideas for projects and color schemes. It’s just a fantastic book filled with design tips.

I remember turning the pages of Empire in the Splendor and seeing the swan teacup that Empress Josephine used at Malmaison. I’ve never been much of a bird person, but you couldn’t deny its elegance. The style is known as Directoire. This was the style shepherded into fashion by the Empress during her time with Napoleon. Swans were a particular favorite of hers. She even had black swans imported from France to swim in the lake of Malmaison.

Malmaison was the house that she bought when Napoleon headed off to Egypt. He saw the house with her, pronounced it a wreck and said absolutely not. As soon as he was safely out of the country, she purchased it. She had a vision.

Empress Josephine’s tableware circa 1810, as seen in Empire Splendor: French Taste in the Age of Napoleon

My estate sale find. Perfect size + drawer = sold! I snapped it up for $50.

So I felt I was channeling her in more ways than just a love for swans when I bought this table at an estate warehouse sale. I had a vision that it didn’t need to spend its life with that orange shade of stain.

Practically, I was drawn to this table’s size and the fact that it had a drawer. So many modern tables don’t. But drawers are so handy and this one was perfectly sized for a TV remote. (The label underneath revealed that it was made in Italy.) So for $50, it was mine.

I was definitely tested by this table. It may have been small, but the finish was applied so thick that I can’t tell you how much I wished that I had so kind of professional stripping set-up. I think I went at this with stripper and wire scrubbers more than half a dozen times. I lost count of how many times I put on my gloves and set to work on those birds. Stripping is messy and not fun, and if you know of a better way, I’m all ears.

(And honestly, now that I’m looking at the photos, the whole thing probably could have used a couple more passes with the stripper, but I just wanted it done.)

Once the horror of stripping was over, I simply applied some household bleach — just a couple times and then waxed the entire table.

Lately my favorite day is the 50% off Sunday at my local estate sale warehouse. It’s amazing what 50% off does. An object that holds no interest is a “must-have” at 50% off. Which is how I ended up squeezing a massive secretaire in the back of my car a few weeks ago. I had noted the piece on a few different visits, but it wasn’t until the price hit $100 that it seemed worth lugging home. Maybe it was growing up in a family of six that sparked my love of locking furniture.

I write about the history of desks in Elements of Home. The type of desk that I picked up from the estate sale was extremely popular in the 18th century. It’s called.a secretaire (from secretarius, the Latin word for writer). It’s a sort of mishmash half desk/half drawers. Historically, the fold-down desk service with a lock provided critical protection against any would-be snoopers. (At a time, when all your secrets would be hand-written)

And it was a must-have item for a surprising group of women: 18th century courtesans. Most of them started out in performing arts where they weren’t paid enough in their work in the performers, actresses, singers or dancers weren’t paid enough to make ends meet. So most depended on the generosity of wealthy male admirers. Any change in lovers, was a cause for redecoration. The writing desk was a key component to the well-appointed courtesan apartment. t was critical to projecting an image of a “learned woman.”  As an added plus, the secretaire’s  locked drawers, cubbyholes and sometimes even a secret compartment - perfect for the woman with some secrets to keep. 

My plan was to strip the piece and leave the raw wood exposed ( similar to what I did with this little side table). So the process was to first strip the finish, sand the entire piece and finally bleach it.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out that way. First, this was a much larger piece than anything I had worked in the past. It was a lot of work to strip. I was working outside and while our December days have been just beautiful in California, the temperature drops at night. So after the first night of stripping, I found the piece the next morning just dripping in condensation. The veneer was much thinner than I had anticipated and just peeled off. I put layers and layer of bleach on it, but the result was just really yellow.

I tried to get it lighter, but the red yellow of the wood underneath kept coming through. (This piece was a beast. I dragged it outside everyday and then back inside at night).

So, I sanded it all over again and applied a liming wax with as light a touch as I could manage.

And here we go. It wasn’t quite what I had envisioned, but it was definitely a learning experience (like don’t leave furniture outside when the temperature dips below 40 degrees). It might be a while before I pick out another giant piece of furniture. But in the meantime, I’ll enjoy having a spot to conceal all my many secrets.

