Painted Chest of Drawers

Remember this guy that I bought off of Craig's List last week?

I started with two coats of B-I-N primer tinted a light grey with the same shade of black from my paint. This primer gets rid of any odor and seals stains. The key part is it avoids sanding! All you need to do is thoroughly clean the dresser and give it a couple of hours to dry.

Here it is all primed and ready to go!

I used wood putty to fill all of the tiny nail holes, scratches and dings.

I applied two coats of Martha Stewart Silhouette in high gloss.

And here she is!

Here is a close up...I love the brass hardware.

I've got some things top place on top but I'll have to wait for the paint to completely cure. I might get a sheet of glass cut to place on top as well to make sure the paint stays protected.

What do you think? Have a wonderful Monday.

XOXO

It's a Friday kind of post

Friends,

I had 30 hits yesterday and that makes me excited (sad, right?), but apparently not so excited that I give you a wonderful post today. I had some technological issues this AM followed by rushing off to a FOUR hour deposition. My brain be fried...

But all is not lost! We have lots to look forward to and this blog idea continues to expand every day. We have guest blogs, home projects, home tours, gallery tours, wine blogs, and LOTS of art planned so that everyone can learn to incorporate art into your own home, appreciate design, know what to drink while decorating, yada yada.

For today I am doing that really lame thing that bloggers do when they don't have time - post a pretty picture. Ok, I lied. How about a controversial picture? YES, much more interesting. Edouard Manet shocked the French public by exhibiting Déjeuner sur l'herbe ("Luncheon on the Grass") in 1863:

I know what you are thinking. THIS shocked a whole country? While a nude in a classical setting (think nude Greek Gods) was considered acceptable, one in a contemporary setting was not(think nude woman having lunch in a park with men). But it gets more interesting, the nude woman has the face of Manet's favorite model but the plumper body of his future wife. He actually used both as models. Can you say rude? That's what I'm thinking if I'm future wifey. The men are Manet's brother and his future bro-in-law. Kind of creepy, right?

But guess who loved it and rallied behind him? A young group of artists that would later be come known as the Impressionists. Absorb significance please.

Enjoy Manet's last painting and read a great article on it here. I have one question for you - Is that a mirror with her reflection? Look closely. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

One last thing about art. Every piece tells a story and sometimes the story is more colorful, captivating, intriguing or romantic than the picture itself. Learn to appreciate fine art so that you can then find every day art all around you.

I hope your weekend is colorful!!

XOXO

Sante!

Talking about LeRoy Neiman made me think of this wonderful bottle of champagne by Duval-Leroy. LeRoy, the MAN, designed this label. Seriously, if you have a special occasion coming up then this is what you need. It's delicious and you should hold onto that bottle because it's a piece of art in itself!



It even comes with an amazing box - that's high class, people!



SANTE!
Does anyone know how to put an accent on the "e"?
Well just pretend until I figure out how...

Sante, pronounced sahn-tay, is French for "to your health"/cheers. Say this when you toast if you want to be cool. It's that easy....you're welcome.

à tout à l'heure!!

Original art work and LeRoy Neiman

Do you remember this post on tripod lamps? Well here is a glimpse of the Craig's List lamp in my living room. I love the height on it but I can't decide on the shade. I'm almost tempted to cover it with a fun fabric. The black trunk is from my grandmother's house and there are actually two of them stacked up. After many years in a closet it's nice to see them with new life! I accidentally locked one and guess what? We have no idea where the keys are so they are definitely for display purposes only at this point. I wish we could still travel with something that looks so romantic. Yes? It makes me want to get a horse and buggy - I was so born in the wrong era.

The horse picture above the trunk is a piece I did way back in high school after going to watch the Stadium Jumping round of Olympics in Atlanta. I saw this picture in an ad and decided to use it in art class. The technique is called pointillism which means the whole thing was made with a pen making little itty bitty dots. It was infuriating and took forever!

