Master Makeover

Master Makeover

The tired brown on this chair and
a cedar chest was painted white

My 2013 Christmas present from Bob was to plan a makeover for our master bedroom. Well.... We got busy with life and this fall I realized that I still hadn't cashed in on that one! So I got to work and finalized my color choices - and we blocked off time to make it happen before Christmas of 2014. Dark woodwork was painted white, and tired yellow walls were painted a yummy shade of aqua. Here's the result!

Original furniture looks fresh and new
against the new wall color

Before:

Time for the border print and stenciling to go!

Details, Details!

Aqua medallion for the ceiling fan

Found this old grate an an estate sale - love it!

Old brass sconce was antiqued

Closet door knobs form Hobby Lobby

Love the window seat!

Still need to add my photos to these frames on the wall
of the hallway leading into the room

Lamps were antiqued, shutters were dry-brushed yellow to go with
the textured duvet cover from Pier 1

Go Kate Go!

So let me take a moment to say how thankful I am for my daughter, Kate. Back in the day I prayed for a girl, and God answered that prayer with my darling Kate . . . Even way back then I thought about how much fun it would be to have someone who might share some creative interests . . .

Well God certainly does answer prayer! Kate has really come into her own in recent years, and I absolutely love her creativity and style!

This is one of the smaller

bookcases before we painted. 

Last spring when I was there she talked me into helping her paint their dark bookcases white - quite a project because she had a lot of bookcases since they sell books online - but boy did they turn out great!

Here are a few before and afters.

Done painting and starting to put the books back in place

One of the things I really chuckle about is her ability to recognize potential in throw-away pieces. She is constantly spying things by the side of the road in Baton Rouge, picking them up, and breathing new life into them  . . . like this great old piece with a hole in the back! She popped out the back, painted it yellow, and added some baskets. Voila!

A few weeks ago she was driving down the street and a guy was putting this great old, well-used desk at the side of the road. She screeched to a halt and told him she was interested if he was really getting rid of it. He said yes and even popped it into his truck and delivered it for her! Ha! That's my girl! So this week she decided the desk would join her white bookcases . . . .

Go Kate go!
I love it!

Door as a Headboard

Still crankin' out the projects while it's gorgeous weather! All too soon falling snow will replace falling leaves! This old door is destined to become a new headboard:

I hosed it down and let it dry. I mixed up a shade of grey to coordinate with the bedding colors and brushed it on as a base color. (Graphite and antique white) Then I dry brushed a shade darker shade, followed by a lighter shade using Annie Sloan's Cocoa with a touch of Graphite.

Finally I sanded the edges to bring out the details. I finished by rubbing in a coat of Fiddes & Sons Supreme wax polish - Light.


Fiddes is an ever so slightly yellow color wax compared to my Annie Sloan Clear. I felt this would help with the aging look we were going for, without going too dark. I may change my mind after I see it in the room and add the darker wax, as well. Here is it so far:

Mirror & Dresser

One old (and pretty cheap laminate) dresser from our house "back in the day" ended up at Jeff and Carey's house to hold their TV.

Carey dry brushed the drawers a few years ago to give it a little lift, but it was time to do something new again.

I tried my had at it . . .

The top was bumpy and had some water stains and after sanding a bit looked like this.

She also had a mirror from TJ Max that had served them well, hanging horizontally over their couch for several years. It was time to freshen up that look, as well. She was going for a more aged look and wanted to ditch the gold.














I used Annie Sloan Chalk paint on both pieces (Color: Graphite) followed by a little sanding of the edges and some of Annie Sloan's dark soft wax. Since this is in a home with 5 children, I also used 2 coats of Artisan Embelishments Clear Topcoat Sealer on the top of the dresser - it still amazes me that you can apply it right over the wax!

Tada!

The Kitchen Table

Jeff & Carey have been working hard remodeling. They knocked out a couple walls to open up the space between their living room and kitchen. At a Habitat store, Jeff found wood flooring for the kitchen that matched the living room floor boards. He also added trim to the old cupboards and painted them white - don't they look amazing?

From this . . . .

To this!
Way to go Jeff - That's my boy!
Grandpa John will be proud.  

I found this solid oak table on Craig's list for $50. It also included three pressed oak chairs that I will keep for another project.

With one leaf it will comfortably seat 8. With both leaves it seats 10.
For a family of 7, it's just the right size!

I had to strip the top because it had been used for crafts and had some paint, glue - and even a little glitter attached to the top. (I used CitriStrip  Stripping Gel) I scraped and sanded and let it dry thoroughly.

I mixed two parts Annie Sloan Graphite with one part Annie Sloan Antique White, and added some water to create a wash of grey. The hope was that some of the wood grain would show through but would not be pronounced.

From this . . . .

To this!

For the base and legs I used straight Annie Sloan's Graphite - I brushed it on and let it dry. Then I mixed Antibes Green with Florence and a pinch of Graphite. I dry-brushed it over the graphite.

From this . . .

To this

This table will be used by a family of seven, so I opted to skip the wax and applied six coats of acrylic Polyurethane. A few more coats and several days of drying and we'll be ready to take it to their house! I promise to post some pics of the big finale!

Carey's Office

We are making progress on Carey's office!  We finally got the photo wall up - at first we ended up with an "optical illusion" - even though the photos were centered on the wall between the corner and the bookcase, they looked like they were much closer to the corner. So I took them down and we just "eye-balled it." My recommendation is to take some time to "test it" before just assuming that taking measurements will give you the look you want. You can read more about our original inspiration for office, and how we created the photo wall here.

About her desk . . . When she showed me her inspiration photo I realized that I had just worked on a table much like the one in the picture. It was still in my studio,  and I was willing to swap it out for a different table. I had painted it a deep teal, so I just dry-brushed the legs a bit to get the greener color she liked.

Remember her chairs from a previous post? I also dry-brushed the bookcases and added some colorful accents in her colors.

It's been a fun little adventure!

"Maximizing!"

This week I've been helping my daughter-in-law Carey with her new office. I'd have to say that one of my absolute FAVORITE things to do is to help someone create a "comfortable environment" that is a delight to the eye! I love listening to their ideas and looking at photos that catch their eye. Then comes the fun . . . looking for things to re-create "the look!"

According to StrengthsFinder 2.0, a Maximizer loves to "see potential in something or someone and draw it out" . . . Maximizing is one of my highest strengths. As a coach I love seeing potential in leaders and emerging leaders and drawing out the best in them. And as a designer I'm having so much fun "maximizing" basement, attic, and thrift store finds! I can just see the wonderful potential locked up inside a piece - and all the possibilities for giving it new life.

Today's project was to deepen the wood color on two chairs she found in one of the rooms at church so they have a bit more contrast.

BEFORE:

Used a little Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (Graphite), sanded some  details, and finished with some dark wax.

AFTER:

Stay tuned for more office creations!!!