Finished version of the bleached wood table that might have once been a nightstand. (The buddha and mirror are from one of my favorite thrift stores in Roseville, CA, Antique Trove. The pink ganesh is from Michele Varian.)

Another find from that local estate warehouse sale. I had been looking for a little table just like this ever since I watched Rita Konig’s masterclass. It’s a fantastic little course. In one of my favorite episodes, she goes to a Tennant’s Auction House in Yorkshire. She points out how useful little tables can be in a bathroom or other place in the house.

Small side table that Rita spots at Tennant Auction House that she recommends for a bathroom.

Small cabinet at the estate sale.

While I don’t have Tennant’s in my backyard, I did find a great estate sale warehouse (You can find local estate sales on estatesales.net) I was pretty thrilled when I stumbled upon this little cabinet. The marble top was beautiful. It was the perfect small size. And with a house over-run by toddler toys, I’m always in the market for closed storage.

The table looked to be from the late 1800s, and I was excited to give it a new life in my home. But I was a little less excited about the wood color. What I was looking for was something like the bleached wood tones in the pieces at one of my favorite local shops — Summer House. The pieces are deservedly more in the range of thousands of dollars, not like my humble little table. (Look at that amazing carved column capital)

Inspiration wood tones at Summer House in Mill Valley.

Back to reality. My estate sale cabinet was $75, which made it the perfect experimenting piece. I was impatient to get started and I had some wood stripper from another project so I took everything outside and begin attempting to remove the finish. I didn’t take the time to make sure I had good gloves. I just threw on some gardening gloves and ended up with some chemical burns on my hands so the glove recommendations are definitely there for good reason.

The finish came off quite easily and then I sanded the piece and then wiped it down with household bleach. Once the table was light enough, I simply applied some colorless Renaissance wax.

After stripping and a first layer of bleaching.

You may be able to tell that the wax slightly darkened the wood compared the raw, bleached look above, but it wasn’t dark enough for me to mind. In addition to loving the color of the wood, I do appreciate that I can always take the table darker with a stain — it feels like it has more longevity.

And the final before and after! I like the look of this transformation much more than my liming wax experiment! I’m on the hunt for a large credenza to make over so I’m glad I’m getting some practice on these smaller pieces! Right now the table is in the main living space, but it’s certainly small enough to be used in numerous places like as a nightstand or even in a bathroom (as Rita suggested!)

A few weeks ago, I ventured out to an estate sale. (If you’re interested in estate sale shopping, check estatesales.net ) And there, off in the corner, I spotted this pedestal table. I wasn’t fond of the color of the wood. But I did appreciate its architectural pedestal and its small size. (I love a 30” diameter tables.) I could see this working as an oversized size table, used for dining or even in the entry. It was also only $50 (this was on a 50% off Sunday) so I decided to take the plunge.

I do have some great historic company when it comes to my love of the pedestal table. This was the type of table preferred by the Romans who reclined while dining. (I delve more into the history of Roman dining in my book, Elements of a Home.) They would have pulled up a group of couches (sort of like how I have it, in the photo above). It was a style appreciated by the Victorians. Then the form took off in the mid-century, when Eero Saarinen used the form for his beloved Tulip Table.

The table , en situ, at the estate sale.

The finish is quite worn on the top. I also didn’t really like the red undertones.

I set up with a hose, Citristrip and a wire brush. It was a lot of work!

Applying the first layer of liming wax.

The Project

Strip the paint.
I mostly used Citristrip and it worked really well. The key was to apply it outside and scrub it with a wire brush. I periodically hosed off the table, which kept the stripper activated. (If you let it dry, its a beast to get off unless you douse it with water.)

Sand

Bleach. I experimented with a couple of different wood bleaches, but found I liked household bleach the best.

Apply liming wax (according to package instructions). In hindsight, I wish I had left the wood raw (and done a simple wax). I also toyed with the idea of staining it black. Once, I went down the lime wash road, I couldn’t go back (I did try, but then just wanted to be done.)

Side Note: Definitely wear gloves and protective equipment when applying the stripper! I was a little caviller about this piece of the equation and ended up with chemical burns. So just order the protective gear (goggles, two layers of gloves) when you order the supplies. Also, I didn’t have enough ventilation with I was working with the bleach and ended up with a horrible migraine. Lessons.