Chester NJ Retailer of furniture, home accessories, interior design – Maison Berger and Paint Couture!™
Wow, I can’t believe it has been 23 years since I opened The Whistling Elk. Amazing how time flies.
Over the years I have had so many beautiful items come and go from the shop…it has been a pleasure to own so many items even if only for a short time!!!
For our Sale this year we are running discounts from 10% off all the way up to 75% off! Come take home a little piece of The Whistling Elk – the sale runs thru August 25th. Thanks for your business over the last 23 years!!!
Last night we had Part One of our Furniture Paint Workshop with Paint Couture paints, glazes and finishes. It’s always such fun to see what will be created during the evening!!
These pretty little samples were created with lots of product…the top sample is Barbados Blue under Italian Ivory – distressed – then glazed with brilliant white. Then a tiny bit of verde glaze was added into the crevices – very subtle.
The bottom sample is Australian Amber under Italian Ivory and distressed. Then it was glazed with copperhead..after some dry time we highlighted certain areas with French gilding wax. This sample was finished with Satin Topcoat for a nice sheen.
Tonight we are having Part Two of the Workshop…stay tuned! We will be doing some washes, gilding and stenciling. Oooh la la.
If you are considering attending a workshop the next set of two classes will be Sept 11 & 12…don’t forget to call and register!
We are having 2 paint workshops at The Whistliing Elk in August…can’t wait to see what the participants paint up this time!
We will be painting with Paint Couture and glazing…and stenciling and gold leafing!
First Workshop – Wednesday, August 14 – 6 pm to 8 pm – covers the basics of working with Paint Couture – learn to paint one and two color finishes, glazing and finishing. $75
Second Workshop – Thursday, August 15 – 6 pm to 8 pm – covers distressing techniques, glazing, finishing, stenciling and gold leafing. $75
If you attend both workshops you will receive $25 off your workshop fee.
The workshop fees cover the instruction, materials, studio time and a free paint sample (your choice of color).
So get out your apron and get ready for some FUN!!!! And bring a friend!
Space is limited so call and make your reservation today.
Our collection of exquisite, handcrafted, home wall décor just arrived! They are amazing and I love mixing them into wall collages. They will look like they have been in your family for generations!
These beautiful prints are created by one of the last remaining master artisans in the United States – individually hand-made, antique reproduction art! Bellisimo!!!
All of this 18th and 19th century, English and European, wall decor artwork is made to order by a master craftsman, with decades of skill and experience in the field of antique art reproduction and restoration. These prints are NOT assembled on a line run by machines – they are masterfully set in museum standard, hand-nailed and distressed, solid wood frames.
So each reproduction floral, architectural, or landscape, pastoral lithograph is individually cut, and hand-aged, to give it the look and feel of an original piece of antique framed art.
So the gallery shows you a sample….we are actually expecting some more in the fall. But now that we have these we are going to include them in our ART SALE…at 20% off.
Its been a little busy around here! Its been very hot and now it feels like fall….crazy but nice! (either way). I guess I am off track…this is the first post I’ve ever done without pictures. Now I don’t know about you but I love beautiful pictures much more than words – so this is a real departure for me. Must be due to all the midnight oil I have been burning lately.
We had a Paint Couture Workshop last night and it was really fun. We experimented with some paint / glaze combinations. I think my favorite was Italian Ivory with Verde glaze (mostly wiped off) and then zinc glaze on top. We took off most of the zinc and left it in the crevices and on the edges. It really looked amazing. I should have taken a picture but sadly didn’t think of it. I am going to replicate it and will show pictures then…have a little patience. We also stenciled and played with gold leaf. A very good night.
We also did a coat of Baltic black over gold (modern masters)…I waited a wee bit too long to wipe with the baby wipe so it didn’t turn out as planned BUT it turned out great anyway and demonstrated to the class how things can evolve… After wet distressing it we put a thin layer of another shade of gold over top and then took some of that off. In the end it was very rich!!
The class was really great because allowing for “shit happens” to happen made my students even more aware of how painting furniture is an exercise in total creativity and it is sometimes good to deviate from plan and that it is not the end of the world when things go wrong because maybe it turns out better…or you learn something new.
Actually in my shop I have found over the years that little unplanned events often evolve into great design ideas or new uses for items. My best example of this is when the phone rings and you drop what you have in your hand and run for the phone – more often than not the place you put down the item just happens to be amazing and then everyone buys the item to do what you did with it.
