Painter Girl

Complex Repair Job

This is a job I've had in the works for many months.  Finally, it has come to fruition and I've enlisted the help of fellow decorative painter, Susan Siefer to take on the challenge to work a little magic on "The Wall".  Neither one of us were involved with "The Wall" when it was originally created 8 years ago.  "The Wall" has suffered a little damage on several of the panels and we have been asked to see what we can do. 

We have seven panels to deal with.  I cannot fit the entire wall into one frame.  It spans two stories in height, but we will be mostly concentrating on the panels below the window and directly above the window.  This wall is the focal point wall in the lobby of a large commercial building that is home to 4 radio stations, a tv station and several offices.  Needless to say, a lot of traffic in this lobby!

I have these panels numbered as part of my proposal, so I could designate what work would be done on each panel.

This is one of the first panels we tackled.  Several of the panels are suffering from this peeling problem.  It looks like the finish was applied directly to the wall without any primer.  Since we have no idea what products were used, we need to proceed with caution.

This same panel also has a few little dings like this.

Here's Susan working on the prep of this panel.

Well, not the most flattering angle of me, but here I am working on the panel above the window.  

More next post........

Camp and Repair Work

Here is where I left off yesterday.  Wall still a mess, waiting for me to pull my act together and bring the correct materials to repair!

Tah-dah!  Luckily, Lusterstone is a very easy repair to have to make. :-)

Got to see the new baby again.  Very sweet, sleeps all the time!  The homeowner took me up to the nursery which is painted a beautiful, very pale shade of pink.  The crib bedding has tiny pink roses and there is a pink, white and pale green rose patterned rug on the floor.  All the furniture is white.  She is going to buy an unfinished toy chest and have me paint it for this room.  Yay!  This will be a fun project.

Back at Mad Science Camp, all campers still alive, well, and happy, so I guess I'm doing my job!  Today was another fun day.  The theme was Messages and we experimented with different coding systems and some invisible ink.   I had the kids spell out their names in Morse Code.  They used mini-marshmallows for dots and stick pretzels for the dashes.  Once they finished this task, they got to eat everything.  Tomorrow is our last day of Camp so I stopped off at the local Pepperidge Farm Outlet and bought lots of treats for my little scientists.

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. 

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.

More Repair Work

Here are the before and after pics of the "column" that was added to hide some pipes in the little Butlers Pantry/Bar area.  It is just a cardboard tube.  This is way up in the corner and we just wanted to have it blend in with the walls and not be so noticeable.  The walls are done with a Portofino plaster, so I rolled a thin layer on and also used a chip brush to dab it on.  The Handyman will return to try to patch up those ceiling holes a little more.  It's a very old house.   While I was here, I took some better pictures of this room and the adjacent formal Living Room/Dining Room.  I've posted these photos before, while this work was in progress, but it's always nice to see how it looks when all the furniture and accessories are in place.

That little bar area is located in this long, narrow Living Room/Dining Room.

Next on my list to repair was a small section under this t.v.  I actually don't know what happened here. I think some wiring and plastering happened after I had finished the walls in this bathroom.  The glaze is an irridescent glaze, so it's hard to photograph.  This was, obviously, another quick and easy fix.

Done! :-)

Here is another view of this bathroom. I've posted pictures and a description of this room before, while it was under work, so I won't go into any detail here. 

Today I am off to check out a kitchen cabinet job and to stop by and see how the construction is going at the day care center.

Have a great weekend and see you next week!

Chalkboard Repair

Last Summer, I did a lot of work at this house.  Yesterday I returned to repair the chalkboard wall that was damaged when the door frame was replaced.   The damage was just to the left of the frame, but I gave the entire wall a fresh coat of chalkboard paint.  This is a playroom for 4 year old twin boys and as you can see, they are getting a lot of use out of this wall!  This house is still undergoing quite a bit of renovation, so I will be returning in the Spring, when the dust settles and I can get at the walls in peace.

