Furniture Makeovers Archives | Page 86 of 110

Furniture Makeovers

buying & selling antiques

moving…again

My journey at Lucketts started in December of 2010. I met Karen that fall and she asked if I would like to sell furniture out of her space. Ummm…YES! It’s only been my most favorite antique store for the last 10+ years. So, I moved some pieces into her space. In April of 2011, a pavilion opened up and they asked me if I wanted it. A space of my own! Definitely, yes! In July, just a few months later, I moved into my huge room on the third floor. I finally started to get settled and painted the room. I then realized the space was too big for me to keep up with. I was working on my book and I had to put the retail side on hold. So, I moved back down into the room with Karen, except then I had a dedicated alcove

June 14, 2012 No Comments

Furniture Makeovers

Furniture Block

You found an awesome piece of furniture on Craig’s List or at a yard sale for a great price. You bring it home and load it into your garage, maybe adding it to the large pile of other furniture finds. Maybe you have plans to use the piece in your home, you want to start selling pieces to earn some extra income, or you’re planning to bring it to your established retail space. Days pass…then weeks. You’re stumped. You’re not sure what color to paint it or what style to finish it in. Should you distress it? What kind of paint should you use? Should you test out a new technique you’ve been wanting to try? You have “furniture block.” …and you’re not alone. I get asked this kind of question a lot and was recently asked something along these lines by one of my readers through my Facebook page, so I thought

June 12, 2012 No Comments

Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

nice legs

I have been a glutton for punishment the past couple of days and have voluntarily cleaned out my basement. You have to remember that the original part of our house was built in the 1940’s, so we’re talking a snarl of wires, pipes and cables about 18″ above my head along with masses of cobwebs. It’s dusty, dark, buggy and it had gotten way out of control. So, I organized, cleaned, purged and I am now totally gross. It was well worth it, though, and I’m going to have a yummy dinner and watch a movie with my man tonight. I also finished my milk paint color samples. I wanted to have them completed, so I could bring them to Haven…WHICH IS NEXT WEEK!! Holy schmoly. Here are all my legs…like a chorus line. (Kiss today goodbye and point me toward tomorrow…) Here’s how they started… I still need

June 12, 2012 No Comments

buying & selling antiques

table legs & glitter

I went out shopping on Thursday, mainly in the hopes of finding an island and chandelier to use in my space at Lucketts, but I found three great (really cheap) dressers, a cute child’s antique wheel barrow, some old boards (for signs) and a bunch of table legs. Why in the world would I want table legs? I saw them and at first thought, “Those are so cool, but what would I do with them?” I wasn’t sure, so I left them and kept looking. I couldn’t help revisiting the table legs before I left and a thought hit me. “I could use them to show my paint colors at Lucketts!” Bingo! There were only 11 and I have 12 colors, so I’m on the lookout for one more. I’m leaving white (“Ironstone”) out for now, since most people aren’t concerned about what white is going to look like. I’ve been

June 9, 2012 No Comments

Before and Afters

didn’t make the cut

I had to do a lot for my book. A lot. It was so much more work than I anticipated. Weeks of writing, hundreds of pictures, hours of photo editing, weeks of rewriting, dozens of projects and days of staging. After all of the work, some of what I did didn’t make the cut. That’s a good thing. When I’m writing for my blog, I don’t have to carefully edit myself, because I can write another post tomorrow with new content. With the book, we had to edit everything down to the best I wanted to share and the most important words I wanted to say. So, a lot of great, but not perfect-for-the-book stuff hit the cutting room floor, so I’m going to scoop some of it up and share it on my blog. Exhibit A: A dated china cabinet, but one with really cool lines and lots of potential. I

June 7, 2012 No Comments

Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

Milk Paint Basics

Since I announced that I would be coming out with my own paint line, I’ve received lots of questions about Milk Paint. I’ve made some video tutorials showing how to use the paint, different techniques and the best way to use the companion products that will be sold with it, but this is just a quick introduction for those who are like, “Milk Paint…what?!” So, what is Milk Paint? Well, first of all, it’s nothing new. It’s been around for hundreds of years and has even been discovered in cave paintings and Egyptian tombs. It’s made of milk powder, lime, and pigment, so it’s all natural and behaves very different from its more modern counterparts like latex and acrylics. It comes in a powder form and you mix it with warm water prior to use. It provides a beautiful matte finish that shows amazing variances in the color. Why

June 6, 2012 No Comments

Before and Afters

Say hello to “Mustard Seed”

Come on…what else could I name the yellow in my milk paint line? Yep. It’s “Mustard Seed” yellow. It’s sort of a warm honey, muted mustard color. I started out with a stronger yellow, but it looked more like school bus than mustard seed, so I had to go back to the drawing (mixing) board and I’m happy with where I landed. I think it’s a perfect yellow for a piece of furniture. Strong, but not too in-your-face-hello-yellow. Since yellow can be in-your-face, I chose to break it up with some decorative painting and a refinished dark wood top. Oh my…the legs on this piece. Wowee. Can I get an amen? Once Lucketts is over, I’m going to write a long post explaining a bit more about my milk paint line and where you’ll be able to buy it and when and all of

May 18, 2012 1 Comment

Before and Afters

Say hello to “Tricycle”

Well, I am totally whipped. I have actually resorted to giving myself pep talks over the last couple of days. “Ok, Marian. Just paint this dresser. That’s all you need to do right now, then you can focus on the next thing.” I have made everyone promise to force me to get in bed early tonight. The truck is loaded (I can’t believe I filled a 17′ truck!), I’m finished with all of my “workshop” projects and my dad is grilling some hamburgers, so I didn’t have to worry about making dinner. Tomorrow we will drop everything off at Lucketts and I’ll refill my space inside. I have a few more projects left to work on Thursday and Friday…sewing pillows, making some decorations for my booth, last minute shopping, getting change, making sure my bag is packed…stuff like that. I’m hoping also to rest and watch a movie somewhere in

May 17, 2012 No 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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