Painter Girl

Buffet Makeover

In December, I told you about the little huge, renovation project going on upstairs at my brother and brother-in-law's apartment.  You may recall, a few of my walls had to be opened up to insert some support beams.  Since my dining room was already trashed, I decided to give it a little makeover.  Today, I'll start by showing you the buffet/server piece.


The only "before" pic I could find was from when I first painted this oak bureau with black chalkboard paint.  The hardware is off, at the moment.  The bottom drawer was broken, so I removed it and painted the bottom shelf orange, which went with my dining room at the time.  I also had a little lime green band around each leg.  Note my black and white diamond floor, which is long gone and about to be repainted for the 4th time, probably this weekend.  I did like those diamonds!

Here it is today, with a sneak peak of my new board and batten in the background.  I kept the black chalkboard paint and added a distressed silver foil finish to the top, framing, and bottom shelf where I keep my wine.  I did find some wooden wheels that are original to this bureau, which I will add, after I paint the floor.  This floor, paint job #3, did not work like I had hoped, so it has got to go. 

 

 

 

Here's a closer look at the top.  The top is sealed with C-500 so it can take some wear and tear, as I use this piece as a server when I have company.

 

 

Here's a close up of the framework and wine shelf.  The piece is a little dinged up, but it adds to the distressed look of the silver, so luckily seems to work.  Next week I will be showing you more of this room's makeover and maybe I will be able to complete the new floor over the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

My inspiration picture for this black and silver buffet project came from this photo, which I found on Pinterest.  I spent quite a bit of time trying to find the original" pin" and who created this beautiful piece, with no luck.  If anyone does know, please advise, as I would love to give the proper credit.  Even though I used chalkboard paint on my buffet, I am not going to write on it.  I just like the look of the paint and the color.  I want to keep the look simple in my dining room, at least for now.

 

A Chance to Win Furniture Stencils!

Hop on over to the Stencil Search blog today:
http://www.stencilsearch.com/stencil-designers/furniture-stenciling/ for your chance to win not 1, not 2, but 3 fabulous sets of furniture stencils from Victoria Larsen.  Julie Kefta,  creator of my website, has posted this wonderful deal on her blog and all you have to do leave a comment on her site.  Now, god knows I can rarely get you to leave a comment here on my blog, but maybe the enticement of some free stencils will get you to put your fingers to the keys. ;-)  Good luck! (oh, and let me know if you DO win)!

Photos from the Stencilsearch blog:

 

 

 

 

Adirondack Chairs Finally Painted

I had this little project on my "To Do" list all Summer, so am happy to finally be able to cross it right off.  I debated what paint I was going to use for these chairs and regret to say, I took no "before" pics.  They were once stained a deep green, but most of the stain had worn away.  In the end, I decided the quickest and easiest way to go would be to spray paint them.

I laid some plastic down on the floor in my garage and set about spraying.  I used Rustoleum Indoor/Outdoor paint and it took about 3 cans for each chair and 2 cans for the 2 ottomans.

 

I'm really happy with the way they came out and they are a nice, bright addition to the backyard!  They have to be left out all year long, so I think I may cover them with some plastic tarps just before it snows.  While this project was quick and easy, I really don't feel like doing it again in the Spring!

Last Job Before Vacation!

I am leaving later today for a long overdue vacation.  I will be do some hiking in Switzerland with 2 good friends, as well as taking in a little music at the Montreux Jazz Festival.  I hope to come back energized and ready for some new projects.

In the meantime, I will leave you with some pictures of this last job I completed this week.  I started out with this white corner cabinet.  My client was having this painted for her Mother, who just turned 100!  The cabinet was made by my client's father, years ago.

Here is the finished cabinet. 

The entire cabinet was first given a pearl glaze.  This wonderful Trumpet Vine stencil is from the Mad Stencillist.

 

I used a smaller version of the Trumpet Vine stencil, also from the Mad Stencillist, for the corners.  The Hummingbirds are from the Stencilled Garden. 

I used one of Royal Designs scroll stencils, an all over repeat pattern, on the inside of the cabinet. This was a fun project to work on!

Lastly, I just had to show you this shower ccurtain that was in this 100 year old woman's bathroom.  How fun!  Her daughter has lovingly surrounded her with cheerful, whimsical and colorful items that automatically bring a smile to your face.

Ok, I'm off for the mountains with no (gulp) computer or cell phone!

Stools finished and delivered

Recently I was commissioned to redo 2 stools and featured this "Before" photo of one of them.  The two stools were to be put in a Laundry Room I did a few months ago.

 

Here is the "After" shot.  The stools were kept simple in style and color so they would blend in with the room vs. compete with the wall finish. 

The walls in this Laundry Room were done with a Portofino plaster in a color called Butter Cream. 

 

Although the details are not visible in this photo, you can see there is a border running around the room.  That border coordinates with the stenciling on the stool.  You can view more of this project in this previous post here.

The cabinet doors were finally installed in the kitchen, so I took a few more shots of my walls I did a few months ago.  The cabinets were in when I did the walls, but the doors were all MIA for quite some time!

Camp, Repair, and Re-Make

It's the end of Day 3 for Mad Science Camp and all is going well.  I have a great group of kids to work with and we are having a lot of fun!  Tomorrow is Mad Messages Day (there is a different theme each day) and we will be using Morse Code and doing some finger printing. 

