Chester NJ Retailer of furniture, home accessories, interior design – Maison Berger and Paint Couture!™
We are adding Aidan Gray Home Furnishings to our mix at The Whistling Elk…look for new shipments in the coming months!!!
We are very excited to share this beautiful line with You!
We’ve got lots of great surprises in store this season…having just returned from the Atlanta Market – shipments will start rolling in soon!
I AM READY TO GO TO ATLANTA AND SHOP!
I have been working madly to plan for the next four days….so much fun!
I leave tomorrow morning – so the shop will be closed for 4 days while I am gone…
Having just completed a major floor move in the shop — I am ready to fill in with new exciting merchandise.
The shopping words for this season are OPULENT and GLAMOROUS!
Oh so exciting!!!
The shop is set up with a completely different floorplan for 2014. This pretty Schnadig Sofa is taking center stage in the shop….Its so pretty and versatile. You can go in so many color directions with it…in fact you can change the colors for the seasons of the year by using pillows and throws in colors you choose. It’s so reasonable in price also!
Space is at a premium in the shop so every inch of wall space must be used to display the art work … here’s one of the collage walls (with a floor lamp shade showing in the foreground). The artwork at The Whistling Elk is always 20% off so its a good investment and as you know we all have lots of walls!
You may remember my post regarding the painting of this mantel…I used Paint Couture™! paints and glaze to make it so beautiful…but I think I am going to re paint it for the spring. That’s right! Another mantel facelift is on the way…I just have to settle on color. I am thinking of doing something with the Pantone Color of the Year 2014 – Radiant Orchid….that would be something with Brilliant White over top! WOW…just sayin.
Soon we will begin our Paint Workshops again – so keep posted and plan to attend to learn how to paint furniture!
Our Paris Boudoir is still the room in the shop that everyone wants to move right into! The bed is layered with Pine Cone Hill products – why? because it is such a well priced bedding line…love it! Lots of soft soothing color combinations for the bedroom. I’ll be visiting Pine Cone Hill in Atlanta to see what is new for 2014. Meanwhile still loving this soft palette of color including Madeline Café au Lait, Louisa, and Candlewick designs.
Sometimes the things that really make a room are the little things…like a sweet arrangement of glasses on a tray, a cocktail table book strategically placed to accent some colorful flowers! The tray is actually my favorite thing right now…its antique silver with a mirrored base…which has been antiqued to look so old…just love it!
Well my head is swirling with all the things that I am going to be looking for at market…all the plans, colors, objects and vignettes to come. Can’t wait to translate it all to the shop floor so that you can share in the excitement for 2014.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The beginning of a new year is always an exciting time in a retail shop.
Planning for 2014 has begun…we have chosen our “keywords” for the 2014 “look” and we are going shopping January 10th…can’t wait!
Between now and then inventory will be taken and the shop will be readied for a major floor move!
But as we ring out the old year I would like to thank all my wonderful customers
who have patronized The Whistling Elk over the last year…and in fact for the last 24 years!
I am grateful for the friendship, patronage and support from all of you!!
You are Cordially Invited to Our
6th Annual Charity Event
Benefitting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Thursday, December 5th from 12 to 9 pm
$15 Donation
Discounted Shopping
Door Prizes
$350 Gift Certificate * Lampe Berger & Case of Fragrance * Kennebunk Weavers Throw Blanket * Basket of Paint Couture!™
Great Gifts for the Holidays!
Mark Roberts Fairies, Lampe Berger, Kennebunk Throws, LoLLia, Shelley Kyle, La Vie Parisienne Jewelry
& lots of beautiful decorations and home accessories!
THE WHISTLING ELK
Casually elegant home furnishings & accessories
Elegantparis.wordpress.com
50 Main Street, Chester NJ 07930
Working on ‘bringing the bling’ to the newly painted mantel at The Whistling Elk…loving the sparkle stems and the red cardinals!
This is just the beginning – by the end of today this mantel will be stuffed with sparkle!
I just knew that Paint Couture’s Brilliant White would bring just the right amount of bling to the mantel…what a great backdrop for Christmas sparkle!
I was in love with a sample that I painted while I was in North Carolina at the Paint Couture!™ workshop last month. I guess I still am…cause its been sitting on my desk ever since.
Meanwhile we have been decorating like mad at The Whistling Elk…getting ready for the Christmas season…and I kept looking at our mantel and thinking hmmmm i’m gonna paint that and then decorate it for the holidays! So…I just finished it….here’s a tease!
It would have been beautiful in Little Paris but it now sits in the Paris Boudoir bedroom with all the Pine Cone Hill bedding and Kennebunk Weavers throw blankets. The colors in this room are soft and inviting. You feel relaxed just standing in the room!
I didn’t go with the sample colors from the workshop…just deviated a little using Paint Couture!™ Abundance and then dry brushing on Brilliant White (gotta love that stuff). When it was dry I glazed it with Glaze Couture! Verde Green! It looks marvelous and I can’t wait to bling it up (as if it needed it)!!!
One of the Door Prizes at our 6th Annual Charity Event on Dec. 5th is a Gift Basket of Paint Couture!™ products. Some lucky person is going to be painting!
Our Charity Event benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society again and we are looking forward to a wonderful day/evening of discounted shopping on December 5th….so mark your calendar.
