its hard to find an attractive flush mount light fixture.  they all look so "builder basic". we found this ikea fixture and thought it would give us the high end look we were going for if it were silver leafed.  now our scalloped silver-leafed fixture has the same impact as a  created as a designer fixture, which can cost $496! to see how to silver leaf refer to "how to gold leaf anything."  what do you think of our DIY version?

If you've kept up with the blog you know that I recently purchased a house, gutted it and completely renovated it inside and out.  Check out the before and after of the exterior!  This is my first interior room reveal..eek!!  This is the guest bedroom.  It started out as a completely blank space.  We removed the closet in order to make room for a hallway to the master suite.  Previously, you had to walk through one room in order to get to the master bedroom.  Removing the closet created a new conundrum - how do I add closet space without making a small bedroom unusable.  Here is what I came up with:  

to know me is to know that I love an ikea hack...these are two malm dressers (I couldn't find this exact dresser, but this one is close) from ikea.  Once built, I had my carpenter add two large closets on top of the dressers.  The space in between each built in is the exact size for a twin bed longways (which is perfect - it won't stick out into the room too far!)

once the built ins were complete I had to decorate the room.  Naturally, this involved a chalk paint® decorative paint by annie sloan project!  I had a small dresser from an old house that I love, however the finish wasn't right for this room.  Here are the step by step instructions of how I re-did my dresser!

step 1: coat with paint in graphite.  dresser and inside of mirror... . for full coverage I suggest two coats.  The dry time in between coats is about 4 hours.

step 2: applying gold leaf accents.  check out our previous post on how to apply gold leaf - it's so easy I swear!  there are so many gold leaf accents in this room....the chest, the sconces, the mirror, the light fixture...the list could go on and on - I LOVE gold leaf!!

step 2: apply wax to seal.  I use a brush to apply annie's waxes.  they're so soft, I find this to be the easiest way.  Once I apply the wax to a section I immediately wipe back the excess with a soft cloth.  Applying wax is similar to applying lotion to your skin.  You want to rub it in evenly, leaving a thin, even coat everywhere. 

for some reason gold leaf has gotten a reputation as being intimidating or difficult to execute.  In fact, it's dangerously easy. so much so that you're going to want to start gold leafing everything - which we are fully guilty of! here is our step by step tutorial on how to gold leaf anything - even this 1970's, plastic candle sconce! 

pearl plaster is an opalescent topcoat used over chalk paint® decorative paint by annie sloan.  it is one of the finishes we most often get asked about in the shop...probably because metallics are the perfect neutral and everyone wants a little glitz in their life!!  we started with a sofa table or entryway table that was mostly laminate wood (i apologize for not having a "before" shot...we were just too eager to get our hands on this one)!  

here is our step by step process:

• begin by cleaning your piece with an ammonia based cleaner such as dirtex (this applies to reasonably "dirty" pieces i.e. dusty, "normal" dirt) for truly greasy or grimy pieces a more thorough cleaning process may be necessary!
• once the piece is clean, paint two coats of chalk paint® by annie sloan in french linen allowing proper dry time between coats 
• apply a coat of pearl plaster in crazy, x mark brush strokes creating texture in the pearl plaster (this will come into play when you get to the dark wax)
• occasionally I apply a second coat of pearl plaster once the first coat is dry.  usually I do this on the flat areas of the piece (the top and sides) the curvy, detailed areas usually only need one coat.
• when the pearl plaster has dried (it is a very quick dry time just like annie's paint!) apply annie or miss mustard seed's dark wax thinned with a bit of citrus solvent or mineral spirits.
• wipe the dark wax back with a soft lint free cloth

i've included pictures of some of our other pearl plaster projects...enjoy!!

one of our favorite custom clients brought us her gorgeous secretary this week and told us to paint it her all time fave - old white, but left us up to our own devices when it came to the wax.  So we immediately thought of our favorite technique - annie's clear and dark wax, followed by miss mustard seed's white wax.  This look was influenced by our uber talented, always inspiring stephanie jones of me & mrs jones in memphis, tn.   

Here is the before and after! 