I have another horse piece (scroll on down) that I did and it currently lives in our guest bedroom. My inspiration came from LeRoy Neiman who was the official artist at 5, FIVE (that's a ton, people!) Olympiads. Check out his work if you're not familiar with it. You can buy some freakin' cool posters for $50 bucks. Like this guy would look pretty sweet in the right kitchen. You can purchase it here.



Does your husband love golf? Put this in his office. Frame it with a simple solid black frame and viola you've got some really interesting art in your home.



I'm always drawn to blues and really like this sailboat (below). Btw, obviously these posters do not have "LeRoy Neiman" across them but I got them directly from his website.



LeRoy Neiman was widely known for his large colorful pieces with huge glops of paint which equals lots of texture. If you have a hobby, I promise that LN did a painting of it so you can definitely find something that you will like. Well unless you just hate his style and then we probably shouldn't be friends.

And here is the one I did from the Breeders' Cup. The huge book resting on my bamboo dresser catalogs a lot of LeRoy's pieces.



It resembles this piece by LN. I like to find inspiration through other paintings but they definitely need to be my own.



Here is the same painting in my first home before it was framed. Forgive the wilting money branches (I don't know the technical name for this plant but the leaves look like coins). As you can see I was a LOT bolder with my wall colors at the old house. I thought the new house should be more sophisticated but now I'm getting the urge to go bold again. Hopefully hubs is not reading this and breaking out into a cold sweat...anyway....



One more horse piece that I did for my dear friend Sarah.



Today is Thursday and I wish it was Friday. The fun thing about Thursday though is I always paint on Thursdays! Hopefully I'll finish my big ol' abstract that I started last week and be able to move on to a new piece. I'll be sure to post it for you when I do.

Have a lovely day.

XOXO

Lilly Pulitzer

Heart this ad for Lilly Pulitzer spotted on the new Matchbook. The blue wall color is to die for and the gallery collection is flawless. I love the different colors and subjects in each piece of art. I wish I could see more of the room. And Lilly, the dresses are nice as well.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Matchbook Mag

Den remodel and how to fix wood paneling

Who else has a problem with wood paneling? Below is a glimpse of what our house looked like before we bought it. My parents actually found it while we were skiing out in Utah and emailed us pictures of it. I can't say I was originally sold on the home, but when I saw it in person I knew it had good "bones." Don't know what I mean by that? Let me elaborate. The house had an extremely open floor plan, which is a rarity with 1960s homes, and beautiful hardwood floors throughout. It had a kitchen island, large bedrooms, lots of windows, nice bathrooms (sidebar - when I say "nice" I mean functional. They were very clean and well maintained but with original PINK tile in the guest bath, including pink sinks and a pink toilet; and blue tile in the master bath rounded off nicely with butterfly wallpaper that was even in the shower). It was also the cheapest house in a really nice neighborhood that had been on the market for a long time. I could see that some simple face lifts would seriously change the look and feel of the house. We were also able to build in some quick equity this way.

I'm trying to upload a photo tour of our home but having some trouble; since I don't want my 4 readers, one being my mom, to go without for a day here is a glimpse at our den (before).

Ummmmm....so much wood paneling EVERYWHERE and crusty blinds. You can see my dad walking around with the realtor. I had never even read a blog when these pictures were taken so I definitely did not foresee posting before and after pictures - I think you get the idea though. Check out the floors! See the potential was there....

You can see a glimpse of the Pizza Hut-esque gold light fixture over the breakfast table in the upper right hand corner. Notice how dark this room was.

And here is what it looks like now! No more dark dreary room; it's now airy and cheerful. We originally planned to rip out the wood paneling, because it had to go, but my interior decorating friend, Tammy, helped us find another solution. It was extremely cost effective but LABOR intensive! For real.

Here is a side-by-side of the difference:

The secret is to use wood putty to fill all of the grooves. I would NOT suggest this if your wood paneling has deep rivets. Luckily, our panels did not and it was relatively easy to fill with the wood putty. The really hard job was the sanding. You need to sand down the wood putty and make sure the walls are fairly smooth and even in order to have a pretty outcome. The end result was only the amount of money spent on wood putty and the price of our hard labor. I don't think I have any pictures of the process unfortunately but let me know if you have any questions.



