Say hellooooo to my latest painting project…
This little wine cabinet is my paint project for the next couple of days.
It’s really cute but i am going to make it even cuter!
Stay tuned for the results….
Tag: design
Purple Just Feels Like Bling
Lampe Berger is one of our favorite things…
and what could be prettier than purple?
Not only do we love the scents but they add to any room design….
Feels like bling – I want one!
The Beginnings of our Christmas Bling
Little by little the Christmas Bling is creeping into the shop!
It begins by mingling with our home accessories..
this will continue for the month of October!
Gifts and Decorative Accessories Interview with The Whistling Elk
We just got written up in Gifts & Accessories Magazine….
Check it out!
here’s the link http://www.giftsanddec.com/article/555546-The_Gifted_Retailer_The_Whistling_Elk.php?intref=sr
Christmas Ornaments pretty enough to make you swoon!
I love all the luscious colors of our Christmas Ornaments this year.
It’s a combination of The Whistling Elk meets Little Paris!
Mark Roberts Christmas Fairies are here yet again!
Mark Roberts Fairies have taken over the sales floor!
They always appear at The Whistling Elk this time of year adding sparkle and happiness to our home design shop!
This cute guy dancing on one foot is the Happy Halloween Fairy.
They are so cute….here’s Northwoods Fairy sporting fur for 2012!
The Gingerbread Fairy from the 2011 collection was so adorable that we have him again this year.
The Ice Capades Fairy 2012 is all dressed in White with Gold accents.
The Pixie is holding an ornament and trying to climb the Fairy Showcase!
Doestn’t he have the sweetest face?
The Holly Leaf Pixie has a devilish face…he is looking for trouble i think.
The Pastry Magicv Pixie is one of the few “girl” fairies in Mark’s Collection. She looks guilty here like she just ate all the pastry!
The Peppermint Dreams Fairy is in Mark’s “Large” size….so he is 20″ tall. Love his expression!
That little guy on the bottom right of the picture is Sleighbell…
Uh oh…Group Shot!
So lets see starting from the top left its Chocolate Truffle, Christmas Wishes, Drummer Boy Fairy (saluting) and by the way he has the cutest ears…
then comes Christmas in Tuscany, Peppermint Dreams, and on the bottom from the left is
Violinist Fairy, Tinsel Time, and Lollipop (2011).
There are so many more! I am trying to decide which is my favorite this year.
They are all so colorful and detailed. As always very Special!
Love at first sight
I fell in love with this little table while out searching for antiques….
Its not old – just cute with great character! It’s oval about 16 x 12 and was already painted with Annie Sloan Paris Grey. It also has a marble top – black with a little pink and grey.
As soon as i saw it i knew i was going to paint and gild it! It was just a matter of what color…
So naturally i did paint it – it wasnt even in the shop for 24 hours before it got a makeover!
So here “she” is wearing some Annie Sloan Henrietta over Paris Grey….and then rubbed with some silver gilding wax and some kings gold gilding wax.
Voila, so Little Paris!
Here’s some detail shots…who said you cant mix silver and gold accents????
It’s important to remember that you dont have to paint perfectly – when you are distressing it gives you a certain lattitude to be a little free…
I am so enjoying painting! I had forgotten how much fun it is and what a great creative outlet is can be.
Attention to D-E-T-A-I-L
Still playing with the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint….
or maybe i should say still having fun with….
Since i was not busy today and had some Gilding Wax I decided to play a little
so i used it on this small table as an accent color
and it turned out just lovely….
First i made a plan by looking the table over and deciding which architectural design details I wanted to call attention to.
Then I just worked in the gilding wax with a little stiff brush.
It was actually a very simple way to enhance the design of this table.
the table was already painted an antique white and distressed so all it needed was the gilding wax
to make it complete!
Then of course, once you start painting and you have the paint open it just naturally follows that you look around for something else to paint
So with wax open and a little sample of the Louis Gold Annie Sloan Chalk Paint i
decided to paint two little frames that had nice architectural details but were kind of boring in that they were both just a flat grey.
