Feature Friday: Tuckerized Chalk Paint Chairs

I can't seem to get my Feature Fridays in on time.  Probably a combination of new baby, moving,(California here we come, right back where we started from) and some very exciting behind the scenes stuff here at Maison we'll be debuting soon.

Before I begin:  We're running a sale for Memorial Day weekend.  Save 20% with promo code mem2013.  Now through Monday!  Onto the feature!

I'm taking a much needed break from the chaos to show you this transformation.  It is amazing.  I want to stop everything I'm doing and try it out right now.  I have a lot of willpower, but I am crumbling. 

I present to you:  Chalk Paint Chairs, courtesy of Dana and Brooks Tucker. 

No, they didn't just refinish the arms and legs with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  They painted the chair fabric itself. 

Their method was informed by this blogpost over at Hyphen Interiors.  The short of it is:  They misted the chairs with straight water thoroughly.  Then they took a 50% mix of Annie Sloan Paris Grey and Water and painted the fabric.

They repeated this process a total of 3 times to get a finished coat that looks like this.

Then they painted a nice feedsack stripe on both the back and seat. 

It actually looks great just like this, but they put our lovely Jonas Schroder stencil on the seatback as well.  The result is marvelous.

The also rehabbed another chair, same way, using our Family and Friends simple stencil.  This one we ran as a freebie about six months ago.  We'll be adding it for purchase soon!

These came out so, SO great!  If you want to check out the Tucker's more in depth post, please click here.  Here's a link to their main website, they do amazing faux painting work. 

Feature Friday: The Teal Sideboard

Happy belated Halloween!

We had a great day.  Took my little one trick-or-treating for the first time.  Here in our part of Oregon, most kids trick or treat at shops because our neighborhoods have some really steep hills.  So I took him downtown and indulged him in some candy.  Kids love tootsie rolls, who knew?

He was a pilot!   I cheated, he already had the bomber jacket, but between working on stencils, traveling so much, and having a little one on the way, I really let my costume planning slide this year.  Next year, I'll make something awesome I swear.

In other news, I have a stunning feature for you today.

Juniper Hills Antiques in Connecticut is a terrific client of ours and they've transformed some gorgeous pieces with their chalk paint skills and our stencils.  I wanted to show you guys this teal sideboard they did.

Completely beautiful.  I love how understated the Hotel De L'Avenir stencil is.  Any darker and I think the graphic would overpower the piece, but it has the perfect degree of aging. 

I also really like that the top was left natural wood.  Great contrast. 

Here's a pic with the door open.  Some generous storage there!  As the owner of an old home (West Coast old anyway!) I often wonder, did people in Astoria not own stuff in 1919?  Where did they put it all?  We have a Craftsman, but no cool built-ins sadly and our closets were built for hobbits so storage is an eternal struggle.  Storage pieces like this that are utilitarian and beautiful are terrific.

You've got to check out Juniper Hill Antiques.  They've got a great blog, website, and facebook. 

Here's a link to the original post about this item.

That's all we have for this week.  We'll be back on Wednesday for a sweet Etspiration!

Feature Friday: The Lucas Moller Bench

Happy Friday!

It's such a dreary Oregon day here in Astoria today, hoping some of you have a slice of sun left.  I've got a lovely feature for you today courtesy of Rhoda at Blue Creek Home.

She rehabbed a cute little bench using some know-how and one of our stencils.

I love the distressed paint!  She used canvas for the upholstery and then tea stained it for a vintage look.

Then she applied our popular Lucas Moller stencil with grey paint to give it that grainsack look.  I love the way it came out!

Lucas Moller can be found in our feedsack section of the website, which you can access here. 

Here's the original post for this bench, it went to live at the Old Bank Antiques Mall with some equally beautiful pieces. 

Blue Creek Home has a great blog, which you can check out here. 

She also sells on Etsy and had some super cool made and found objects.  Check it out here. 

Feature Friday: The Bordeaux Headboard

Hi Readers!

Sorry for the late post, we've been so busy lately!  I wanted to show you another in-house project Laura did.  We have a wonderful client who requested a custom design of a Bordeaux Wine Label.  Well we designed it all and cut it and the first version turned out to be an "oops" stencil where we goofed up on an R.  Now we couldn't send it with a flaw like that, so we had to redo the stencil and mail that version. 

