Appaloosa Artisans

Appaloosa Artisans Appaloosa Artisans is a repurposing, upcycling, fine woodworking shop where we transform your pieces or transform/create custom pieces just for you!

And next… This piece is very special, especially to me and to everyone around the William R Davie area of Davie County—-...
06/17/2026

And next…
This piece is very special, especially to me and to everyone around the William R Davie area of Davie County—- this rocking chair belonged to Paul Eaton’s mother! I loved Mr Paul— in my teen days as a runner running Ritchie road and Eaton’s Church Road he would drive past me multiple times to make sure I was okay and give me some water out of a mason jar and make me stop for a second to talk! I will forever cherish those moments!
His granddaughter inherited the chair and the arm became unattached and the spindles were loose on that side as well! So I quickly repaired it all and tightened up the bolts underneath each arm to make them much more secure!!!

Up next….. From ruined antique Duncan Phyfe desk to beautiful and timeless again! Photo of it in its home is at the end!...
06/17/2026

Up next…..

From ruined antique Duncan Phyfe desk to beautiful and timeless again!
Photo of it in its home is at the end!!!

This little writing desk belongs to my first ever friend from kindergarten. I remember crying in the classroom, and she came over to me, hugged me and told me everything was going to be alright, especially since her mom was one of our teachers! We were instant friends and now 45 years later, I had the honor to save her treasured antique Duncan Phyfe writing desk! All of the details are in the video! Once I scraped away the 2 damaged layers of veneer from the top, I found pretty poplar wood with minimal green streaks! I did seal up some of the cracks with some brown glue from and then did 3 layers of stain to match the original finish on the base— using early American, gunstock, and then red mahogany! I sealed it with multiple coats of polycrylic, added new feet since one was missing and one was rusted, new pulls since some were missing and a pretty floral paper inside the drawers!
I love how it turned out and so does my sweet friend!!!

Next up… This client had these 2 toddler chairs and wanted specific updates! Photos of the happy customer in the chairs ...
06/17/2026

Next up…
This client had these 2 toddler chairs and wanted specific updates!

Photos of the happy customer in the chairs are at the end!!
Non rocking chair—- make it more secure (it was wobbly), place something underneath the seat for stability, paint it black and clean up the seat!
Rocking chair— sand it down to natural and seal, make it more secure!
I was able to do it all for her and even made a little pink pillow for the rocking chair since she was giving it as a present to her granddaughter! I am also blessed to share pictures of her enjoying the chairs!!

Third… The same client’s grandfather clock! Nothing was destroyed in this transformation! The clock can actually still w...
06/17/2026

Third…
The same client’s grandfather clock!

Nothing was destroyed in this transformation! The clock can actually still work with an added battery clock mechanism and if the client wants the chimes to be back in their original position and working, they are all just safely tucked up in their bag behind the clock face!
Here were my steps…
1. Made 3 shelves, a bottom and what I call a ceiling for the interior! Originally there was no interior bottom and no ceiling, but the bottom gave it more stability and extra storage and the ceiling gave a place to house the chimes and chains— it can easily be removed if needed and the back of the clock face easily removes as well!
2. Removed the glass panels, taped out the clock face and the name plate. I also secured the bottom and the ceiling in place to prime and paint, but primed and painted the shelves outside of the clock!
3. Primed with black primer and painted with Rustoleum canyon black spray paint!
4. Once the paint was cured, I added this cute peel and stick wallpaper to the back and replaced the glass panels!
5. Made small holes for the removable shelving brackets and inserted them and the shelves!
That was it!
If you have any other questions, just drop them below and follow along for more furniture transformations!!!

Second….The same client with that gorgeous table and chairs also had this 2 piece hutch! She wanted it painted black and...
06/17/2026

Second….
The same client with that gorgeous table and chairs also had this 2 piece hutch! She wanted it painted black and the top of the bottom section sanded and stained to match her table!! I am also including her photos from her dining room of all of the pieces I transformed (she had not placed the shelves back in the clock yet)!