One of my class attendees did a fabulous job gently sanding a sample which already had two coats of Italian Ivory on it – the intent was to make it smooth like glass but not necessarily distressed. She did a fabulous job – when she was done the piece felt amazing and had a great shine to it. She found out that sanding is an art too.
I also started a blog for Chester NJ…with the help of Dana B. (don’t know what I would do without her). It is still in process but we went ahead and published a couple of postings to get it up and running…I think its going to be pretty great. The goal is to blog about Chester shops and businesses, our Farms and Parks and the events that make this area unique and charming. The name of the blog is Chesterstreettalk – check it out!!
Paint Couture Sample Size Jars of paint are the best…you can fit your brush in the Jar! How exciting! What a great way to experiment for the do it yourself crowd…you can experiment with the colors and the glazes to make a unique creation before commiting to a quart!
The colors are amazing and these sample size jars are such a great way to showcase all the colors!
Even a little inconsequential corner at The Whistling Elk can be turned into a pretty niche with some art, lighting and home accessories! You can do the same in your home with the right home accents and some imagination!
Here is a “before” picture of a table I have been working on in a customer’s home for the last week. It seems I almost always forget to take the before picture until I am almost done painting the first coat…
It was just easier to paint on her foyer table there than to transport it back and forth to the shop. It’s a beautiful old square table with nice architecture that was originally painted white and then antiqued. After a move across country the color didn’t work in the new home so I suggested painting it with Paint Couture Baltic Black and then adding gold accents and a Paint Couture Satin Finish.
It was perfect…I went and painted the first coat of paint on Monday – then returned on Wednesday to paint the second coat. This gave the paint ample time to dry and set up in this really humid weather. Then on Friday I went and put the gold accents on the table and applied the Satin finish coat. Today I went and applied a 2nd coat of satin finish to the top and voila I am finis!
I think you will agree that it is amazing. The black made it more formal which is in keeping with the foyer that is its new home. And the lovely puppy in the picture did not get one hair into the paint!!!!
The gold just dazzles. I applied the gold a little unevenly and used two different golds to contribute to the worn look of the edge…and I love the Satin finish as it gives a slightly transitional feeling to the piece. What a great sheen it produced!
This is a great example of how reinvent a piece of furniture when you move and have to redo your home design with the furniture you already own! Paint Couture is the star here!
A truck just pulled up with some gorgeous new art on board.
I pulled out some of it and photographed it for you….and now it will join the other art in the shop and BE ON SALE at 20% OFF.
How great is that?
This is a set of four different gates. They are 20″ squares and work well together or even alone. The details on the gates make them best sellers!
This print is amazing…it is hard to see in the picture but the entire chandelier is set with clear and amber Swarovski crystals. It is BEAUTIFUL!
These prints are a great size for decorating because they will fit in many places and perk it up!
These golf prints are a little departure for me…but they are a great shape and very vibrant…they make me want to go golfing right now…
Art is a great design tool, every interior has many walls – all crying out to be filled with pictures and prints that make you smile!
Yep Mark Roberts has been at it again. Every year they just get cuter. These two fellas are sitting on the bookcase with about 20 of their friends…all part of the Mark Roberts 2013 Christmas Collection at The Whistling Elk.
As usual these guys are just soo cute. We just got in our Christmas stock so right now there are over 200 fairies hanging around here!!!! I have to start memorizing all their names.
I haven’t finished unpacking them all yet – but I must hurry because we are going to run our special Christmas in July Event this weekend.
For many years the 1st floor of my home was bathed in jewel tones…very rich. In January I had the 1st floor painted Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray which I am loving. But it is a whole new ballgame now! Fortunately for me all the furniture works (and that’s good because I love every piece I have and would not give any of it up!!!). The drapes in my Breakfast Room had to go though. I didn’t want to spend a fortune on replacing them right now…so I confess I made them. Now I am a girl with a workroom and a taste for very beautiful expensive fabric and trim so this is a real departure for me to admit that I did this…Oh my! and worse yet I can sew beautifully! Oh oh my!
I bought some very inexpensive fabric in a soft gray slubby solid that drapes beautifully. I measured then cut four panels from the fabric, got out my trusty iron and used glue tape to hem all around…then turned over the top to form a pocket and glued that down with the tape…Oh my! It took me about 3 hours to make all four and cost me about $100. Oh my!
