Joannes New Home

Earlier this year, my client and friend, Jo,

purchased the sweetest little house!!!

And I had an unusual opportunity:

Several months to get her home in order

before she moved in!

One of the main issues with the home:

So much of it was…

G R E E N.

Jo hates green.

The kitchen walls were green.

And there was a disconnect with the tiled floor,

which had lots of slate blue/grays/taupes…

The window treatments were green.

The upstairs guest bath was…

green.

Even the ceiling was green.

Again, a disconnect with the tan tile….

And two of the three bedrooms were….
you guessed it…
GREEN!
(Sorry, no photos!)

My very favorite room in this house 

is this little sunken family room off the kitchen….

 It has painted pine panelling, 

built in bookcases...

…and black colonial hinges/hardware.

So…

here are some of the things I did to get Jo 

ready to move in!!!!!!

 
First, in the little sunken family room,
I experimented with different colors for the inside backs
of the bookcases.

I ended up painting them BM Wickham Gray.

And for all the colonial hardware, 

  I used BM Revere Pewter.

The room feels light and beachy now!

--with white, light blues and beiges.

(And no black or red!)

All the panelling was freshened up with a coat of BM White Dove.

I removed the dirty carpet runner from
the steps, and painted them in a blue-grey.

Moving up to the kitchen.

The cabinets had this fleshy toned pickled finish.

And while the upper cabinets were in good shape,

…the base cabinets were showing lots of wear 

and some had water damage…

Ceiling and walls were green.

Jo and I decided the plan would be to paint the 

ceiling, walls, and

the base cabinets only.

We sampled many different colors, 

from charcoal to navy to pale blue-grey,

on many different areas to determine

what we liked.

DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!

We ended up going with a color 

we really hadn't considered before:

BM Brewster Grey.

(Bottom drawer here.)

After cleaning/sanding and removing all the hardware

and doors, 

I primed all the base cabinets.

It's great that no one is living in the house yet,

because it really takes latex paint about 30 days

to cure.

 

Here is a bank of the finished base cabinets.

They look lovely with the black granite

and antique brass hardware, and the floor.

The walls were painted in BM Barren Plain,

a soft blue grey.

 The ceiling was painted in white, 

and the top cabinetry was left as is,

except I did faux paint this register to match.

(Previously it was white and stuck out like a sore thumb!)

Beside these cabinets is a cute little-built in,

original to the house.

No before photo, but it and the trim around it

were painted in the same green as the walls.

I trimmed it out in white, and used the same

Brewster grey as the cabinets for the door.

Inside, I painted as well, and 

used chalkboard paint for the inside of the door.

 Outside, the butterfly hinges on the door had so many layers of paint,

that they couldn't be removed.

 So I decided to faux paint them to give them an antiqued look..

After priming, and painting in an espresso,

 

I used King Gold gilding wax...

To look like age worn bronze/brass.

 The kitchen is finished...

oops…almost.

 One last observation was the white back door……...

I ended up priming and painting it as well

in the cabinet color.

(sorry for the crappy photo..)

And finally, to the little guest bath..

Again, I painted large swatches 

to determine the wall color.

 

And ended up painting the walls

BM in Carrington Beige.

The ceiling was painted in bright white.

Amazing what an impact a simple

cosmetic change can make in a space!

The edging of the tile now blends in

perfectly with the wall color.

 And simplifies the entire room.

All the bedrooms were also painted…….

And, 

finally…

it's...

MOVE IN DAY!!!!

 Yep,

the day when all your family and friends rally round...

 and make this new house... 

your new HOME!!

This is the fun part….where empty spaces...

 …come to life!!!!!

 The living room and dining room were about the only rooms

not painted!!!!!

 They were neutral enough to work for now..

How cozy and inviting!!!!

 

These two get major kudos!!!!

It's done, you're in!!!!

What a wonderful home, Jo!!!!!!

We know this is the perfect house for you,

and we wish you loads of happiness here!!!!!

Ladies Dept. Only!!! Reinventing a Bookshelf

 I love giving new life to a tossed out piece….

