Furniture Makeovers Archives | Page 49 of 110

Furniture Makeovers

miss mustard seed goes to toronto

It’s been a whirl-wind of a few days and I feel like I haven’t “talked” to you in forever! I wrote all of the posts you’ve been reading over the past few days before I left, so it feels like I’ve been totally neglecting my blog. I’m so glad I took that time to prepare those posts, though, because it was a packed trip and my internet access was fairly limited (I had to pay for wifi at the hotel, if you can believe that!) I traveled up to Toronto to attend the Toronto Fall Home Show as a vendor and speaker. It was a bit out of my comfort zone, but my milk paint line is made in Toronto and I’ve never been there before! I also still get e-mails here and there asking if the paint is available in Canada. Of course it is! That’s where it’s made!

September 23, 2014 56 Comments

furniture feature friday | favorites & link party

Hi MMS readers! Kathleen here from Between blue and yellow. So happy to be helping Marian pick favorites this week while she is in Toronto. So here we are with my first favorite. This beautiful piece from Q is for Quandie, is painted a classic black but I love how she left a few details natural wood. That little mirror on the back just adds to it’s character. My next favorite is this beautifully, feminine piece Anita painted for her daughter at Far above Rubies. I just adore the color and the hints of gold in the distressing. And then there is this genius solution, from The Heathered Nest, for disguising those strange bump outs in her daughters room. These beautiful shelves that her Pop built make this room even more outstanding than it already was. Great work ladies! Here are the rules for our furniture get-together… 1.) Your post has

September 18, 2014 12 Comments

Decorating

process of styling

I’ve been asked to share my thought process for styling a photo shoot, specifically with a piece of furniture, and this post is in response to those requests. I think styling is something that is hard to teach, because it is an art in itself and is based so much on personal taste. As I walk you through my thought process on styling this piece, you might like one of my “rejects” better than the one I liked and that’s okay. I’m hoping that through sharing my thought process, it can help you think through your own process, so when you’re styling shots you can be more intentional with your choices. The first thing I learned is that I am much happier with my shots when I take my time. This means putting the camera on the tripod and connecting it to my computer. This is known as shooting “tethered”.

September 18, 2014 24 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

the perfect place for a gift…

Today I was getting ready for my trip to Toronto. It suddenly occurred to me yesterday that even though I’m driving about the distance I would to visit family in Raleigh, I am going to another country! I needed to call my bank and cell phone provider and get everything lined up, so my credit card isn’t turned off for suspected fraud and I can call Jeff. I also tried on outfits, did laundry, checked and double-checked my list and the usual things one does before heading out of town. I’m bringing some things from my house to populate the booth at the Home Show, so it looks very “me” to my readers. I also had to bring things for demos, etc. We’re packed pretty close to the hilt and my mom and I will be putting our van over 200,000 miles on this trip, so we’d appreciate prayers that we

September 16, 2014 41 Comments

furniture feature friday | favorites & link party

I can’t believe that I totally forgot FFF again! I was very focused on things I needed to do before my trip and I lost track of the day of the week and posted something else. Well, FFF is usually posted on a Thursday, so this week, we’re having FFF truly on a Friday! I’ll be more on top of things next week, hopefully, and will have some favorites for you again. Here are the rules for our furniture get-together… 1.) Your post has to be about furniture. Please, please, please…just furniture. If you find your link has been deleted, it’s not because I’m mean, it’s because your post was not about furniture. You can share makeovers, awesome finds, favorite pieces, furniture arrangements, or even pieces on your wish list! Built-in furniture like kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities qualify as furniture. 2.) Post a permalink (the link to the post),

September 12, 2014 13 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

hand painted empire buffet | take two

I showed yesterday how I styled the hand painted empire buffet as a piece for a nursery or kid’s room. In this post, I’m going to show the piece styled as a buffet… Kriste and I grabbed what we had around the studio…pieces in the studio “prop stash”, things waiting for tags for the Chapel Market and things that are listed in the online shop. I’m learning how much of a “prop stash” I had at my house and I need to bring some things over to the studio! When the famous “cow head” from my kitchen came available again on Decor Steals, I bought one. I knew I would want to put one in my studio space, since it’s become such an icon of my style. (Yes, I ordered a boxwood wreath, too.) We needed something on the wall in this arrangement and this was perfect. Kriste and Leslie (the

September 10, 2014 12 Comments

Before and Afters

hand painted buffet makeover

I have always loved sharing my furniture makeovers here and I know they are what put my blog on the map, so to speak. Now that I have this new space to work in, I’m more inspired than ever to work on pieces in my stash and it feels good. I started working on this empire buffet a few days ago. I shared the refinishing, painting and waxing process HERE. And here’s the end result… I envisioned the piece being very light, with a faded quality. I don’t know why I saw it that way when it started out so dark and heavy, but that’s how I pictured it! I was planning to use the original knobs, but the brass piece that held the glass looked really dark against the pale gray milk paint and “bleached” top. I used some new glass knobs that disappear a bit more and allowed the hand

September 9, 2014 61 Comments

Hand Painted Furniture

empire buffet project | white waxing

I spent some more time today on the empire buffet. If you missed what this piece looked like before and how it got to this stage, check out PART ONE. So, we last left the piece with the top stripped off the finish and the body painted in one coat of Shutter Gray MMS Milk Paint with the bonding agent added in. Since milk paint is thinner than most modern paints, the coverage can be streaky in the first coat if the paint color your using is drastically different than the surface you’re painting. In this case, I was painting a really dark wood with a medium gray paint, so it wasn’t going to cover in one coat. This is the stage where some people lose heart… As with most multi-step furniture painting projects, it looks worse before it looks better. I’ve said it many times; do not give up

September 8, 2014 47 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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