Inspiration-Jump into Creativity

Patchwork Dresser by West Elm

I absolutely fell in love with this dresser when I saw it in West Elm.  I loved the square and rectangle shapes outlined in white to emphasize the different colors creating a patchwork effect.  The lines were clean and contemporary with a nod to mid-century modern design.  It left a lasting impression on me.

A few weeks later while shopping a local charity thrift store, I happened upon this beauty and it was actually mid-century design, not reproduction.  It was all one color of wood (As I am usually anxious to paint, I often forget to take a "before" pic, which is why I don't have one of this piece), but the shapes immediately made me think of that dresser from West Elm.

Of course, I typically work with paint, rather than stain, so I decided to create a similar concept by using four different colors of ASCP-Old White, Paris Grey, Coco and Provence.

Inspiration is often the jumping off point of design.  Sometimes it is the colors in a Persian rug.  Sometimes it's a picture in a glossy decorating magazine that stops us in our tracks.  Sometimes it is the texture of a shell, rock, bark, or other element in nature.  No matter what it is that inspires you, it is possible to reinterpret it in your home design.  I used the West Elm dresser as my inspiration, but interpreted it using my own choice of colors.  I chose to leave the natural wood as my way of outlining the squares and rectangles.  Don't be afraid to trust your own instincts about what will work best for your particular design.

These sweet little antiqued gold knobs were exactly like the ones on the dresser.  I think that's what really caused me to connect with my inspiration piece.  It was also these four drawers and the four squares in the doors that helped me to determine that I would use four different colors, rather than repeat just two or three.

Here's the finished piece, inspired by the other dresser, but uniquely my own.  Love that!  Who knows maybe mine will inspire you!

Plain Vanilla... the French Provincial Buffet

So, it's been forever since I wrote a blog entry.  I was busy with summer, vacations and life, I guess.  But I did manage to get a few pieces painted for my daughters.  Here's one of them.

This French Provincial buffet was quite a find at only $45.  I was excited about painting it and began to dream of the possibilities when my teenage daughter decided to claim it as her own.  She wanted to redo her room and use this one long piece to replace two pieces, an old dresser and a vanity.  She really, really, really needed the extra storage for all of her clothes...and so it became hers. 




Her room is painted with two walls in bright orange and the other two in magenta.  I'm not sure how she gets any sleep in there, but it certainly is bright and cheerful.  We were to be placing this piece on the orange wall.  When I asked her what color she wanted, her answer was white.  My dreams of a two toned piece that played up all of the interesting details were dashed.  Plain vanilla it is!  We decided to go for a high contrast look, by painting the hardware in oil rubbed bronze.  It is missing one pull, so I'm working on finding a suitable replacement.








It's a classic and it looks just right against her orange wall with all of her colorful artwork.  There is plenty of room to hold all of her clothes! So now I find myself wondering why are there still so many clothes on the floor?

Plan B

So sometimes, things just don't go the way you've planned.  Do you know what I mean?  You have this vision and when you try to actualize it...well, it just doesn't look anything like the picture in your head.  That's what happened to me recently with this tray table.  When I saw this piece, with it's simple clean lines and dark brown finish, I had a plan.  Well, long story short, this piece started out as a rough coat of Old White with plenty of the dark wood showing through and a stencil...gone wrong.


Well, what to do?  I know!  That great new color I just bought, Florence! So I was "off to the races," again!

I decided to distress this table.  I just love the juxtaposition of the clean, more modern lines of the table, with the well-worn look that the distressing suggests...as though this table has been around forever.  I think that makes it a very interesting piece.  

Surprise!  Turns out that my little "mistake" added another layer of color and dimension to the finished look.  I love that!  Well, maybe Plan B isn't so bad after all!

 Of course, this table would be great as a sofa table or a foyer table with a couple of lamps and some favorite treasures.  

But I thought the tray- top of this piece, made it perfect as a serving piece.  Here, I have set it up as a 'bar" for serving wine.  This table is simple and lightweight, which also makes it very versatile.  It can be moved around and used for any number of purposes. 

