Savard Studios (AKA Painting the Town) Goals for 2013

My head is always spinning this time of the year! What do I want to change this year? What do I hope to achieve? I've always been very goal oriented, looking ahead at things I am aiming for and laying out a plan to achieve it. Last year (2012) was very difficult for me in that many things were out of my control. Because of that, I have let numerous things go in order to focus on what I can control.
I am continuing on that path this year and forging ahead. Painting the Town has always done well and I will continue to work with all my existing clients and any new ones that come my way. My online Etsy store has done quite well for a first year start up. I will continue my efforts there as well. I do plan to merge the two together under the Savard Studios name. Keeping them separate is too difficult and I like my Savard Studios logo. Watch for those changes coming soon! I have so many ideas for my store and not enough hours in the day, but I will keep adding new items as time permits.
I plan to grow my blog this year by adding sponsors, sponsored posts, product reviews and add some product give away's also. I would love to video how to tutorials on my blog, but I don't think I'm ready for that yet. I would love to hear from you and understand what changes you would like to see.
I have numerous projects around my house that I hope to conquer and share with you.
My sun room walls have needed updating  for quite sometime. The lime green metallic no longer works with anything else in the house. Believe it or not it did at one time.

Lime green metallic plaster

This may also be the year to tackle the ceiling at the same time. My foyer ceiling and dining room ceiling have been neglected for far too long. Time permitting those will see a makeover this year.
My bonus room turned studio has carpet that is 13 years old, has been through boys that were 4 and 6 when we moved in, all their sleepovers and friends, sharpies, kool aid and juice boxes (not allowed on the carpet), 4 dogs over the years (one diabetic), numerous paint projects with no floor protection because I finally gave up caring. Needless to say, it is trashed.

I am embarrassed to show this but can't wait to transform it. Since it is still my studio, I want to be frugal because I paint. As careful as I try to be, paint spatters, spills, etc. So until I retire (is that word even in the dictionary anymore?) I will get creative. I have a crazy plan. I think it will be awesome. It might be a total disaster. Make sure you tune in for the process. I promise it will be something never seen before.
And while I'm throwing it all out there, my master bedroom is crying for some new style. It did get changed about 7 years ago. But I never completed the transformation. Three years ago, we got a puppy. The first "chewer" we've ever had. She ate holes in 2 sets of sheets, while still on the bed. She ate at least 3 pillows with shams. She ate through 2 duvet covers into the down comforter. She ate holes in 2 coverlets. I am not kidding! Its been at least nine months since she's chewed up anything so I hope we are done. You can understand our hesitation to do anything. But I think it's time. It's also time for new carpet. I'll add that to the wish list as well.
I will achieve these things in between "painting the town" and painting furniture to ship all over the world. Like I said, sometimes I have to let things go. Might consider deleting this post......

Painted Kitchen Cabinet Makeover

Have you priced a kitchen renovation lately? It's very expensive and extremely disruptive to your day to day life. With the economy and housing market like it is, many clients are staying in their homes longer. With that comes the desire to modify and make a space more enjoyable until the market turns around.
That being said, the easiest way to update your kitchen is to paint your kitchen cabinets. It's not the same as painting your walls, but with proper preparation and products, painted cabinets will hold up as well as stained cabinets.
My process takes about 3 weeks, but only 3 or 4 days are onsite. I take your doors and drawer faces with me, to my studio. There, I can sand, wipe down, prime, paint, glaze and polyurethane the fronts and backs and allow adequate dry/cure time between layers. During this time we also work on your kitchen onsite. You can still use your kitchen during this time, although many wives tell their husbands they must go out for dinner! I'll back you up on that if needed. :) Once complete, we return with your doors and drawers and reinstall everything. It's like a brand new kitchen! Most of the projects I do are between $2000-$4000. There have been a few for less and a few for more, but that's the average range. Even refacing is much more than that!

Here are some photos of a recent kitchen makeover. They left the back splash, but did change the counter tops and modify some of the cabinets.

