lovely clients of anna baskin lattimore’s were hoping to use their old coffee table – the perfect size and shape for the room and their family – in their new home. it just needed a fresher, lighter look. after stripping the varnish and priming it, i added layers of paint (anna’s excellent choices: pratt & lambert’s chalk gray, #11.32, rubbed back over benjamin moore’s bleeker beige, #hc.80) and then tinted glaze and varnish for a little depth and protection. here is the before, the not-yet-accessorized after, and a few details:
island, girl
lovely clients have engaged talented anna baskin lattimore to help them wrap up the details of their beautiful new jeff bramlett-designed home. they were looking for a soft, furniture-y feel for their kitchen island and mrs. jones was more than happy to oblige. starting with the base coat of duxbury gray (benjamin moore # hc.163) i added anna-approved, rubbed-back streaks of puritan gray (hc.164). on top, a glaze tinted with raw umber and just a little dollop each of lamp black and titanium white was rubbed over the whole thing, and used to add water-spots and fly-specks. a low-lustre varnish seals and protects the finish. here is the before, the after, and some details:
(the perfectly constructed, gorgeously detailed cabinets were built by bob westmoreland.)
they also requested just a tiny bit of aging glaze in some of the nooks and crannies on the cabinets. anna was spot-on as usual in choosing a scheme pulled together by the de-lish wallpaper she used in the adjacent butler’s pantry.
the whole enterprise would not have been nearly as much fun without buddy, the sweetest doggie ever, and, by the way, an excellent herder.
the empire strikes back
every once in a while, lovely clients request a transformation for a piece that might be better left alone, and mrs. jones must employ all diplomatic tactics at her disposal to try to alter their course. in this case, however, my client was not to be swayed, and so (while i realize this may unleash an onslaught of criticism from fans of mahogany empire-style furniture) here is the before and insisted-upon after…a look approaching bleached pine, similar to this piece from wisteria that caught her eye…that really does suit her beautiful home much better.
empire-lovers, may i offer this additional consolation: the dresser is being loved and used, and will not just crumble to splinters in the attic. please do not be cross with me.
flown
a cute little table followed me home from the nashville flea market last fall,
and so a few pages from a damaged copy of the 1954 audubon field guide that featured the tennessee warbler seemed the right fit for a decoupaged treatment. here is the before and after:
after deciding that i couldn’t improve on the old layers of green and white paint on the legs and apron, they got a good sanding and sealing with varnish. and this “portlandia” video made me change my mind about stenciling a bird on the table…so i settled for a trail of silver-leaf feathers instead.
it is available on etsy and at market central.
glammed-up pair
this pair of chairs was too cute and nicely made to leave behind at a recent estate sale. (though mrs. jones was unable to conjure up the name for this particular form, john tackett, the devoted classicist, has advised that they are in the style of charles eastlake, and might be labeled as being from the aesthetic movement: 4th quarter of the 19th century.) the kind of kooky carved details at the top seem sort of pagoda-like, don’t you think? anyway, in honor of prom season, and since the ladies at market central have been asking for something gilded, i settled on glam silver leaf over a black underlayer, adding a raw-umber-tinted varnish on top to protect and give a “been around a while” look.
here is the before:
(having never dissected a chair before, it was fascinating seeing what was under the dusty old uhpolstery…all those layers of stitching and padding and burlap and springs.)
and on the subject of upholstery, since there are so many different ways you could go with these (hot pink velvet and turquoise mohair were on my shortlist) i decided to leave them un-done, and to let the buyer finish them to their liking.
here is the after, and some details below
they are available at market central, and on etsy.
{and they were featured on chinoiserie chic…many thanks to lovely tastemaker beth connolly for the mention!}
sweet white light
lovely clients of gwen driscoll’s had this collection of sconces and chandeliers that they wanted to use together, and so she requested a unified, updated look. here they are before:
and after being treated to the high-gloss version of benjamin moore’s white dove:
(i hope to have the installed “afters” to show you soon.)
bebe moderne
a very lucky little baby is due to arrive at any moment, and will go home to a snazzy nursery, done up with pale gray/blue walls, some yummy bittersweet chocolate brown, happy hits of orange, and super-cute jungle animal accents (think jonathan-adler-esque) mixed in with a bold graphic (think the iconic kwid trellis – but in coffee and white.) this mid-century dresser, from the dad-to-be’s family, has been freshened up with benjamin moore’s white dove and a high-gloss treatment. the original hardware received a platinum makeover. here is the before:
(sorry it’s a little jumbled up.)
and after:
it’s gone from bachelor-pad-groovy to sweet and chic, i think.
the lamp had been red with gold, but was the perfect size and style for the room. (please forgive the lack of a “before” photo.) after stripping and priming, it was painted in bands of brown: benjamin moore’s brown sugar and pratt & lambert’s obsidian. i gave it a final rub-down with myland’s antique brown wax. (and immediately began craving chocolate chunk brownies.)
the pieces are on their way to clarksdale, mississippi, as the lovely expectant mother practices her breathing excercises and watches the clock. i hope to have photos soon of the completed room to show you.
