We moved the custom cabinet that i had built into the shop several years ago from the old shop into the new Whistling Elk shop…this piece is 8′ high and 17′ long…
This was another important part of my store opening plan – i wanted this piece to move with me because i use it every day to sell custom cabinetry and furniture.
It’s a major sales tool for my interior design business.
It is a great showcase for our picture frames and all my design books! Plus since it has 17′ of cabinets under the bookcase it provides much needed storage space.
My cabinetmaker took the built in apart, he and his helper carried the components over to the new shop (20 ft) and then they reassembled it! The whole process took him 4 hours! So not only can he build beautiful pieces – but he can move them and they still look Beautiful – that’s pretty amazing if you ask me!
We re-created our clock wall in the new shop and now it greets you as you walk in the front door.
It is surrounded by our beautiful custom draperies.
It was part of my store opening plan for the new Whistlng Elk to have this room say “we do interior design, window treatments, color consultations” – it is a very pretty room so i think we were successful!
As you enter our new shop you are greeted with an elegant design vignette that showcases our sofas, art, lamps draperies and carpets…
The paint is Ben Moore Silver Mink – its one of my new favorites!
Every time i walk into this room I feel surrounded by beauty. The details please the eye and create an atmosphere of comfort and warmth. I love the soft color scheme…it makes me want to curl up with a book amongst the pillows on the sofa.
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…
oval table detailed with annie sloan chalk paint
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.
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.
Table with Annie Sloan Pure White top
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!
Small Painted Table – Annie Sloan Chaulk Paint
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.
Crown Top of Standing Mirror with Paris Grey coat of Annie Sloan Paint
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…
Standing Mirror in Paris Grey and Pure White 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.
Annie Sloan Paint on Mirror before distressing
Here is the boiserie mirror after distressing…I am just dying to highlight it with gilding wax!
Standing Mirror wearing Annie Sloan Chaulk Paint
Here’s some close ups of the details of the newly antique mirror!
Standing Mirror Top DetailAnnie Sloan Paris Grey and Pure White
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!
Oval Mirror Before Annie Sloan Pure White
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.
Oval Mirror Annie Sloan Pure White Chaulk Paint
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!
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.
The Whistling Elk 
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