Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Gatsby Dresser~mix your own colors with Chalk Paint®

 The latest painted project from Maison Decor is our Gatsby Dresser.  Its one of our favorites to date!  We wanted to mix a vibrant turquoise color and so we used two of the colors in the Chalk Paint® color palette:  Florence and Provence.  Both beautiful alone but we wanted this dresser to have a color that was as special as its lines and details. From the hardware to the extra fancy details this one had us at hello.  Colin landed the project and he had his first time at mixing up the right shade of blue...green....blue.....green....uh, you get what I'm trying to say, right?   I have a bunch of pics on my iphone and they are all distorted when I tried to upload them onto this blog platform. Not sure why~so instead of subjecting you to fatso images that look a bit fun house nutso, we will just leave it at this simple post of one pretty image and one that is a bit distorted (below).  
 After Colin mixed up the paint colors he painted two coats, let it dry overnight, then he distressed it around the edges and the details and applied a mix of dark and clear wax with a liberal hand.  Wiped it all off right away. I added some King Gold gilding wax for the final touch~ leaving behind a perfectly finished vintage cabinet that we find might just have come out of the movie we saw two nights ago The Great Gatsby!  The colors in the movie were all so intense and saturated and there was plenty of gilding too.  What inspiration!  We hope someone finds this dresser inspirational and decides they cannot live without it...just like Jay Gatsby needed Daisy Buchanan... we however,  are hoping for a happy ending for this little Maison Decor production. 

 For more information about the dresser 
or to buy King Gold gilding wax
go online to www.shopmaisondecor.com



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Friday, May 24, 2013

Patriotic Bunting,Painted furniture and Parties

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
We celebrated by making some patriotic buntings for the Boston shop 
for this weekend sale. 
I got inspired by this Pottery Barn ad~
its a rough cut vintagey looking bunting strung on twine.
 The Maison Decor version~done using 
Chalk Paint® in Emporer's Silk and Napoleonic Blue.
 Detail closeup
I made a cardboard template and then traced it over some white cotton fabric.
Painters tape was used to make the stripe marks.
The I rolled out the red paint with a semi dry foam roller leaving some areas not totally covered.
This part was a synch!
The star part was harder as I cut out stars on some sticky backed shipping labels and then
peeled them off and applied to my cotton bunting flag. Then I rolled over the blue paint.
Quick and easy~I made a six foot bunting and used a heavy twine as the cord.
I folded it over and used a glue gun. No sewing~this is an easy peasy project!
Or you can come into Boston and buy one of these handscreened buntings while they last.
You can hang them outside and they will withstand the rain and the sun.
Then keep them for July 4th and you are good to go!
This French Quatrefoil dresser is done in Coco Chalk Paint
 with plenty of dark wax (after the clear wax of course).
 A custom paint job for a client in Country Grey~also with dark wax. 
I did a light Chateau Grey wash over the drawers and along 
the decorative edge of the table top as this piece is going in a room 
with a Chateau Grey coffee table we did for the same client.  
 I highlighted the shell carvings with the Chateau wash as well~
and finished off with a touch of German Silver Gilders Paste.
This bachelor chest in Olive Chalk Paint just went into Boston for the 
upcoming weekend sale.  It is a beautiful piece also done with dark wax.
Colin did this hall tree for a client.
 She brought us this item from an unfinished wood store
and picked out what she wanted from one of our many samples in the shop.
We are also doing a huge french mirror for her home!
 Colin did a splendid job~its Duck Egg with a French Linen wash
 highlighted with Kings Gold Gilding Wax. And that's about it 
from us at Maison Decor~ I will be teaching an Introductory Chalk Paint
 class this Sunday and then joining all the guys and Madison
 in the Boston store for a Memorial Day cocktail hour!
Our new wall display just called for having a party!
Don't you agree?




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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

We are Growing~more hours, more help and more stores!



Justin drew this chalk art in the Boston store. 
 I adore it!
Isn't it quirky and fabulous and so artsy?
He continues to impress me with his creative side.
Lucky is how I always feel...and now even more so.
This family run business of ours is getting a little bit bigger.
I am feeling very lucky to have Colin on the staff full time now
as he just graduated from college. 
(Official UMASS grad!)
Its going to be a huge help to me
as well as helping us be more available
 with longer hours and days for the convenience of our shoppers.