Lots of work happening these first few weeks of retirement….. sharing it all in multiple posts so I hope you take the ti...
06/17/2026

Lots of work happening these first few weeks of retirement….. sharing it all in multiple posts so I hope you take the time to check them all out!!!
First …..

1990s dark and dated table and chairs updated with a lighter finish on top, black accents and new lighter fabric on the seats!
My friend had this amazing dining table and chairs with a matching hutch and a grandfather clock! They were all from the 1990s and a bit dark and dated! She wanted to keep them since it was the first adult furniture she and her late husband purchased together but just have them a bit more modernized for her new home!
I suggested a lighter top and black base and chairs— sent her some photos of ones I had transformed as an example and she loved the idea!
So I sanded the patterned veneer top down and removed the chair seats and then primed and painted the base of the table and the chairs with black primer and their canyon black paint!
While the paint cured, I stained the top with a mix of special walnut and simply white stains with a 3:1 ratio and sealed the top with multiple coats of polycrylic!
Also while the paint cured, I added new fabric she chose ti complement some other areas of her home to the chair seats and then attached them back to the chairs!
With just a little work this set is now so much more updated and she loves it as well!

06/16/2026

1990s dark and dated table and chairs updated with a lighter finish on top, black accents and new lighter fabric on the seats!
My friend had this amazing dining table and chairs with a matching hutch and a grandfather clock! They were all from the 1990s and a bit dark and dated! She wanted to keep them since it was the first adult furniture she and her late husband purchased together but just have them a bit more modernized for her new home!
I suggested a lighter top and black base and chairs— sent her some photos of ones I had transformed as an example and she loved the idea!
So I sanded the patterned veneer top down and removed the chair seats and then primed and painted the base of the table and the chairs with Rust-Oleum black primer and their canyon black paint!
While the paint cured, I stained the top with a mix of Minwax® special walnut and simply white stains with a 3:1 ratio and sealed the top with multiple coats of polycrylic!
Also while the paint cured, I added new fabric she chose ti complement some other areas of her home to the chair seats and then attached them back to the chairs!
With just a little work this set is now so much more updated and she loves it as well!

06/15/2026

What grit do I use to remove finishes?
It completely depends on the type of wood and the type of finish!
If it’s solid wood or an old and thick finish, I will typically use either 60 or 80 grit to remove the finish and then work my way back up in grits with finish sanding up to 220!
If it’s a newer piece or a piece made of veneer, I have found that newer pieces do not have very thick finishes and veneers are very thin! If you sand too aggressively with veneer, which is just a thin piece of wood, then you will sand right through it! So with these types of pieces, I typically start with 120 grit to remove and then 220 to finish! On this particular veneer table— since I could easily see the raised seams of the veneer, I even slowed my sander down to a level 3, about half its max speed, just to make sure I did not cause any damage!
Follow along to see both of these reveals!!!

06/09/2026

Nothing was destroyed in this transformation! The clock can actually still work with an added battery clock mechanism and if the client wants the chimes to be back in their original position and working, they are all just safely tucked up in their bag behind the clock face!
Here were my steps…
1. Made 3 shelves, a bottom and what I call a ceiling for the interior! Originally there was no interior bottom and no ceiling, but the bottom gave it more stability and extra storage and the ceiling gave a place to house the chimes and chains— it can easily be removed if needed and the back of the clock face easily removes as well!
2. Removed the glass panels, taped out the clock face and the name plate. I also secured the bottom and the ceiling in place to prime and paint, but primed and painted the shelves outside of the clock!
3. Primed with black primer and painted with Rustoleum canyon black spray paint!
4. Once the paint was cured, I added this cute peel and stick wallpaper to the back and replaced the glass panels!
5. Made small holes for the removable shelving brackets and inserted them and the shelves!
That was it!
If you have any other questions, just drop them below and follow along for more furniture transformations!!!

Address

227 Pratt Farm Lane
Mocksville, NC
27028

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Saturday 8am - 1pm
Sunday 8am - 8pm

Telephone

(704) 880-6489

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Appaloosa Artisans posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category