Edwardian dressing table in milk paint...update...

Wow! Sorry about the delay there folks. Life has well and truly gotten in the way! I have been otherwise engaged with teaching Year 2 to sew, being a single parent while the husband works abroad, surviving a week with THREE seven year olds birthday parties and creating a plumbing crisis.

I thought it would be a nice surprise for the husband if I could change the bathroom taps and we might actually be able to use the hot tap. How hard can it be to change a tap? Answer: very hard if your pipes are not modern sizes. Anyway he was a little bit cross at the thought of coming home to a house with no water so I put it all back together and miraculously the old tap is now fixed (?) but leaks because I don't have the correct tighteny uppy thing. And that'll have to wait...

And I have a COLD! I don't ever get colds, I thought myself virtually superhuman, but after about 4 years cold-free I have succumbed to the lurgy. I'm very disappointed to be a mere mortal. Pah!

And there you all were, probably thinking the dressing table had all gone horribly wrong and I didn't want to show you. Well, that's a matter of opinion!  I like it. But I can see that it's not going to be to everyones taste! It's furniture marmite!

You might not believe this but I don't actually paint EVERYTHING white or cream. I do love the 'pale and interesting' look, it's true but in the past I have flirted with colour. The huge bookcase in the living room is green. See? I can be wild!

Okay, you're unlikely to see me painting furniture in strong colours often. But I love green, grey, blue and beige in interior decor. 

This Edwardian dressing table made me want to do a stronger colour. I wanted to go a little bit masculine with it. So I chose taupe. I only have two colours of milk paint, cream and taupe! Playing it safe!

The taupe turned out to be not very taupey at all and for a while there it just looked cream. I had some problems with it too. I did about 3 coats with very poor coverage and no hint of cracking whatsoever. It dawned on me that the paint was too watery. (Milk paint comes in powder form.) So I mixed it up a bit thicker and we hey!

Perhaps a bit too much?

 

Sometimes you've just got to hope it'll look alright in the end... don't be scared! (Okay you can be a bit scared!) If this was my first time with milk paint I would have wept!

The big reveal is not quite ready yet. Sorry. I thought I'd have it done by now. But here's a sneaky peak at the bits I have finished, to whet your appetites. Or not.

It's very grungey. 

I need a little more painting time, a lot of waxing and a dry day so we can drag it outside for it's photo shoot.

And I need a lot of hot ribena. Every cloud has a silver lining.

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A Look Behind the Curtains With Sherry Hart @ Design Indulgence

Hello!

I'm so glad to be back with another post of Look Behind the Curtains with one of my favorite designers/blogger, Sherry Hart!
{If you didn't see my first post of this series, please go here to see my interview with Marianne Simon.}

If you have not read or follow Sherry's blog, Design Indulgence you definitely need to put this on your list! She has the greatest sense of humor and great sense of style. It is such a treat reading her posts.

Here's the results of my interview with Sherry.

Where are you based?

S: I LIVE IN ATLANTA GEORGIA

How did you get into interior design? How long have you been doing it? 

S: WHEN I MOVED TO ATLANTA IN 1989 MY HUSBAND AND I BOUGHT A HOME THAT NEEDED RENOVATING. I HAD ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN DESIGN SO I DECIDED TO GC THE PROJECT. WELL…I LOVED DOING IT! AFTER IT WAS DONE WHEN PEOPLE SAW IT THEY WERE SO POSITIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY THAT I WENT TO WORK PART TIME FOR A DESIGNER TO LEARN EVERYTHING I COULD. AFTER 5 YEARS SHE DECIDED TO RETIRE AND I WAS FORCED TO GO OUT ON MY OWN. THAT WAS ABOUT 20 YEARS AGO. I CONSIDER MYSELF "HOME SCHOOLED"!

 

When and why did you start your blog? 

S: MY BLOG WILL BE 3 YEARS OLD IN FEBRUARY….AMAZING I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT! I AM NOT EXACTLY SURE WHY I STARTED BUT I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE A WAY TO SHARE PICTURES OF MY WORK. I REALLY ENJOYED THE WRITING PART SO MUCH MORE THAN I THOUGHT I WOULD…AND IT HAS HELPED ME IMPROVE MY WRITING SKILLS SO MUCH.

 

Do you have any interior design education/ degree? 

