Silk Soft Metallic Paint

You know how much I love painting with metallic paints and glazes. One of my favorite metallic paints is called Silk Soft.  It's a much softer metallic look than other metallic paints. It has the sheen of silk. I've used it on walls, ceilings, trim, cabinets and furniture.
Silk Soft is what I used on the ceiling in this previous post. I used the "Autumn Berry" color  on my kitchen ceiling a few years ago.

I randomly brushed the first coat on then added a bit of glaze mixed with the same color and ragged off the second coat. All one color but lots of beautiful variation.
I used "Asian Silk" on the chest of drawers in this post. It is beautiful on cabinets as well. Here are some cabinets previously done using silk soft. This gorgeous Bombay style vanity was done in "Cappuccino" with an "Umber" glaze.

Metallic painted vanity

 



These master bath cabinets were done using "Pale Papaya" and a "Caribbean Caramel" glaze.

 

 

 

These laundry room cabinets were a boring white laminate. The client wanted to add some color and drama. These were done in "Pumice" with a black glaze.

 



I always finish my furniture and cabinets with a polyurethane sealer to give extra protection. However this product is incredibly durable, so durable in fact, that we tried an experiment by painting an outdoor cast resin stepping stone. We painted this frog stepping stone 3 years ago. It's been through hot summer's and cold, icy winters and has held up beautifully.

 

Although this is a sponsored post my opinions are my own. I am honored to promote such an awesome product. There is nothing else out there that even compares to this product. I hope you will explore their website and the many products they offer.

Turquoise Kitchen Cabinets with Eclectic Hardware on Houzz this Week

When I saw this article on Houzz, I knew I must share it with you. I absolutely love turquoise! Amazingly, it never occurred to me to paint kitchen cabinets in this color. But why wouldn't you? It's amazing!
They used a mix of hardware which is a little out there even for me. I prefer more consistancy in the hardware. What do you think about mixing several style of hardware?
The phone is busy with calls right now for homeowners wanting to paint their cabinets. Most requests I get are to paint them ivory with a chocolate glaze. It would be awesome if someone would be bold enough to paint them this way! What do you think?

Kitchen of the Week: Turquoise Cabinets Snazz Up a Space-Savvy Eat-In

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Pins of the Week on Pinterest - Coastal Turquoise

So I've been following Pintrest for awhile. If you haven't discovered it yet, it is the BEST THING EVER!! It's basically a virtual pin board for amazing ideas and everything cool. Decor, travel, fashion, recipes, gardening, weddings, fitness, anything you would have interest in referring back to at a later date. You create boards and file (pin) what you like.

I decided I would start showing some of my favorite pins. I'll try to stick to interior design and painting ideas, but I'm sure I'll have to share other fabulous finds as well.

It's the time of the year that we all think about the coast. I've found several coastal themes that I just love. This photo is from a website that sells home furnishing and accessories, with lots of coastal ideas. Such a soothing color palette, don't you think? The soft shimmer of the putty colored velvet, paired with the turquoise blue is breathtaking!

Source: zgallerie.com via Z on Pinterest

Another inspiring find was this beautiful tile work! How awesome would this be in a pool bath or a bath in your coastal home! Turquoise is my current color obsession. It looks great with so many color schemes! This turquoise glass tile has beautiful irridescent qualities. I would love to see photos of your current coastal theme projects! Any takers?

Source: imgfave.com via Sandy on Pinterest

Vintage Turquoise Console and Side Table

Console before

Turquoise is one of my favorite colors these days, and it it HOT in the interior design world. I scored this awesome vintage 70's console. Perfect to finish and post for sale! The side table was done in the same color, but was for a custom order. I decided to try a new awesome European paint on the market. I goes straight over most surfaces with no sanding or priming! How awesome is that! It's finished with clear or tinted wax instead of polyurethane or varnish. Here's the before pictures of each piece.

Side table before

Applying second coat

 I didn't sand, but I did wipe down both pieces. The first coat of chalk paint went on easily, but didn't quite give the coverage I wanted. I let it dry overnight before putting on the second coat. This is a photo as I am appling the second coat. You can see the coverage on the first coat was pretty good. 
I love the detail of this console. Very heavy ornate trim. A perfect piece for distressing and "glazing".
Here's the side table with both coats completed.

