mrsjonespaintedfinishes.com » from the attic

red all over

stephanie — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 04:17:52 +0000

a wonderful old chest-on-chest-style dresser had been languishing in a lovely client’s attic, but will now have a spot in her son’s room, where the color scheme is a lively and happy blue, orange & red. there is a knockout-fabulous old blue-painted piece next to his bed, and when she came to town to bring the dresser and discuss a scheme, she (so cleverly!) brought this door:

the old red layers on it inspired a distressed red-on-red treatment for the chest. before & after:

(love those adorable bun feet!)

a big gold good-client star to her for using ben to develop a palette for the project!…benjamin moore’s sangria (#2006.20) and mars red (#2172.20) with layers of wax, and raw umber & black glazes.

(and many thanks to my super-capable, charming and accomodating intern, kathryn hoover, for her extra help in prepping this piece.)

for once, (and just for now) a secret

stephanie — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:44:13 +0000

as you know, mrs. jones is here to share any and all relevant, appropriate tidbits…that’s the purpose of this little journal, right? this time around, however, i do have a tiny confidence to keep. for now, here’s a sneak peek at some small but fun projects from the past few days. soon all will be revealed.

these frames were in the attic, and needed a crisp, fresh look for the spot they’re destined to occupy. here is before and after priming and painting with two of my very favorite blues, pratt & lambert’s boucle (#24.26) and benjamin moore’s bali (#702):

but wait, there’s more! this chandelier, also from our attic, was due for an update. so: layers of whites (benjamin moore’s linen white #912, cameo white #915, and clay beige #oc.11) crackled over each other, with silver leaf on the metal elements, mellowed out a bit with some raw umber glaze. here is before and after:

the little candle-covers are a peculiar size, and to replace them would have fallen outside budget constraints. instead, they got a fresh layer of linen white, and a rub-down with some paste wax to give them a candle-y look.

code orange

stephanie — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:14:30 +0000

as you know, mrs. jones does not suffer chromophobes gladly, and is delighted when color-seekers come calling. this graceful little table from a lovely client’s attic is the perfect piece to deliver the requested healthy shot of pratt & lambert’s chinese orange (#4.10 ) to their living room. it was given the full high-gloss treatment…just to make sure no one misses it.

here is the before & after:

libby

stephanie — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:41:08 +0000

it’s a sort of well-kept secret that mrs. jones runs a very selective summer sweatshop internship program. only the most exceedingly qualified applicants are considered! this year, the choice was easy, and lovely libby moore spent some time with me covering furniture painting basics. she then (with only a tiny bit of help) made over two pieces from the family attic for her college apartment. she’s super-talented, darling, and a natural at this, and i look forward to working with her again when she’s home.

here are some photos of her work that week, including some that she just sent from her cute digs in knoxville:

and here, a sample of work from her hutchison school portfolio…a portait of her brother, sam, based on a photograph by her amazingly talented photographer/artist mom (and my precious friend) beth moore:

buffet #3

stephanie — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:56:00 +0000

a lovely client’s request: lighten (and glam) up this piece from her mother’s home.

before and after:

and some details:

benjamin moore cameo white #915, with raw umber glaze and wax…liquid leaf and then gold leaf, aged, on the fillets and pulls.

(i’m hoping to have on-site photos soon, but it’s headed out of town to a beautiful breakfast room in jackson, mississippi.)

a little hardware re-do 101: with your exacto knife, make X-shaped holes in the bottom a box. keeping each piece attached to its own screw, push through.

bbf goes sleek & chic

stephanie — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:54:49 +0000

teamed up once again with the fabulous gwen driscoll and her lovely client, more bbf (big brown furniture) from storage was given a fresh new look…before:

gwen specified black & lacquered with platinum-y hardware. here’s after:

to get the pulls just right, they were primed, glammed up with coats of silver “liquid leaf“, and ralph lauren’s regent metallic in ambassador sterling (rm.14), then sealed with a slightly tinted topcoat:

(on-site photos coming soon…wait until you see the gorgeous wallpaper.)

fabby/shabby vanity & dresser

stephanie — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:06:33 +0000

these pieces, out of a lovely client’s storage, needed a strong, lively finish to hold their own with a knockout wallpaper chosen by talented memphis designer gwen driscoll. after removing the old varnish, they were given the full-on fancy flea-market treatment: heavily distressed layers of wax, paint, glaze, and gold leaf.

here they are before:

and after:

green chair green chair

stephanie — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:27:21 +0000

please accept my apologies for not having a “before” photo of this little project. the chair is a favorite handed down to my lovely client by her grandmother. painted, lined and aged just a little to match their knockout wallpaper, it’s the perfect perch for putting on shoes in their master bath/dressing room. here are some details:

quiz results #5

stephanie — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:54:42 +0000

well, since there is only one choice left in each category, this question is a giveaway…the chest from a grandmother’s attic that had been painted sassy, glossy black needed sweetening up, to work with a different scheme: a young lady’s room with pretty toile and plaid fabrics in pink and green. here’s another “before” close-up (for the full “before”, see the quiz, a few posts down) and some linen white/apple green/softly aged “afters”:

quiz results #4

stephanie — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:49:46 +0000

if you guessed that this cute and curvy victorian chair (pictured “before” in a post below) would be finished in high-gloss white, you would have been correct…except that a last-minute change of mind on color occurred, and the rescued and repaired chair ended up being painted pale blue (pratt & lambert’s #24.26, “boucle”) and then lacquered, destined for re-upholstering in white duck-cloth and adornment with a snazzy silk pillow in a guest room. so, everyone gets credit for a correct answer on this one.