S: NOPE….IN FACT I ONLY COMPLETED 2 YEARS OF COLLAGE AND THEN I WAS A FLIGHT ATTENDANT FOR 20 YEARS [UNTIL I WAS 40]. I GOT INTO THE FITNESS INDUSTRY WHEN I WAS 30 SO AFTER RETIRING FROM FLYING I WORKED FOR A WHILE FULL TIME AS A TRAINER. I HAVE TO SAY THAT I LOVE DESIGN AND LOOK FORWARD TO DOING MY JOB EVERY DAY!

 

How would you define your style? 

S: I THINK MY PERSONAL STYLE IS PRETTY CLASSIC….BUT I DO LIKE TO ADD SOME MODERN IN WITH IT. LIVING IN THE SOUTH….MOST OF MY CLIENTS PREFER THAT LOOK ALSO. I DO LIKE TO ADD SOME PATINA TO A ROOM BY ADDING SOME VINTAGE….AND I TRY TO KEEP IT FROM LOOKING TOO "DECORATED" I AM ALWAYS THINKING HOW A ROOM WILL AGE…AND HOW CAN I MAKE IT SO THAT IT CAN BE UPDATED EASILY IN THE FUTURE.



Sherry's Living Room

 

What is your favorite room to design and why? 

S: I SEEM TO GET A LOT OF BEDROOMS! NOT SURE WHY BUT I HAVE DONE SO MANY THAT I CAN ALMOST DO THEM BLINDFOLDED :) IT SEEMS LIKE THAT IS THE LAST ROOM MOST PEOPLE DO SO I LOVE WHEN I CAN MAKE IT A NICE RETREAT FOR COUPLES.

 

What is your favorite paint color to use? 

S: THE LAST 5 YEARS I HAVE BEEN INTO NEUTRAL LIGHT COLORS. MY FAVORITE WHITE IS BEN MOORE WHITE DOVE. IT IS A VERY SOFT WHITE THAT CAST SUCH A PRETTY GLOW ALL THE TIME. OF COURSE I LOVE LIGHT BLUE. BEN MOORE ALASKAN HUSKY IS ANOTHER FAVORITE.

 

What is your favorite local décor shop? 

S: I USED POTTERY BARN A LOT FOR BEDDING…WORLD MARKET HAS ALSO STEPPED UP THEIR GAME THE LAST FEW YEARS. IKEA AND WEST ELM ARE CLOSE BY SO I CAN USUALLY FIND SOME THINGS THAT WILL WORK FROM BOTH OF THOSE. I LOVE MIXING HIGH AND LOW…SO TARGET GETS SOME OF MY MONEY:)

 

What is your most go to online décor shop? 

S: WISTERIA! LOVE THEIR LATEST CATALOG WITH ALL OF THE COLOR ON THE COVER. I JUST ORDERED A MIRROR FOR A CLIENT FROM THEM. ALSO BALLARDS COMES THROUGH FOR ME MANY TIMES.

 

What room in your own house is your favorite and why? 

S: HMMMM…..I WOULD HAVE TO SAY MY BEDROOM. IT IS ALL WHITE WITH AN ANTIQUE RUG IN SOFT BLUES AND BROWN. THE CATHEDRAL CEILING WAS A STAINED WOOD BUT I HAD IT PAINTED WHITE ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO. I HAVE A CREAM LINEN PADDED HEADBOARD WHICH MAKES IT COMFY TO CRAWL IN WITH MY IPAD AND READ BLOGS AND PIN.

 

Sherry's Master Bedroom
 

Who inspires you? 

S: MRS. HOWARD, SUZANNE KASLER, VICTORIA HAGEN ARE A FEW OF THE DESIGNERS WHO'S WORK I REALLY ADMIRE. I LOVE A TAILORED CLEAN STYLE AND THEY HAVE IT.

 

"This room is by Mrs.Howard.The furniture is very classic but I love the brick wall and the softness of the window treatments" ~ Sherry



"Another gorgeous room by Mrs. Howard. Rustic console but a very traditional dining table. She mixes the styles so nicely."~Sherry

 



"Another gorgeous bedroom by Mrs. Howard. I love the neutral tones of this room. The wood bench and desk help warm up the space."~Sherry

 

 

Looking back, have you ever had a big design disaster? Or thought, “what was I thinking?” 

