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All Things Home

Pottery Barn Inspired Rustic Paint Finish

I’m often asked by readers and customers how to recreate a specific look they like on an inspiration piece. So, when Jeff and I built a trunk-style coffee table for HGTV.com, one inspired by a Pottery Barn trunk, I decided to try to replicate the finish as well. I came up with a look that’s pretty darn close, so I thought I would share how I achieved it… Here’s the inspiration coffee table from Pottery Barn… …and the one we made… …and a closer look at the finish… Can you believe that’s new wood? I was able to make the wood look older by beating it up, followed by a coat of Dark Walnut stain, a light coat of MMS Milk Paint in Lucketts Green, followed by distressing, and finished with Antiquing Wax. Here’s a quick video showing exactly what I did at each step… You can find the tutorial for how

September 1, 2015 43 Comments

All Things Home

painting tips that could save you $1000

Catchy title for a post, isn’t it? You’ll see why once you get to the bottom… I have done a lot of painting over the years…every wall, ceiling, piece of trim and cabinetry in my current house AND previous house. Some rooms have been painted multiple times. And I’ve helped a lot of friends and family paint their rooms. Not to mention all of the furniture… I know how to give a brush a workout. I’ve shared all kinds of painting tips on this blog, but I figured I’d share a few more. Megan and I were painting her office last week and, although she’s a proficient painter, she asked me to do the cutting in where the chalkboard wall met the Gray Owl (Benjamin Moore) wall. It’s definitely more pressure when there is a high contrast between two paint colors meeting at a corner, like in Megan’s office and

August 25, 2015 24 Comments

All Things Home

aging terra cotta pots

There are some people who like things shiny and new. They want to be the first person to own something. They like the smell of a car with 32 miles on it. They want their furniture to be delivered, tags still attached. I am just not one of those people. Unless we’re talking about electronics, mattresses or toilets, I want things in my home that have the patina that only comes with time. Or a bit of trickery. I have a few antique terra cotta pots and, while I’d love to fill my whole potting bench with them, that would get too expensive. So, I have some new ones mixed in. Can you tell which one is the new one? Yeah. It’s pretty clear and the new ones were bugging me a bit. While I had the Ironstone (white) MMS Milk Paint out to paint the sides of the potting bench, I decided

August 20, 2015 16 Comments

All Things Home

step-by-step dresser makeover

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful feedback on my very first MMS Milk Paint “commercial”. It was so fun to put together and I was proud of it, but your comments were a confirmation, so thanks! The bar has been set for the second one! Today, I thought I would share more about the dresser makeover and how we made the commercial. I was always planning to paint the dresser in Mustard Seed Yellow, but I only picked out the dress to create the “story” for the commercial the morning we filmed it. I also decided that day to shoot outside instead of in the studio…another decision that ended up being perfect. The feel would’ve been totally different if it was inside. We’re fortunate to have this amazing old mill right across the parking lot from the studio, so we could literally wheel the dresser over

August 17, 2015 21 Comments

All Things Home

how to sew a zipper closure on a box cushion

We’ve been chatting about sewing lately and I have something to confess. Zippers terrified me for years. Well, maybe not terrified, but I thought they were too complicated and I avoided and side-stepped them. I just made envelope closures on the underside of cushions. And they’re usually held together by safety pins. Yeah. If you flip over the cushions of my pretty French bergere chairs in the living room? And I’m saying this in a whisper. Maybe even just mouthing it… …safety pins. The French wing chairs in the dining room? Yep. As I’ve said before, I’m not about perfection. I’m about getting something done. If a chair needing a zipper is going to prevent me from getting something done, then I’ll figure out another way. I did face my fear of zippers a few years ago and they were surprisingly simple. Almost to the point of embarrassment. It’s sort of like

August 12, 2015 14 Comments

All Things Home

dear reader | to the one who is scared to sew

This time of reassessing my business and blog has been so rejuvenating for me. I find myself flooded with ideas, anxious to create, bubbling to write…almost to the point of being overwhelmed by it. It’s like my ideas are little children who keep interrupting one another and I have to tell them to pipe down and wait their turn. So, I’m making lots of lists and trying to shape them into a plan of action that does involve time to eat and sleep. I’m working on it. One of the ideas that keeps surfacing is doing more series on my blog. Not just individual blog posts, but ones that are strung together by a common topic or tell a story that arcs over several posts. I have three blog series currently underway – how my business began, the evolution of my house (we’re almost done with that one) and Megan’s

August 10, 2015 78 Comments

All Things Home

how to make a chair cushion | deck chair makeover

I’ve been working on my deck off and on throughout the spring and summer and it’s finally starting to come together. I know I’m not going to break any makeover speed records with this project, but that’s life, right? Spaces take time to come together. So, there is still more to do, but last week I jumped a big hurtle – I made new chair cushions for the vintage iron armchairs my mom passed along to me and I thought I would share a tutorial on how to make a chair cushion. They really, really needed new chair cushions. The old ones were deteriorated, mildewed, faded and ripped. They were beyond cleaning or recovering. I needed to start from scratch. The chairs are comfortable and in great shape, though, so it was worth the time to make new cushions. I actually tried to find pre-made cushions that were the right size,

August 8, 2015 26 Comments

All Things Home

one brush. change things.

I’ve been sharing little sneak peeks on my Instagram feed and now it’s time for the official announcement… If you didn’t/can’t watch the video, the big announcement is that Shaunna West of Perfectly Imperfect and I have teamed up to create a brand – Parsons West AND our first product is a brush we developed just for paint-loving ladies like ourselves. This all started almost two years ago. We kicked around the idea of partnering on the development of some products. Shaunna and her son actually came up to PA to stay with us for a few days as we worked on some ideas. Love this girl @pishaunna A photo posted by Marian aka Miss Mustard Seed (@missmustardseed) on Feb 14, 2014 at 9:59am PS We had a pretty massive snow storm and she was stuck with us a bit longer than expected! It was time well spent, though. And you

July 29, 2015 441 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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Pottery Barn Inspired Rustic Paint Finish

painting tips that could save you $1000

aging terra cotta pots

step-by-step dresser makeover

how to sew a zipper closure on a box cushion

dear reader | to the one who is scared to sew

how to make a chair cushion | deck chair makeover

one brush. change things.

next art sale

May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

Now Available for Preorder

Move Slow & Make Things

From the Studio

Artful pieces for your home and everyday life.

From the Studio and Home

Shop the Feed

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