Before and Afters Archives | Page 31 of 51

Before and Afters

stool gallery

Some days I just need to paint. It’s therapeutic for me and it makes me feel a sense of accomplishment. With a two hour school delay, I didn’t have a lot of time to get things done today, so I picked a small project I’ve been wanting to work on – painting this little stool. It’s in our master bathroom, so I decided to use MMSMP Artissimo. It’s a deep navy blue. A yummy color, in my opinion. Now, I painted a lot of chairs and stools before I realized that I should start with the piece upside down. That eliminates a lot of the awkward reaching and neck strain and paint on your forearms. Maybe you’re smarter than I am and figured that out on your first try! I decided to apply the paint without prepping the piece at all. I had a pretty good feeling it would adhere

February 4, 2014 91 Comments

Before and Afters

the rocking horse – part 2

Here’s what the horse looked like when I received it from Restoration Hardware. I loved the shape, but the wood and finish didn’t have as much character as I was hoping for. I wanted it to look more like one of the inspiration antique horses I shared HERE. Well, that’s not a problem in these parts! So, yesterday I took some time to apply the first coat of paint – MMSMP Trophy. You can read about it HERE. Yesterday, I was a good blogger and took lots of pictures of the process. Today, I hauled the horse to the basement and started working and didn’t stop for pictures. It’s sort of a good thing, because I was in my creative bubble, but it’s not a good thing for blogging! I’ll try to talk you through the process, though, which was basically paint, sand, paint, sand, paint. Now, I’ll tell

January 23, 2014 93 Comments

Before and Afters

living room sofa makeover

I shared the new arrangement for my living room, but I thought I would share an “official” before and after of the sofa. The sofa that was in my living room was a lovely piece my aunt let me “borrow long term.” I slipcovered it in drop cloths and used it for about four years before I gave it back to their side of the family. It belonged to my uncle’s mother and now that I have a steady stream of furniture coming and going because of my business (and that’s what I do), I offered it back to them and they accepted. So, I was on the hunt for a new sofa for the living room. Since our TV isn’t in that room and it’s more of a formal space right off the front door, so the sofa can be a “pretty sofa.” It does need to be comfortable,

January 3, 2014 63 Comments

Antiques

Arranging linens, silver and ironstone…

As I was preparing for Christmas day, I realized what a mess the cabinets, drawers and shelves where I keep my tableware, serving pieces and linens were. After a few years of buying, making and using things for photo shoots and then shoving them in no particular order behind a closed door, it was hard to find anything. Linens were balled up, unorganized. Serving pieces were stacked, balanced and piled haphazardly. It not only looks messy, but it’s very inefficient. I had to hunt and dig for things. I started purging and organizing this fall and have continued with a drawer here, a cabinet there. After experiencing the frustration while setting the table for Christmas, I was motivated to deal with it. I also needed to clean out the hutch in the living room, since a buyer is coming for it on Sunday. So, I started with the corner cabinets

December 28, 2013 56 Comments

Before and Afters

French Daybed Reveal

I apologize for missing FFF last night! My site was down, which you might have noticed if you were trying to link up. So, we’ll suspend our furniture link party until after the holidays. Just save up those furniture projects for a couple of weeks. A few months ago, I bought a caned French daybed from a used furniture shop. I think I paid $175 for it and it was in amazing condition with a full down cushion! The upholstery wasn’t bad at all, but it was a yellowish-gold with a metallic shimmer to it, which isn’t really my thing. The cane was all intact and the finish was nice, so I knew I wanted to leave those alone. I did, however, want to reupholster it. I presented a few fabric options and was planning on going with the plain hemp fabric, but then did a “room reset” and changed

December 20, 2013 143 Comments

Before and Afters

upholsterygallery

Several people asked for a tutorial on the part upholstered/part slipcovered French chair I revealed yesterday, so this is it! This isn’t a comprehensive upholstery post, but it will give you an idea of what’s involved in upholstering the back and arms of a chair in this style. To get you started, you can read THIS POST on stripping upholstery. I didn’t strip the upholstery off the seat and cushion, because I’m going to make a slipcover instead. I had to take everything off of the back and I stripped the arms down to the muslin. There just wasn’t a reason to strip them down beyond that. I salvaged the batting, webbing and burlap to reuse and used the fabric pieces I removed as templates for the new fabric pieces. I cut all of my pieces and set them out so I was all ready to go. When upholstering a chair like

December 4, 2013 62 Comments

Before and Afters

Upholstery Tutorial

December 4, 2013 5 Comments

Before and Afters

family room gallery

Before I show you the chair and the rugs, I had to share a sweet gift I received in the mail yesterday. It’s an ironstone thimble! Look at the little mark inside. And it was wrapped with a paper tape measure bow. I swear, I have some of the best readers. Thank you, Susan. Now, on to the slipcovered chair. Any guesses which one I pecked away at over the holidays? If you guessed one of the green velvet chairs, you’re right! I know a lot of you loved them as is and I’ve used them that way for a while, but it was time to change them up. I don’t mind a touch of green in the paintings and from the boxwood, but I’m trying to de-green a bit. Here’s the result… I know you perfectionists are looking at that crooked piece in the front. You know who you

December 3, 2013 57 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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