mantel makeover
lucky, lovely clients of robin selberg’s have this cozy fireplace in their master suite. the mantel, an addition by previous owners, just didn’t quite blend in to their serene scheme. after removing the wax, i sealed it up with a primer, put on layers of paint to match their existing trim, and added just a tiny bit of tinted aging glaze to soften it up. here is the before and after:
marching on in
sweet suite
a lovely client has a set of this sweet furniture…two dressers, two nightstands, and a mirror. she requested a lighter, feminine look for them, with just-slightly-aged cameo white (benjamin moore #915) and a bit of rubbed-back gold to accent some of the details. here is one of the nightstands, before & after:
(edit, 3.31.11: how fun to see similar pieces on pages 77 & 78 of high gloss…sarah tuttle creates a chic mix, does she not? i will be looking for more like this at the flea market!)
darling nieces, and an rx for two tired tables
among mrs. jones’s many blessings is a gaggle of wonderful nieces and nephews, and every so often, the opportunity to express my great affection by painting a little something for one of them presents itself. not long ago, sweet lucy let me personalize this cool vintage steamer trunk (a brilliant flea market find by my intrepid sister-in-law, betsy) for her, with a damask pattern stenciled overall, and her monogram applied in distressed gold leaf:
which she now (cleverly) uses as her coffee table.
lee, who was recently admitted to the pharmacy grad program at the university of mississippi (go, lee!), had two tables culled from the attics of generous grandmothers. to snazz them up for a chic apartment befitting a lovely young lady in a freshly starched white lab coat (decorated by her equally chic mom, my fab sis-in-law anne), the prescription was for a high gloss course of treatment in benjamin moore’s white dove, #0c.17:
(and just for good measure, a small dose of fresh hardware from anthropologie.)
old table, new trick
while a distressed, layered finish was great for this cool vintage pedestal table, my lovely client – heeding excellent advice from selena mcadams – requested a new look to work with the chic chinoiserie and trellis fabrics and apple-green wicker in her kitchen. selena specified a gorgeous violet-blue (pittsburgh paints’ victory blue, #447.7) with a little golden-hued paint under distressed gold leaf as an elegant/edgy accent. a coat of satin varnish to protect the new finish, and it’s ready to go.
before and after:
proving that you can teach a shabby-chic pooch a new trick or two.
two by two
it’s funny how things go all noah’s ark on you sometimes…just now there are two lovely clients with pretty old plate racks needing a re-do, each with a different look. the first one is old pine, which was badly stained and discolored. to work with some gorgeous new wallpaper, the request was for a mellow gray (valley forge tan, benjamin moore’s #ac.35…by the way, a very uninspiring name for a very yummy color) with tinted wax rubbed in (myland’s color wax in raw umber, natch.) here, the before(s) and the sample…the “after” photos of this one are coming as soon as the wallpaper is up.
the second plate rack was a brilliant find by my client at second-hand rose, a treasure trove in midtown memphis. it had layers of old paint, two gorgeous blues and white under black. (and if this weren’t going to be in a sweet little girl’s room, it would have been fun to just scrape and rub back the original paint, and maybe seal it up with some wax or varnish…but, it needed a quiet finish, and one that was not peeling colorful, edible-looking chips, for its new spot above baby caroline’s dresser.) porter paint’s irish linen (#6908.1) is the base coat, with layers of raw umber and gray-tinted glaze on top. original paint, and after:
(again, just a glimpse now…final “afters” once caroline’s room is done and accessorized.)
ikat
it’s an excellent word to have on your vocab list. literally meaning to knot, tie or bind, it describes an enormously, enduringly popular (cases in point: this new collection from anthropologie, these slacks…and two of my daily must-read blogs, i suwannee and design*sponge, use an ikat accent in their banners), ancient (pre-columbian?) style of patterned cloth. it’s also handy to have in your arsenal when an awkward words with friends tile distribution occurs.
lovely clients of gwen driscoll’s considered using this lively, sunflower-yellow ikat to upholster a bedroom wall and adjoining entryway. when that particular plan was not possible, mrs. jones was paged to the scene. after creating a design and palette inspired by the fabric (sherwin williams’ kingdom gold & lily, on a background of benjamin moore’s moonlight white) and cutting stencils for each different motif in the pattern, several days of crazy-mad ikatting ensued. first, laying on a little texture with an almost-dry chip brush…a technique learned from the master, cynthia davis:
then, after blocking in the pattern with r2-d2 and a little tape, the real fun began:
and finally, a layer of matte varnish to give a cloth-ier look and feel. with furniture back in place, and the mirror re-hung, the room is ready for christmas visits.
(a game-time decision was made to leave the motifs crisp, and not add little thread-y glazed details – to give the impression of warp ikat, to be precise – though on a smaller surface, those might be fun to include.)
according to wikipedia, some cultures believe that ikat holds magical powers. while not sure about that, i will confess there were moments on ladder, juggling stencils, paint and brushes, where i may have silently invoked some (ahem) magic words of my own. and, truly, having the opportunity to learn from amazing teachers like helen morris and cynthia davis is enough to impart a serious amount of stenciling alchemy to anyone.
hold the truck!
two more pieces – the last of the bunch – headed to heber springs for a lovely lake house, these headboards were in my client’s room as a little girl, then were painted and used in another spot. now needed for guests at their vacation home (and yes, i can throw a bag together in nothing flat! really, it won’t take a minute!) they were stripped and given a layered, aged finish to work with the pretty fabrics that lela smith chose. here is the before and after, and the swatches:
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- …
- 13
- Next Page »