That left us with a 99.9% perfectly great 24x24 stencil, which seemed terrible to just toss in the trash.  So Laura decided to redo the headboard in one of her bedrooms with it.  Check it out.

Great, right? 

Here's how she did it, wish I had a few more process pics for you!

She roughed up the headboard with sandpaper so the paint would adhere better (it was just a plain wooden headboard).  Then she glued on the scallop-work that's at the top and bottom corners.  (I call that stuff gingerbread, not sure if it has an actual name). 

She painted an undercoat with a taupe base color.  Then she applied Folk Art Crackle Medium.   Next came that deep blue top coat.  She sanded the edges to expose some of the taupe base coat and then stained the edges with a wood stain.   The gingerbread got a coat of Folk Art metallic bronze paint. 

That left her at this point.  Do you see how cloudy the top coat is right now?  There are a few options to rectify that.  You can spray on sealer, which we have done many times.  I have problems with spray paint and so does Laura.  I have a really heavy hand and I almost always get a blotchy seal and drips from spray paint.  What Laura did here was brush on Modge Podge for a sealant and it worked great. 

Big difference, right? 

We just loved this custom, so we wanted to share with you.  This is an exclusive design and not for resale, but if you are ever interested in having custom work done, just shoot us an email. 

Hope the rest of your weekend is swell.  I'm sitting here getting caught up on work and listening to Ray Charles.  Doesn't get much better than that!  :)

Etspiration Wednesday: Chalk Paint

I can't believe we've had this blog for three months and haven't done an Etspiration about Chalk Paint.  Now I know 99% of you just nodded your head in agreement.  For the 1% of you who asked, "What is Chalk Paint?"  I will briefly explain that Chalk Paint is goodness in a can.  You can check out the official website here, but the short version is that it's a specially formulated paint which you can thin with water to use as a wash or thicken to apply as an impasto.  It is remarkably flexible and lends itself especially well to mimicking the look of aged items.  It gives paint the perfect patina.  So that drab oak table you found at a garage sale can end up looking like it was sitting in some Paris apartment holding a classy Mademoiselle's teacup.

A few of our Feature Friday items have been crafted using Chalk Paint, including The Schoolhouse Cabinet and The Feedsack Stripe Table.  We're always on the lookout for other great features.  If you'd ever like your stencil project showcased on the blog, just drop us an email.

Here's a small sampling of some great items on Etsy that are finished using Chalk Paint.

1A:  Victorian Pedestal Rocker Image Courtesy JunkDrawerDivas
1B:  Farmhouse Country Cottage Pantry Server Image Courtesy StiltskinStudios
1C:  Duck Egg Blue Pedestal Cloche Image Courtesy ShabbyDecor
1D:  Nest With Graphic Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils

The Pantry Server in 1B is really terrific.  You've got to visit the Etsy page for a better look.  My tiny picture does not do it justice. 

2A:  Peacock Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
2B:  French Provincial Drum Table Image Courtesy Seases
2C:  Instant Wall Collection Turquoise Image Courtesy LoriAndTheLittleBird
2D: Hand Painted Yellow Mirror Image Courtesy SummerWindInteriors

That yellow mirror is truly stunning.  SummerWindInteriors also has it in aqua, which I love.  One of my favorite colors.

3A:  Antiques Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
3B:  Cottage Chic Roll Top Desk Image Courtesy ArtByJuliet
3C:  Yellow  Curved Leg Foot Stool Image Courtesy cabinintheheartland
3D:  Aqua and Yellow Cane Jewelry Chest Image Courtesy MagiaMia

I love the idea of a roll top desk.  I've got an iMac, so I'm sadly constrained to having a computer armoire due to space requirements.  I love that both the roll top and armoire concepts allow you shut away computer mess.  This roll top desk is something special though.  Check out how ArtByJuliet echoed the diamond shape from the shelf bracket in the stencil pattern on the sides.  It's a work of art.

4A:  Primitive Wooden Kitchen Shelf Image Courtesy Sienaslew
4B:  Decorative Shabby Floral Box Image Courtesy GroveRoots
4C:  Handpainted Corbel Shaped Sconces Image Courtesy DaphsSmallWorld
4D:  Bed & Breakfast Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils

These sconces (4C) are just too great.  I can see them holding candles or very small sculpture in a room with classical details.

Thanks to our Chalkrific Etsy sellers for use of their images.  See you on Friday for a fabulous stencil feature!