Before and Afters Archives | Page 29 of 51

Before and Afters

Wardrobe Makeover & 2014 Lucketts Recap Day 2

Before I get to a recap of day two at the Lucketts Spring Market, I thought I would show a before and after of one of the furniture pieces I sold there this past weekend. This is how the piece started… It was in pretty nice condition and could’ve been used as is, but I felt that paint would bring out the details of the piece much better. Cari painted the interior in MMSMP Shutter Gray and the exterior in Grain Sack. I then came in and added Ironstone to the details, lightly distressed the edges and finished the entire piece off with Hemp Oil. It turned out so sweet and I love the wood details against the painted finishes. It looked great in the space and sold fast! And that’s the whole point! In contrast to the frenzy of day one at Lucketts, day two is more relaxed.

May 21, 2014 31 Comments

Before and Afters

Eulalie's Sky Cabinet

Well, the Lucketts Spring Market just wouldn’t be the same without torrential downpours and some point. Thankfully, we got them out of the way last night and the weather forecast says partly sunny with a high of 68 for the weekend. It sounds like perfection! Unfortunately, though, the rain last night caused a lot of flooding. One of my tents collapsed under the weight of the two ponds that formed in the tarp. Thankfully, the tarp did what it’s supposed to do and everything inside was clean, dry and unharmed. Jeff and his dad fixed it all up, so my mother-in-law and I could have a nice lunch at my favorite farm-to-table restaurant. Jeff’s a good guy…he knew that a day driving to Lucketts to deal with a collapsed tent wouldn’t be the best for me on “Lucketts Eve.” I thought I would share one of my favorite furniture

May 16, 2014 26 Comments

Before and Afters

More French Chairs

We’re on the final stretch to Lucketts. The truck gets loaded today and we’ll set up our space tomorrow. I’ve been working on things and shopping for so long that I’m really looking forward to it finally being here. I told you I have French chairs coming out of my ears, practically. I usually have four or five. This year, I have nine…I think. That might not sound like much, but I feel like it’s a lot. Here’s one I just finished a few days ago…. If you think that chair looks familiar, you’re right! I bought this pair of chairs a couple of years ago and painted them in Shutter Gray with a wash of Ironstone. I brought them to the Lucketts Holiday Open House when I was a vendor there and they didn’t sell. So, I brought them home and used them for a while. I tried to

May 14, 2014 17 Comments

Before and Afters

experimenting gone right

When I have a bunch of “subjects” in my basement, it’s a great time for me to test out some ideas, techniques and new products. I do need to use the tried and true as well, so I don’t end up with a bunch of DIY disasters, but it’s not much of a risk to experiment on a few pieces. Plus, I’ve learned that it’s really hard to ruin a piece with paint. You can always sand it and try again. My biggest recent experiment was on this piece… I got this dresser from the same place I got the Boxwood dresser and the condition was pretty similar. It needed to be cleaned, glued, sured up and straightened out. The top was chipping and had gouges and water rings on it, so I stripped the finish. The wood underneath was so beautiful! I painted the body of the dresser in

May 13, 2014 74 Comments

French Chair Makeovers - Miss Mustard Seed

Before and Afters

the French twins

I told you there were lots of furniture makeovers on the way! Here’s another one… Remember this pair of French chairs? I found them on Craig’s List for a good price and they were in really nice condition. A reader asked why I don’t just leave them alone. It’s true, I could probably sell them as is, but they aren’t really “me.” Why does that matter if I’m selling them? It matters because people aren’t just buying a French chair or a dresser from me. They can buy those from any vendor at Lucketts. What they can buy from me is something with my style stamp on it. Plus, I want my booth to be full of things I love and would use in my own home, not things that are just nice. So, Cari stripped them and pulled out the thousands of decorative tacks to get them ready for

May 12, 2014 48 Comments

Before and Afters

Boxwood Dresser

For those who have been asking for furniture makeovers, well, you’re getting them now! And I have about 12 more pieces in the basement that still need to be hauled up for their chance at a picture. This piece is actually a sort-of-custom dresser that’s already spoken for. I received an e-mail a few weeks ago from a reader who was looking for a dresser in a specific style. She sent some pictures along of other pieces I’ve painted and I just happened to be buying two dressers in the style she was looking for. Jeff and my dad picked them up for me and I gave her first pick of which one she wanted. She picked the one she liked the best and asked me to paint it in Boxwood, but gave me liberty to paint it however I wanted. That was awesome, because I usually don’t do custom

May 11, 2014 34 Comments

Before and Afters

custom-mixed blue empire dresser

I shared a dresser a few days ago and labeled it as my new favorite piece in a while. Well, I’ve changed my mind. This one has knocked the other one off of that throne. I painted it in a color similar to French Enamel, but it’s a custom mix MMSMP of Flow Blue and Shutter Gray. This is another Craig’s List piece I found. It was a pretty good bargain, because it’s in rough condition. The small drawers need runners and two of the larger drawers need to be entirely rebuilt. But, I love empire style dressers, so I went for it. Their chunky lines seem to lend themselves to milk paint. Here’s how it started… The wood is beautiful, but the veneer is rough in some places and the brass hardware that was added was entire wrong for the piece. So, we removed the hardware, cleaned it up,

May 7, 2014 47 Comments

Tricycle Red Milk Paint Dresser - www.mms2.wpengine.com

Before and Afters

Tricycle Highboy Dresser Makeover

I don’t think there is any doubt that I am a blue & white lover through and through. That being said, I have a soft spot for red. Red is such a bold color that it’s hard to not give it a little attention. And, when there is a perfect red, like MMSMP Tricycle, how can I not use it? This piece is a pretty ho-hum dresser. Sure, it has a little turn to the leg, but otherwise it has straight and simple lines. In order to make it stand out, I gave it a bold paint color. I was also being practical. This piece was stained in that dreaded red stain that bleeds through and causes furniture painters everywhere frustration. So, knowing frustration was imminent if I tried to paint it a lighter color, I decided to work with it and paint it red. It’s okay if red stain

May 6, 2014 21 Comments

I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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