After painting and glazing

After painting and glazing

Before Paint

Before paint

A simple paint and glaze technique, but such a dramatic change! Of course, you can achieve any color or finish you desire. And yes, we can paint over the white melamine/laminate cabinets. I have done many, with great success. If you'd like to see more examples of painted cabinets check out my website http://www.paintingthetown.us/cabinets_furniture.shtml. Here's another site with lots of great before and after cabinet shots. http://www.r2rfaux.com/faux%20wood.htm

Formal Room Transformations - Final Product

Our team has worked hard this week to transform the three rooms from Mondays blog. I'm sure you've been anxiously awaiting the final pictures. All three ceiling are dramatically different, but flow very well from room to room. The dining room ceiling is fantastic! A warm silver metallic blend with a chocolate glaze. Very elegant!

And the green on the walls is the perfect complement. The drapes aren't in yet, but will really pull the chair fabric and wall and ceiling colors all together. They are a black silk with scrolling leafy vines in taupe, red and green embroidery.

The foyer ceiling carrys the dining wall color along with the bronze from the study and the study drape fabric design. The green metallic plaster gives a beautiful silky shimmer inside the coffering. For the scroll design, I enlarged this picture of the study drapes to print on 4 sheets of paper. I taped them together and taped carbon paper to the back. I centered and traced the design into each of the foyer ceiling panels. Then using a chocolate glaze and a blend of bronze and gold, handpainted the design.

We also painted and glazed the wood trim to blend with the wood front door. Much more dramatic than the flat white before. The final product!

And finally, the study ceiling is a perfect blend of the chocolate, gold and champage. We used the same brown base color on the walls and ceiling. In the tray, we trowelled on three wax colors in champagne, gold and chocolate bronze. This was finished with a chocolate glaze as well. The medallion was painted with bronze metallic and lightly dry brushed with a metallic gold.

With the new uplighting, these ceilings will be conversational, showstoppers. Another happy client! For more great visual ideas, check out my website at www.paintingthetown.us.

Formal Room Transformations

Our challenge this week is transforming the walls, ceiling and some trim in the formal dining room, study/home office and entry foyer. It's a stunning house in a beautiful neighborhood, south of Charlotte, NC. We have some artwork and window treatment fabrics that have guided our color selection.

Here is the before shot of the dining room ceiling. Just a big boring rectangle.

Our homeowners have choosen a beautiful sage green for the walls Benjamin Moore color 2142-40. To add some drama to the space, they have choosen a beautiful warm silver metallic for the ceiling with a warm chocolate glaze. The picture to the left is a sample of we plan to do.



For the study, we wanted some warmth and depth. The beautiful trey ceiling barely noticable as is.

We chose a chocolate brown (Benjamin Moore color HC-73) for the walls and soffit. For the trey ceiling, we chose a multi color trowellable metallic wax finish with a glaze.

The foyer walls we are leaving for another time to flow into the rest of the house. But the ceiling is going to be fantastic! It's pretty unnoticable now. It's a barrel coffered ceiling. But all one color and light.

We are going to paint and glaze the barrel trim to look like wood. Inside the wood coffers, we will use a sage green similar to the dining room wall color. But it's a spectacular green metallic plaster! This sample does not do the finish justice (or maybe it's my phototgraphy skills or lack of?).

This is a trowelled finish and there are numerous metallic plasters out there. Someday soon, when I have enough followers asking questions, I will reveal my sources. This sample shows a beautiful stencil done in glassbeads. We didn't want the raised texture of the glass beads, so we will be using a sheer bronze paint. Once the plaster is complete, I have a custom design we will hand paint in the center of each panel. The design has been pulled from the pattern in the study window treatment. This will keep us busy this week. (Please send massage therapy gift certificates if you are feeling generous.) I hate to leave you hanging, but we must finish before I can show the final product. If you need some immediate visual drama, check out my decorative painting website at www.paintingthetown.us. Otherwise, please check back on Friday to see the finished room transformations.  See after pictures here http://savardstudios.blogspot.com/2012/01/formal-room-transformations-final.html.