While I was here I also painted an unfinished wooden radiator cover.  I only had a few hours and the cover had a zillion slats.  It was almost as fun as painting dental molding.  Of course, it needs two coats of paint, so I will return this morning to do that and I might as well roll on one more layer of the chalkboard paint.  After that, I'm heading over to the Beacon Hill house to redo some stenciling that was damaged when a pipe burst and to try 2 new sample boards out in that Master Bath. 

For those of you in the Boston area,  there is a very good forum tonight for anyone thinking about starting or just getting started with your own business.  The Women's Enterprise Initiative assists women in developing a business plan.  These forums are held twice a year.  A woman entrepreneur is selected, through a screening process, and is coached to prepare her business plan and present at this forum to a panel and to the public.  Both the panel and the audience give the presenter feedback and are allowed to ask questions.  This is an educational and networking event for those who attend.  The event is free and open to the public.  For more information, click here.  You do not need to pre-register, just show up.  It typically is packed, so get there early if you want a seat!

Quick Job

I had a very quick job to do this week, so I called Stacy and asked if she would like to join me, so we could get it done even faster.  The owner will be putting her lovely condo on the market for sale soon, so was eager to get this ceiling fixed.  Her upstairs neighbor had some water problems (twice!), so this is the 3 rd time this ceiling is getting the same finish.  Someone else originally did the decorative painting in this condo, but they were unavailable to return any time soon.  I personally, never quite understand why you would not cater to your existing clients.  I did some checking to be sure there were no real problems with the client and found none.  The client is actually a very nice young woman who works some long hours and just wants this ceiling done so she can show the place to perspective buyers!  This picture shows where the water damage occurred.  It was already patched when we arrived, so we just sanded lightly and primed.  It's hard to see because the lighting is very poor in this room, but the entire room...walls, ceiling, trim and built-ins are all done using a metallic strie. 

Because the technique was done in metallics, it could not really be repaired without being very noticeable.  We rolled on 2 layers of the base coat over the entire ceiling, up to this soffit area over the bed.  Today we will be doing the strie, which should only take a few hours.

When we first arrived, I was a bit nervous at the site of all of these paint cans in the dining room!  The homeowner had already given me the colors used, so I thought we were all set on that front.  She was just nervous that she was given the wrong information, but I did a sample on some poster board and all was fine.  It turned out that whoever did the 2nd repaint of the ceiling did not use the exact glazes that were on the walls, etc.  It was a little off.  Now we have the right match. Oh, I see my coffee got in the picture. :-)

The timing was right for me with this job, because I can really only work an half day today since I have to go home and get ready for the opening of the Holiday Tables event in Newport tonight.  Why is it that when I have to go to an event after work I always seem to be doing a ceiling, where I am sure to get paint in my hair? And of course, this had to be metallic paint to boot, so I'll probably find a big glob of it on my arm somewhere this evening!  Well, at least it is a festive silver shade.  I'll report back next week about the Holiday Tables.   Have a good weekend!

A Quick Repair, A Short Day

It's 3 p.m. and I'm happy to report I am back at home with time to spare to get some much needed work done in my office.  This morning I had a quick repair job to do at one of my favorite client's home.  I've mentioned this client on here before, I believe referring to them as the 4 Girl Clients, since this lovely couple has 4 beautiful daughters.  I am always amazed at how organized this Mom is!  She sure has her system down, with lots of baskets and cubbies neatly organized all over this big house.  Plus, and most importantly, she seems to have these girls trained to actually put things away where they belong.  The house is not overly neat, having a warm and inviting feel to it.  The best new addition to the property since I was here last Summer, is a fantastic outdoor pool and jacuzzi, with a small pool house.  The pool is a very appealing shape, not your typical rectangle, plus it has a little waterfall. 

Well, unfortunately, I was there to work, not to swim.  You may remember this fun bath I did last Summer.  All is well with these walls, but across the room, the mirror that was glued to the wall above the double vanity was removed and some new lights were installed.

Well, I think it is going to be hard to see what I am talking about in this picture.  If you look closely, you will see from the ceiling line down to about 2/3rds of the photo, there is a light pink striae.  Then, a horizontal line appears because  this is where the old lights were removed, plastered, the new lights hung.  My task was to make this vanity wall match the 2 adjacent walls that have the pink striae.  To new mirrors will be hung over the 2 sinks, covering most of this wall, but you still have to paint the wall to match the others. 