S: OH YES! IN FACT I JUST MADE A MISTAKE WITH THE WINDOW TREATMENTS IN THE SHOW HOUSE I WAS DOING. I ALMOST ALWAYS DO CREAM LINEN CURTAINS AND DECIDED THAT MAYBE I SHOULD TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT. THEY WERE HORRIBLE! WE HAD 24 HOURS TO GET THEM REDONE! BACK WHEN I FIRST STARTED I TALKED A CLIENT INTO SOME CLUB CHAIRS….SHE WANTED A MORE MODERN LOOK AND I ASKED HER TO TRUST ME AND GO WITH A MORE TRADITIONAL STYLE. I ENDED UP WITH 2 NEW CHAIRS ;)

 

Do you ever second guess your decisions? 

S: YES…..AND BEFORE I ORDER FOR A CLIENT I AGONIZE OVER EVERY FABRIC AND PIECE OF FURNITURE. I WANT THEM TO BE HAPPY AND LOVE EVERYTHING SO IT IS IMPORTANT TO ME THAT I REALLY GIVE IT AS MUCH THOUGHT AS I CAN…TO PLAY DEVILS ADVOCATE AND MAKE SURE IT IS PERFECT FOR THEIR ROOM.

 

Best advice for someone starting an interior design career? 

S: IF YOU CAN SHADOW A DESIGNER A COUPLE OF DAYS A WEEK…..BE AN ASSISTANT YOU WILL LEARN SO MUCH WITH HANDS ON TRAINING. STUDY PICTURES YOU LIKE AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHY…..OR WHEN YOU SEE AN IMAGE IN A MAGAZINE LOOK AT THE FURNITURE PLACEMENT AND THE COLORS. I ALWAYS DO FLOOR PLAN WHEN I FIRST START ON A PROJECT BECAUSE IT'S THE ONLY WAY I CAN REALLY MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WILL FIT IN A ROOM PROPERLY.

 

Best advice for new bloggers? 

S: WELL….IT TAKES TIME BUT COMMENT AND GET TO KNOW OTHER BLOGGERS. I WAS SO OBSESSED WITH READING BLOGS THAT I WOULD GET UP REALLY EARLY SO I COULD READ THEM. OF COURSE I HAVE GOTTEN SO MUCH BUSINESS FROM MY BLOG I AM NOW BUSIER THAN EVER AND DON'T HAVE AS MUCH TIME FOR READING….BAD AND GOOD :)

 

Best advice for someone decorating on their own? 

S: GO SLOW. DON'T JUST BUY TO BUY. SAVE FOR WHAT YOU WANT AND MAKE WISE DECISIONS. DON'T ACCESSORIZE BEFORE YOU HAVE GOTTEN ALL THE FURNITURE, RUGS AND CURTAINS IN THE ROOM. TRY NOT TO SPREAD YOUR MONEY OUT…FINISH A ROOM.

 

 

____________

 

Thanks so much to Sherry! I got such a kick out of reading through your answers and getting to know you a little better. Thank you for the wonderful tips/advice! I am dying over your inspirational photos by Mrs. Howard! Love them too!!

Be sure to pop on over to Sherry's site if you haven't already and say "Hi".

 

 

 



 

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New Purchases

Thought I'd share a few new things that I've bought for the house.

 I just bought the plain white pillow and the yellow floral pillow from Pottery Barn for the family room. The textured pillow in the corner was from Target.

 Just brought this baby home from World Market yesterday for the family room. I really like it. I just need to find a lamp, some art on the wall or mirror above it and some accessories. This table sits right inside the door from our garage, so it will be probably be a "catch all" place I am sure.

 

 I purchased this clock from Pier One. I still need to figure out what in the world I am doing with that fireplace and re-accessorize the mantel.

 









I bought this wire side table from Target for the living room. Also, can't wait to makeover this room!

 



And here's a little sneak peek of one of my daughter's room that we have been working on since....oh a year ago! Yikes! The table and lamp are current purchases from Target and the headboard is a recent purchase from Pier One.

Well, that's all I got right now. I am hoping to have pictures of my daughter's room to share soon!