So i just brushed some gilding wax on it using a dry brush technique. The gold just accentuated all the detail!
I decided to paint the inside area of this frame with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint – Louis Blue.
Then i dry brushed the edges with the Kings Gold Gilding Wax.
This one is my favorite – it looks so soft and elegant!
A little paint, attention to detail and elbow grease (very little in this case) and these frames have a whole new look!
Antique Table with refractory leaves has beautiful surface grain
this is the beautiful table that i was using for a cash wrap prior to the kitchen island showing up yesterday…
it is probably a crime that i was using this amazing piece for my desk.
it was always loaded with paper and catalogs and being used to wrap gifts….
i certainly did not do it justice. it needs to sit majestically somewhere….a treasured piece of home decor!
Now it will have a new life…
I have cleaned it off and placed it on the sales floor with its very own chair…i Brie waxed the top so it gleams.
the top grain is so beautiful and though it may be old it still looks amazing.
The legs make a spectacular architectural statement too.
the table opens from 57″ to 110″ – its refractory leaves pull out of each side with a gentle tug
it’s really just too pretty!
just the kind of piece an interior designer could build a room around!
Its the kind of once in a lifetime piece that i really wish i could just take home!
it is an antique circa 1880 and i bought it for the shop because i thought the graining of the wood top
was the prettiest i’d seen…and i still love it!
Nobody is allowed to put anything more on it! (i think that means me).
I just want to admire it while its still here!
Annie Sloan Chalk Paint – the marathon continues
This little table had a dark wood top…it really had style with those cute legs so I decided to just paint the top with some Annie Sloan Pure White.
I left the legs the way they were – so here is the table with the Pure White on it.
I waxed it with the clear wax and then applied a little dark wax then distressed it.
Last i hit it with some of the gilding wax then distressed it some more…
Now it has a whole new life!
Love it!
I also worked on this standing mirror…it had a lot of “design” potential!
One of the reasons i selected this piece to paint was because of the beautiful wood carved crown at the top…
and the way this mirror resembled a “boiserie” panel…
The way i envisioned painting this piece i knew that its architecture would be greatly enhanced by using two colors to create a contrast.
I knew that using an alternate color on the crown and on the inset panel would work beautifully
and that connecting them by hitting part of the molding with the contrast color would be very pleasing to the eye.
So, i decided to use Paris Grey and Pure White.
Here’s the crown with a little Paris Grey which i purposely slapped on so it didnt cover all the dark wood.
Later i put some Pure White sloppily over the Paris Grey – i didnt care about covering since i knew i would distress it heavily later.
Originally it was also part of my plan to highlight this piece with some gold wax accents.
However, a customer came into the shop
while i was working on it and asked me not to put the gold on until she saw it finished with just the white and grey…
she thought it might work for her just that way…so i will have to wait until tomorrow when she comes in to see whether it will go home with her sans gold wax..
Here it is BEFORE distressing…
I painted the body of the piece all Pure White then applied the Paris Grey over only the molding and on the inset.
I did that because i knew when i distressed it i would get the dark brown and the white thru the grey.
Here is the boiserie mirror after distressing…I am just dying to highlight it with gilding wax!
Here’s some close ups of the details of the newly antique mirror!
When i am painting i find myself working on a lot of projects at once…
if i have a can of paint open i generally use it on as many pieces as i can so i dont have to open/close the paint, clean the brush etc.
it may be that i am just lazy…. but i think its a good idea to use the paint on something else while the can is open…
so here’s a little mirror that i also worked on!
This distressed mirror was a brownish/cordovan kind of a color with some gold in the corners.
I just went ahead and coated the whole frame with Annie Sloan Pure White, Clear waxed it, distressed it and then
hit it with some of the gilding wax.
Here it is all done and ready for me to put in Little Paris so perfect for my shabby chic shop!
The Annie Sloan Chaulk Paint has been a pleasure to work with and i am loving
all the new decor created…a very good product for interior design!