Camp is over at noon, so I am fitting in a few small jobs.  This one is a repair.  I did this dining room 2 years ago.  The top portion is a sage green Lusterstone and the bottom is Champagne Mist Lusterstone.  The homeowner had an outside faucet installed and the plumbers came through the lower portion of this dining room wall by mistake.  Now, usually I enjoy doing a repair, especially if I am repairing my own work, and have my own notes to refer to.  But this time my notes failed me.  I think what happened
was the client changed her mind about the finish below the chair rail last minute and I never revised my notes.  Anyway, brought the wrong products, so will return tomorrow with the Lusterstone and take care of this.  The good news is my client just had a new baby girl, 2 weeks ago, so I will get to see that little cutie again.  :-)

I returned home and started the prep work on two stools.  Here is what they look like "before".  I did not do this paint job.  Someone else did, several years ago. 

End Tables Finished

This week has been spent catching up on some much needed office work, doing a quick touch up, one consultation and completing this furniture project:

I left off a few posts ago, showing this before shot.  I have 2 of these identical tables to transform.

Everything primed and ready to go!

Completed and delivered!

 I used a scroll all over repeat design from Royal Design Studios on the top, painted the legs and some trim a solid grey tone and did a soft multi color stipple on the raised top row of panels.  There is also some metallic silver brushed into the recessed grooves on the trim work.   A fun project and the room is now much lighter looking with the dark wooded painted.

Furniture Repair

Today I thought I would just show the process I used for repairing the two pieces of furniture for my client.  They are minor repairs that I was able to do while here working on the Living Room and galley Kitchen.  This piece, a deacon's bench, had been chewed by a dog.  I sanded and plastered.

I lucked out and was able to find a base paint that was a very close match and felt I was almost done with the repair after applying 2 coats!

It's hard to see in this final picture, but I did add a little, very fine graining in a deeper brown.  Unfortunately, I was not thinking I needed a high gloss sealer and only had a matte sealer with me for the 2nd piece of furniture.  I applied this, but will see if the carpenter who is doing some other work at this home will add a little high gloss poly to this corner.

 

Next, I tackled the cabinet that had the burn mark and finish that was worn off when someone tried to make the burn mark disappear.  In this photo, I have already sanded the area, filled the burn hole and put on two thin layers of a pale yellow base paint.

The top of this cabinet has some hand painted flowering vines in each of the 4 corners.  The left hand corner was damaged from cleaning with a solvent and from the cigarette burn repair.

I thought I would just trace one of the other corners that was in tact, flip the tracing paper over and transfer into the opposite corner.

This is the corner I traced.  But, then I decided the design was so simple, that it would just be easier for me to flip my traced corner vine over and copy it vs. doing a tracing.

That seemed to work well for me.

I added a few more dark blue tones and highlights, then sealed with a matte sealer.

Living Room Project Continues

 Now I have added the final details to the flower groupings... a little darker blue and some green stems.  There is too much furniture all pushed together in the middle of this small room to get a good, full room shot at this point.  I will try to get some finished room shots on my last day, when I can put some of the furniture back.

While I am here, I am also going to repair two pieces of furniture that have been damaged.  This first piece, a bench, had been chewed by a dog the homeowner used to have.  I sanded the chewed corner and then filled in with some wood filler and have left it to dry for now.

This cupboard was a piece the homeowner bought quite a few years ago.  I don't know where she got it, but it is all hand painted and quite pretty.  Unfortunately, her late husband was a smoker and left his cigarette on the top one day. :-(

Someone took some type of cleaning solution to the top and took off some of the finish, so now it has the burn mark as well as the finish wiped offed in this one corner.

So far, I have just sanded the burn mark and filled it in.  More later.  I have a small garden mural to do in the galley kitchen here and then I will be done.

Furniture Fun

I haven't done a piece of furniture in a while now and had forgotten how much I really do enjoy doing the occasional piece for a client.  My studio is really too small to do a lot of furniture, so I limit the amount and size of the pieces.

I picked up this coffee table and 2 large end tables from my client.  I forgot to take the "Before" shot of the coffee table, so you see it all finished here.  When I deliver the end tables I will get some better shots.  The rug in the photo, will be replaced, so the colors of the table did not need to co-exist with this red rug. 

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The middle panel... the marble, is real.  It drops into a recessed frame.  I have a soft limestone glaze on most of the piece, which is not showing up in the photo.  The 2 panels on either side of the marble are done with Royal Designs Scroll All Over stencil, as well as the raised panels on the sides of the table.  I outlined these 2 panels with a very tiny scroll border from Laser Excel Stencils.

I currently have the two end tables in my studio.  Here is the "Before" shot.  I primed them both out with Stix.  This is a great, oil based primer that sticks to slick or glossy surfaces.  I lightly sanded the furniture before applying.

I now have both tables sanded and primed.  These two tables will be in the same room as the coffee table, so I will be using some of the same finishes and stencils, but have decided to bring in a medium toned gray.  Stay tuned.

Tomorrow I start a new job.  I will be doing some stenciling in a living room and a small garden mural in a galley kitchen, plus repairing some damaged painted furniture, so I'll just be visiting these end tables for quick coats of the base color before or after work for the remainder of the week.