Grand Two Story Ceiling

Some people think ceilings should just be ceiling white. Those people are wrong. If you've never seen a ceiling finished in a soft metallic decorative finish or faux finish, you may feel the same way. Once you've done one ceiling, you want them all done. It's highly addictive, like cocaine or heroin. We've considered adding warning lables to our business cards. Warning "Women who are pregnant or nursing should not have a faux finish in your home, because you will want more and more and then you won't be able to send your baby to college". OK, maybe I'm exagerating. We're not that expensive and it's fabulous to have your entire home done....tastefully.

Ceiling before

So this client has a two story ceiling. She wanted a metallic finish to reflect some light and to lighten the walls. This is the dramatic transformation.

First layer of tan silk paint, brushed randomly

This is the final ceiling with a ragged glaze of a slightly darker color silk paint. Very subtle but it definitely makes an impression when you walk into the foyer. I will be making some changes in the following months to my blog. I'm getting closer to my goal to be able to revel my special vendors. If you have do-it-yourselfer friends and family, please encourage them to follow my blog and comment as they like. Most of my products, I don't buy locally, so it will be a tremendous resource for those looking to get professional results on their own.

You can see more examples of my finishes at www.paintingthetown.us. Thanks so much for following and sharing!

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

Elegant Dining Room Transformation

One of my clients recently retired to a lovely ground floor condo. The only problem was that there is no window in the dining room.

Dining Room Before

So while many dining rooms are beautiful with rich, bold colors, that wasn't an option for her. We decided to stay neutral and light, and pull in a metallic finish to reflect any available light.The ceiling is a fabulous, simple finish in one of my favorite metallic paints. It's not Las Vegas shiny, but instead leaves one thinking of the shimmer of fine silk. Simple and elegant for any room. Our first ceiling layer is brushed on randomly.

The second layer is mixed with a bit of glaze and smooshed around with a rag.

The walls are done in a similar neutral color, but in a metallic plaster. The first layer moves along much better with two people. One person trowels on a thin coat in 3' X 3' sections. The second person, wearing gloves, creates a stried vertical pattern using their fingers.

Once complete, the wall has very slight vertical texture.

The next step is also done in a metallic plaster in a lighter tone than the base layer. This is scraped on tightly with a spatula. This is the finished wall!

The finished room after pulling tape.

To see more finishes like these, check out my website at www.paintingthetown.us.

Silver Leafed 1900's Chest of Drawers

As you all know, I love to bling out some furniture! I found this fabulous old chest of drawers that needed a facelift. (Or maybe just a little "faux-tox".) 

As always, I wasn't sure what direction I wanted to take it. After weeks of consideration on how to revamp this piece, I decided "I yam what I yam, so I'm going silver foil with a slight tarnished look". I call it champagne leaf, because it's not bright silver, but a slightly warmer version like the color of fine champagne. The final picture is at the end but photos do not do this finish justice. It just glows with beauty in person! I sanded this piece in preparation for a tinted primer. I wanted little "cracks" of color to break through the silver in random areas, as well as where some of the square sheets come together. For me, the distressed feel adds to the beauty of the silver leafed finish. Some prefer a totally solid silver finish as well. To save a step, I used a brown tinted primer.

Brown primed dresser drawers



I then added my leafing size on this. Size is what dries sticky so the leafing sheets adhere to the surface. Oil tends to level and give a smoother finish. I use a water base since I prefer that aged, imperfect look. This goes on milky, but dries shiny and clear.

Dry size for foiling

Once dry, I added the silver sheets one at a time. Silver leafing is very shiny!

Once this step was complete, I added a chocolate toned oil glaze to tweek the silver tone. The hardware was in  decent shape, but I decided I just wanted it to be gloss black. I sprayed with a glossy black that was for direct to metal finishes. The final product!! Would love to hear what you think!

Antiqued silver leafed 1900's dresser

I currently have this dresser in my Blacklion Booth in Dilworth www.eeeklectictown.com  and in my Etsy store online http://www.etsy.com/listing/96779441/silver-leafed-chest-of-drawers-vintage. 

French Chair and Crackled Lamp Transformation

So I finally found some time to transform the other burgundy leather French chair I aquired in January. One was for a custom order you may remember from a previous post http://savardstudios.blogspot.com/2012/01/upcycling-old-furniture-after-pictures.html . This one I decided to give a Hollywood Regency feel. I used  a wax metallic in an antique gold finish. The process is very simple. You rub it on, let it dry then buff to a high sheen. It seals itself and doesn't require primer. I used this on all of the wood frame of the chair. This is also what I used on the leather to stencil the leopard print. So heres a before shot, in process and the finished piece.

Complete Royal French Chair! Everyone needs one!

As always, this chair is currently in booth #409 Eeeklectic Town at the Dilworth Blacklion and online in my Etsy store. www.etsy.com/shop/savardstudios  Free local delivery!

I also had another challenging little project for one of my clients. She had a lovely pair of crackled finish outdoor lamps. The finish was coming off in sheets. 