They are simple rod pocket drapes, unlined and will not last like the ones that I could have had my workroom make for me…but that’s ok cause if I get tired of them I can throw them away without guilt. Oh my! They are quite elegant draping nicely with a couple inches of break on the floor. I am loving them!
This is a Do It Yourself success. I am thinking of having a workshop on this…no kidding! Oh my!
This used to be a shiny black ceramic urn…I gave it 2 coats of Italian Ivory Paint Couture and then glazed it with Light Brown Sugar and Champagne.
It’s much prettier now than it used to be !!!
Wow, I wasn’t thinking about blog awards…so Dani, from Teddy and Tottie, you have just completely blown me over with this! Thank you for enjoying my blog and for nominating me for this honor. I am having fun with this!
The award nomination gives me the option to share eleven facts about me, answer eleven questions asked by Dani (who nominated me) and to nominate eleven blogs which I love for the Liebster award. Then, I follow up with providing a list of eleven questions for my nominees to answer if they choose to participate in accepting their Liebster award, and it goes on and on from there…
So if you were nominated by me, and wish to participate, here are the rules:
1. Publicly thank the person that nominated you
2. Tell eleven things about yourself
3. Answer the eleven questions asked of you, and, in turn, make eleven questions for your own eleven nominees.
4. Link to those eleven nominees, and tell them about it at their blogs.
5. Don’t forget to copy and paste the award button to your blog
Here are eleven facts about me:
1. I love numerology and eleven is a master number, so I like that this process involves a lot of elevens.
2. I miss my dog, Katie.
3. I am really creative but I am also good at very analytical tasks too– I find this to be such a paradox!
4. I love beautiful sunny days with fabulously blue clear skies!
5. I love strawberries or raspberries in champagne.
6. I love skiing in Vail, Colorado and I would love to go there and see it in the summer.
7. Even though I have my bachelor’s degree and two additional years of interior design schooling– I love school and learning, so I would go back in a heartbeat.
8. I love to bake bread.
9. Billy Blanks is my favorite exercise buddy!
10. I love Paris and cannot wait to go back to Les Puces.
11. I wish I had more time to travel. I love seeing new things and staying in fabulous hotels!
Here are answers to eleven questions, asked by Dani:
1. Are you a dog or cat person?
I love both cats and dogs and usually have both. Right now I am in between dogs, so I just have two cats. I would have a hard time choosing between a cat and a dog!
2. Are you more of a book reader or a DVD watcher?
I am definitely a book reader. I love to read and I love beautiful design books– I own a ton. In fact, I very rarely use DVD’s. I think the only one I have watched in the last year is Billy Blanks…my favorite exercise buddy!
3. Name three goals you have in life.
Ever since I was in the corporate world, it was a goal of mine to help other women. As a Corporate VP in the 80’s, I did as much as I could for other women coming up. In my home furnishings business it’s a little different, but I try to help women have a beautiful environment to live in! That is probably the goal that I have most consistently pursued in my life. Any other goals I have are more short-term. I usually sit and think about what I want to accomplish during a certain time period and then write it down. I check the list now and then, and more often than not, I am able to check off things that have been accomplished. One example is that I wanted to learn to bake my own bread, which I have accomplished. Another one is that I wanted to read a book that I could only obtain in French, so my goal is to translate it. I am still working on this one. Right now, I desperately want to return to Paris, so I am working on reaching that goal!
4. What is your favourite meal?
I love lobster tails!
5. What is your favourite colour?
This is tough one…there are so many beautiful colors. Right now, believe it or not, I am into grey – with a hint of blue in it. I just painted my whole house a color called Stonington Grey and I love it.
6. What do you love about blogging?
Blogging is a great way to share with others, and I like that. I enjoy beautiful pictures and my blog is geared toward sharing beauty!
7. What is your favourite holiday destination?
I love to ski in Vail, Colorado and go every year with my family. We always go in January just after the holidays and I look forward to it!
8. What are your top five TV shows?
I am not much of a television watcher. I consistently watch the Wild Channel because I love the animals, and any program that involves archeology. I love Fox News and pretty consistently watch the O’Reilly Factor. I sometimes watch Mad Men when I can remember when it runs, and I love old movies, so I watch Turner Classic Movies when I can. Oh, I almost forgot… I love the Food Channel.
9. What are your hobbies or passions?
My passion is my business. I love beautiful things and I get to own the most beautiful home furnishings and furniture, until it sells. Then, I get to buy something else to enjoy for a while. I work a lot so I don’t have hobbies….but I love to paint furniture as part of my business, and that is fun! I am passionate about design and love helping my customers with their homes.