I used their recommended wax. Since I wanted to "antique" the look on these pieces, they have to be clear waxed first. This seals the paint so that the colored wax doesn't absorb unevenly. I used a small brush to get the wax into the grooves and used a t-shirt clothe to buff the flat surfaces and spead the wax evenly. Waxing was a very different experience for me. It seemed a little more labor intensive than a traditional paint and glaze finish. May be it's just something I'm not used to. I let the clear wax dry a few days, before I could distress the finish. This is achieved with a rigid sanding block and 100 to 120 grit sand paper. I hit the edges and high points in the detail. I even added some within the body of the flat areas.  
Once the distressing was complete,  I mixed a little raw umber with my wax. They actually make a tinted wax, but a little wax goes a long way, so I thought I'd just tint my own. Using the same technique, I brushed the tinted waxed into the grooves and used a soft cloth to move it around and give the pieces an aged look. For the side table, I added a fern stencil to the top. I added some warm silver metallic to the clear wax. 

Fern Stencil

The warm silver gave a very subtle accent to the top of the table. A very nice, unique accent on a popular pop of color, on an otherwise boring table.
The console turned out awesome too. I really wanted to paint the handles red, but decided a bronze paint would be more universally appealling. "Universally appealling"....such an ugly phrase. Maybe I should have done red...   I would love your opinions and feedback! I love hearing from you all!

Completed vintage console

Completed side table

The product I used on these pieces can be purchased locally in Charlotte, NC at Great Walls Supply. Check out their website! http://www.greatwallssupply.com/  And as always, the console is currently for sale in my Dilworth Blacklion store on East Boulevard, and online in my Etsy store  www.etsy.com/shop/savardstudios

Distressed Turquoise Buffet

For my first ever blog, I thought I would talk about a beautiful piece of furniture that I just posted to my Etsy store www.etsy.com/shop/savardstudios  and will also be placing it in my Eeeklectic Town booth at the Dilworth Blacklion www.eeeklectictown.com .  I love refurbishing old, solid wood furniture. I picked this piece up from Craig’s List for $65. It was solid maple and very heavy.  A steal!

 But I quickly had buyer’s remorse. It needed some re-gluing, one of the bullet catches was broken and the hardware was horrible and not a standard size. It was requiring more work than I had hoped. So I let it sit…for months. Finally, I had a vision. I didn’t want to go with same old same old antiqued ivory. I wanted something bold and spectacular! Turquoise! And bronze! Perfect! I found some time to work on it. I decided I wanted the top to remain stained, but it was pretty scratched up. I retrieved my trusty palm sander and striped the top down to the bare wood. I wanted a warm but dark finish. I started with a coat of cedar stain. Looked a little like the original early American style (yuk!) When that was dry, I put a coat of jacobean stain over that. Jacobean is a dark brownish black. It was perfect to tone down some of the red, but still beautiful and warm. I also strategically placed the Jacobean stain to be darker in some areas. I varnished it with a satin varnish. I thought it turned out great!

For the base, I wanted the boldness of turquoise and bronze (love some metallics!).  I used a bronze metallic base paint that’s actually a primer and basecoat in one. One day I will turn you on to my favorite place to get my furniture primer. Of course I scuff sanded the old finish so my primer would bond properly.  I also filled the original hardware holes. I measured and redrilled new holes for the new hardware.  I coated the base and inside the drawers and doors in another primer tinted to Porter/PPG Calypso blue. I used a primer for this also, because I didn’t want to do the bronze inside the doors and drawers. Just saving a little time.

After this dried for a few days, I used a 100 grit sanding block and lightly scuffed all the high points (areas that would naturally wear). I also add some in the body of the doors and drawers and sides. To tone down the blue, I made a glaze using van dyke brown acrylics and latex glazing liquid. I brushed on the glaze and buffed it off with some cheeseclothe. After drying for several days, I top coated the finish with a flat latex varnish.

I searched the web for new hardware, which I found in two different places online. http://www.etsy.com/shop/WenziPlace
http://myworld.ebay.com/alforu2buy

 The final product!

Obviously, it’s not for my dining room. It wouldn’t match my turquoise silk drapes. But it’s available at the local Dilworth Blacklion in Charlotte, NC or online through my Etsy store. I would love to hear your comments!