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A Sweet Smell of a Fundraiser and a Giveway

One of my daughters has been given the wonderful opportunity to go on an educational tour of China this summer with some other 8th graders (incoming Freshman actually). I am so excited for her to go on this trip and expect her to come back with so many stories, memories and knowledge of a new country.
While this is such a great experience, it does come with a hefty cost to go there as you can imagine.
One of my dearest childhood friends, Anne has been so gracious to help with a little fundraiser.
Anne is a Scentsy consultant, actually she is a "Director". She is doing an amazing job with this company and I'm so excited for her.
Anyway, I thought I'd give it a shot and see if any of my readers/followers/friends wanted to take this opportunity to purchase some wonderful scents or warmers from her site and also help me and my daughter out in the process.
Scentsy has some incredible scents and warmers to fill your home with delicious fragrances, and also without the worry of a lighted candle.
You can go to Anne's website, www.annehedeen.scentsy.us and check out the great products. If there's something that you'd like, please click on Open Parties, and find my party, Stacey Steward's Online Party to purchase through that.
As a thank you, I'm also extending that everyone that purchases something from my party, will be entered into a drawing for a free Scentsy bar and plug in of their choice from me.
Drawing will happen February 15th. After, you've purchased something, please come back here and leave a comment, and what scent/plug in you'd love to win. Double your chances of winning by becoming a Follower of my blog, or follow by Email, leave a comment saying you did that as well.
Thank you so much in advance and have a wonderful weekend!

 

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Furniture from friends and the Friday flea market...

I've had a lovely week. I brought a new piece of furniture in from the garage to work on. A friend gave me this. It's an Edwardian dressing table. Don't I have nice friends?

 

  

It fits quite nicely between the pile of flooring and the pushed back dining table. This isn't really a 'before' shot as I've already removed the mirror section and refinished the top. I had to replace the drawer bases as they were badly warped making the drawers impossible to pull out. I also decided to lose the two wing mirrors as they are very clunky and make the whole thing absurdly wide. 

This shot shows the difference between the old wood finish at the top and the refinished part looking glossy and rich. The rest of the wood is being painted in milk paint and it's not going to plan so far, but I'm hoping to finish it all next week. 

Freddy is casting a critical eye over my work...he likes the smell of the milk paint! I'll come back and show you when it's done...

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Dee  from Dee Dee's vintage retro delights and I share a love of these vintage big eyed animal ornaments and I said I would post a picture of mine which I inflict upon my daughter although she'd rather have Disney tat on her shelves. Dee has an entire mouse orchestra of these that I'm envious of!

I love these guys! They've all been collected from boot sales and charity shops.Against my daughters will. Aw come on! How can you not like them?

I squeezed in a trip to the flea market this morning and found this:

 

Isn't that lovely? (It's wet because I washed it)

And the other side?

It's a crate lid! My crate fetish refuses to go away! Sadly the rest of the crate was missing but I got this for £1 and I'll turn it into a rustic sign. I think I like the top view best and the sides will be like a little frame...

I think we're in for a further dumping of snow tonight and then a downpour to wash it all away. Not a moment too soon. The snow has turned to ice on all the footpaths here and I've been risking life and limb on the school run. Hooray for rain! x

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Gesso mirror and snow...

We've had quite a dumping of snow here in Hertfordshire and my daughter had the day off school today as a result. Blogland is full of stunning snow pictures. Until now.

Sorry. It didn't stop snowing at all yesterday which made for very grey pictures. And I took two pictures and then the camera battery died.

Husband and daughter taking the car boot sale vintage sledge for a spin. It gives a very smooth ride and is infinitely better than our red plastic version. Vintage is best! But we knew that already didn't we?

 

Our snowman with weird orange eyes. Usually I get all competitive with our snowmen and have to do the biggest and best in the street. (Which isn't hard as we live in an area populated by the elderly!) But I just wasn't feeling it yesterday and building him was a chore. Look he's not even got a scarf! Shoddy.

So, onto indoor pursuits which are much more me!

The brass mirror? I always meant to paint it. I probably would have used spray paint at some point but I decided to try the gesso treatment.

Before

I used a lot less gesso this time...

 

After. Yes the glass is still broken! Er, and could do with a clean!

I'm liking it. It looks more expensive I think. I used dark wax over the gesso again as the chalky white finish does nothing for me.
I realise I have broken my new years resolution. Poor photography and styling in this post. I should have fixed the glass but I didn't fancy the half hour walk to the glass place in the snow.

Snow just ruins everything.

Let me just show you what I found in a charity shop this week...

