Chalk Paint Step by Step......

O.K. kampers!!!!!

I've been spending lots of time down in my dungeon basement cellar

FABULOUS ARTIST'S STUDIO.

It must be the raw cinder block walls and unpainted dirty cement floor that inspire me.....

One of these years I will actually have it painted.

If the walls were white, it would be much brighter down there....

but then I would have to have men in my house to do the painting.....

and I would have to move all my stuff around down there.....

but I spend so much time in the dark dank hole of my workshop that you'd think I'd want to fix it up.

I MEAN....I AM a designer....

it IS  the last space that needs work in my home.....

But.....

the thought of dealing with it doesn't make me want to do it.

It makes me want to ignore it.

BUT.....

once it was done.....

I'D BE SOOOOOO HAPPY!!!!!

I KNOW!!!!!

I'll just put it on the back burner and think about doing it for...

a little while (ha) longer.....

anyway.....

let me show you my newest project....

I found this table for my niece Miriam's living room.

Last year I did her dining room, and this year I'm helping her and her hubby, Ross, with their living room.

Sooooooo.....

I found this table on Craig's List.....

It was listed for 50 smackers, but I got it for $35!!!!!

Here it is in my lovely studio.....

Miriam and I 

(well.....I informed her.....what I wanted to do.....and she said OK.....)

decided that I should paint this green, but she wanted the details highlighted.

So......

I fearlessly (and recklessly) painted it in 

Antibes Green chalk paint......

It came out screaming green.....

florescent!!!!!

Here it is with just one coat of green paint.....

Being somewhat delusional.....

I thought it had to look better with a second coat!!!!!

OY, OY, OY....

OY

Oy

oy

oy

oy

Sooooo....

I whipped out my trusty artists pad.....

and painted some of this here green on it.....

let it dry.....

and then I applied dark wax to see how it would look....

Ho Kay!!!!!

Me Likey!!!!

Every time I paint a piece of furniture it's an adventure.

I never know what's going to happen because I never do the same thing twice.

I mean.....

I wouldn't want to benefit from my own experience!!!!!

So,

this was dark wax directly over the paint.

I've never done that before.

It's VERY scary because once it's on, you can't take it back.

If you apply dark wax over clear wax, you can always remove it if you don't like it.

I like to live dangerously!!!!!

I like to live on the edge!!!!!

I run with scissors!!!!!

(No I don't, I'm too old to run.....)

Anyway.....

Now, I had to figure out how to do the detailing, so I started on the carvings at the top of the legs.

Well!!!!!

Isn't that special!!!!!

It shows how crappy the carving is!!!!

And it looks like a nursery school color scheme!!!!

No

No

No, No, No....

I hated it.

painted over it.

I know!!!!

Lets try Old White.

So I attacked the details on the top and the feet.

One coat of white.

(they look like socks....)

Added a second coat of white.....

Then I taped off where I wanted the blue stripes on the top.

The sides of the top had the carving that looked like a binding, so I continued the line across the top of the table....

Below before the lines.....

Then I taped it....

And painted it with Greek Blue chalk paint.

I felt it was a blue that had too much red in it, so I then dry brushed some Duck Egg Blue over it.....

Then I got a little insane and dry brushed some of the Duck Egg over the details I had painted in white.

It gave the white a more aged look.

Then it was time to stop screwing around and finish the damn table.....

So I got out my gritty sandpaper and distressed the finish.

Then I threw caution to the winds and applied the dark wax.

I like the way it came out.....

but I'll never do dark wax over raw paint again....

It's toooooo scary.

Sooooooo.....

then I went to Pic Monkey and made a bunch of side by sides to show you guys.....

Sooooooo.....

Miriam better like this.....

On that note.....

Latah, Gatah

Partying at:

The Last Post from Flerida

Before I get to today's post.....

I just want to let you know that I'm cooking dinner for my family tonight.....

So if you guys never hear from me again.....

I'm stuck in the kitchen in total and utter confusion......

I usually give them some Greek takeout of shish-ka-bob, salad and rice...

but today I decided that.....

I WOULD COOK!!!!!

So, think of me in my hour of need, as I tackle a boneless leg of lamb that my sister-in-law promises I can't ruin.

On another note.....

