A Trip To Bountiful: Visiting Friends, Revisiting Work, and PILLOWS

Most of you know that in my former life, I was a broadcast producer in the advertising industry.

Other than eating out at lots of fancy restaurants, what I miss most about those days are some dear friends that I don't see often enough.

This past weekend was a real treat because i got to hang out with some of those folks again!  

Two of my creative director buddies, Carolyn and Shari, and I travelled to Wake Forest, NC, to see our friends, Cristie and Andy.  (We all worked together at The Martin Agency at one time or another..and various other places...)

Cristie was one of the very first people who asked me to help with decorating her incredible home, which of course segued into my new career as "SheShe, The Home Magician."  And ironically, my brand name, "Home Magician," along with the tagline, "Because Homes Have Dreams, Too" came from none other than Andy, who is an incredible writer/creative director.  

(If you need help with branding, etc, check him out!! He'll do you right! www.ellisandothers2.com.)

So in addition to a whole lot of fun, I also got to revisit some of my very early work.......and also a "freshening up" that I did last year.

I have to say the place looked great........I LOVE their great room......

This is how it looked after my first makeover.  Isn't it sweet?

Cristie loves all things beachy...and shares a love of turquoise and aqua tones....

The mirror we found at an antique store in Ashland. It was ugly dark wood..

I painted it and added an iridescent glaze and it just glows...we added lots of shells and beach glass tones to the mantle.

All her accessories were shiny brass, so I gave everything a verdigris finish...

down to the knobs on the cabinets...

We scarfed up these sweet little bird prints from a local yard sale.

Originally, the windows had dated swags, like this.....

Those were the first things to go!!!!! Now the windows are the stars...

I tied long branches together and draped them with store bought panels in a freeform style.

And then last year, We changed them out.  I purchased this fabric from Hancock...Sheer with copper medallions.

And sewed long panels....Draped them, keeping the freeform style. 

This was a boring brown table until I gave it the SheShe treatment with off-white and turquoise. 

Then I staged this vignette in the front hall.

Painted this little oak table aqua....and recently recovered this little arm chair (for the second time.)

This time I used a taupe and white starfish print I purchased from Williams and Sherrill.

The sofa needed a new slipcover....

We found a lovely soft chenille at the Williams Sherrill Outlet Store and commissioned a Richmond seamstress to travel to Wake Forest to measure and cut....She did a great job...

And the jute carpet had run its course so we replaced it with this beautiful rug.  

I love the distressed antique tables that serve as coffee and end tables.

And I finished off with pillows...........

...and more pillows...

I LOVE this sea coral print..... helps integrate the deep teal tone of this antique bench.

I am the pillow queen!

Thank you, dear friends.......It was great being together again!!

(And this time, all play and no work!! What a concept!!!!)

Makeover Assembly Line: Brazilian and Duck Egg Blue Furniture Painting, Upholstered Chairs, and a Horse of Course!

WOW, this has been a busy week. 

And I've finally made a serious dent in my workload.

I've had several projects that I finally delivered this week. 

Yay!

This pair of chairs, for instance....

(They've been in my garage for a year...a craigslist purchase...

(along with another 20 or so...will I ever see the back of my garage?)

 ...until my client, Jeannie, spotted them.  

She'd been looking for two chairs to go at either end of her formal dining room table.  

I believe she's found them!!!!!!!! 

After a little wizardry, these will be stunning.

As is, the only stunning thing..........is this nasty upholstery.  

But the wood is in good condition.

Here they are finally finished and in their new home.

Don't they make a lovely pair? I used a beautiful lush teal chenille with brown designs to upholster.  I believe the fabric came from Hancock....I've had it in my stockpile for some time awaiting the perfect project...

I found the perfect coordinating gimp at UFab.

And I covered the backs in this pleated oatmeal linen......

Still have a huge bolt of this and it will be a sad day when it's all gone;(

Okay, Jeannie, I'm ready for my dinner invitation!

Next up, I had a client that has been looking for a large bookcase for her daughter's room.

I found this monster at Greenwood Antiques.........

This thing is massive and has been sitting in the middle of my living room ever since.

First I deglossed and caulked...

Next, I painted the backs in BM Brazilian Blue.  And the shelves and frame I primed and painted with Martha Stewart Specialty Finish in Polished Silver.

First coat...

(Man this wood is soaking UP the paint....geez..)

2nd coat....

And third........

It was picked up tonight. I'm thrilled!!!!!!!
I can now open my front door again.

On the way out of West End Antiques the other day, I spotted this ugly horse statue.

I had to buy it cuz, well, it was just ugly...and you know me...I needed to fix it!

(Honestly, do you think I really needed a horse statue? Geez...)

 First I sanded off some of the loose chips...

Then base coated it in Annie Sloane Old White....

 

But I decided I wanted a really glossy, pure white finish, so I painted it again in a Benjamin Moore Semigloss White........It's heading back to West End Antiques (in my booth) tomorrow.

 Next project that I cranked out:  

This dresser that a client delivered the other night for a makeover..........

 It's a pretty nondescript white dresser......little detail....

Meredith wants a distressed, shabby chic finish.

She came to the right gal!

After sanding all the surfaces, I started layering paints, first a wash of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Duck Egg and Old White...

 With a flat piece of furniture like this, you really have to "faux" the distressed look by layering on various paints and stains.....

LOVE this paint. 

Honest to God, you'll never go back to regular paint after trying this for furniture.......

The 2nd coat really grabs onto that base coat...

 
Experimenting with a few hardware options...

I think I like the weight of the iron fleur-de-lis knobs...I just bought them yesterday at Hobby Lobby.  

I don't like the black finish, but we can fix that!

After a little distress sanding, I dry brushed on some pure Duck Egg Blue paint, and then added a little walnut stain, to vary the finish and simulate layers of worn paint.  I also painted the knobs, first with Old Ochre, and then added the stain on those as well. Then I waxed everything, first with clear Minwax, and then with Annie Sloane Dark Wax on the edges to add a bit more age.

And here is the finished piece.......And yes, that's Horsey on top.

Chess anyone?

Lastly, I had just a bit of paint left over and didn't want to waste it so I pulled this old rusted iron lantern out of the back of my car....Someone gave it to me recently...

 It got a makeover, too, with Duck Egg Blue........and dark wax......

Insert a candle or some miniature lights, and it will be perfect on my deck this summer.......

if I don't sell it first.

A productive week indeed...and I haven't even included all the sewing projects! 

I'll have to save them for another day...

I'm bushed.  

Goodnight!!!!!!