Furniture Makeovers Archives | Page 5 of 111

Furniture Makeovers

All Things Home

blue toile daybed makeover

I hope you had a good three-day weekend! We ended up doing a lot of work in our yard when it wasn’t raining. It was hard, muddy work, but we got so much accomplished! We dug up a bunch of plants and bushes to replace with hydrangeas and hostas, we moved and raked out a big pile of gravel, we built up some areas that were eroding, and I transplanted some perennials to new locations. I even took the time to sketch out a plan and make a list of the plants I need to transplant and purchase, so I won’t be overwhelmed when I go to the garden center. I took a bunch of pictures of the before and our progress, so I’ll share those in another post. Today, I’m sharing about decorating mistakes and the newly-toiled daybed. In decorating, mistakes are sometimes made. It’s not a mistake in

May 26, 2020 49 Comments

All Things Home

parsons chair linen slipcover reveal

I know that my house usually looks clean and tidy in the pictures I share here and on social media. And, I will admit, that I am a bit of a neat freak. I generally like to clean and I love having a spotless, organized, and clutter-free home. But, life happens here. I have middle school boys, a dog, two cats, and a husband who has a higher mess tolerance than I do. Trust me, there are parts of our house that are not pristine! One of the more visible non-pristine areas were the seats of the end chairs at our kitchen table. These are well-loved and well-used chairs and they were looking pretty rough. I was even a little embarrassed by them when we had people over because they looked so grungy. That’s just my own silliness, though. I doubt anyone ever really cared. The chairs are still in

May 18, 2020 42 Comments

All Things Home

parsons chair slipcover tutorial | part 2

If you missed part one of this slipcover tutorial, you can find it HERE. In part one, I show how to make the “body” of the slipcover. This chair slipcover tutorial works for almost any armless chair, but is specifically for a parsons chair with small wings. You can also find the link to the linen I used for this project in that post. So, in this post, I’m going to show how to make ties. This tutorial can be used for pretty much any homemade ties. They can be used on clothes, like aprons, accessories, slipcovers, etc. I like ties for slipcovers because they add a “dressmaker detail.” Since slipcovers are essentially dresses for furniture, it looks fitting to me. If you want a more modern look and cleaner lines, you can always use buttons or even velcro. You can just cut the strips of fabric with scissors, but

May 14, 2020 7 Comments

a slice of life

milk paint backdrops, blueberry ink, & creative community

Last week was the first week that I felt like I was settling into a new routine. The previous weeks were about figuring out this new normal…the stress of feeling like I’m bringing toxic waste into the house when I order groceries or check the mail, the struggle of learning how to do school from home, the worry of the unknown, trying to sleep after reading the news. I know so many of you can relate to the upheaval. But, I’m settling now, just as one would after a move or starting a new job, having a baby, or some other life-changing event. I’ve grown used to having groceries delivered and wiping them all down before bringing them into the house. The boys have gotten into their own routine and have been doing schoolwork with more independence. We’ve been able to treat ourselves with one outing to Home Depot to

May 11, 2020 16 Comments

All Things Home

Furniture Dilemmas | Connie’s Queen Anne Highboy

Let’s talk about furniture, shall we? That seems like a welcome diversion! Today, I’m going to share the step-by-step how-to for painting and finishing a piece like Connie’s Queen Anne highboy…. Here is how it looks in the context of her room… Isn’t that a lovely space? It reminds me a lot of my Opa’s house. And I mean that in a good way, not in a way like it looks like an “old person’s” house! It looks welcoming and traditional, but tasteful and stylish. It’s collected and comfortable. I think it also has something to do with the fact that they had a similar rug and an almost identical gooseneck rocker. Anyway, I love her room! The dresser in the corner was a piece handed along to her and she feels like it’s a little dark in the room and just another heavy wood piece next to that

March 20, 2020 48 Comments

All Things Home

Furniture Dilemmas | Marylisa’s French Chairs

When Marylisa sent me a picture of her chairs, I knew I had just the posts, tutorials, and examples to share with her! If you’ve followed me for a few years, you probably know how much I enjoy buying and reupholstering French-style chairs. Well, I don’t really enjoy upholstery, but I enjoy the results and this style of chair is much easier to upholster because of the wood frame. If you’re considering diving into the world of upholstery, this kind of chair is a good place to start. So, here is what Marylisa’s chairs look like now… The last photo shows an antique linen sheet draped over one of the chairs. She purchased a few at an antique store to use on these chairs. I won’t ever argue with antique linen! These chairs are almost identical in style to the buffalo checked chairs in my kitchen eating area… But I

March 3, 2020 20 Comments

Before and Afters

Furniture Dilemmas

I’ve been working on my second Decorating Dilemma and should be ready to post that next week, but it got me thinking… What about doing Furniture Dilemmas? I know my readers love furniture makeovers and, since I don’t have a studio space outside of my home any longer and I’m not getting ready for markets and events, I don’t work on furniture anywhere near as much as I used to. So, since I’m not working on furniture for me, why don’t we work on it for you? I receive e-mails and DMs pretty regularly asking about what to do with a piece of furniture and it would be fun to bring those conversations to the blog. So, here is how it will work… Send a few pictures of your piece of furniture to me at marian@missmustardseed.com with the e-mail title Furniture Dilemma. They can be wood, painted, upholstered, whatever. All

February 20, 2020 33 Comments

a slice of life

milk paint makeovers in barga

The main reason for my trip to Europe was teaching at a creative retreat in Barga. For one of our creative sessions, we painted an antique chest from the Cordati house where we had our workshop space. We did this last year and it was a ton of fun and a great success. Not everyone in our group this year was a furniture painter, but it was a great creative exercise for everyone. It was a sweet spot for some and way out of their comfort zone for others. As a group, we decided to take inspiration from the painted panels on the doors in the room. The designs are beautiful and they have always caught my eye, so I was excited to paint a piece of furniture using those as inspiration. I took a few minutes to sketch some elements in my sketchbook and to test out swatches of

October 10, 2019 16 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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