Octagon Metallic Ceiling

Last week, we had the opportunity to transform an amazing octagon tray ceiling. It was in a study halfway up the stairs between the first and second floor. A dramatic ceiling, in a dramatic room in a beautifully dramatic home.

Gold and Champagne Metallic Waxed Ceiling

Black accents were scattered throughout the home, so we started with a black base.

We decided to use gold and champagne metallic waxes, blended and trowelled together. The wax looks milky going on, but dries to a brilliant sheen. I love metallic waxes because they give the brilliant shine of leafing or gilding without the extra labor.

Once the wax dried overnight, we used a chocolate glaze to tone down the shiny metallic and bring all the colors together. It was cloudy on this day so my pictures weren't good and when you're glazing you can't stop too long. Side by side, before and after. What do you think? I look forward to hearing your comments. What cool ceiling projects have you done to prepare for holiday guests?

Don't forget to look for me and current projects on Houzz.com at this link. http://www.houzz.com/pro/paintingthetownus/painting-the-town-inc

I hope everyone has a peaceful and joyful Thanksgiving!

Upcycling Old Furniture - After pictures

So I've been busy this week and weekend completing the items from my previous blog, Upcycling Old Furniture, http://savardstudios.blogspot.com/2012/01/upcycling-old-furniture. I love dramatic finishes so I think these turned out awesome! For the old teacart, I decided to target those with little girls. It's a treasure cart to display their knick knacks, hang their treasured jewelry or their favorite ballet shoes. It's a very unique accent table. I decided on pink, black and silver shimmer for the color theme, with animal prints and Swarovski crystals.The pink paint is another of my favorite products that gives the shimmer of raw silk (once I have an audience of 1000, I will begin to reveal my sources, so tell all your DIY'er friends to tune in). It's a very versatile and durable paint. Not too flashy, but beautiful! It also has a teeny bit of texture, so it really helped float out the flaws in this vintage piece. To the bottom shelf, I added leopard print in a black pearl metallic. The top of the cart is in the same black pearl, but in a fabulous zebra print!
  

On some of the black pearl parts of the legs, I've added clear Swarovski crystals in varying sizes to add a little more sparkle. The ends of the cart seemed a little blank, so I added 3 clear glass knobs on each side. These can be using for hanging small items.

The wheel spokes are silver leafed and topped with a black glaze. What little girl wouldn't be ecstatic to have this in her room!

The burgundy leather french chair was not nearly as old and it was in great shape. But, I couldn't see any reason not to add my bling to it. This was a custom order for an Etsy client, but I do have another chair just like this on that I will be starting on soon. This client loved the leopard, but wanted a french frame design on the back of the seat, with the leopard inside of the frame. She also wanted the wood to be painted black. So, a little sanding on the wood and a few coats of my trusty furniture grade primer and basecoat in one, finished with a satin polyurethane and we were off to a good start. Next, I used a gold wax metallic to stencil the leather. It requires some cure time and some final buffing, but looks fabulous upon completion! Would love your comments on this piece. It's truly unique and one of a kind!

And finally, the upcycling of the old cabinet door. This door was a crackled sample with two different colors on it. I decided to paint right over the old sample finishes in a bronze metallic. I added a black glaze, a smidgen of gold highlights and the words "coats and hats" in english, french, spanish and italian around the outer border. I found 4 vintage iron coat hooks and mounted them in the middle of the door.Viola! A really awesome coat rack to hang in a back entry, mudroom or foyer. Great accent piece for any decor.

Close up of crackled finish

All of these pieces are available in my Etsy store, www.Etsy.com/shop/SavardStudios or at the BLACKLION Dilworth at 1408-C East Blvd., Charlotte, NC.