 

recently {as in this spring} i purchased a small cottage in the neighborhood around our metairie road shop.  to say it needed a little tlc is putting it mildly...if you don't believe me here is the photographic proof:

the inside was just as rough as the outside.  the kitchen consisted of 3 cabinets and a stove.  there was a lot of {stained} industrial grade carpet, terrible lighting, acoustic ceilings, and awful paneling.  i saw past all the negatives and thankfully my very trusting husband believed in my vision!
i could barely wait to start demo...in fact we began about 2 hours after closing...the scope of work included:

• removing wall between living room and bedroom to create a large, open living room/kitchen
• turn old kitchen into 3rd bedroom/study
• expand master bathroom
• hvac 
• new windows, doors, and insulation
• create "laundry room" in main house {it was previously in the garage}
• paint {interior and exterior}, tile, refinish hardwoods 
  
• new roof  
  

in this post, i'm going to focus on some of the design decisions i made for the exterior.  there was lots of work going on inside...taking out walls, rebuilding walls, re-wiring and re-plumbing the entire house, but none of that stuff is very interesting or photogenic!

as i do when making major design decisions {such as exterior paint choices}  i went to pinterest to search cottage exteriors for inspiration.  i found that i was drawn to houses in bold colors...think mints, pinks, and soft turquoises.  i looked around the street and noticed that everyone's 1950 cottage was painted white or grey.  i wanted this cottage to stand out from the crowd...going bold with an exterior color is an easier feat with a small facade.  here were my initial color options:

i was drawn to the coral, but felt like it wouldn't be the best choice for resale.  the bluish-grey was beautiful, but in some light it just looked grey and blended in to the rest of the grey cottages on the block.  I went back to the drawing board and chose some mints from the sherwin williams deck.  in the end i ended up choosing "mint condition"  here is the "after"   

a few other things we did:

• wrapped the existing iron columns with wide exterior grade lumber, added a little inexpensive trim to the top and bottom, and painted them a crisp white!
• installed two larger, energy efficient windows that i scored from the habitat restore
• installed simple, shutters and painted them a deep, almost black navy.
• added a new craftsmen style door {another habitat re-store score!} 

the roof was in terrible shape so we also took this opportunity to replace the reddish-brown roof with a 30 year architectural, grey shingle roof.  we also trimmed the overbearing oak tree in the front to allow a bit of light in the house...stay tuned for landscaping, pavers, and all the finishing touches!!  

I was recently given the opportunity to transform a newer, unfinished door with chalk paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan.  The client wanted the door to look old, worn and weathered in order to use it as a headboard.  The door had been stripped and was so raw it was furry.  In order to prepare the door - so that it didn't just drink up the paint, I applied two coats of clear shellac.  Once dry, I applied Annie's soft clear wax in strategic areas as a "resist agent".  "Resist agent" is a fancy term for a layer that the paint won't adhere to.  Next, I dry brushed Annie Sloan chalk paint® in Old White.  "Dry Brushed" is another fancy term for very little paint on the brush.  I allowed the paint to dry for about an hour and started distressing.  I used a Japan scraper - if you don't happen to have one of these lying around an old credit card or hotel key would work, and scraped the door, removing the paint in the areas I had applied the clear wax.   Next I sanded the heck out of the door - this gave it the washed, worn look I was going for.  As a final step, I sealed the door with Annie's soft, clear wax.  Here is the final product (bear in mind that this will be hung on a wall horizontally as a headboard!)    

although it isn't technically 2015 yet, i'd like to share this dresser makeover as possible inspiration to renew and refresh furniture you already own or something you purchase second hand.  here is a chest i found at the local goodwill for about $35.00.   

the things i loved about this piece (in no particular order): the hardware, the size, and the price.  the finish, which i didn't love, i knew i could quickly and easily change with chalk paint® decorative paint by annie sloan. this piece is a mixture of laminated wood and real wood so chalk paint® decorative paint by annie sloan was the obvious choice for its superb adhesion.   i perused pinterest looking for color inspiration and i quickly narrowed it down to one of my all time favorites - kelly green.  annie's antibes green wasn't the exact hue i had in mind so i started mixing.  i soon found that equal parts antibes green and florence made the perfect kelly green!  here is the final product!

once painted, i applied annie's clear soft wax - 2 coats.  after allowing the wax 24 hours to harden (here in humid, new orleans it takes slightly longer for the wax to harden) i polished the wax with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper for an ultra smooth, modern finish.  just as i was wrapping this project up i opened hgtv magazine to find they had featured not one, but two kelly green campaign chests as part of their high/low feature!   this definitely boosted my confidence in the color choice! both the "high" and "low" chests featured were over 3 times more expensive than my goodwill chest and the supplies - not to mention the fact that mine has 4 drawers rather than 3!  here are the hgtv chests:  

I was in one of my favorite “junking spots” and heading to the check out with another piece in hand when I saw her. All of her beautiful lines and sweet details were obscured by a dated, dark brown finish and  she was just crying out for some Chalk Paint® love! I can’t resist a damsel in distress so she was soon on her way to my studio.

