“HOOSIERVILLE”

For those of you who DON’T know, and it’s ok if you don’t, but Hooverville’s were little shanty towns made by homeless people during the Great Depression.  The poor conditions that came with the Great Depression and it’s affect on the people, and the development of these shanty towns blamed President Hoover, hence the name “Hooverville.”  Ok, so what am I getting at?  This custom order I worked on is a “Hoosier” cabinet, but was in such AWFUL condition, I thought I would do a little play on words and call it “Hoosierville” clever, right? I thought so.

Anyway- this is what I was working with:

Ultimately, the whole thing needed to be reconstructed.  All I had to work with was the frame.  Even in the pictures above, there are pieces of fresh wood that my father and I cut and placed in it.    We cut a new top, new sides, new shelves:

Other repairs needed to be made as well.  The underside of the base was missing one of the ornate pieces.  My dad and I traced the other, and skill sawed a replica. (those are my dad’s hands by the way! haha not mine!)

Alright, the piece has been rebuilt at this point, and was ready for paint.  the doors were a different color the the frame, as requested by the customer.  I suggested that since the piece was so old not to replace the hardware because the holes would NEVER line up the same.  Instead I sprayed them.

A lot of love and labor later…. I have to say the piece came out incredible.

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“Wide Open Acres”

Wondering where the name came from?  The paint color! The paint I used for this piece was called “Cheyenne Green” by Benjamin Moore paints.  This was a custom order, and they had picked the color, and it is one I will definitely be using going forward!

The piece needed a tremendous amount of love, but it had solid bones and beautiful character.  The couple delivered it, I sanded it down a bit to rough up the old finish.

Sanding, prepping, and cleaning left me with a beautiful exposed wood piece.  It was ready to be painted.

The piece was so dry that it took three heavy coats, but once it dried in the last coat covered it real well.

I asked the couple if they wanted the piece distressed, and it wasn’t something that had crossed their mind.  I said there was some incredible detailing on the piece that should be highlighted with some very light distressing.  By distressing the piece, the character was pulled right out!  Signed, sealed, delivered, here is the finished product:

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“Be Our Guest” Dining Room Makeover

My dining room has been done for a while, but I haven’t had time to take photos, upload them, and all that jazz.  Anyway, now I am ready!  So when I first bought the house, the dining room was a very very olive green color.  I may have liked a shade of this color had it been a nice one, but after seeing this color I knew instantly I was going to cover it!  Here is what the dining room looked like before:

Not to mention that there were a hundred holes in the wall from things that were hanging on the wall.  It took some time to patch and sand, but it got done…..

Once the room was patched and ready to go, I start painting.  I picked a nice taupe/beige color.  It’s Benjamin Moore’s Shenendoah Taupe:

I liked that it was a nice neutral color, and knew it would look nice against my dark espresso colored furniture.  I re-used the curtains from my old house, because I loved them.  They are a damask pattern with earth-tones running through it.  I purchased the coolest chandelier from an Etsy dealer.  It is so rustic, it looks like it spent the last 100 years in the ground.

 

I picked up a truly adorable sign at Vintage Thymes in Norwood, and I hung it above the dining room doorway.

Since I don’t have a ton of kitchen cabinet space, and I packed my side server pretty well… I had no place to put my wine glasses, martini shaker, ice bucket, wine etc….  I had been on the hunt for a while for a nice cabinet to use for this, but I didn’t want anything huge or bulky.  On a whim, I found a cabinet at some warehouse! Randomly… but it worked out in my favor!!!

I may paint it at a later date, but it serves its purpose for now.  I was able to put all my wine glasses away, and put my martini shaker and ice bucket on top.  It needed a little something, and I had just the thing!  I had gone to paint night with my mother a while back, and painted my own version of “Chat Noir.”  I knew I would use it in the house eventually, but didn’t know where.  Instead of using the colors red, yellow, and black in the traditional print, I chose to use blues, creams, black, and white.  The colors work well with my color scheme.  I put it on top of the wine bar as a finishing touch.

All that’s left to do? Have a feast fit for a king and fill my wine cabinet with lots of yummy wine!

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Sleeping Soundly…. Finally!

WOW, I didn’t think this bedroom set would EVER get done. There were so many problems, I went through two paint guns, and had to purchase another one just to finish the job! Although I absolutely LOVE the way it turned out. I had done some staging for a lovely couple who was moving to North Carolina. They had this 1940’s bedroom set that they weren’t taking with them, and we made arrangements to have it Renewed Reloved. The bedroom set was in wonderful condition, it has really been taken care of over the years.

 

 

I love the original hardware on this set, and knew I was going to keep them untouched.  Ok, so begins the sh*t show.  I lightly sanded all the pieces so the paint would adhere nicely.  I used colors that I had left over from painting my own house.  I try not to use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint if I can help it, no offense.  I used “Mesa Verde Tan” for the outside, and the drawers were down in “White Down,” both by Benjamin Moore.

