I have a little stockpile of Barbie furniture that I’ve just finished painting and sealing. All are available now in my Etsy shop.
Refurbished Barbie furniture
Vintage doll furniture
Susy Goose furniture repaints for GAW Barbie convention
5 days until we leave for the GAW Barbie convention … and I’m still working on last minute projects. I decided it was time to repaint some circa 1963 vintage Susy Goose Barbie furniture. I have two vanities (Skipper and Barbie) and a piano that are getting refurbished. After removing the music box, I had to do the dreaded soak and scrub to remove the gross red flocking from inside the piano.
I settled on Willow Mist for the base paint color … it’s a pale blush color that leans a little toward lavender. Then I’m accenting with treasure gold, pearl white and pearl pink. After 8 hours of painting, I’m ready for a break. I’ll finish the pieces tomorrow with a coat of sealer and then add new mirrors and seat cushions.
Refurbished Susy Goose Barbie vanity and hope chest
I’ve been working on painting this vanity and hope chest for a few weeks now. When you use so many colors, drying time is definitely a factor! But I finally finished them this morning.
If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you know how much I love the Susy Goose Barbie furniture. Manufactured in Jonesville, Michigan, in the early 1960’s, these delightful French provincial pieces are unique. Mattel hasn’t come up with any Barbie furniture quite as wonderful as these vintage treasures. Over time, however, the white plastic yellows, so a good paint job can bring these pieces back to life. Available and on sale now in my Etsy shop. Set includes vanity, bench seat, hope chest, and everything shown on the vanity top.
Refurbished Susy Goose Barbie vanity
I finished the Susy Goose Barbie vanity I started painting yesterday. I looked to Pinterest for my color inspiration and found this photo.
Refurbished Susy Goose Barbie vanity available now in my Etsy shop.
Susy Goose Barbie piano makeover
It’s becoming rather difficult to find Susy Goose Barbie pianos, so when I can, I snatch them up. Manufactured in Jonesville, Michigan, in the early 1960’s, these little gems have charming details. Often, however, the music box no longer works, the flocking inside has disintegrated, and accessory pieces like the photo frame, candelabra, and music stand are broken or missing. So I enjoy fixing them up and giving them new life.
I’m not exactly sure how many of these pianos I’ve repainted, but this is the definitely the most colorful. After a good soak and scrub in hot soapy water to remove the flocking, I started with a base coat of green chalk paint for primer. Chalk paint will stick to practically anything! Then I painted a couple coats of my base color of ocean green. The carvings are accented in gold, metallic emerald green, and metallic raspberry with a pearl white overcoat. I added green cameos in the oval frames on each side of the piano where the stickers were. I made a new music stand from wood and brass stampings, since the original was missing. Then I sealed the whole piece with Minwax polyacrylic sealer. I replaced the beat up mirror above the keyboard and the missing mirror inside the lid. Then I added a new silk cushion to the bench. Some sheet music, a picture frame, and candelabra complete the piece.
This beauty is available now in my Etsy shop.
Waiting for paint to dry …
I have a little stockpile of vintage Susy Goose furniture to paint and re-home. I have a complete bedroom set for Skipper (which seems like a daunting project to do all at once), a wardrobe, and a Barbie vanity. I’ve repainted many Susy Goose Barbie vanities in the past, but it’s been a while, so I thought today was the perfect day to tackle it.
Susy Goose Barbie furniture was manufactured in Jonesville, Michigan, in the early 1960’s. These pieces are truly designer gems. They’re made of a hard plastic which yellows over time, so I don’t feel bad about painting these vintage pieces and giving them new life.
I’ve been looking at furniture repaints on Pinterest and found some gorgeous (people size) vintage pieces repainted in dark pink, black, and gold. The combination was so striking, I decided to try it. I’ve typically stuck to pastel colors for the Barbie vanities, so this is quite a departure for me. I started with a base coat of pink … which looked decidedly like Pepto Bismol. So I took a trip to Walmart and picked up some deeper shades of pink. I ended up with a nice rich fuchsia, which was perfect. Several coats of paint later and I’m waiting for everything to thoroughly dry before I put on a coat of sealer and make a cushion for the bench (debating between a black or gold cushion … suggestions welcome). But so far, this is my favorite vanity repaint yet. Stay tuned.
Refurbished Susy Goose Barbie piano
It’s getting very difficult to find Susy Goose Barbie pianos to refurbish, but I managed to snag one from eBay a few weeks ago, although I had to spend more than I usually do. The Susy Goose Barbie pianos were manufactured in Jonesville, Michigan in the early 1960’s. Since Jonesville is only 90 minutes from my house, you’d think I’d be able to find these pianos in antique shops in the area, but alas, no. This rare vintage piano and matching bench seat have been completely repainted in castle gray and gold acrylic paint. I added cameos to the oval insets on the sides of the piano to replace the stickers that were there. After painting, pieces were sealed with poly acrylic matte finish sealer. Cushion on bench was upholstered from gold silk fabric. Includes candelabra.
The keys are reversed in color. The Susy Goose pianos came this way, as they are modeled on historical pianos. In Mozart’s day, most piano’s had ebony keys with ivory sharps because ebony wood was cheaper than ivory.
Note: The music box did not work, so it has been removed from the piano. Available now in my Etsy shop.
Hankie Chic 