Furniture Makeovers Archives | Page 45 of 110

Furniture Makeovers

Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

Arabesque dresser | take two

I shared the first styling of the Arabesque dresser a few days ago. I brought in an heirloom wedding ring quilt from home and we played up the sweetness of the dusty pink color with some fun knobs and cheerful flowers. I think this is a pretty typical way to view pink. But, I wanted to show Arabesque as more of a “neutral” and here is the result… I swapped out the pink and yellow knobs with simple, vintage-looking glass knobs. This changed the look of the piece entirely. The oriental rug has hints of pink in it, but it’s grounded with rich navy and muted beiges. The wood chair and muted gold frames pull out the dark wood peeking through the chipped paint. We used the same flowers as the first shoot, but edited out all but the pale tea roses. I was styling the dresser and asked Kriste to make

December 29, 2014 50 Comments

Before and Afters

say "hello" to Arabesque

It’s time to say hello to another color in our new European line for Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint – Arabesque. (You already met Bergere in October and four more are coming soon…) I’m not generally what you’d call a “pink person”, so this color was harder for me to create than others, but what we arrived at just might convince me to use more pink. It’s a soft, dusty pink with lots of warmth to it, so it’s not sweet or babyish. It’s sophisticated and has a neutral quality about it, even though it’s pink. Of course, it’s named Arabesque after the ballet move. (via dance.net) As I was thinking of color names for the pink, I immediately thought of ballet and knew I wanted to use one of the French ballet terms. Arabesque just seemed to fit…graceful, feminine, seemingly effortless. Notice how Arabesque is almost the exact color

December 22, 2014 26 Comments

furniture feature friday | favorites & link party

I’ve been decorating for Christmas for weeks, but for some reason, the fact I actually needed to shop for presents snuck up on me. I ordered a few things online, but finally I went out shopping and now I’m feeling (more) ready for Christmas day, not just decorating for it. So, since the holidays are upon us, this will be the last FFF of 2014. I’ve been pretty surprised with how many of you have been cranking out furniture even with the approaching festivities. I guess things like weather, black Friday, baking and gift-giving can’t overshadow a DIYer’s desire to get something done. You’re my kind of people. We’ll pick this party back up on January 8-9. Until then, here are my favorites from last week… I shared earlier this week about a moment I really liked in my house. I had tossed an old quilt on a chair to rescue it from

December 18, 2014 7 Comments

Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

tough coat 101 video

We introduced the Tough Coat a few months ago as part of the MMS Milk Paint line. It was a product that was many months in the making. You see, I’m a pretty tough sell when it comes to adding new products to the line. I have to really love them, use them and being okay with them sporting my name. I never planned on carrying a water based poly product, because my preference is for oils and waxes. When I first started furniture painting, I used water based poly and was usually disappointed with the finish. It got so much better when I found smooth applicator pads and even better when I started using my sprayer. I never imagined going back once I started using waxes and oils, though. Then, I had to deal with this piece… I painted it with one coat of milk paint that almost all

December 17, 2014 14 Comments

furniture feature friday | favorites & link party

I spent a good part of the day today making cinnamon ornaments, which filled the whole house with deliciousness. It was a fun “craft” to do on an overcast day with occasional flurries. The boys wanted to eat them as an after-school snack, but I had to explain, at least twice, that they have glue in them and wouldn’t be very tasty or good for one’s tummy. I’ll share the recipe and how they turned out tomorrow. Tonight, it’s all about furniture and these are my favorites from last week… I love the detail on this buffalo check chair slip by Shelley of Slipcovers by Shelley. My slipcovers tend to be a bit looser, but I love the tailored structure and the buttons of these! I might have to tighten up my precision and give this a try. Most of you know that I have a soft spot

December 11, 2014 11 Comments

furniture feature friday | favorites & link party

Boy, another great furniture week! Sometimes I feel like I can’t think of a fresh way to express the creativity and great style that I see linked up each week and maybe, after a few hundred (really) of these link parties, I simply can’t. I’ll just say that I’m always impressed and inspired. I’ll thank you for that and leave it there. I actually just picked up a few new dressers to work on. Over the next few weeks, I will be introducing the remaining five colors in the European MMSMP line and needed some “subjects.” Mwa-ha-ha. I needed a little break from painting furniture after the push before The Chapel Market, but I’m feeling the itch now. Kirste and I will probably start working on them next week. Anyway, enough chit-chat. Onto the favorites and the party… This little medical-cabinet-turned-side-table ads such a cute vintage quirk to this space

December 4, 2014 5 Comments

Before and Afters

the sanded floors

This weekend, we finally took the plunge and sanded down our floors. I’ve been wanting to for a long time…well, and not wanting to at the same time. It’s a total pain. It’s messy and it’s really hard work, but I got it in my mind that I really wanted it done before decorating for Christmas and then closing out 2014 and Jeff went along with it. In case you haven’t seen them before, this is what the floors looked like before sanding them. They are the original oak floors from the 1940’s. When we moved in, we removed the berber carpet that covered them and a year later refinished them in a dark walnut stain with three coats of poly. They looked great for a few years, despite the fact that I really didn’t know what I was doing when I finished them. That finally started showing when the

November 24, 2014 59 Comments

furniture feature friday | favorites & link party

This was another week when the entries for FFF blew me away. It’s like everyone is trying to get a bunch of furniture painted, refinished and spruced up before the holidays! Speaking of, can you believe Thanksgiving is just a week away? Wow…yeah. So, next week we won’t be meeting. We’ll all be too busy hanging out with our families and eating pie. We’ll pick things up the following week though. For now, here are my favorites (or a few of them) from last week… Tonya from For the Love of Family & Home made this incredible mantle out of an old headboard. Isn’t that so resourceful? And you would never guess how it started its furniture life. Christina from Phoenix Restoration painted this beautiful piece of furniture in a rich black and finished it off white high contrast white knobs. I think my favorite part, though, is the styling. The

November 20, 2014 11 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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