I just finished stenciling and distressing this table top…its painted with Paint Couture!™ Baltic Black and stenciled with Paint Couture Pale Gold – one of their fabulous accessory metallic paints. After I took this photo I glazed the whole table with Glaze Couture!™ Black Walnut (my favorite!). I plan on putting the Lacquer Couture!™ over the table on Monday. Wow, there are sure a lot of “coutures” in here…but what do you expect when you are painting pieces that are fashionable and elegant!
I used a ceiling medallion to create my design and then used parts of the medallion to fill in the center and bring the design out on to the leaves of this drop leaf table. I always sand thru my stencils to rough them up and make them look a little uneven because I want an aged effect. Wait till you see how it looks glazed…ooh la la!
When I finish I will post the elegant finished product…
We carry all the Paint Couture! products at The Whistling Elk and offer Paint Workshops so you can DO IT YOURSELF…if you imagine it you can paint it!
I just got back from Charlotte where I attended a fabulous Paint Workshop at Great Walls Supply…
Thank you so much Mike and Micki for making the Paint Couture! ™ line available to all of us who love to paint furniture and cabinets!
The Paint Couture! is wonderful but it doesn’t stop there. The Glaze Couture! is amazing and offers us sooooo many possibilities for creativity and reinventing color! Nope that’s not it either…the Finish Couture! and Lacquer Couture! are just the best for protecting your painted furniture and cabinets. Did I say CABINETS? Why yes, I did!
There’s still more…Accessories! Loving the Brilliant White and the Gold Accent Paints, the Embossing Medium and the brushes and all of the brand new products that will be available shortly. Oh I am just in heaven! Ohhh la la I forgot the stencils!
Now that I am home I can’t wait for my next shipment. I have three Paint Workshops scheduled for next week and the phone has been ringing off the hook for that past two days – its as if they were just waiting for me to get back and schedule some new classes…surely no one will be disappointed either as I have planned four more classes for November!
All the Paint Couture!™ products are available in my shop The Whistling Elk – or check them out on line at Paint-Couture.com – you will not be disappointed. You WILL be painting everything you can get your hands on!!!!
It sure was a lot of fun to hang around with a bunch of very creative painters and play with some dazzling new products. Looking forward to the next one!
I am working in a dining room in which we are effecting a transition from very contemporary to a more traditional room. We decided to paint the contemporary console to make it feel more traditional….
It is finished but there is a piece of glass that lays across the top and rests on the two higher ends of the piece. We’re going to let this piece cure for a couple of days before we put the glass and accessories back on top!
The console was an extremely high gloss black/cherry finish much like that you would find on a piano. First we cleaned it really well with TSP, then painted a first coat of Paint Couture Baltic Black. A couple of days later it got its 2nd coat of the black and then a couple of days after that the piece was stenciled then distressed by sanding off all the edges and flat surface so some of the cherry color came thru in places.
You will note that every time I work on this piece I let it sit a couple of days. This isn’t necessary as you need only wait 24 hours between coats of product….however as I am painting this piece in the client’s home (its very heavy) I had to schedule myself for this time away from my shop. I also figured since the original finish was soooo high gloss that a little extra cure time would only be an asset.
After the 2nd coat of black the piece was stenciled and distressed.
It was glazed with Paint Couture Black Walnut and then finished with a Paint Couture Satin Topcoat.
I plan to go visit it in a couple of days to see how it is doing and then we will finish up the details in the room!
At The Whistling Elk we offer classes so that you too can paint your furniture….we use Paint Couture products which are wonderful. There are so many paint and glaze colors to choose from and the topcoats are fabulous. I also used Paint Couture pale and rich gold to give my stencil dimension. Call for class schedules and details and to register!
It’s so much fun and very rewarding!
Sadly I must paint out this beautiful handpainted artwork…
this little drop leaf table was painted by my mom for a customer about 15 years ago (i think)…
this piece is going to be re-done in basic black with pearls….just kidding! It’s going to be Paint Couture Baltic black with gold accents/stenciling on top…then we are going to distress and glaze it to deepen the finish…its going to be amazingi….
here is a little personal preview for you Gerri – this is the first coat of black with all the edges knocked off and sanded to smooth!
Getting ready for 2nd coat of Paint Couture and then gold design work….can’t wait!
I have been neglecting my blog mostly because I started a new blog for the town that my shop is located in – the new blog is called chesterstreettalk and the blog is about everything that goes on here in this little town of Chester NJ…
Its a lot of fun to work on this but of course it is another thing that eats into my time! So today I am back on my own territory blogging about my shop – hurray! Once a blogger always a blogger….I feel like I will always keep coming back!
I have been painting as I have a couple of custom furniture paint projects right now and running workshops with Paint Couture and getting my shop ready for the fall … holiday season which is now upon us!
Currently I am painting in a customer’s home hard at work making a very contemporary piece look as uncontemporary as possible…It’s a challenge but I think it will be very pretty when complete. My other project is a piece that the customer dropped off at the shop for painting. Curiously enough both pieces are being painted black with gold accents! The piece in the shop is a drop leaf table and I am going to stencil a beautiful gold design on top! Cant wait for that part.
When I am not painting I am starting to organize the shop for the season…lots of pretty little ornaments and bling-bling is starting to appear everywhere in the shop.
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!
The Whistling Elk 
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