Tip:  When having guests over for an event, consider rearranging your furniture for better seating and conversation.  Repurpose pieces, like this table, to serve a new function.  This could be a wine, an appetizer or a dessert station.  Pull up a couple of chairs and it could even serve as extra table seating, in a pinch. 

That's what creativity is all about.  There is always more than one way to do something.  Think outside of the box!   Use your stuff in new ways!  Move it around! Don't be too stiff!  Be flexible!  That's what I had to do with this design.  This is also true of life in general.  Sometimes you just have to shake things up!  Sometimes Plan B offers something even more interesting, exciting and unexpected! 

Striking Stripes

These adorable blue chairs caught my eye at a thrift store.  They were a lovely shade of blue, but they had a few little nicks in the paint.  Inspired by a chest I saw on a blog, with a Union Jack flag painted across the front, I decided to paint these with a striking "patriotic" stripe.  For the blue, I custom mixed a blue shade.  Then added ASCP in Old White and Emperor's Silk.

The blue paint was applied first in a circular motion to accentuate the shape of the chairs.  I did that on both the front and the back of the chairs.  I allowed some of the original blue paint to show through, adding a little texture and dimension.

Then I used 1 inch blue painter's tape to create stripes down the center of the chairs.  First, I centered one piece of tape down the length of the chair.  I did this by measuring and marking the center of the chair with a piece of chalk and then lining up the tape so that it was perfectly centered.  Then I put four additional pieces of tape on either side of the center piece of tape being sure to align the edges of tape without overlapping.  It is crucial to place the first piece of tape correctly, or else it will all turn out crooked.  

When I was finished I had a total of nine pieces of tape.  Next, I removed the tape on either side of the center piece, as well as the second to last piece on each end.  I painted these areas with the white paint.  Once this was dry, I replaced the tape over the white parts and then pulled the tape between them off.  I painted these areas red.  I then removed all of the tape, revealing equal 1 inch stripes of red, white and blue (which was the original color beneath the tape).
 
After seeing the result, I decided that I would prefer that the red stripe was wider, so I went back in and expanded the red stripe by once again taping off the area that I planned to paint. Had I planned that from the start, I could have used two pieces of tape together to create a 2 inch stripe of red.  But all's well that ends well.  Sometimes you just have to experiment a little. 

I decided to stripe only the front of the chairs and left the back sides blue, with the circular paint effect.   They would look great in a boy's room or as accent pieces anyplace that could use a little drama.

Storage Can Be Beautiful!

Author's Note: I wrote this new post for January, but then my camera broke, leaving me without the pictures I need to accompany the piece.   So here it is finally!  

Welcome to 2013!  Can you believe it?  Time seems to be flying by faster than ever!  This time of year is one of reflection as well as looking forward to the year to come.  While I have been involved in home decorating for some time now, this past year brought a new passion for painting furniture and home decor.  It has been a joy!  I love the pure creativity of first finding the inspirational piece, then imagining it's new form in color and design, and then the act of creating it and seeing it come to life. I feel like a kid with a blank sheet of paper in front of me...all of the possibilities!  I want to express my gratitude to all who have encouraged me and supported me this past year.  Thanks again to those who allowed me to work on a custom piece for you, or purchased one of my creations at the flea market or through Craigslist!  It's been a blessing to meet and work with each of you!

As I look forward, I find myself making "to do" lists in my head.  They are not only for the day or the week, but for the whole year.  I think most of us feel a strong desire to finish projects or start new ones and to get organized.  An organized space allows us to replace chaos with a sense of peace, and who couldn't use more of that?  These days there are a plethora of products, magazines and blogs out there that encourage us to not only create organized spaces, but to do it beautifully.  There are all sorts of containers to hold your STUFF, be it office supplies, toys, books, gadgets or clothes.  Which you choose for your home is up to you.  Will it be a bright green box or an earthy woven basket?  Will it be covered in a lovely printed fabric or made of something organic like sea grass?  The details are what make your home uniquely yours.

