Furniture Makeovers Archives | Page 28 of 110

Furniture Makeovers

All Things Home

this sofa will be the death of me…

I don’t know about you, but I always start projects with great optimism and enthusiasm. And most of the time things go smoothly. This is not one of those times. Stripping the upholstery was pretty easy, because three of us worked on it in turns… And painting the frame? No problem. I added a layer of batting to the back, so it would soften the foam a bit… And I used the pieces of fabric that were removed from the sofa as templates for the new fabric pieces. That back piece was huge! I happened to have an antique hemp mattress cover (that would’ve been stuffed with hay or feathers, depending on how affluent the owners were) that was long enough once opened up. We pinned all of the pieces in place and cut them out. I cut the back piece much larger than the fabric template, because of the tufting,

January 22, 2016 79 Comments

All Things Home

tufting a sofa | fabric covered buttons

I totally understand that tufting is intimidating. It’s tedious and it can look really bad if it’s not done well. And, if you’re tufting from scratch, it involves math. Geometry at that. So, if you’ve shied away from tufting, that’s okay. You are in the company of many, many other good people who would just rather buy a piece of furniture than deal with tufting. I generally don’t buy tufted pieces for this reason, but this one sort of fell in my lap. It was a leftover from Lucketts last year and the dealer, my friend Edie, gave it to me for free. Who can say no to a free Belgian sofa, tufting or no? After eye-balling it for a few months, I finally mustered the gumption to tear the sofa apart and start putting it back together. I’m not a tufting rookie, which is probably why I’m not eager to tackle

January 20, 2016 23 Comments

All Things Home

farmhouse white ticket & reviving old metal

If you haven’t noticed, I am just a little excited about our new MMS Milk Paint color, Farmhouse White. I’ve been into white lately, anyway, but I’m just so in love with the tone and coverage of this paint. It’s a winner. Launching the color in the usual way just didn’t seem like enough. I got this idea that it would be fun to offer a “golden ticket” style giveaway as we launch this color. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy a scavenger hunt? A hidden surprise tucked into a product? The suspense of opening each bag, thinking it might be the one! So, somewhere out in the US, there are two $250 USD Farmhouse White Tickets hidden in two bags of Farmhouse White milk paint! The ticket will work like a gift card that you can spend on any MMSMP products, colors, finishes, brushes, etc. that you want. AND, we don’t want

January 17, 2016 26 Comments

All Things Home

tufted sofa progress

I have a lot of “business-y” things on my to-do list for the month, so it’s important that I balance it out with creative work…projects that are fun for me to work on, take pictures of, and share here on the blog. I’m trying to resist the urge to buy new things and, instead, work on pieces that have been hanging out in the studio for a while, waiting for a makeover. So, Kriste, Katie (I’ll tell you about her in a minute) and I have been picking away at the sofa for a couple of days, stripping off the circa 1980’s blue and mauve fabric that is reminiscent of fabric you’d find on dentist office chairs. It looked okay at a quick glance, but it was stained and the cushion fabric is worn in several places. It’s a fantastic Belgian-made sofa with a sturdy frame and good guts, so

January 15, 2016 27 Comments

All Things Home

milk paint 101 | first coat & the ugly stage

Sorry that it’s been over a month since I last posted in the milk paint 101 series! I like blog series, because they help me focus my writing efforts, but I am still Marian and I still get distracted. So, let’s continue. But first, here are links to the first three parts of this series, in case you missed them… part 1 | what is milk paint? part 2 | how to mix milk paint part 3 | surface prep And now you’ve brushed on your first coat of milk paint and you’re pretty certain you’ve destroyed your piece of furniture. Because it looks something like this… I’ve talked about the ugly stage before. It’s just a thing with makeovers. It’s the part of the makeover when you have foil all over your head or when the entire contents of your closet are on your floor. It gets worse before it gets better. The key

January 13, 2016 21 Comments

a slice of life

Vintage Whites Market Recap

When much of a business is done online and from home, it’s easy to be a hermit. I’m a bit of a homebody and, while I’m an outgoing person, I just like staying home. I like being in my studio, creating. But, there are some opportunities that are worth the “disruption”. When I was invited to The Vintage Whites Market by the co-founders Jana and Vanessa, I knew immediately that I wanted to go. I was easily able to persuade Jeff, because it was in Colorado (and he loves Colorado.) So, we headed out last Thursday for Denver. Though the weather was cold and snowy (making it so we didn’t see mountains until we left on Sunday), the event and everything about it did not disappoint. Ruffles and twinkle lights for days… The venue was packed with creative people and pretty things. And I saw some familiar faces… …and a lot

January 12, 2016 34 Comments

Furniture Makeovers

Farmhouse White is HERE

I am so pumped today to announce that Farmhouse White, the color I’ve been in love with for months, is finally available!! My retailers are able to order the paint today and it will be hitting stores as soon as they receive their orders. This is not a required color for our retailers to carry, so make sure to call ahead for availability. You can your nearest local or online retailer HERE. So, what’s the big deal with this color? I’ve been using it a lot lately and, in my opinion, it really is the perfect white. Not too warm, not too cool, not too “off” white and there’s another bonus… Farmhouse White addresses the chief issue when using white – coverage. Whites, in general, require more than one coat of paint and I wrote about that HERE. When I first tested out this custom-mixed color, I immediately noticed how much better

January 11, 2016 23 Comments

Furniture Makeovers

beeswax, lavender wax & typos

I’ve mentioned Farmhouse White, the new MMSMP color we’re launching in January of 2016, a few times, but we also have some other new products coming out. One that’s been in the works for a long time is the 100% Beeswax finish… I tested it out years ago, before we launched the paint line, but I wanted to start very small, so we just launched with two waxes and the hemp oil as finish options. Now that we’ve grown beyond all expectations, we’re constantly considering, testing and developing new products we can add to the line. But we don’t want to add more just to add more. We want to add products that complement the line and brand well and ones that will address the requests of our retailers and customers. It was all of these considerations that brought me to revisit the 100% Beeswax finish. So, the #1 question is, “How

December 23, 2015 45 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.

next art sale

May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

Now Available for Preorder

Move Slow & Make Things

A book about creativity, intention, and making things with care. Sign up to receive updates, preorder details, and exclusive bonus content.

From the Studio

Artful pieces for your home and everyday life.

From original paintings and art prints to Pup Club releases and curated goods, each piece is created or chosen to bring warmth, creativity, and character into your home.

From the Studio and Home

Shop the Feed

A handpicked collection of items styled and shared throughout posts, projects, and social feeds. Every product is thoughtfully chosen to reflect a timeless, collected aesthetic.