It was a very straight forward fix.  I just  painted the walls the original base color, let dry, then added the pink glaze, doing a striae technique.  The part that took the longest was removing the glass globes, crystals, and light bulbs from the 2 light fixtures, so i could work better around them.

I took a lot of pictures of this counter top, a counter in another bathroom, plus the kitchen counters because the homeowner is ready to do something with them.  Stacy, whom I often mention on here, and work with frequently, has just taken a course to learn how to resurface such counters.  We are going to get together next week in her studio to make some sample boards.  I mentioned this to the homeowner here, and she is very excited to learn more about this.  I'll be discussing this more in the coming weeks.  Stacy and I will be teaming up to do some counter work, cement floor work, and faux marquetry on wood floors.  We have been seeing a big need for this and already have a good list of customer going that want to see samples.  So... a few days in the studio for us should be time well spent!

While I was at this house, I snapped a few pictures of the 2 story foyer I did about 4, maybe 5, years ago.  This was one of the first jobs that Stacy and I worked on together.  Due to my fear of heights, she did all the top portion on the scaffolding (22' high) solo, while I stayed on the lower levels!  I like this metal wall hanging that has been added.  It's always fun to see how and where my clients add accessories.  Since the walls are still wet when I leave, nothing is hung yet.

Here's the opposite wall, with a nice painting hung!

Repair and Re-group

Yesterday, I did a quick repair on a wall for one of my favorite clients.  While my previous client (the ceilings), is from my favorite Italian Family, this client is from my favorite Greek Family.  I love it when I have an entire Family of homes that I do.  That way, I really get to know everyone over the years and it is a comfortable way of doing business.  It's also just very nice to see Families who live close in proximity and are very involved with each other.  That's rare these days.

My Greek Family have all recently moved, so this will be the second set of homes I will be doing for them.   Two of the daughters and their families have purchased new homes within the past 2 years and their parents are in the process of doing some major renovations to home they recently purchased.  All live within 2 streets of each other! 

When yesterday's client purchased her home 2 years ago, I did a Lusterstone finish in a Sitting Room, along with 2 columns that lead to an open kitchen.  Two big settlement cracks had formed on one of the Lusterstone walls, so I repaired them. 

The good news is this was very easy to repair.  The bad news... I forgot to take the "After" pictures!  I was too busy taking measurements and pictures of 3 ceilings that I will do some future work on.  Didn't I just say I was going to take a break from ceilings??? I'll take the "After" picture next trip over there.

Here's one ceiling... the Family Room.  Another high ceiling, maybe 15'.  I'm not sure what I want to do with this one.  It's very broken up.  I don't think I have another view of it to show you right now.  I'll save this ceiling for last. I'm looking at some border designs, vs. doing something on all of the ceiling.

I would like to see these 3 pendant lights framed out and a scroll design done within the framework.
The ceiling was patched recently and those patches need to be painted first. The ceilings in the remainder of the house are low, just under 8'. The homeowner wants to bring in some moldings, but does not have the height to do crown molding.  Bringing in some areas of framed out designs will give her the look she is after.

This Sitting Area will have a little more elaborate ceiling.  I want the center section framed out, maybe 5' x 6', using the same molding found around the windows.  Within that framework will be something, which I will have to work on a little more.  I have a rough sketch going right now.

I'll  pull together some ideas  over the weekend and drop off on Monday.  I'd like to be in here by the end of next week to do the work since I have some other work scheduled for the following week.  The husband is a former contractor, and will be able to install the framework quickly with no problem, eliminating the wait for a carpenter.

In the meantime, I will also be gathering some ideas for the Parent's new house.  They are on vacation right now, but I had a tour of the home yesterday.  Having done work in their former home, I know their style and what they are looking for in this new house.  I'll probably end up doing 2 bathrooms and a ceiling in the dining area.  All walls and ceilings are freshly painted and the hardwood floors are being installed this week.  The granite was being installed in the kitchen when I was there.  It will be nice to be able to get any ceiling work done before the furniture is moved in.