painting architectural details to stand out
I am working on a table right now with nice architectural details…cant wait to see it finished!
Tomorrow is the spring Chester Craft Show…We are going to showcase some of our painted furniture during the show. You can also sign up for our Paint Workshops…the next one is June 13th at 5:30 pm. Call for more information 908-879-2425. Space is limited so you must register and leave a $50 deposit.
These are fun informal workshops! The June 13th class will cover chalk paint paint finishes and introduce Paint Couture! our new acrylic paints…in total you will learn 5 different finishes and leave thinking about all the great things you are going to do with furniture you have in the garage or basement. You will be creating masterpieces…
The top of this piece is actually going to be black…and i have a lot more gold to apply. Its going to be stunning! And to think it was stashed in the basement…
Its a pretty dreary Tuesday in Chester…so i am happily painting away!
Some random stenciling has made this tray more interesting…it’s also been painted with Paint Couture! Italian Ivory. Later it will get a glaze of Glaze Couture! Metallic Champagne. This is a very pretty glaze that i have been playing with!
We will paint with some of the Paint Couture!® paints and glazes during our next 2 Paint Workshops on June 13th and June 20th at The Whistling Elk. I have been playing with the paint for the last week…even crackling it with good results!
So i am trying it out on my pretty french commode. I used it on the body and the top of the commode – Liking very much! It paints on nicely and distresses easily…
Looking around The Whistling Elk now to see what else i can paint!
painted table annie sloan chalk paint
Just painted and stencilled this little magazine table. It was a solid silver/gold/black mix of color all over – rather a dark look to it. I decided to paint the top first and then see if the rest needed to be touched. It’s so funny how furniture talks to you and tells you what it wants.
painted table top
Stencilling with metallic silver is a departure for me since i am such a “gold” girl. But with this piece i thought it would work so i used it over annie sloan’s old white chalk paint. I am very happy with it! The old white really lightened up the piece and i am thinking that i am done…we’ll see what the client thinks!
I havent been here for awhile…but it wasnt that i didnt want to be!
I have been crazy BUSY…
my desk looks like this almost every day now!
Ive been painting everything!
The first two paint workshops that we had here in early May only served to inspire me more…everyone was so creative. It was fun…so i have scheduled two more workshops one on June 13 and one on June 20th. Both will run from 5:30 to 8:30 pm…
Heres a little table that started out just plain white. Its wearing a coat of Versailles with some metallic gold trim. What a beautiful color. I crackled the top and clear/dark waxed the whole thing…LOVING. <
I am awaiting a package from a new paint company…cant wait to get it to experiment. Its pretty cool and i am hoping to add it to the mix here. Stay tuned.
This table is finished…yesterday i mixed some Annie Sloan dark wax with mineral spirits (just a little) and brushed it all over the table top and base…rubbed most of it off, let it dry then sanded the piece all over with 600 paper, applied a thin coat of clear wax which was then buffed. Finis!
Our first Paint Workshop is going to be in May. Space is limited. The class will be held at The Whistling Elk in Chester, NJ…we have several time slots available…so call us if you would like to attend! 908-879-2425 Do you like the way it turned out?
and its not even finished yet…
Spent a few minutes working on the table today.
Filled in the center of the table with a design i made by using parts of 2 different stencils.
Mixed some Annie Sloan Old White with water and washed it over the whole table (originally black coated with old ochre) softening it, giving it dimension and a cloudly look. It’s ready now for the antiquing process which may happen today or tomorrow depending on how my day goes.
It’s hard now to believe that it started out black and even though its not finished it has really taken on a whole different character…
its soooo pretty and dainty now – hard to believe its the same piece!
It’s just amazing what you can do with paint and a little imagination. Is Painting in your design plan?
Today i started working on this round table. It has what i call “good bones” – that is architecture that sings! (to me anyway).
it was completely black with an oak grain to it. I covered the whole table with Old Oche Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. When it dries, i am going to hit it again with another coat.
I want to make sure i cover the black with a good solid coat of paint!
Tomorrow i am going to give it yet another coat…but of pure white. The Whistling Elk is turning into my own private paint workshop where it seems every day now something is being newly designed…
I just found a great ceiling medallion stencil that i am going to tailor to fit the top of this table. Ooh la la! This table is going to go in our Paris Boudoir when complete and will feel so soft and elegant that it will be unrecognizable. Can’t wait til the next step tomorrow!
Do you feel like painting yet?
It is not unusual for me to live dangerously and just start painting on a piece at home without actually clearing it off…lucky for me that i am a neat painter!
I have owned this beautiful bookcase for many years. It is pine and was imported from Europe and just brie waxed and left in its natural state. Up for a change in my home decor I decided that i would paint the outside shell of the piece and give it a new design. The Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray paint on the wall was my inspiration. So here it is with its first coat of Annie Sloan Paris Grey. I painted the sides and the front facing edges.
After this dried, I painted Olde White on the parts that i considered trim. You cant see them in the picture but at the bottom of the bookcase there are 2 drawers…these i painted as trim also.
The piece remained like this for several days as i had to wait for another day off. But actually i could have stopped here – it was simple and pretty and looked great in the room.
Meanwhile i was rummaging in my stencil collection and found one that i could run down the front side edges…so i kept going.
I clear waxed the piece then dark waxed it, rubbed off the excess and sanded it down to distress it.
I also gilded the beaded trim and the stenciled trim on the front sides and the crown.
I thought i was done but I think i will do some trim work on the drawers…but that will have to wait for another day off from The Whistling Elk.
There is an old hole about the wood knob and i am thinking that i can paint a fabulous “lock” above the knob. This too will have to wait for another day.
This little footstool was feeling very dreary in its old finish of rust/grey…
So i took it home yesterday and gave it a coat of paint. I waxed it with a little clear wax and let it sit overnight.
This morning i threw it in the car, drove it back to The Whistling Elk where i finished it off by sanding for a distressed look and gilding it around the top edges with a little of the Annie Sloan kings gold wax which i also rubbed into the top then dry brushed the legs…you can never have too much gold!
It’s just too pretty now. I love the way it looks sitting on the oriental carpet.
This wall mounted bookcase is in my guest bedroom. It’s from Elden Collections. I have always loved the architectual feeling it brought to the room. Since i just finished painting the room Ben Moore Adagio i decided to give the bookcase a facelift. Since the room is going in a shabby chic direction i went with Decorator’s White advance semi gloss. This is a fairly new trim paint from ben moore that is water base but it paints on like oil base…love it and the finished product!
Just had a little powder room wallpapered in Thibaut Kenilworth…love the rich color and the damask pattern on the paper! I painted an old towel bar with Annie Sloan Primer Red and then brushed it with a little gold paint. It looks amazing. Since this powder room has a low ceiling i cannot put in crown molding so i am going to run a fabric cording around the top edge of the wall where it meets the ceiling…and i am thinking i will probably glaze the ceiling gold with sparkles. That will have to wait though until i get another day off.
Our kitchen island is filled with our Teas and our serving ware collection.
Our Bar made from reclaimed french pine is next to the “tea” table and filled with lots of tabletop goodies. The custom wall shelf hangs behind the bar and looks as if it was made to go with it. Love this little corner!
In the upper right hand corner of the photo is our newest swarovski crystal chandelier…pretty all in pink crystals!
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!
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