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Before and Afters

All Things Home

farmhouse white dresser makeover

While at Junk Bonanza, we decided it would be fun to shop for a piece, paint and finish it in Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint products, and then offer it up as a giveaway. We did it last year and it went so well that it was worth an encore. So, Wednesday evening, after our booth was set up, I wandered around looking for a good candidate to paint. I found a few pieces that were nice and within my $150 budget, but I decided to keep looking. And I was glad I waited when I spotted this gorgeous late 1800’s dresser with unique hardware and trim for $125… I bought it from The Tinker’s Ware. There were actually several pieces in that booth that were good candidates to paint, but this one was the one and my heart was set on it. We settled up and moved it upstairs

April 17, 2019 38 Comments

All Things Home

milk-painted washstands reveal

I told you I was going to reveal these on Thursday, but I ended up reminiscing about my 41 years on this earth! I loved reading your comments on that post and you brought back some memories of things I forgot from my childhood. Thank you also for all of the birthday wishes. My DMs on Instagram blew up with all of the messages and it gave me the warm and fuzzies. I’m sure no one was holding their breath for the reveal of these, but sorry to make you wait all the same! And here is how they turned out… They were painted in MMS Milk Paint in a custom mix. You can find that recipe HERE. I decided to replace the ring pulls, which were most likely not original to the pieces, with glass knobs. They seemed to work better with the soft blue paint color and the

April 8, 2019 28 Comments

All Things Home

mixing a custom color & fixing too much chipping

The first thing I have to say about painting these two antique washstands is that I didn’t follow my own advice. But, before we get into that, let me show you how the pieces looked before… I painted these pieces in MMS Milk Paint in Linen a few years ago for our master bedroom in PA. They were the perfect size for that long and narrow room, but they looked dinky against in our new home’s higher ceilings. I knew I was going to sell them when I found replacements for them. As I was working on the guest room, I found two dressers to flank the bed and that meant I needed to get this pair ready to sell. I could’ve sold them as-is, but some of the paint rubbed off during the move and I felt like they could use some freshening up. Chris, my Junk Bonanza booth-mate,

April 4, 2019 18 Comments

All Things Home

the bookcase & the hardware cabinet

Today, I wanted to show you how the marriage between the hardware cabinet and craigslist bookshelf look in the studio now that the piece had been organized and styled. When I first sketched out the idea, I thought it might work and it was at least worth trying. There was some doubt, though! When the bookshelf was set in place on the top of the hardware cabinet, it confirmed that these pieces at least worked together. The wood tones and the patina on the pieces looked like they could’ve come from the same place. (As a note of safety, the first thing we did was attach the bookshelf to the wall with L brackets at the top. You can see the edge of one sticking up on the right side.) And now that I’ve moved in, I am sold. Even the lamps and ironstone milk pitchers and brushes worked just

February 19, 2019 50 Comments

All Things Home

The Mercantile in Knightdale

I spent Thanksgiving in Raleigh, NC, visiting Jeff’s family. The days were mostly filled with relaxing and visiting, but I did take advantage of my close proximity to one of my MMS Milk Paint retailers (In Sweet Time at The Mercantile in Knightdale, NC) and I spent an evening teaching a milk paint demo and signing books. The evening itself was so special. You know how magical it is when you get to spend time with creative kindred spirits? It was all of that and more. The demo turned into a full sit-down workshop (with several people from the “audience” participating in painting and finishing the piece) and a discussion about creative small business, blogging, and social media. I got to meet so many delightful people, some who dropped Thanksgiving preparations and others who drove several hours to be there. And I had the treat of touring the beautifully curated a

November 27, 2018 20 Comments

All Things Home

two-toned milk paint dresser | part three

The two-toned milk paint dresser in Layla’s Mint is finished and she is a beauty. Well, in my opinion, anyway! Before we get into the details of the finish, if you missed the first two installments of this dresser makeover, you can find them here… Part 1 – Prepping the piece & applying the first coat of paint Part 2 – Using the Wax Puck, applying the second coat of paint, and distressing In this post, I’ll share about applying the Tough Coat finish. Before I do, though, here is the before & after… I adore how this piece turned out. You can still appreciate the beautiful lines and the age of this dresser, but it looks softer now. And I am over the moon for the antique brass hardware that now pops against the pale green. When thinking about which finish I wanted to use for this piece, I

November 14, 2018 36 Comments

All Things Home

little black dresser makeover | part 4 | reveal

When I last shared the little black dresser, it was distressed and quite honestly wasn’t wearing it very well! Blacks and dark colors generally don’t look great in a flat finish and they at least need a little gloss to bring out the richness of the color. This piece was painted in MMS Milk Paint’s Typewriter, so it definitely fits in that camp. There are three other posts in this series, you might want to check them out, especially if you’re looking for step-by-step video tutorials on prepping, painting, and distressing a piece of furniture. These steps can work on pretty much any piece whether it’s raw, painted, stained, or wearing a poly finish. Prepping a Piece of Furniture to Paint Little Black Dresser Makeover | Part 2 | Painting Little Black Dresser Makeover | Part 3 | Distressing In this post, we’re finishing up with a Hemp

October 22, 2018 81 Comments

All Things Home

prepping a piece of furniture to paint

I intended to get a post up last night and then this morning, but time escaped me. The mix of work, family, and church stuff has kept me busy. I still have a few more posts to write about my trip, including our quick stay in Florence, but today I’m going to share a dresser I have been working on… I bought this pretty dresser off craigslist just a few weeks ago. From the listing photo, I thought it was an empire dresser, but it’s actually a reproduction of an empire dresser. It’s smaller in scale and it’s machine-made. It’s still an older piece (probably 1940’s-50’s) and it’s a nice piece. It had been refinished at some point and whoever did it did a beautiful job. The finish is smooth and unmarred. I sort of hate to paint it, but that’s the whole reason I bought it, so it’s getting

October 17, 2018 52 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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