Crazy high heeled wellies! Just need this treacherous snow to be replaced by some rain so I can take them for a test drive without breaking my neck.

Hope you are warm and cosy wherever you are!

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Sick and Tired

I got it... I got the flu. Knocking on wood, our family seems to have a pretty good immune system. While I hear horror stories from friends of their middle of the night explosions of bodily fluids from their kids and being sick for days, I have sit back and thanked God that we don't have moments like that in our house. I am not sure what we are doing right, but maybe it's all luck.
Luck has caught up with me though. Last week, I got it. Looking back it wasn't horrible. I didn't have any body fluids (I know-gross) expelling from my body, but I and the couch started to become one. It really kicked my butt.
It was no fun. I really was sick and tired of being sick and tired. So if you haven't gone out and received your flu shot, I do recommend it.
During my time on the couch, I did have visions of this room and thought if I had a room like this maybe my time being sick would've been a little more enjoyable.



Via

Doesn't that look so nice and cozy? I love it!
I hope to regain my energy soon, and stop thinking about beds.
Have a good weekend.

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Painting with gesso...

I first used gesso around 15 years ago to try and restore an old frame. It was something I had to mix from rabbit skin glue and chalk if I remember rightly. The frame turned out quite rubbish anyhow and I never went down that road again!

More recently I have stumbled accross the wonderful work of Rosemary at Villabarnes and been intrigued to see that she paints with gesso, which is now thankfully readymade and acrylic. (Perhaps it was back then but I was shopping in the wrong place!)

Rosemarys work

Rosemarys work

It seems to work well on heavily textured or carved items. She doesn't just use it on frames though. She used it on this bedside table...

Rosemarys work

And even on fabric flowers!

Rosemarys work

Isn't that beautiful?
I was so taken with this look that I had to have a go.
On my wall I had this old picture...

  I pulled it all apart and painted the frame with grey emulsion...

Then I painted it in white acrylic gesso (it also comes in grey and black.)

 

£3.99 from the art shop

I was painting it on and wiping it off so it settles in the dips but wipes off the high bits. I did 3 coats. This was too much! It just looked very white when it dried. I took a sanding sponge to it and it wasn't easy to sand back but I got a bit of the original colour and the gold showing through. I thought I'd ruined it to be honest so I didn't get a picture of this stage. The whiteness was annoying me! I missed the original finish so I thought I'd stipple on dark wax to bring back some depth.

The whole thing came back to life and I love it!

What do you think? I know mine turned out nothing like Rosemarys! I like it, but I liked it before too. I'm going to play around some more with gesso! Next time I'll have to paint it on something I'm not so keen on.

If you pop over to Villabarnes there are lots of tutorials with gesso and you can see Rosemarys lovely work.

Next up for the gesso treatment?

 

This vintage brass mirror my husband dropped. Good job we're not superstitious! His only bad luck is that he has to replace the glass for me! 

Big thank you to Rosemary for allowing me to use her photos! 

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Sorry, crates AGAIN and a winner...

Sometimes when I've given something a makeover, it's still not entirely done. My painted crate being one of those things! It was looking very dark in the pale living room...

I've given both crates (well, crate and drawer) a wash of emulsion, very watered down and wiped off and I like them much better now. They look a bit more muted and driftwoody and suit the living room better.

I had to re-do the lettering on the Hitchin Lavender one as it got lost under the wash of pale paint.

 For the drawer I decided upon the logo from Bettys, Yorks finest tea rooms.

York is where I was born and grew up and Bettys is a must visit tea room in the City centre. They queue up outside to get in, it's that good!

Here's the famous Fat Rascal

I've never had one as I'm not a cakey sort of person but I had the most delicious Eggs Benedict of my life in here!

 

This is not a sponsored post! I'm just saying if you're in York, you've got to go! 

So here's the crate, er, drawer...

Just need two matching plants now...

 

I took a sanding sponge to the lettering of the Hitchin one and I think it looks better. I'll do it to the new one when it's dry. 

I'll try not to do any more crate posts for a bit ok? Obsessive? Moi?

Without further ado, the winner of the giveaway is... (drumroll...)

... MARILYN! Woo hoo!
Marilyn please could you email me your full name, address and postcode and I will pop them in the post to you!

Linking with Me and my shadow; Magpie Monday

and Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

and PJH designs




 


and Knick of Time Tuesday

 

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