10. You are at the world’s greatest theme park – do you go on every scary ride they offer, choose a select few scary rides, go on the merry-go-round and eat fairy floss or watch others go on scary rides?
I would love to ride on a beautiful merry-go-round, but I would also do a scary ride or two. It would be fun to scream in glee!
11. Do you have a nickname?
Hmmm, no…I don’t!
Now that I’ve told you enough about myself, it’s time for me to nominate eleven beautiful blogs for the Liebster Award:
1. All Things Shabby and Beautiful
2. Blue Pueblo
3. The Enchanted Cove
4. Bite Size Canada
5. Silly Monkey Photo
6. L’Essenziale Home Designs
7. Bread and Olives
8. Inspired Design
9. Shabby and Charme
10. Cook Lisa Cook
11. Call Me Cupcake
Here are eleven questions I’ve created for my nominees:
1. Where in the world would you visit if you were handed a blank ticket?
2. How many states have you visited in the United States?
3. Describe a really good day.
4. Do you enjoy cooking? If so, what is your specialty?
5. Do you love your job? What do you like about it?
6. Do you wear a watch?
7. Do you have a favorite author or book?
8. What got you started blogging?
9. What are your life goals?
10. What is your favorite animal?
11. What is your passion in life?
caught this pretty rainbow on the way home the other day…it was so pretty and almost transparent!
Just rearranged our Paris Boudoir at The Whistling Elk. I changed the floorplan so that I had more room to showcase all the great merchandise that we are showcasing in this room…including our Pine Cone Hill Bedding and our Bedford Cottage Throw Blankets. This is something you should think about at home…changing the floorplan in a room can make the difference between hohum and spectacular. Everything in its right place!!!!
I also made a little more wall space available for our artwork. Loving this new set up!
If you shop at The Whistling Elk then you know how much we love Lampe Berger. When you enter the shop the first thing you will often notice is the great scent that wafts thru the air…mmmmm Of course its our Lampe Berger! Three things can really improve a design space – beauty for the eye, good music for the ear and scent for the nose – pleasing the eyes, ears and nose will create a design mood that makes you happy!
Check out our beautiful new display for this fabulous product. Lampe Berger was kind enough to send this new fixture to showcase their product…It’s amazing how the lampes sparkle under the lighting – the only thing better than how beautiful the lampes look is the fact that they purify the air and scent it!!!!
Just looking at this stack of vintage books makes me smile!
I love to use groupings like this when decorating. They look great on a table or in a bookcase although this stack happens to be sitting on a mantel.
This line of vintage, decorated books is new to The Whistling Elk – a few strategically placed will start a conversation and add a little inspiration to your interior design!
Uttermost is only the latest addition to The Whistling Elk’s carpet offerings. For many years we have offered Nourison carpets – the one shown below is from the Heritage Hall Collection.
And, we also carry Loloi Rugs like the one pictured below which is from the Elmwood Collection.
When i find a very special One-of-a-Kind carpet I like to bring it into the shop…like the 8×10 below from Capa Imports. The colors are very unusual and i love the pattern.
Carpet should be in your design plan can really finish a room and Uttermost carpets are reasonably priced…we have samples and a full catalog!
We introduced our new Paint Workshops for furniture and accessories about a month ago…and now we will be teaching those classes with Paint Couture. Its a great line of Paint, Glazes and Finish Coats. We love it!
The glazes are amazing – I am especially loving the metallics!
Next time you are looking to change your decor or room design – think Paint Couture!
I just picked up my new sign last night…it’s very elegant! It’s all very exciting! This is a great paint – its a low VOC, water-based paint, available in 32 colors. Paint Couture! is a self priming, décor, furniture and cabinet paint. It has a great adhesion capability to existing painted or varnished surfaces. With Paint Couture! there is usually no sanding and no priming (though there are exceptions). It lays on very flat with little to no brush marks. The dry finish look is a matt finish. A Glaze, Finish Topcoat, or Wax is recommended after the paint has cured – and the glazes in this line are spectacular!! Not kidding here i am in love with the Champagne and the new Verdi.
We will be painting with some of the Paint Couture! paints and glazes tonight at the DIY Paint Workshop at The Whistling Elk. If you like painted furniture you will love this paint for your home decor projects!!
The Whistling Elk 
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