Special Touches for Special Pieces!

For the past couple weeks I've been busy getting ready for fall festivals and in doing so haven't been able to write much on the blog.  So I thought I would catch you all up on a few things we've been working on!

This darling little guy is a an old "Little Edison Folks " chest that someone brought to me. It was originally in a shiny blonde finish which is probably my least favorite.  When choosing the color, I pictured it in a boys room.  There was something about the straight lights and shape that I could totally see a toy car or truck atop it.  Of course I chose a blue shade,  Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint Flow Blue is a medium shade of blue that is both bold and classy all at once (if that makes sense?). 

 Some of you who took one of my workshops may already know about milk paint and it's abilities to adhere to particular surfaces.  It was intended for raw wood, but by simply lightly sanding it down to deplete it's sheen followed by a quick wipe down of TSP (Trisodium Phosphate) which is a de-greasing solution found at any hardware store, it will also adhere to most surfaces.  But if you have want complete assurance that it will not "chip" whatsoever or do not want to bother with the prep work, you can add a Bonding Agent (also sold in the line at my shop) to the already mixed 1 part to 1 part milk paint to water solution.  This bonding agent is only needed for the first coat and will allow you to paint on wood, metal or glass.

For this chest I did add the bonding agent to the first coat followed by 2 more coats without. 

This is what I started with

Love the shape, but not so much the color.

Much better!

After looking at it a few days, I decided it looked to much like a blueberry and so I taped it off a grain sack stripe with Frog Tape over the top and sides and painted inside the lines with Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint in Grain Sack (how fitting, huh?)  Although this color looks almost white in photos, it is more of a off white almost gray color.  I finished it off with a Hemp Oil top coat.

After doing something for a boys room,  I of course had to do something for our little princesses!  Here is an antique vanity that definitely needed a little fairy godmother dust.  When we found, her she was in a dark dirty stain with a with drawers that didn't want to go in and out anymore and a little veneer damage.

Poor thing before her makeover!

 And with just a little magic...

I started with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint™ in Pure White over the entire piece.  Chalk Paint™ was my first love of these decorative paints, it never disappoints!  By going on literally any surface without prep, it to me is truly magic in a can!
Of course I couldn't let the little Edison chest outdo our little princess vanity, so I added stripes just down the front drawers in Antoinette by Annie Sloan.

I again used Frog tape to give a crisp clean look

After distressing a bit around the edges,  I accessorized her with these beautiful glass floral
knobs from Hobby Lobby

And just because she's so beautiful, one last photo!

 And then there was Miss Victorian Chair!  

This pretty lady was found in an outdated fabric, but was otherwise a timeless beauty.

Not a bad looking chair,  just needed a face lift is all!

 I chose a pretty brown and mind floral fabric that would make her look a little more trendy!  But first I painted her in one of my favorite colours by Annie Sloan which is called CoCo.  What a difference it made!  It really soften those ornate lines.  After distressing it around her edges and in the ornate filigree, I used clear wax for protection and she was ready for the upholstery.  

And her reveal!

What a difference a little fabric and paint can make!  The white gimp trim gave it a crisp clean new look too.

Love the wood grain coming through the CoCo colour next to the brown of the roses!

 All of these projects were so rewarding this week. By giving them their own special touches of style, they all took on a whole new look!
We also got our hands on a stunning antique Victrola that we did something really special to.  All about what we did on that piece next time! Thank you so much for visiting me today!

Linking to these fabulous blogs!

Dukes & Duchesses

Yesterday on Tuesday

Cupcakes and Crinoline

Setting for Four

Miss Mustard Seed

Startathomeblogspot.com

A beautiful marriage of vibrant and neutral colors

Hello everyone! We are finally getting back into swing of things with the kids back into school.  It always takes a few weeks, but I think we got it down now. I am also getting used to being open at the shop now earlier at 10:30 a.m. versus 12:30.  Since our youngest is now a full timer in Preschool, I am now able to be at the shop earlier.  I get alot more painting done this way and have also been getting more foot traffic in the mornings which is great!  Last week, a group of morning runners ran past the shop, noticed I was open and then did another lap around the block just to see what I had new that day.  You can say was feeling blessed to be able to stop runners in their tracks just to see my store!