We then painted everything! The brick fireplace, mantel, ceiling, walls, trim, etc. Confession time - so I didn't actually paint this room myself. Based on prior experience with painting paneling, it soaks up a LOT of paint. The painters covered the flooring and actually used a sprayer on the walls. It was amazing and only took about 10 minutes. It would have taken me a whole weekend just to paint the walls so it was well worth it. Not to mention they gave me a great price on it.

My husband immediately wired the surround sound speakers and hooked up the TV. Hey, we each have our own priorities, right? On the other hand, I immediately needed the Pizza Hut light fixture replaced with this funky pendant.



What do you think? It doesn't even look like the house, huh?

Have a lovely day.

XOXO

Wallpaper spotted during a luncheon

How gorgeous is this?


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American Impressionist Agnes Richmond

The hubs and I went to a Collector's Group event at the Greenville Art Museum on Sunday evening. The featured artist was Agnes Richmond (1870-1964), an American Impressionist. Richmond was greatly influenced by John Sloan and was one generation behind the greats like Monet and Manet. The collection was provided by the Knocke Fine Arts in Marietta, GA. I took pictures of some of my favorites for you to enjoy. I know what you are thinking - of course, I did not use a flash and had permission from the curator.

I really enjoyed these rustic landscapes. The colors were beautiful.

Very nice...

This one was exceptional with the strong blue undertones in the rocks.

And I save you my very favorite for last. It was from a private collection and the only one not for sale (my husband would like to point out that it's not like we would be buying one anyway and he's right). Richmond was most known for her portraits. The Japanese culture was very influential and popular during her day and you can see it in the background here.

I thought you might ALSO enjoy the flowers from the event. I thought they were lovely and my favorite was the little vase of cotton buds. It was very unique. I wish I had taken a picture of the large floral arrangement with the food - it was incredible but a total bust since I didn't take a picture - sorry about that.

This painting was not part of the Richmond collection but stunning all the same.

What do you think? If anyone is interested in the paintings you can get more information directly from the Greenville Art Museum.

XOXO

Captain Craig

That's what my husband said when I got home because I bought this today:

After posting about it last night I just couldn't let it get away; especially not after I got the seller down to $60. Total domination. Boo yah.

XOXO

Craig's List

I want this:

The hardware is awesome and it would look amazing with a few coats of glossy black paint.

I'm also digging this:

It would look gorgeous reuplostered....I think she wants to be covered in velvet.

I love the funky shape of the back.

XOXO

Reupholstery Project

This is an easy and quick project to bring a unique piece into your home. I found this little guy at the thrift store a few months ago. I loved the lines of it and was happy to take it home. I don't remember what I paid for it but it was definitely a steal.

The first step is to flip it over and remove the hardware and the seat.

Then give it a coat of paint. I spray painted it white and painted the little wooden handles/arms gray to match the trim in my guest bedroom.

Pick out any fun pattern that will coordinate with the other colors in your room and use a staple gun to secure the fabric to the back of the seat.

Finished product:

What do you think? I love this little chair and I'm excited to finally give you a glimpse of my home. I think the cheerful lattice pattern on the fabric coordinates nicely with the gray, yellow and white palette in this room.

PS - I took a lot of great pictures of our house and my artwork today. I will be working on setting up a proper tour and gallery for your viewing pleasure. Get pumped.

XOXO

Two thumbs up or down?

What's your take on this room from House Beautiful? There are so many things that were done right like the navy chevron rug and those black doors. I love the chairs but yawn - white upholstered seats? This room needs another pattern or texture some where!



What if the curtains were this fabric by Heather Bailey or these from Z Gallery?



Throw some of this yellow damask pattern on the seats...



Replace the light fixture with this:



I wish I knew how to show you what this would look like but can you picture it?
(and throw in a few toss pillows from here)




Now, I love this room. I want to recreate it in my own space....

XOXO