At first I painted the entire end table “White Down,” but I thought that it was just so boring, and didn’t do the set any justice.  However, I liked the dark original hardware against the off white. I loved the “Mesa Verde Tan” that I used for my master bedroom, and thought it looked really good against the off white.  So there you have it- a two tone set.  So I set up shop, ready to paint.  Little did I know that I would soon have a mental breakdown.

Honestly, every time I tried to attempt to paint this set somethings went wrong.  Both my paint guns stopped working.  Finally the new Wagner one I purchased did the job.  It was a long battle, and a big under taking, but when all said and done I think it came out incredible (yes I am patting myself on the back, but shush).  Check out the finished product.  All of which can be seen and purchased at 23rd & Bird located inside the WinSmith Mill in Norwood, Ma.

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Cookin’ Up A Storm!

I can’t believe this project is finally done!! I have finally finished all the cabinets, frames, hardware, and have hung them up!!!  I have posted along the way- from cleaning, to painting, to sealing, and to cleaning and spraying the hard ware.  I am finally able to unveil the finished product! I really am so happy the way it turned out!

Here is the before:

After all the hauling ass, here is the AFTER:

 

Pretty damn good, huh?  Now I just have to get a glass cabinet for my dishes to put on the wall, and put up the backsplash!

Magic trick round 2

I headed back to a Benjamin Moore paint supplier to re-evaluate my colors.  I decided to start from scratch; the only color that had been previously decided upon was “Baby Fawn” for the hallway because I carried it through from downstairs.  You should have seen me at the Benjamin Moore paint store, I sat on the floor, cutting up colors and placing them on my floor plan.  I wanted each room to have a different look, but nothing too drastic; I wanted it to have a nice flow.  Here is what I came up with:

As you can tell from the ripped paper- I taped and moved the samples around quite a bit.  This picture doesn’t do the paint colors any justice either- this picture s*cks.

I had my heart set out for this rustic look for my master bedroom, and chose “Mesa Verde Tan”

The Master Bathroom will have antique bronze faucets and shower head so I wanted to keep with the creams

I chose “Mocha Cream”:

One of the guest rooms, which is nice and bright, I decided to go with a darker color

I chose “Smoked Oyster”

For the full bathroom on the second floor off the hallway I have chosen “White Down”

For the other bedroom I have chosen “Shabby Chic”- mostly because I was hooked on the name…

As I mentioned before, I carried the color “Baby Fawn” from downstairs, and carried it through the hallway and landings

I’m really happy with the colors I chose, and I’m already decorating in my head.  I’ll be sure to post pictures of before and after colors!

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Want to see a magic trick? Pick a color, ANY color!

Any Interior Decorator or novice home decorator will tell you that paint “makes it” or “breaks it.”  Honestly.  When I first purchased my home it had bright bold colors and faux finishes on the walls that made it hard to see the potential the house had.  I think the home’s decor and colors deterred a lot of buyers, and I have a feeling that is why it was on the market for quite some time. Just remember that paint is cosmetic, and can always be changed.  My advice to you: when you go to a home, try to look past the old color, mentally remove their furniture, and envision something completely different- you’ll be in good shape!  However, if you don’t have taste or style and like that sort of ridiculousness- then there is no hope for you!  Anyway, once you get the home, and you pass papers and all that headache…. it’s time to create your color palette!  Know upfront that I ONLY use Benjamin Moore for home interior and exterior.  It’s just a far superior paint, covers very well, and is an exact match to it’s sample.  When doing interior walls, I almost ALWAYS choose an Eggshell finish.

Personally, I think it is very important to keep the rooms flowing together; separating them too much with contrasting colors makes a home look choppy.  One way to keep things consistent is by choosing one color and using the variety of shades on the same strip.  The colors will go up or down a degree, but don’t divert too far from the original.  Another option is picking a solid base.  What I mean is- if you want to do creams make sure that all your colors have a cream base… don’t mix a cream room with a blue based room and then a green based room… too confusing!  All in all, the  key is to getting them to look good together.  However, if you are like me…. then you pick a sh*t ton of samples, and don’t know what you want to do….  I like to lay out the floor plan- in this case upstairs and downstairs.

By laying out the floor plan, I can easily visualize what the colors will look like going from room to room.  They are also easily moveable, and I can toss them around until I get the desired look.  This may take YOU two minutes, this unfortunately takes ME days because I keep going back to the paint store for more samples, but I know how to pick paint- i’ll tell you that!

Sometimes I get ahead of myself, so I’ve decided to focus on the downstairs first, get the paint on the wall, and re-group.  Here is what I have come up with so far….

I have chosen Shenandoah Taupe for the dining room:

I have chosen Baby Fawn for the family room/hallway/stairs/landing:

I have chosen Broken Arrow for the Kitchen:

and lastly, I have chosen Texas Leather for the downstairs half bath:

They all look really good together.  Although they have the same taupe/cream undertone they provide each room with its own unique look.  I will keep you posted as we start to paint, and I’ll be sure to share pictures!  Once I get the upstairs figured out I will let you know- back to the drawing board, here goes another two days!

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