Case in point: 

This small corner bookshelf.

Probably from Target or Walmart….

Just resting it on its side gave me an idea...

I painted it in a wash of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White.

Next I cut out pieces from an old wallpaper sample book...

and glued  to each of the three back sections.

 

Then I nailed a piece of scrap lumber to the bottom front.

And I used letter stencils…

 to stencil on "Ladies Dept Only."

(After all, it is rather frilly….)

I used brown paint and a tiny brush to add a shadow

detail to the letters.

After a little sanding and stain to age things a bit,

here she is.

My vintage style "ladies dept only" storage bin.

I put her in my booth 

and filled her with all sorts of girly stuff...

…and dang if she didn't sell like THAT!

(That's really the fun part.)

Thanks, Leslie, for the donation,

and, Holly, for the purchase!

This Old Victorian Settee Gets New Duds!!!! Oh MY!!

 I purchased a set of old victorian furniture back in the fall.

The velvet upholstery was disintegrating and in terrible shape.

Tons of tufting……..

 But OMG, look at the amazing wooden frame!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I redid the chair and sold it last year…….

it was a big hit and even made the local paper design section!

(Mainly 'cuz I put a little pocket in the chair front to hold 

a remote or a book….)

But after ripping off all the upholstery on the settee,

it was too much to tackle at the time, 

so it went into my mom's basement.

All winter…...

 

This past week,
I finally brought this thing out…

First job was to remove all the tacks and nails…..

I was then left with this.

The seat and springs are still intact, 

but everything else needs to be rebuilt.

 First up,

I painted the frame in Annie Sloan Pure White.

Then I used Maison Blanche's Lime Wax in Chalk Grey...

 I didn't have any webbing, so I created my own 

using doubled sewn fabric strips

made from some dated upholstery fabric.

 I used a vintage wool blanket to line the front 

and also added a double layer of batting to the seat before covering it.

 Upholstery is like a logic problem:

You have to do the steps in a sequence that makes sense.

The seat comes first….

I'm using the rest of this awesome black and white

duvet cover that I used in yesterday's makeover...

After the seat is done,
I move to the arms.

They had to be rebuilt with lots of batting, 

then covered in the wool,

and then the fabric.
This was the hardest part….

 I added double batting to the chair front, and then covered it. 

 And lastly, the back...

 I added batting and a sub cover..

 And finally, the fabric.

 Along all the edges, I stapled after pulling the fabric tight.

 Sweet!!!!!!

I really love that the print is totally unexpected…

and…well, just wacky for this old victorian piece.

 I used a natural gimp to trim out all the external edges - 

where the fabric meets the frame.

 For the seams where fabric meets fabric, 

I used self welting, with buttons for 

a bit of whimsy.

 I also placed buttons on the back 

where the gimp meets the self welting.

 And this baby is……...

 F I N I !

 It looks glorious in my booth at Greenwood Antiques.

For sale……$465.

Vintage Wicker Chair + Duvet Cover = Black & White Graphic Beauty!

This petite vintage wicker chair 

was given to me by my friend, Barbara..

 It's a sweet little piece, and in relatively good condition.

Except for the seat………

 I peeled away layers………

all safety pinned on….

 Until I got to this cover…..

 Oh, but wait….

there's more!!!!!

 There was nothing to staple to….no wooden frame,

so I first sewed a layer of batting onto the original cover, 

 and hand stitched it 

to the wire frame at the bottom.

 I had this great black and white Pottery Barn duvet cover for sale in my booth…

I thought the graphic would be perfect for this chair, so I pulled it,

cut a top and a banding strip,

and pinned/sewed the banding along the top edge…….

 Then I again whipstitched the bottom to the wire frame.

 Since the wicker part was in really good condition,

I just used a Sharpie black paint pen to touch up here and there...

And it's in my booth at Greenwood Antiques.

I already had the black and white pillow.

A perfect ensemble!

The chair is for sale: $125.

Pillow: $25

Thanks, Barb!

Donations to the SheShe rehab pool are always appreciated!

And just wait 'til you see what I did with the rest of the duvet cover…….!!!!!!