Out with the Lavender, In with the Grey!

Wow, two consecutive daily blog posts!! This is history in the making!

Here's a recent room makeover I did for a client.  

Here's what the guest bedroom looked like before:

It was definitely time to reinvent this lavender room with the 80's swags........

 The vintage Jenny Lind bed had boring white bedding.  We can do better!

 To the right of the room, there's a door that leads out to an enclosed balcony.  Great light but a little privacy was needed.

 Nice carved soapstone mantle....

 Going into the attached bedroom was rather difficult with these two large pieces semi blocking the entrance.

 Over on the other side of the room, the client had a vintage wicker set...

Great set but once again, it needs an update!

Okay, are we ready to part with the swags?

YES!!!!! This room oozes with calmness now!  I painted the room in BM Balboa Mist.  New window panels came from West Elm..I moved a piece of furniture to serve as a nightstand.

All this delicious mismatched bedding came from Marshall's.

 This Cynthia Rowley duvet cover with rows of box pleats was on clearance for $15! Score!

On the other side of the bed, I accessorized an existing  little table with the client's fun pieces.

 I purchased store-bought sheers,added a bottom pocket and gathered on sash rods to add more privacy to the french door.

 Next, I painted the little vintage maple dresser in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White and Paris Grey.  I cut up a placemat and used as a stamp for the designs.

 Then I aged the piece with sanding and waxes.

 I moved the piece to open up the bathroom entrance.

 I moved the wicker chair over in front of the fireplace and recovered the cushions in this graphic moroccan print.

 The sofa got new upholstered cushions as well, and some new throw pillows.

 And finally, at the foot of the bed I added a small area rug for warmth.  Open for guests!

Mirrors, Ottomans, and Turkey, Oh My! (And computer woes...and...more Turkey)

So, who out there wants some more turkey for dinner? Can I say that if I see another turkey leg in the next 12 months, it will be too soon. 

Not that I have anything against that fowl held in such high esteem by our forefathers, I'm just done with the turkey thing right now!  So...enough about turkey....

How about some SheShe projects?  A busy month indeed:  Trying to tackle the usual decorating projects, keeping my booth at West End Antiques stocked, recovering from a three week episode of laryngitis, and just when I'm on the up and up.....Pow!  Computer crash!  (So that's what I'll blame this time for the lengthy hiatus since my last blog post)

Here's what I've been up to, other than Mahjong and Photobooth on my new IPad!

Mirrors..............This one was a client's family heirloom, but G O L D. 

 I fixed it up with a little sterling silver paint, some ebony stain, and now it's perfectly pewter-like.

My client liked it so much, I'm now doing a desk to match. That should be interesting. My first silver desk.

 Next up, this Federal style convex eagle mirror!!!!!!!!!! I've been looking for one for some time...Well, other than being PLASTIC and GOLD, it would be awesome........

Found this little sleeper at Consignment Connection in Lakeside.  (Have you been? Can I say it's one of my favorite places!  Tell Beth, Sheila sent you!) I got out my chalk paints!!! Annie Sloan is the bomb!!!!!!! Graphite and Chateau Gray.  I'm keeping it, folks!

 We move on to ottomans............another Consignment Connection find.  For $10, i start with one pretty pedestrian, flattened footstool.

 I painted the base in Annie Sloan Paris Grey........plumped up the top with foam and lots of batting, and then upholstered with this killer striped linen from Artee. I  L O V E this fabric......I just bought more because, well, I just CAN'T STOP!!!!!!! This little piece lived in my booth for one week until it found its new home.  I miss it already;(

 Here's another one.  A decoupage project gone bad.........I picked this one up at Greenwood Country Store.  If you're ever in Albemarle County, in the little hamlet of Greenwood, VA, stop by and say hi to Suzanne! (It just happens to be up the street from my mom so it's a frequent hangout for me.)

After cutting down the top, I painted the base in a mixture of Annie Sloan Graphite and Aubusson Blue. The top I upholstered and covered in a quilted sunflower yellow fabric I found for a dollar at a local thrift shop.

 LOVE these little numeral embellishment plates.  It's in my booth, folks, until it finds its new home.....

Here's my client, Laurie's, den.  She had these dark chunky pieces that were bringing her newly painted space DOWN.........

 Cute tomato red sofa and Jalapeño Pepper on the walls (BM.)  What's not to love?

 I had previously painted all the dark wood pieces in a two toned green/white.

 Then distressed and waxed.

 They just work better now in this cheery space.

I just want to eat salsa and flamenco dance on the furniture in this peppy room!

 Next up, Laurie needed a window treatment for her large sliding glass doors.   I suggested a cornice to top off simple store-bought sailcloth panels.  I took swatches of her existing fabrics and did a little fabric search and recommended this graphic print for the cornice that I found at UFab.

I made a simple straight valance with soft pleats.

 And made a little coordinating pillow for the chair.  Room totally jives now!

Last weekend was the holiday Open House at West End Antiques and a ton of my stuff sold, so I had to pull out some garage goodies to restock.  These were in my rehab pile.  Great french chairs with some serious caning issues... 

 And here they are finished for the booth.  After painting in Annie Sloan Old Ochre, I distressed and waxed. Then I rebuilt the backs and covered in a tobacco/indigo french stripe from Williams Sherrill.  For the seats, I used canvas drop cloths that I softened by multiple washings.

 On the back, I used this pleated oatmeal linen that I purchased at Liquidation Warehouse. Truly a unique shopping experience if you've never been... You just never know what you'll find there......

 Abused cane bacls........

 Yummy padded luxury.  Gimp from Hobby Lobby; pewter oversize nailhead from UFab.

 Cleo Riley bonded, but she's used to the incredible changing inventory at the SheShe ranch and will get over it in time.

While Kim was in Long Island for the week of Thanksgiving, she asked me to finally come in and attack her brown kitchen.

 Brown walls, brown table, brown seat covers.........

 So I did!!!!
With pleasure.
I painted the table in Annie Sloan Chalkpaint in Versailles and Old White.

 Then I added a little stenciled design in Graphite.

I distressed by sanding with a sanding sponge, then waxed and buffed.

Recognize this fabric? Yep, it's PERFECT!  Kim saw the cornice I made from this fabric and agreed it would be perfect in her brightened up kitchen.

Instead of upholstering, I created slipcovers with a sweet little pleated trim.

I used black cording for the ties and used mismatched vintage white buttons as an accent.

The walls were painted in Sherwin Williams Hearts of Palm.

So much perkier than the brown, don't you think?

Here's the table with its extensions left out to cure, and chairs in their new little skirts.  So sassy!

And finally, my client, Donna, had this perfectly okay coffee table that she wanted to reinvent in a french country style.

She tried her hand at using layered paints, but just wasn't happy with the results.  So she asked me to come in and finish it.

Here it is after I worked a little SheShe magic.  It's hard to teach technique.........but I think this is more what she was after.

Once again, these are all Annie Sloan chalk paints.  The bottom shelf is predominantly Aubusson Blue with some light Paris Grey dry brushing.  The top uses the same colors, but I recoated it in the Paris Grey, then stenciled and dry brushed with the Aubusson Blue.  Then I sanded, waxed and buffed it.

I added a tiny bit of Emperor's Silk (red) for another layer.........

So........is it Christmas yet?

This weekend while I was in Greenwood for Thanksgiving,  I connected with my Mom's neighbor, Lesli Devito, who has an awesome blog called  My Old Country House.  You'll love her stuff!!!!!! Very inspiring!

Okay, that's it.  Back to learning this new IMac trackpad.