So rather than replace them, she asked me if I could redo them. Since I never say no, I took them home. You would think since so much of the finish was peeling, it would have been super easy to get the balance of the paint off. Wrong. I used a green, environmentally friendly paint stripper. I finally had to enlist the help of my husband's eternal patience and muscle. He finally prepped them down to the metal!
I used a "green" metal primer from one of my favorite online vendors. I used a dark brown because I wanted it to show through the cracks. The picture is one coat, but I did two coats.

I used a crackle size (which is what makes the cracking paste crack) from another fav online vendor. I randomly applied it so that I wouldn't have cracking all over. The shiny, darker areas in the picture have size on them.

After the size dried, I applied my tinted crackle paste. It comes white, so I added a little raw umber to tone it down.

After drying, this is how it looked! Cracked beautifully!

It still needed to be toned down and given some dimension. I mixed a glaze in a dark putty color and appilied it all over the lamp, wiping it off to soften the effect.

Once dry I applied 3 coats of exterior sealer. Lots of layers and labor, but we saved the lamps from the landfill and now they are just as beautiful as before!

Blooming Wisteria

So I know I always write about painting stuff, but I just had to share these glorious photos of the wisteria blooming in our back yard this week. We planted this beautiful weed 11 years ago. We had alway intended to create a large arbor for it to grow on, but everything we read said wisteria can crush structures. So we just keep it pruned like a small tree. It was a transplant from one that my mother had in her yard. We just love it! Even though it has to be pruned heavily several times a year and it grabs the small children as they walk by, we just love the scent of the spring blooms. The purple color is amazing!

I took this photo a few days later. The purple of the wisteria behind the glowing red of a recently planted Japanese Maple. Great inspiration for color on an accent piece of furniture or wine glasses! I would love to see photos of YOUR gardens in bloom! Feel free to send in your best!

French Side Table and Whimsical Coat Rack

A couple of other small, upcycled projects completed recently, include an awesome side table perfect for that Paris style apartment and an old, solid wood cabinet door upcycled into a fun coat and hat rack with an inspirational Dr.Suess quote. I also did the top of an old Duncan Phyffe drum style table. I painted it to look like my favorite distressed clockface. I completed that for "Remember Me Antiques". Scott and Dara have a great little antique shop in Monroe, NC. You can check out their stuff and follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/remembermeantiques . Both side tables were transformed using the same paint colors. Typical preparation included rough sanding, wiping down dust and priming. There are some new products out there that allow you to skip these steps. I'm still old school on this process, but will be doing some pieces in the near future using these products. If you are a DIYer, make sure you follow by email so you don't miss this. My basecoat is a satin finish, antique white. A little creamy and warm, not bright and harsh. For the clock table, I printed out my Roman numerals on the computer in the size that I felt was appropriate, using Times Roman font.

Clockface table in process

I also used the font Harrington for the word Paris to go on the side table. Using carbon paper, I duplicated the letter/numbers onto each table. Carbon paper is  my new favorite way to duplicate text. It works very well. The scrolling around the border of the Paris table was hand painted, but you could also use carbon paper for that also. Below picture is before distressing and glazing. Next, I always love to add a little distressing! A firm sanding block with a touch here and there. Lovely French country, cottage chic style.

Paris table before distressing and glazing

Once I am satsfied with the distressing, I rub on a chocolate glaze. It further tones the white and makes the text and distressing a little more subtle. I finish it off with a 50/50 blend of my favoirite flat and satin varnish. You can see the dramatic change below after the distressing and glazing on both tables. I hope these transformations inspire you to transform and old piece of furniture you have or allow me to breathe new life into it for you.

Completed Paris table!

Clockface table after

Clockface table after



The coat and hat rack was a similar process, except that the old door had been used as a crackled finish sample for a client and it needed to be freshened up. It had been previously prepped and painted so I just added a fresh basecoat in a canvas white color. My crackled texture was still visible which was perfect. I envisioned a little more drama and color, so I did a soft wash of a champagne metallic glaze and a very soft wash of an aqua glaze. Overall, still going for creamy neutral, but with a pop of fun color! I found an inspiring Dr. Suess quote that I wanted to wrap the border on the hat rack. "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.." I found a whimsical font called Viner Hand that I printed in the appropriate size. Using my new favorite carbon paper, I traced the quote around the border.

Tracing text onto coat rack

Text imprint on coat rack

Once the I had the border imprint, I used a sheer champagne metallic wash with some chocolate glaze to fill in my text. The effect is slightly dimensional.

I also added the metallic on the higher points of the cabinet detail. Once dry, I polyurethaned the coat and hat rack. I found some slightly whimsical hardware. I tweeked the color of the hanger hardware by adding a little of my champagne metallic. I measured and lined up the coat hangers, drilled my holes and installed. I also added two D ring hooks on the back for hanging. I though it turned out great! You can also see these items in my online shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/savardstudios .  Thanks so much for looking!