New things and Sold Things~a shopkeeper's life

 All of  a sudden things are selling, besides the paint~

I was sad and happy all at the same time when 

someone bought the french settee yesterday~you can also 

see a Louis Blue mora clock I am working

on for a custom order in the background...

Colin and I delivered it right down the street to someone's new apartment~

 They also bought this diminutive buffet to use as a television stand~

and another french table as well...and some toss pillows to go on the settee.

 Another guy came in the store yesterday and 

was wanting Asian inspired items...huh?

This is obviously French-ville!! But I was able to

 transform this black and gold mirror into

an Asian looking piece with a coating of Emperor's Silk, 

some rub off distressing and some clear and dark wax...

done in 30 minutes, and one happy customer!

 See the detail? It has that red lacquer look that has aged a bit over time...

You can see how it looked in its black with gold~very English traditional.

This petite french table sold today! So I am saying goodbye to

 many things~and getting ready for new ones!

Here was how my first Florence project came out~

 This is an old Tabloid table~I dreamt of a finish that felt Moroccan.

 Looking to get that verdi-gris look with tarnished and turned copper.

 Kind of like the copper clad bay windows above my shop~

 The table as it came to me~painted in a

 reddish brown paint to look like mahogany.

 I spray painted it in bright gold Rustoleum paint for the base coat~

 I used mostly Florence Chalk Paint™, 

but also a bit of Antibes~and then distressed it

back to reveal gold and the red painted wood structure beneath.

 Finished with clear and dark waxes.

Its getting lots of compliments in the store~

a fun and funky piece! Priced at $79~

 This set of original Hitchcock chairs from around the 1950s

 came in as well~each back splat has a different stenciled pattern. 

 The sturdy chairs are all with intact rush seats and

 wonderful country chairs~signed by the Hitchcock company.

 Each chair is $80~check online and you will see this is quite the deal!

The signature is found on the back of the seat~

I'll be closing up shop starting Saturday June 30 through 

Sunday July 8th and plan to be open for catch up business 

on Monday the 9th.  One more thing to share with you all~

I was stunned to see what a gorgeous piece Betsy Speert 

painted on her debut using Chalk Paint™ by Annie Sloan. 

It might be the nicest piece I have seen~so don't miss it!

 Click on the pic to link to the post.

I'll forgive her for misspelling Annie's last name...

Walking down Summer Street~

 This is the view on Summer Street now~

 With the new sign hanging up and all the windows lettered~

 Its as pretty as I had hoped it would be!

 Who wouldn't want to go in this shop?

 After the window lettering went up, we needed to 

adjust the draperies as they blocked out the lettering.

Here it is with the new projecting sign, 

and you can see that the ivory

 swags block out the lettering to some degree~

 So up the ladder I went and after 

a few stabs at something different, 

Colin and I decided to take down the fabric~

Colin thought the chandeliers would look nice in each of the windows~

and I agreed...they were lost hanging in the back of the shop.

 So up they went~Colin hung them at just the right height.

 Its delicious and frenchy and very cottagey!

We are very happy at Maison Decor, the sales are doing really well, 

and it is a pleasure just walking through these doors!

 The customers love the shop, and so do we! 

I hope you will get a chance to visit someday and 

we can talk about decorating and all 

that good stuff! I never get tired of that~

Dreaming of a Pink Sofa~and the workshop I had today

 The other night I dreamt that my sofa was to be pink~

often that is when I find these dreamy ideas are the right ones.

Do you ever dream up ideas that seem to be so right

you can't believe you couldn't think of them when awake?

Well the green sofa turned into Antoinette Pink

and it certainly fits the store better~

 I was here bright and early setting up for my Drab to Fab workshop~

 Paint samples are set out so the ladies can decide

what color they want to paint their drab pieces!

 Here they are finishing up~a happy crew.

One poor lady called in sick and

will come for the July workshop instead.

 I have the workshops on Sunday when I am closed...

and I hang this sign in the door.

 Sue worked on her hubby's childhood rocker in Paris Grey~

 Debbie did a graphic transfer on a small vanity bench. 

I wished I took more in the middle of it all photos, 

but I was too busy being a teacher, and not

 a good blogger~so here are the finished pieces.

 Sues's vintage child rocker in Paris Grey~

 Jackie's jewelry box in Antoinette all shabbied up!

A mod little Antibes table decoupaged with fishies by Kate~

And Debbies vanity and bench in Coco~

If you are in my area and want to try a workshop, 

check the shop link on the blog for details.

I'll be doing a "Ladies Night at the Auction" soon!

 Would you like to go to learn how to bid at an auction,

 what to look for, when to bid and when to keep your

 paddle in your lap, and ultimately and go home with a treasure?

 Lots of fun "workshops" will be coming soon~

and they aren't all about painting.

While my workshop was great,

 my big fun of the day is happening right this very moment! 

I'll share that soon!!

Have you ever seen a Side by Side?

I had never seen a side by side til this year at auction~I fell in love with it and had to have it for the store. Of course that mentality set me back a few pennies, as another guy wanted it too~for his wife as a gift.  After the auction he tried to buy it from me, but I wouldn't sell...I was dying to breathe new life into it...

But before we get into all that, a Side by Side is a Secretary desk with a bookcase, side by side.  Its a very smart design I think~and would make a perfect piece of furniture for today's world. 

 It has a slant front desk top~perfect for the laptop and

 you can tuck it away when you shut the desk.

 Keep all your business cards and paper clips in here~

 The desk has old world details~and little key holes...they had key holes on everything!! What do you suppose they had to lock up in these old desks?  Its funny to think about...but they are attractive decorative details that speak to another time.

 This side by side has a bow front glass door to the bookcase too~

I lined the back of the desk with the seagreen metallic taupe damask wallpaper.

 The desk itself is done in Old Ochre Chalk Paint™ with a 

French Linen wash followed by a wash with a 

blue green color I mixed up~this piece looks really amazing in person!

Its hard to get the subtle colors across the computer monitor,

so you will have to trust me on this.

 This is carved wood~not an applique stuck on made out of resin or plastic.

I added just a touch of antique gold metallic for

 a slight shimmer on some of the carved areas.

Here is the BEFORE~

Please don't write me and tell me I ruined a piece of nice furniture.

I am into painting furniture and I won't apologize.

You can not paint your furniture and I am cool with that.

When I saw this, I saw it all painted in white...

so I painted it white and it looked blah...

so I came up with the Old Ochre and the washes.

 Can't you see this desk in a kitchen or a family room? 

Looking all splendid but really doing double duty.

The bookcases could be filled with BOOKS(!) ~

or grey washed baskets holding hidden supplies.

 It has a pretty beveled mirror that has silver crazing on it 

and a tiny little whatnot shelf to put something special on display.

So you see why I fell in love, right? 

Come into the shop and see for yourself...

Its waiting for a new home...