 Colin is back on the scene to stay~full time and its fantastic! 
Look for our red Maison Decor truck
 making deliveries in your neighborhood.
When he's not delivering furniture, hes busy painting of course!
Follow us on Instagram @shopmaisondecor and @amymaisondecor
 for behind the scenes hijinks and inspiration!
And then there were 4.....4 people working at Maison Decor! 
Welcome aboard Madison!!
Madison is Justin's girl friend and you will find
 them working together every Sunday in Boston.
So with all of us together under the company umbrella there will be more painting~

more deliveries~
more workshops~


and one more store!!!
Opening in July~details coming soon!
Its just a whole lot more of Maison Decor!!
Boston is rocking the SOWA district every weekend.
Looking for that distinctive piece of furniture
 you just can't find any place else?  

This great dresser we call our Green Line dresser just sold~
more pieces just as cool will be on the way this weekend.
This stunning block front chest in Olive will be in town~its gonna go in a flash!
We all LOVE this piece, its first rate all the way. Great for a living room piece
or in a bedroom...hallway or foyer~you name it! 
How about some unique home accessories to feather your nest?
Stop in and check us out!
Its always a different experience every weekend.
The Boston store will have more than a few show stoppers added
for our Memorial weekend rush!
Like this incredible 8 foot long industrial table!
Wouldn't it be stunning as wine bar station with crushed ice in the trough?
Maybe add some oysters on the half shell for appetizers?
Ya...I can totally visualize it!
and in case you missed it, we are in June issue of Romantic Homes
in a fabulous 4 page layout telling about our little family store 
and just how Maison Decor came to life.



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Thursday, May 16, 2013

Use dark wax to bring out the best in a piece!

 Its been awhile since I blogged about a piece I painted at the shop~
we have had a vanity in the shop for almost a year, and it has not sold. 
 So that always gets me to thinking that it must need a paint job. 
 My inspiration for this particular piece came to me when I saw 
one of my first official Annie Sloan samples I made with
 Annie in Boston a year ago.  It was lovely Antoinette with a dark wax finish. 
The gold you see is actually the gold of the molding distressed to reveal itself, 
but I could achieve this same result using gilding wax.  
The glamour girl vanity! Do you remember this piece? 
It really was a beauty and I thought it would sell au natural~but it did not. 
 The amber glass mirror pieces were the hardest part of the puzzle
 when choosing a Chalk Paint color.  What would go nicely with
Amber glass and yet work with this  feminine powerhouse of a style? 
It had to be Antoinette with a deep gold color gilding! And it had
to be dark waxed to bring out all the details and raise the 
elegance level of the color from sweet to sophisticated.
 After two coats of Antoinette~looking like a pink ghost.
 Read to be waxed!
When I wax and plan to dark wax I do it in tandem in sections at a time.
So I get all my supplies at the ready~
my clear and dark waxes and my clear and dark wax brushes
 as well as two clean rags.
 On a piece like this I will use a soft rag to apply the wax 
into the crevices where the brush cannot reach.
 Put it on and wipe it off all in one swipe.
 Then I move on with the dark wax. I like to put it on
 my brush and off load it onto a plate and then apply.
 Our hog bristle brush is a bit softer than our ultimate wax brush 
and that works really well with the dark wax as it is softer than the clear.
Ideally you want a brush for each color wax~
as you can see if I didn't use a brush to get
this dark wax on, I would have a terrible time getting 
it into the recesses of the carved areas.
I move right along quickly...a section at time, making sure
 there is a first layer of clear wax before I dark wax.
 When you encounter an area where the wax might settle in too 
much I like to use a tiny screw driver and insert it into my
 wiping rag and use it to rub away the excess dark wax. 
 Works like a charm.
 I do each drawer one at at a time, first clear, then dark wax, 
then wipe away. Don't be afraid of how dark it is and scary!
 It can wipe right down to give a nice aged look and 
it takes your piece from good to GREAT!
 At this point the whole piece has been waxed. 
It looks pretty good but I have one more step.
 Because of the amber glass I decide to use the 
only gilding wax I think has the deep rich gold color of 
florentine pieces~and its the Renaissance gilding wax 
which we sell in our online shop.
 I applied it with my finger tip and decided where it should go~
 It needed to be on the heavy side because
 of the big expanses of amber gold mirror.
This way it will feel balanced.
 Almost done....
Looking pretty!
And that's the way to use dark wax to bring a piece to life! 
Don't forget the gilding wax if it needs a little
 boost in the luxe department!
 We are proud to be in the June issue of Romantic Homes magazine!
 While I was working on the piece Justin came to the shop fresh off the T (subway).
He and Colin had to pickup an auction load of furniture today~
 Working with them is a lot of fun. The mood is
 generally light and sometimes pretty goofy.
I wanted to grab a shot of this dresser and told them 
to strike a pose....so out comes the muscles!!
Then they both started laughing...its fun like that around here.
I am loving having them both full time now.
The next time I write I will have the whole story on our 
new store and all that jazz!!
Have a great day everybody and thanks for reading.



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