Painting Project

I purchased a Habersham cupboard on eBay several years

ago.  It was a beautiful hand painted piece.  I have always

loved corner cabinets when I see them in magazines, I

just didn't consider how hard they were to place.  

It found a place in my craft room and looked really

pretty against the yellow walls.  It was actually quite

handy to have, I stored all my computer equipment 

in the bottom of it, out of sight.  

I turned this room into a room for my grand daughter 

after I moved my craft room to another location.  Now,

this corner cupboard had to go.  I still loved it, but was

so tired of the busy painting on it.  After about 6 months

of contemplating and worrying my daughters about what

to do with the piece, and trying to sell it with no success,

I decided that it had to be painted.  

It also had to go to the garage to be painted.  So, my 

husband and son in law, Dylan, carried this very large

and very heavy piece down the "L" shaped stairwell.

I couldn't watch.  At one point, I heard someone say

they were going to throw up . . . it was really heavy.

I first used a sandless primer. Then I used an antique

white satin paint.   I also removed all the doors and

painted them off of the cabinet.  

The motif was on both sides of the door and it took

several coats to cover.  I felt sad covering up such

beautiful work, the artist had even signed and dated

the piece, but, oh well . . .

Now the piece is finished and sits proudly in

the corner of my dining room.   My Bordallo

Pinheiro dishes feel right at home.  

My son in law, Dylan of The Painted Door,

did my distressing and glazing, which made the

piece look amazing.  Thank you Dylan . . .

couldn't have done it without you.    I love my new

piece, yes, it is a new piece with a new purpose.  Now

I must buy more dishes to fill it up.  

Going Neutral

I was asked to help neutralize this master bedroom.  The furniture was

a match set in a cherry finish that had a smooth shiny finish.  The

linens were a red brocade "bed in a bag" and the windows were

dressed in drapery from a package as well.  I had my work cut out 

for me.  There wasn't enough money in the budget to purchase

new furniture and the lines on the furniture were good.  It was just 

too "matchy" and dark.   

 The bed was a pretty sleigh bed with deep side rails.  

There was a beautiful foot bench with radius corners.  

 The master chest was a great scale for the room and

had beautiful bronze hardware.  

I decided that we needed to create a restful suite and calm

down the color.  The furniture needed to be painted to

give the room a more restful feel.  I chose "The Painted Door"

to paint the furniture.  The color used was Sherwin Williams,

Rice Grain.  Subtle distressing was done to authenticate the

painted finish.  

I upholstered the square insets in the headboard and

used a jute braided gimp to finish the edge.  This

also helped to soften the look of the bed.  

The fabrics were purchased at Calico Corners.  I combined

a linen solid, an Ikat in gray, cream and gold,  a multi color paisley 

in shades of gray, gold, cream and tan,and an embroidered 

 dot in a deep gray linen with a cream dot.

The room has taken on a restful neutral color palette.  The

client was thrilled with the way the furniture turned out, especially

the cost savings of not having to replace it.  

I hope you are inspired to start a decorating project today.