The Great Annie Sloan Paint Experiment
I decided to experiment with the Annie Sloan paints…
so i bought some Paris Grey and some Clear Wax and have been painting everything in sight for the last couple of days…
out in front of The Whistling Elk in the courtyard.
This is actually a before shot….
The bottom legs/skirt etc has been coated with Annie Sloan “Paris Grey” while the top has an old coat of a beige tone benjamin moore paint on it.
Originally this table had a dark stain on it. It has been hanging around for a while and was pretty beat up.
When i selected it to experiment with i thought it might be fun because when distressed it would show the dark stain thru the beige…and the Paris Grey.
I also selected this table because it has nice detail for painting. The top has a raised pattern to it around the edges which
is separated from the center by two circular grooves which i plan to gild. And, the little finial
at the bottom of the leg stretchers is screaming out for gold…
So with my design plan in my head and the brush in my hand, the Annie Sloan paint went on easily and covered well…waxing was easy too.
After sanding the table and distressing it to the level i desired i painted a fleur de lis on top with some antique gold paint i had around
and also put the gold in the round grooves and on the outer edges of the table.
Then i waxed it again…
The next day I sanded it down again, distressing the gold paint and the fleur de lis.
I sanded some spots down to the very dark stain but decided i didnt like what i had so repainted/waxed some spots and re-distressed.
I actually really like the soft beige coming thru the Paris Grey.
I also decided not to distress to strongly overall as i liked the softness of the look. So, when i was satisfied with what i had i waxed it one last time. The next day i buffed it out.
I had these two upholstered chairs so i painted and distressed the chair legs to go with the table!
It was easy – paint, wax, sand/distress, wax….Voila!
So Very, Very Shabby Chic and perfect for Little Paris!!
here’s what the chair legs looked like before…
So the bottom line is that i am enjoying the whole process and having lots of fun with the Annie Sloan Paints!
Stay tuned because i hateto waste time so have been painting on other little projects which are coming along…
Gift Wrap makes Interesting Wallpaper
Wrapping paper makes great wallpaper collages….it’s fun to design a room around it!
We used it in Little Paris on an accent wall – it was easy to apply and easy to take down…..nice…
This paper comes in large sheets and i love the way all the colors work together!
You can frame these individually as posters….
a very inexpensive way to decorate your walls!
In fact, its more rare for us to sell these papers at The Whistling Elk as gift wrap than it is for wallpaper or posters!
This one is brand new….a combination of labels, stamps, postcards, and pictures….lovely!
Waiting for the Cable Guy
I cleaned my chandelier while i was waiting for the cable guy….haha….i guess i knew i’d be waiting for a while…
It always amazes me how small changes can affect a room.
My chandelier is a beautiful swarovski crystal 12 lite…and it was still gleaming. i guess i just didnt realize it wasnt AS brilliant….
So now that its sparkling clean again….my mouth is hanging open with dismay at its glorious shimmer….and oh i just love it so much!!!!
Doesnt it amaze you how small changes can so positively affect a room????
Desk ? Vanity ? Identity Crisis makes for elegant, sleek design
This amazing piece of furniture arrived on Friday.
It came along with the sofa that i recently blogged about…you know the one i waited all day for…that was so late in arriving…
I was so excited about the sofa that I didn’t unpack the desk right away.
Yesterday we brought it up to the shop floor of The Whistling Elk and put it together. It’s gorgeous.
Top down…its a beautiful desk…
Raise the top and voila its an amazing vanity with a beveled mirror!
No real identity crisis here – just imaginative design.
The legs are metal with a silver finish that looks fabulous – sleek and elegant satin finish French legs. OOh la la!
The entire top is ivory with a patterned art finish in a soft gray which resembles wallpaper.
Originally I was thinking this piece would be placed somewhere in Little Paris as it looks very French and very sophisticated
but it’s going to look amazing anywhere in the shop or in your home for that matter!
When I purchased this piece of furniture I must have been in a hurry or something because i didn’t realize that the middle section of the top was hinged
and raised upward to reveal a beveled mirror…creating a vanity. I must be slipping…I did order it from a catalog picture — something that i RARELY do.
