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Hand Painted Furniture

Hand Painted Furniture

the fate of the guest bed

I knew this day would come, but I didn’t think it would be so soon. We’ve always had a full-sized bed in our guest room and it’s always worked just fine, but we’ve had it in the back of our minds for a while that we wanted to upgrade it to a queen.  I’ll share more on it in a few weeks, but we now have the opportunity to upgrade to a queen, so we’re doing it.  I’m so happy for our guests, especially Jeff’s parents, but my excitement is tempered by the fact that my hand painted bed frame, that I’ve only enjoyed for a couple of months, isn’t going to work anymore. Sniff.  I know. So, I will be selling the bed frame along with with the mattress and box spring. You can read the details on how I painted the bed HERE. I’m selling the frame, side rails, slats, box

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Before and Afters

what I'm working on…

As I shared yesterday, after a week of dealing with a lot of details of doing business, I was really ready to do something creative.  So, I headed to the basement to work on some pieces that were waiting for me. The first piece is a great old kitchen cabinet that belongs to Kriste, my online shop manager.  She’s going to start working with me on some creative things as well, which is exciting for both of us.  Anyway, her sweet husband scored this for her at a yard sale for $10.  What a guy, right? They are going to use it as a TV stand in their new place, but the blue and the decals aren’t working for Kriste.  She likes white, so we’re going white with it.  I removed the hardware, sanded the piece and then painted it in a base coat of MMS Milk Paint Trophy.  I wasn’t concerned

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Hand Painted Furniture

a full look at the hutch

I shared a preview of the hutch HERE, but many of you were asking for a full view of it.  So, here you go! It’s smack by my front door (in the living room) right now, so it’s not in a great place to be showcased.  Now, my usual rule is that if I don’t have the perfect place for something, I don’t keep it.  It’s getting a little tough now, as our house in on the market, so I have given myself some liberty to keep things that might work for our future home or studio.  I have the perfect place for it in the house we’re hoping to buy, but we have to wait for our house to sell, first.  Patience…patience… So, it’s just hanging out now, but I really love this piece. I did paint this piece in a custom-mixed MMSMP color, but had to be very

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Before and Afters

hand painted wardrobe

I realized I had a furniture make over from Lucketts that I never shared!  How in the world did that happen?  Well, I’m fixing that today.  This wardrobe was by far the worst piece of furniture I purchased to sell at the market. I bought it in a furniture lot that included two dressers, this wardrobe and a victrola.  All of them showed signs of neglect and had some degree of water damage.  This wardrobe seemed to be exposed to heat as well, that eventually loosened the glued joints.  So, the back and sides were almost separated.  It had good bones and a pretty shape and I have a handy husband, so I took a chance on it. Jeff and his dad glued, clamped and screwed that wardrobe to sure it up, which was not an easy task.  The wardrobe was a little wonky and you had to pull it

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Favorite Finds

primitive hutch

About a week before Lucketts this year, I picked up a beautiful primitive hutch off Craig’s List.  The lovely lady I bought it from was moving and needed to sell it.  It seemed meant to be.  I got a good price for it and she gets to pay virtual visits to the hutch whenever she wants!  (She is a MMS blog reader, coincidentally)  The hutch was beautiful, but the blue was a touch too bright for me, so I carefully painted it.  (You can read about the process HERE.) I haven’t done a full photo shoot with it, yet, but I snapped some pictures of it and couldn’t help but share them… I’m very pleased with how I was able to paint it without losing the character in the finish.  It really is a special piece and I’m totally in love with it. …and can’t you tell I’m enjoying my

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Hand Painted Furniture

painting a primitive cupboard

A week or two prior to Lucketts, I spotted an amazing primitive cupboard on Craig’s List.  I intended to buy it to sell at the event, but I was absolutely smitten with it and decided to keep it.  Believe it or not, I’m usually pretty disciplined about that sort of thing, but this piece was just so special and I could imagine it filled with ironstone and other pretty things. I actually bought the piece sight unseen.  I was busy painting and I sent Jeff & my dad to pick it up for me.  I gave Jeff “override authorization” if it wasn’t as amazing in person as it was in the pictures, but it was and he brought it home.  The lady he bought it from was delightful and a blogger/photographer and was very happy it was going to a good home.  I actually got to meet her at Lucketts

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Before and Afters

the hand-painted German-style bed

I never really showed off the finished hand-painted German-style bed for the guest room, so I thought it was high time. To recap, this is the German-style hand-painted bed I used as inspiration.  I found it in a magazine about ten years ago and always loved it. I knew the chances of finding a bed like that were pretty slim, so I looked for one with a shape that could work and I planned to paint it myself.  I found this bed at an antique store for $100.  The high headboard and curved footboard were about as good as I was going to get, I think.  It was beaten up and the finished was crackled, probably from being stored in an attic, barn or garage, but that worked to my advantage when it came to creating an authentically antique-looking finish. I painted it in MMS Milk Paint French Enamel. I

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Before and Afters

Typewriter Desk Makeover

…and there’s still more!  Furniture makeover reveals, that is. I have to tell you that I have really enjoyed the frenzy of painting and upholstery as I was getting ready for Lucketts.  With everything else I was working on, I didn’t have much time for it.  Truth be told, I was probably a little burnt out on churning pieces out over the past few years and a break ended up being really good for me.  I’m now looking around at all of the furniture in my house and I’m looking forward to tackling some pieces that have been hanging out for a while.  I’m also feeling inspired to work on some spaces and pieces for others!  I’ve always shied away from that, but I think it would be fun.  So, we’ll see… In this furniture-makeover-episode, I’m sharing the before and after of this desk.  Since it’s prettier, here’s the after

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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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