So, I believe I left you last time with the story of the old Hoosier cabinet my husband and I refurbished for a client.  That was alot of work with repairs and elbow grease with the cleaning.  Regardless it turned out amazing and the client was ecstatic about her great grandmothers cabinet, but this week I had a blast with new pieces for the shop. Some in bold vibrant colors, others in soft subtle shades. 

Here are a some of my favorites!

This 1940's dresser, recently used as to furnish a dorm (with stickers and all!),
is now looking sharper than ever in Miss Mustard Seed's Tricycle!

Another gorgeous refinishing job.  This one by my wonderful husband,
in dark walnut.  This dresser was unusually deep which is awesome for
storing clothes, or even table linens and bedding.

And this is what I started with!  Someone had fun in college, huh? Stickers, dirt and scratches aside, it was still a solid piece of furniture and is now ready for many more years of use.

And then there was this solid mahogany credenza.  This was a gorgeous piece that probably would have looked ok in an office, but I had bigger plans for this one!  With it's sleek lines, I had a vision of turning this "safe" piece of furniture into something a out of the ordinary.  

Hollywood glam meets farmhouse warmth! The day I picked this piece up, I could totally see it in black or in this case Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint Graphite, which is a dark charcoal, but by using Annie's dark wax, it is pretty close to black.  By refinishing the top in a soft, rich stain like dark walnut, I was able to bring out a little cozy farmhouse feel. What a perfect marriage of the styles!

I had the mirrors cut to size at the hardware store and my husband SLOWLY drilled holes in the middle for the mercury glass knobs which look perfect against the mirrors.

Love how black, mercury glass and the wood compliment each other beautifully.

Now ready to entertain your guest with a classy look or store your files in the office!

Another favorite this week was bringing a dark and drab looking buffet back to life with color!  And to help me do this, I chose Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Kitchen Scale, a gorgeous color.  This is probably one of the most popular colors of the season right now.  At one point a few weeks ago, the majority of the pieces on the shop's floor were either teal or some kind of soft blue green hues.  I started to get think it was a over kill, but they just flying out the door no sooner than a couple day after I brought them in.

LOVE everything about this one! Before, you couldn't notice the pretty wreath
filigree moldings on the doors, but now...HELLO!

And of course nothing says "Home" more than a refinished top.
This one had a stunning quarter sewn oak grain,  just lovely.

I got so much joy out of refurbishing this one.

And the before shot.  No it's not horrible, but I believe it looks much happier now:)

And now for little softer touches.

Another favorite color I get complimented on in the shop is either Annie Sloan's ™ French Linen which is a taupe brown shade or CoCo, soft light brown.  When I came upon this William and Mary Dining Set, I felt it needed one of these shade and I chose CoCo.  It a soft neutral color that gives a feeling of warmth and home.  After refinishing the top, I painted the bottom of the table which has that unique style on the legs and the also used CoCo on the chairs.  

This is one of those refinished tops, that went so smoothly and turned out beautifully!

I did distressed a bit around the edges and filled in the decorative backs of the 4 wood chairs with Annie Sloan's Old Ochre for a little contrast.  The seats are now looking fresh and new again in a pretty French Toile in browns and creams.

And just for the fun of it, I mixed a custom batch of Annie Sloan's ™ French Linen and Old White and gave this French Provincial china cabinet a whole new look.  I took out the glass inserts and sprayed the wire mesh with an oil rubbed bronze spray paint. The inside needed a little spice.  That's where Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint Tricycle came in. This is a perfect example of how you can mix both of these fabulous kinds of paints, both chalk paint and milk paint, on the same piece and get beautiful results! 

Where the dishes and silver might have disappeared inside the cabinet,
it now POPS in front of the stunning Tricycle Milk Paint!

And that is how my last week looked, give or take a few projects!  I hope you were a little inspired today to step outside the "norm" a bit and try new and exciting ways of styling your own home.  Have a blessed week everyone!