Suspect number 2 was captured 4 blocks from 

my old home in 

Watertown,

so for those of you who wrote me to check if I was OK....

thanks for thinking of me.

I moved a couple of miles away 9 years ago.

Needless to say, I was totally freaking out, and had to drink a bunch of wine.

I didn't realize how tense I was until they announced that they had caught him and I broke down in tears.

None of us went anywhere on Friday.

We were stuck in our houses.

It was soooooo freaky.

Boston rocks big time!!!!!

It's really bizarre to live in a situation where you know you should turn on the TV for updates when you hear police helicopters flying over your house.

OK, enough of this @#$.....

on to decorating!!!!! 

Today I will finish up showing off Chris and Connie's Flerida beach house.

There are just a few more dibs and dabs to go over before I tackle new material this week.....

This is going to be a mish mash of images, so hang on....here we go.

I tried to take some shots of the Master bath, but Connie felt it wasn't interesting, so I just have a shot of the toilet, 'cuz that's the kind of girl I am.....

True to form.....

I stuck some parrots in this room.

OK, that's it for the inside....

But I have some more things to talk about on the outside.....

I had shown you this shot of the back deck.....

I took this shot several years ago, and when I wrote about this, I realized I didn't have a picture that really shows how it's being used today.

The round table didn't work in the space.

This was a choice from The Previous Designer.

So Connie and I changed it to a rectangular shape, which allowed for a better flow of traffic, and still accommodated plenty of seating space.

But it was necessary to set the table against the railing bench for seating along the back side.

Sooooo,

I had Connie get a cushion made for the bench,

thus visually incorporating it into the dining area as well as giving some comfort to the poor suckers who were stuck having to sit with no back support.

Connie found this wonderful concrete shell that she fills with what she finds on the beach.

Actually.....

Some of these shells are not from her beach, 

so don't be writing me to say that there is 

NO BLEEPING WAY THOSE COULD BE FROM FLORIDA.....

At the entrance to the path to the ocean stands a pelican to guard against attacking pirates!!!!!

He's right by the spigot that's been placed to wash sandy tootsies before they bring gritty stuff into the house....

Right by the path to the sand....

or the sandy path.....

or something like that.....

As you can see.....

Not far from the pelican is a flock of flamingos...

All this wild life is just astounding, and they don't even poop or nothin'!

Soooooo.....

As this is the last post about Flerida for the season 

(I think.....)

let me end with this comparison between the grazing birds down there and the grazing birds up here in the good old Boston area.....

Egret in Flerida....

This shot is behind my house.

They like the bugs in the lawns.

And the turkeys up heah in Massachusetts...

This shot is in front of my house, they like the crab apples in the fall.

So campers....

That's if for today.

On that note.....

Latah, Gatah

A Masculine Retreat, Chapter 2

Let's continue with my buddy Connie's beach-side home.

We've been looking at her hubby's bedroom, so today we'll finish up with his retreat.

It's masculine.

He likes it.

It's full of earthy tones and tribal art.

No flowers.

Just boy stuff.

He's so lucky!!!!!

As I told you last weekend, the furniture is from British Khaki and has a wonderful West Indies vibe. 

You can almost feel those Caribbean breezes blowing through your tresses!!!!!

Lucky for Chris, he lives on the Florida coast, so he does get ocean winds tickling his tootsies. 

Connie and I found this vintage basket lamp that added just the right touch to his dresser.

It's hard to tell in these photos, but the walls are covered in a raffia wallpaper that is really yummy and soft in color and texture.

There is a dormer window in the room that creates the perfect nook for a gentleman's writing desk.

Problem is.....

Connie uses it too, they really need another desk in this house.

I tell Connie that she should use the little desk in the downstairs den.....

But they both like Chris's desk.....

Now she's going to yell at me for telling tales out of school.....

(quick.....hide me.....she's really scary.....)

Below is a shot of the room as we were unpacking stuff....

that's why there is a box in the picture.

I am such a pro at blogging.....

everything is so well staged.....

Oy.

Anyway.....

See the little door to the left?????

This was Connie's idea.

She is really clever.

Behind that door, tucked into the eaves, are the files and fax machine and printer.

This way, all the utilitarian stuff is out of sight.

Soooooo.....

Now you've seen Chris's bed.....

