Furniture Makeovers Archives | Page 21 of 110

Furniture Makeovers

Artistic Endeavors

prove yourself wrong

I have some things to share tonight, but I’m going to do something I don’t usually (or ever) do. I’m going to ask you to watch this video first and then read the post. The reason is that I’m going to talk about the video and I don’t want you to read all about it before you watch it. Okay? Deal? Did you watch it? Okay, now you can read… So, Saturday morning, I was showering to get ready for the day and I was thinking about the landscape dresser that I just finished. I was smiling at the fact that someone was coming to buy it that morning, despite all of my doubts and struggles as I worked on it. I was intimidated by that piece and I told myself that. You’re going to mess this up. You aren’t good enough to pull this off. But I pushed through it and,

July 6, 2016 183 Comments

Before and Afters

second landscape dresser reveal

Tha second hand-painted landscape dresser is finished! And, would you believe that it’s sold already! Someone came to pick it up Saturday morning. Sometimes I like to enjoy my pieces for a while, but I was really glad this one was scooped up right away. The buyer loved it when it was just a chalked sketch and I love that she trusted my vision enough to ask to buy it before it was even finished. Anyway, here it is… Here is how the dresser started… I honestly loved the wood and initially finished it with Hemp Oil to bring out that pretty grain and patina. It didn’t sell, though, and I needed something to paint. I kept eyeballing it and I finally gave in and painted it. That’s just what happens when things sit around in the studio for too long! If you’d like to see the dresser each step

July 4, 2016 32 Comments

Furniture Makeovers

second landscape dresser | part three

I really should’ve thought of a better name for this dresser than the “second landscape dresser”. Well, I’m still working on getting those creative juices flowing. This happened after Lucketts last year as well. I was just totally drained and it took a while to fill that reservoir back up. It’s filling, though… Slowly filling. Anyway, I faced my fear. The cows. I almost chickened out and left them for Katie, who is an amazing artist, but I knew I needed to do it myself. It was a hurdle I needed to get over. I had started them out as white cows, but realized that was going to be a bit more challenging and I liked the idea of adding some warmth with brown. (Really, I just wanted to avoid eyeballs and nostrils.) Here is how I set up my palette… I usually use top-notch, super-professional paper plates, but I’m fresh

July 2, 2016 25 Comments

Furniture Makeovers

second landscape dresser | part two

I avoided the landscape dresser for the better part of the day with great success. I busied myself with e-mail, phone meetings, writing a post… I was pretty convinced that I was going to mess it up. That’s just the truth. Even though I felt inspired to do more landscape painting, I was really intimidated by it as well. I finally put my paints on a palette and started. It’s just paint. It’s just paint. It’s easier to show the process in a video, so here it is… It’s not finished, yet, but I procrastinated so much that I ran out of time! Here’s how it looks so far… I need to do the details on the cows, work on the windmill, and fix a couple of other things. It’s coming along, though! Jeff asked what the pile was under the tree. “It’s a bush!” If it requires explanation, I

June 30, 2016 41 Comments

All Things Home

second landscape dresser | part one

Do you remember our first landscape dresser? In case you don’t (or perhaps you missed it or you’re just joining us), here is a refresher… It was a collaboration between Kriste and I. After working on it, along with the murals and other hand painted landscape elements we used in our booth for the Lucketts Spring Market, I felt inspired to do more. I even bought a couple of canvases, which is pretty far out of my comfort zone! Anyway, I was itching to do some painting and, since I didn’t have any new pieces to work on, I decided to paint the dresser that originally got a makeover just with Hemp Oil. I have to tell you, I loved that dresser wearing just Hemp Oil, but it didn’t sell at Lucketts and it was just hanging out in the studio, so… Yep. That’s what happens when things hang out

June 29, 2016 28 Comments

buying & selling antiques

on the truck to Lucketts | the furniture

Lucketts week is finally here!! It’s been my focus for so long that it’s hard to believe it’s happening in just a few days. It’ll really hit me when I see my stuff in the tent. Since I have been shopping for and working on pieces for so long, I thought it would be a good idea to post a refresher of what we’ll be bringing. I have decided to sell the tufted sofa! I sort of can’t believe it, either, but I’ve photographed it and loved on it and I’m okay with selling it. I have it priced at $1,200, making it the most expensive piece in my booth. The other furniture pieces are priced from $110 (small tables & chairs) – $425 (large cabinets). I have two hardware cabinets… Both are painted the same and have chickenwire on the door fronts. They are also on steel casters to make

May 16, 2016 115 Comments

Furniture Makeovers

look book two & new t-shirts

I have a bit of a reputation for getting things done quickly. I can crank out furniture and whip through slipcovers. But, I will fully admit that I am slow when it comes to putting out a look book. It took over a year to get the first one out and about a year and a half to get out the second one! A part of the problem is that I can set my own deadline, so I just don’t set a deadline and allow the project to “come together organically”, which means it takes forever. So, after many meetings, e-mails, photo shoots, layouts, font options, painting, writing, collaborating, editing and proofing, Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint Look Book Two is finally finished and sitting in boxes in my studio. Kriste and Heidi did most of the initial legwork to set the style and overall tone of the look book and

May 14, 2016 29 Comments

All Things Home

a new seat for the “bamboo” chairs

A few weeks ago, I traded for some furniture and ended up with these two faux bamboo chairs as a part of the deal. They are very unique chairs and I felt immediately drawn to them, but they were problematic. The caned seat on one of them was entirely punched through and the other one was damaged and sagging. I moved them to the to-do stash and put them out of mind for a while. As I’ve shared before, upholstery is not my favorite thing to work on and I procrastinate. Such was the case with these. Since I don’t do caning, the best way to deal with these was to make a new seat and upholster it. They’ll be sturdier and more comfortable in the long run, anyway. I always hold my breath a little when I sit in a caned seat. I’m just waiting for the day when

May 10, 2016 30 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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