Furniture Transformations at Donna's House

I don't know what to say, folks.

I lost my blogging mojo for awhile there...

First I had hand surgery,

then the holidays,

then I was sick,

then my mother was sick,

then I was lethargic

then I was embarrassed 

BUT

I'm over all that now.

It is March 9th!

Happy New Year!

I've been really busy lately making up for lost time, 

so plan to hear from me a lot!

Today, I thought I'd write about some of the furniture transformations

I've been doing over at my client, Donna's.

She asked me to come over a month or so ago 

to help her choose a new color for her living room,

and while I was there, 

she asked how I might spruce up a few pieces of furniture.

The first was this old bookcase with glass doors 

in her living room.

She was toying with the idea of removing the glass doors.

I suggested we brighten up the piece, 

maybe put some color inside,

but not make it look new!

And leave the glass doors! I love them!

So, this piece went from this....

to...

This!

I painted the interior in a soft aqua,

the exterior in an offwhite.

I used homemade chalk paints for this piece, that I created myself.

After painting and distressing,

I waxed everything, using clear and dark waxes.

I painted, and then added stains and gilding wax to

all the hinges and hardware.

Before, all the hardware was almost invisible against the dark wood.

Now, it all pops, 

and adds to the antique character of the piece.

Here it is filled with all of Donna's books and treasures.

Now you want to see what's in here!

It's so interesting!!!!!!

And beautiful!

Next, this antique dresser in her foyer..

Above it is a black and gold mirror.

It has a marble top,

The wood is in good condition, 

but it's just blah.

I painted this in Annie Sloan chalk paint in Graphite.

After two coats,

I let it dry, then I waxed with clear and dark waxes.

Then I lightly hit several edges with gold gilding wax,

as well as the ring pulls.

It looks great now with the mirror.

(If only I had taken a wider photo!!)

She also has this very ornate piece in another part of the foyer.

It has so such wonderful detail. I suggested adding a little depth to it.

See the difference?

I added stains and waxes to the detailed areas...

and the hardware.

 The next piece she wants me to "play with" 

is this little server in her dining room.

(Sorry for the crappy photo.)

It lives behind the french door you see on the left,

and is used for a bar.

But it's so dark  that it's hidden...

So I pulled out the little buffet to paint it...

Once again, 

I base painted in Graphite.

I also painted the inside of the doors.

Then I built up a metallic finish

by dry brushing with a champagne gold paint.

I highlighted some of the edges/areas with dry brushed chalk paint in

Napoleonic blue.

Here's a close up after I waxed everything.

I painted the ring pulls a tomato red...

Here you can see how beautiful it gleams when light hits it.

And it lives right below this colorful still life.

Which was the inspiration for the pulls.

 

And lastly,

she had this little footstool that was stained and very tired.

I plumped it up with lots of foam and batting,

and then covered it in a lovely botanical Schumacher print.

Trimmed it out with self piping.

It's perfect.

Thank you, Donna, for all the great projects.

I LOVE working at your house!!

Need some sprucing up?

I'd be happy to help!

SheShe, The Home Magician

Sheila Fox

sheilafox@aol.com

804-402-4370