There were definitely some repairs to be made such as gluing down loose veneer, filling in some missing veneer and recreating a small piece of molding that was missing from the side of the back piece. I used a phenomenal product called Wood Icing  that is primarily used for creating interesting textures in a finish but that can also be used for making repairs….you can sand it to a silky smoothness and Chalk Paint® will go right over it without a primer. I put some Wood Icing into a plastic baggie with a corner cut out so that I could squeeze the product  out in a strip that, with a little filling and sanding help, would mimic the missing piece of molding.

Once all the repairs had dried and been sanded to a smooth finish it was time to paint. All the shades of Grey have been big sellers in my studio of late so I decided to use Paris Grey, a light bluish gray, to bring out all of the features of this lovely piece.

Whenever I first start painting a piece, particularly if it has carving or embellishments,  I use only a very small amount of paint on my brush and lightly dry brush the paint over the features. I can always go back and add more paint, but if I start out with a full brush and slap it on, I’m now committed to keep doing that, and I like to give the piece an opportunity to “tell” me what it wants. Sounds crazy but it’s true! I like to see a bit of darkness from some random grain or scratch or peeking out from the edge of an embellishment.

One of my favorite tricks is to take a brush and work just a tiny bit of the base color (Paris Grey in this case) back into the wet wax….I love the way you can blend it into the wax and add a touch of  lighter color  which will sit on top of any texture. It creates lots of depth to a finish without being very obvious. Try it…you’ll like it!

Here she is all painted up and ready for a second chance to be used and loved by someone. I love the way that the paint brings out all of those lovely features that were previously hidden by that dull dark finish. Alas, there was only one of the original pulls so I opted for a simple knob so that the details could take center stage. She would be stunning in a foyer with a lamp and a pretty mirror above her. This piece is for sale so contact the studio if you are interested in taking her home with you!

I was at one of my favorite junking spots a few months ago and went a little crazy buying up furniture and somehow this little china cabinet made it into the mix. Now I’m usually all about the “curvy/ frenchy” look so this piece had me totally out of my comfort zone.

Eventually I moved it into my studio, where it looked woefully out of place, and just waited for inspiration to hit while I did a little repair work.  Inspiration was nowhere to be found so I went looking for it at, where else, but Pinterest! I started a “mid century update” board and went on the hunt for pieces that I liked. Although I couldn’t find anything resembling my piece I did narrow my selections down to a couple of contenders and decided to take my favorite elements of each.  I liked the black and blue color scheme of the first one and the stencil design on the second.

via  www.vintagemoderngallery.wordpress.com                             via Deborah Waltz of Peinture

I still wasn’t sure exactly how to proceed so I drew an outline of the piece on some card stock and “tested” my design by actually painting the colors on the paper….so much easier than painting a piece and deciding you don’t like it. At first I used just Graphite and Provence but then decided to change out the Provence on the top of the piece to Old White.

Once I was satisfied I started painting and, since I use Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan, there is no priming or sanding required. After a couple of coats of each color it was time to apply the stencil. I was happy to see that the Hollywood Square stencil from Royal Design Studio was a perfect fit on the slim drawers that go across the middle. I outlined the middle of each square with a gold paint pen to add a touch of bling and match the black and gold pulls on the doors on the bottom. Then I applied the Clear Wax to seal and protect the paint and we were good to go.

Now she sits proudly in my store window with another more modern stenciled piece and they look fabulous together.  So,  while my studio is still “curvy/frenchy” on the inside, I’m enjoying a pop of color and pattern from the outside!

I got a call from a client asking if I would paint a china cabinet for her if she brought it to my studio. I said “sure” and she replied that they were on the way after a quick stop to round up some help….that should’ve tipped me off! It took 3 grown men to wrestle the “beast” off of the truck and into my studio. The piece had some nice lines, but it was just very big and brown all over.