And his dresser and his desk....

as well as his nightstands and chair.....

sooooooo.......

that's if for this room, onward to more stuff in days to come!!!!!

On that note.

Latah, Gatah

A Heart Attacked

Believe it or not.....but I used to be a runner.

Not a good runner.

Not a fast runner.

Not a graceful runner.

But I ran with two different running clubs

 (that were more about the social camaraderie than about the swiftness of our gait.)

So, the Boston Marathon has always had a special place in my heart.

I even worked it as a volunteer for a couple of years as a wheel chair spotter.

My job was to mark off each wheel chair competitor as he or she raced by,

to make sure no one had fallen by the wayside or pulled a Rosie Ruiz.

In Massachusetts we celebrate Patriots Day, only one of three states that do so.

It's the day of the Boston Marathon.

It is a beloved day in Massachusetts because lots of people don't have to work, and it symbolizes the beginning of spring and a real end to the long hard winters we suffer through up here.

It's purpose is to commemorate the battles in Lexington and Concord during the  Revolutionary war that gave birth to the beginning of our country,

but most people just think of the Boston Marathon. 

In the Boston area it's a really big deal.

For one thing, you can't drive from here to there because a main artery from east to west is closed for the runners.

It's an international event with our own home town feel.

Everyone I know loves it.

It's ours.

It's special.

It's massive and intimate at the same time.

We all know someone who's run in it, talked about running in it, dreamed about running it or just lied about running it.

IT'S OURS!!!!!

And now some 

horrible @$$ holes have attacked our home.

I am heartbroken.

For those of you who haven't been to Boston,

the Back Bay, where the bombs exploded, is like a little neighborhood.

It's not full of tall buildings and skyscrapers, but of brownstone row houses.

We have the financial district and the water district and China town and Southie,

but when I think of Boston, I think of the Back Bay.

It's the heart of the city.

We've had out heart attacked.

I hope they find who did this and lock him up for ever.

I realize this post had nothing to do with humor or decorating, but it's that kind of a mood here in Massachusetts.

Masculine Seaside Bedroom

Well.....

Now that we've seen everything in Connie's bedroom.....

let's move on to her hubby's room!!!!!

His name is Chris, and he is a sweety pie,

(just don't tell him I said so....)

A  big advantage of having aging couples as clients,

(yes, I include myself in this group.....)

 is that many of them now have separate bedrooms due to changing sleep patterns and accepting the importance of a good nights sleep in regards to one's health.

I've noticed that this is becoming less of an exception to the rule, and more the norm.....

Whether it be someone getting up in the middle of the night and fleeing to the guest room,

or just acknowledging the reality of what happens to baby boomers as we age.

Some of us develop restless legs,

some of us get a little noisier,

some of us get a little  a lot warmer.....

What ever the reason.....

now we can have girly rooms and butch rooms!!!!!

Below is the way Chris's room looked before we "fluffed" it.

We hadn't gotten the bedding yet, and this shot is when he first moved in.

The Previous Designer (TPD) had chosen the furniture from British Khaki, 

and I actually liked most of what she chose.

But.....

True to form.....

the night tables were at different heights, and the one on the right, she had placed on the left and it blocked the window.

The bookcase on the right, she had placed on the left, and it was much higher.

Soooooo.....

I switched them and had the bookcase cut down, so it would be the same height as the table.

The reason I placed it in on the left of the bed, is because.....

with an open back, you can see through it, so it's OK in front of the window.

Chris had collected wonderful African art from his travels, and this was the perfect setting to show it all off.

Connie and I chose the earth tone batik-like fabric that Pottery Barn has on sale right now!!!!!

It was a great match with the lamps I had found years ago at Brunschwig & Fils.

The room opens up to an upstairs porch that looks out over the beach to the ocean.

The wall of French doors supplies a stunning view.....

But....

one of the problems of living by the ocean is the salt water spray is really corrosive, and everything starts to rust.....

So this year Connie and I went and found new chairs for the porch.

Then I dragged her to Home Goods and we scooped up that fake plant!!!!!

The door behind the chair opens into Connie's bedroom, so this creates the master suite.

Next post is some more about this room, and then it's on to other stuff!!!!!

On that note.....

all together now.....

Latah, Gatah!!!