Storage can be beautiful!  In keeping with that theme, I decided to paint this great old dresser in two tones, Old White and Coco.  

I then added a Moroccan stencil detail incorporating the drawer knobs into the design.  I used a little dark wax to accentuate the details of the carved wood.

That's not all!  I painted the insides of the drawers in Provence and stenciled them too, so that when you put your clothes away, you are rewarded with a little surprise for your eyes only.

You have to put your stuff somewhere, right?  It might as well be beautiful!  Then being organized might not feel like such a chore.  Okay, I'm not buying that either, but if you would like to put your clothes in this dresser, send me an email, it's for sale.  Happy New Year and happy organizing!

From Formal to Dressy Casual

Back in the day, when I was growing up, people used to have a "formal" living room.  You know the room I'm talking about.  The one that you could only peak at from the hallway, but were never allowed to enter.  The one that was beautifully decorated and reserved for some "special occasion" that never seemed to come.  It stood as some sort of monument or tribute to a way of life reserved for the fancy and sophisticated, which apparently did not include you or your brothers and sisters.  In fact, the room was rarely used in entertaining, leaving one to wonder "Who is fancy enough for this place?"  These rooms were often furnished with Queen Anne style tables sporting elegant curved legs and a dark cherry finish, often a piano, and the finest of china and nick-knacks.

  

The "before" tables (that's a layer of primer on top of the coffee table)

 

The "after"

Many of us grew up to either create our own "tribute to fancy people" using this furniture, or we inherited these pieces from our family.  When I had an opportunity to redo a set of Queen Anne tables recently, I couldn't wait to get my hands on them and "dress them down."  Our lives today are far more informal than years ago.  Formal attire once worn to the office, church and the theater has been replaced with "dressy casual" attire in an effort to make us all feel more comfortable.  And that is the way we choose to live, too.  The formal living room has been replaced by the "family great room," where you are encouraged to relax and get comfortable.  

These once formal tables were transformed into their "dressy casual" counterparts.  I chose to create a look that might have been more characteristic of a farmhouse of yesteryear, but still having the elegant curves of their once formal lives.  The bodies were done in Old White and then slightly distressed to look as though they had been around for years.

I layered the tops in a Coco and Graphite wash that gave them "character" and then distressed them too, to show the cherry wood underneath at the edges.  The hardware, once shiny and gold, was repainted to an oil rubbed bronze.  

I love the way they turned out and I think they would suit most people's lifestyle today.  In fact they might look great in your fun family room, so if you are interested, they are for sale.  Go on, put your feet up and relax!

Plain Jane Pines for a New Look

Fueled with enthusiasm from my smaller projects like candlesticks and picture frames, I asked my husband to join me for some Saturday morning shopping for more things to paint.  We headed off to the flea market, but much to my surprise, I wasn't finding the bargains I had hoped to find.  Sometimes I find better deals at thrift stores and garage sales.  Feeling somewhat discouraged we set off for home, but then I remembered reading about an estate sale.  We stopped by on our way home and I discovered some rather "plain jane" pine end tables available at a good price.  I could see they were well-made, solid wood and I could also see the potential there. 

I couldn't wait to get started! I decided to paint the tables in the beautiful Paris Grey color and then to embellish them with a stenciled design in Old White.  This was my first piece of furniture using the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I loved the way the paint went on and the great coverage that you get.  After just about 30 minutes, it was dry and I was able to do a second coat.  I decided to do a "white wash" to accentuate the edge details and braided trim.  Then it was on to the stencil.  I have to admit, it took me some time to get the stencil done on the first table, as it had been quite a long time since I had done one.  But kind of like riding a bike, you start to remember and then it becomes quick work.  Once the stencil was dry, I waxed and distressed the piece a little bit for that well worn look. I purposely left the little dents and dings in the table because I think they add to the character of this hand painted piece. 

I don't know about you, but I love the color combination of the soft grey with the creamy white!  I think they look more delicate and detailed now.  I really like the soft sheen that you get from the wax finish, too!  What do you think?