But all’s well when its a happy and beautiful surprise.
The name of this desk/vanity is Note to Self….how appropriate!
What a beautiful and clever design which will elevate the décor in any room.
Painting Fleur de Lis Stencils for a Romantic Room Design
Here on my desk is my lastest project for a client. We are going to paint fleur de lis designs randomly on her office walls. I cut this Fleur de lis stencil when i painted the Paris Boudoir in Little Paris shop.
In order to give my client some choices for how the fleur de lis will look i first painted some copy paper with the wall color (2 coats)…
Then i stenciled the fleur le lis design over the paint three different ways. The first (above) is stenciled with just full strength modern masters 14k metallic gold paint.
For the 2nd sample of the wall design i mxed the 14k metallic gold with glaze to make it more transparent.
Lastly, I added some paint crystals to the 14kgold/glaze mixture (below). This gives the fleur de lis a glittery effect.
The glitter will catch the light and sparkle – its a faint effect so you actually wonder if you are really seeing it! Love it!
Voila ! Beautiful effect -so easy to do and painted randomly around the room makes a completely original wall design!
PS….I have little sparkles all over me (from the paint crystals)….its like fairy dust maybe it will bring me luck today at The Whistling Elk.
Spring colors are delightful!
Don’t these beautiful colors just make you happy! and want to make flower arrangements?
I love to design florals for clients. These are all the colors i am using in
Little Paris!
love the soft hues…
even though they are all fakes! love them anyway!!
Hope you are enjoying a beautiful spring day!!
The need to be outdoors…
it was such a beautiful day on Tuesday i felt i had to get outside…. I had Wednesday off so i started thinking about projects i could do outside and decided to paint my adirondack chairs….they are a mess – so i’m going to give them a new life. There is no question that they need some love…right now they are looking very sad in their very shabby paint – been out in the weather a bit too long.
Originally they were faux painted to sit beside a swimming pool surrounded by beautiful gardens in the back yard of a Showhouse that I worked on with a local landscaper…..that was ages ago! I had my mom paint them a light blue reminiscent of the water with faux rhododendrums and morning glories on the backs. They were so pretty. Just look at them now!
Well, i just happen to have some paint left over from Little Paris….I am going to scrape these chairs up a bit and then apply the paint. I am going to try to save the rhododendrums…we’ll see about that.
Voila! They are beautiful again!
Conversation Chair makes for cozy talking
took a quick shot of this new conversation chair that just came in to The Whistling Elk…
I’s nice clean lines make it transitional….and the fabric, a nubby linen blend, is a soft off-white
that will make this chair a star in many different settings. The frame is a distressed black with nailhead trim.
Gotta love that detail! It sits really nice and best of all the price is reasonable!
Two of these with a little table in between will improve the seating situation in any room!
Like this cute little table for instance…
It’s a distressed black but the center art is in gray tones. It’s a great size for the chair.
Let the fun begin!!
2011 is over, the inventory is done, and the clean up after Christmas is progressing. That means new merchandise is coming and new vignettes are being set up in the shop!
i think this spring “clean up” is my favorite time of year. I love the lushness of the christmas decorations but i also love the clean lines of the shop once the christmas comes down.
Oh such fun! I am leaving for Atlanta next week where i will buy the 2012 Christmas! That’s right….that’s the first thing i buy in 2012…
But while i am there i will buy Spring too….i have a plan for merchandise needed and some new fresh ideas too.
Buying for Little Paris and The Whistling Elk will offer me the opportunity to purchase a wider array of merchandise than in previous years….and ooh la la that is so totally fun!
the shop still looks pretty…we still have gifts for all!
It’s still christmas here at The Whistling Elk and Little Paris…things are still sparkling!
and vibrant and happy colours are everywhere….
The bedroom is all dressed for Christmas….so inviting!
pretty soon it will all be over again, sigh, i will miss it!
The Whistling Elk 
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