Decorative display trays are fashioned from discarded vintage materials, and serve to display refreshments or organic topiary.
In the hands of Heidi Balthazar of Battle Ground, an old radio cabinet serves a new purpose as a bar cart, with slotted hangers for glassware and shelves for bottles.
Heidi Balthazar has been in the business of making homes beautiful for 18 years. For most of those years, she specialized in rearranging her clients’ existing furnishings and décor in a more stylish way through her business That Can Be Arranged.
“I use what you have so you don’t have to buy anything new,” said Balthazar.
But two years ago, Balthazar’s work headed in a new direction.
“I had a buffet in my dining room that I really hated,” she said.
She was following some Facebook pages that featured refurbished furniture, and she sought a bid to restyle her piece.
“I got a bid for $200. I decided that I could do it myself,” she said.
She bought a can of chalk paint and set out to see what she could do with it. Balthazar was so pleased with the results, she started picking up some other small pieces of furniture and refreshing them with paint and restyling. She posted them in the Facebook marketplace, and they sold really fast, she said.
Some of her pieces are older items of furniture that just need a facelift. Other times, she creates a completely new piece of furniture out of discarded or broken parts. When new pieces need to be fabricated, her husband pitches in, she said. Her work space in the corner of his shop has expanded to encompass over half of it.
Balthazar described a few of the pieces she has recently completed. A side table incorporates an old drawer from a wooden secretary, a set of legs from a table and a cabinet door. A coat of worn-looking milk paint ties it all together, and vintage glass knobs lend a sparkle.
In Balthazar’s hands, a vintage radio cabinet found new life as a bar cart, with sliding racks to hang stemware and shelves for bottles. This cabinet also features a fresh coat of milk paint, her favorite finish because of its smooth, silken texture and easy application.
“It goes on like a dream,” she said.
An airy bench makes a vintage statement.
“My girlfriend had given me a wrought iron headboard from a twin bed,” Balthazar said.
Her friend didn’t have a use for it, but she quickly paired it with an old coffee table and applied fresh paint to create a unique bench.
“It just fit perfectly,” she said.
Balthazar creates smaller décor pieces as well, using vintage or outdated parts. She had a set of trays that were made from a “yucky tin,” she said, “but they had a really nice scalloped edge.”
She affixed the trays to some old wooden turned candle holders, applied her creamy milk paint, and created decorative stands, ready to serve food or display organic topiary.
“HGTV’s show Fixer Upper has brought farmhouse charm to the forefront of style,” said Balthazar, adding people are interested in using more vintage and natural materials in their homes.
Balthazar relishes the time she spends in her workshop.
“Oh my gosh, I love it,” she said. “I do it as a hobby but would love to do it full time. It’s very relaxing, and a lot of fun to be creative.”