We discussed finishes and she chose French Linen Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan for the outside and Country Grey Chalk Paint® for the inside to contrast with her white china. After applying two coats of Country Grey to the inside I started on the exterior. I tend to be very “light handed” when I apply paint so that the character of the piece is enhanced rather than covered up, so I started with a dry brushed mixture of of 50% Graphite a 50% French Linen and allowed that to dry. Then I did another dry brushed coat of French Linen, allowing just a touch of the darker undercoat to show through, giving the finish more depth.

I turned my attention to the elaborate brass hardware by applying a wash of Graphite thinned out with water, working it into thecrevices and wiping off the high spots. After that dried, I dry brushed some French Linen over those high spots, allowed that to dry and then finished the pieces of with some Dark Wax/mineral spirit mix, which turned the pieces from brassy to dark and elegant, perfect for the piece.

After I applied Clear Wax and rubbed it into the paint with a blue shop towel, I was ready to apply some Dark Wax thinned out with a splash of mineral spirits to create a Dark Wax glaze. Working a section at a time, I brushed the Dark Wax mixture on, concentrating it more heavily in the crevices of the piece, and then wiped most of it off, leaving just a hint of the brown wax in the finish. Next I worked a wash created with water, Paris Grey and French Linen into the wax in strategic spots to lighten and create more depth to the finish. Once it had some time to dry, I reattached the hardware and called the client so she could round up some strong men to muscle the beast, now turned into a beauty, to her new home.

My clients wanted to repurpose this sturdy piece of furniture to house their 5 year old daughter’s ever growing collection of dress up clothes and paraphernalia. Although they wanted it to blend with her existing furniture they also wanted  a pop of fun color inside. I knew that Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan would make the job both fun and easy!

After a thorough vacuuming I began the process. While the drawers were removed I sprayed a coat of Zinsser Clear Shellac on the inside of the drawer area to seal in any musty smells in the old wood. I applied two coats of Paris Grey Chalk Paint® on the exterior. When I applied the Barcelona Orange Chalk Paint® to the inside of the storage cubby above the drawers, I found that the existing stain was “bleeding” into the paint, turning it brown. Once again, I reached for my trusty Zinsser Shellac, only this time I applied it with a brush so that I could ensure that every inch of surface was completely sealed to keep the stain from leaching out. This is a common problem when painting old furniture, especially when there is not a clear finish over the stain. The exterior of the piece apparently had an adequate finish so I had no problems with bleeding in those areas, just on the inside parts. The shellac did it’s job and two coats of Barcelona Orange Chalk Paint® definitely upped the fun factor on this piece.

I added stencils in Old White Chalk Paint® to the door of the storage cubby and the panel under the mirror. When stenciling with small, delicate stencils such as these I use some stencil adhesive to attach the stencil firmly to the surface and keep paint from bleeding under the stencil, marring the design. My favorite adhesive is Super 77 by 3M…you can buy it at just about any hardware store.

One of my clients brought in an old chiffarobe. It had been collecting dust  in their garage for years, it’s only function was to provide housing for a few small spiders.

It sat in the studio for weeks and it was interesting to note that the women who came in asked “What color are you going to paint it?” and the men said “You aren’t going to paint that are you?”.  There is so much wood in the dining room…..knotty pine floors, an old farmhouse table and wooden church pews… that I longed to add some color against the creamy yellow walls. So, in the spirit of compromise, I decided to just paint the bottom and leave the top alone. I applied two coats of Chateau Grey Chalk Paint® and some clear and dark wax. I kept the knobs but dressed them up with a couple of coats of Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint. I like it so much better now. The green is the perfect complement to the orange of the wood and will look great with the walls and the pine floors. I can’t wait to see it in the room….now I just have to find the time to get away!

I’ve had my eye out for a country-style buffet to go in the dining room of our getaway house up in Alabama. When I spied this one for half price at a local thrift store I knew I’d found the one! It was in much better shape than most of my previous thrift store finds, so good in fact that I really deliberated over whether or not to paint it. The wood was so pretty  but the knobs were obviously not original to the piece and didn’t do anything for it. The carved design looked a bit busy with the wood grain going on as well. Since I wasn’t sure how to proceed I just waited for the answer to come.