Betsy Speert revamps Maison Decor~Part One

 This is the big country hutch I had at home 

and finally was motivated to bring it

to the shop after Betsy Speert's visit.  

She blogged about it here. 

She is coming again today (!!) and we will work

on styling the shop some more, so I really wanted 

to get this big display piece in place

as it is the focal point of the shop~it really announces
"Annie Sloan™ Chalk Paint™ Decorative Paints 

are sold on the premises.

 Hubby, Scott, Dillon, Colin and I moved this big thing over 

on Sunday morning and then we needed to relocate the other 

cabinets and storage pieces as the domino effect came into play.

I had to take down the drapery panel display and that is one of the 

things Betsy will work on with me today.

The other thing we did on Sunday is help my customer load his pickup truck 

with the painted bedroom set I finished in Old White Chalk Paint™. 

 The furniture belongs to the guy in the white hat~

trying to figure out best way to load it...

 First piece~

 Hubby really comes in handy, I have to say! The big thing I learned about this, 

was that when the furniture arrived at the client's home, 

it had dirty fingerprint smudges on it...so now I will be

 wrapping pieces in shrink wrap and handing people gloves

 when they come to pick up their pieces. The fingerprints came

out with a buffing, but the wax needs to really cure, 

and it takes two weeks for a full cure. 

Since I was blogging about the day, hubby had me shoot this shot
of him showing Scott and Dillon how to wax!

Colin wanted me to shoot his Addidas shoes in colors that 

seemed appropriate for a paint shop~I bought them for him and he

 has never worn them (too goofy I guess)

but he surprised me and put them on this morning!

 Oh~I also went to auction Saturday morning specifically 
for these 4 french chairs...yummy!!

Colin watched the shop for the morning hours so I could do this. 

Thank you Colin!

These chairs have a lot of pretty detail, and I will be painting them

to resemble some chairs I saw in Sharon Osbourne's 

dining room in House Beautiful~

they were amazing and I fell in love with them!!

When I get them done I will show the inspiration pic as well as my 

interpretation and results. Fingers crossed.

Now lets step back a couple of days and let me show

 you the whirlwind of progress that happened when my 

favorite designer and now friend, Betsy Speert, 

walked through the doors of 50 Summer Street.

 This was the moment she walked through the door~she announced 

to me that she needed to walk around and check out the store....

the process had begun!

 Betsy checked out stuff and told me to stop interrupting her while she was trying to think!!!

I couldn't help myself...I kept asking her stuff while she was doing her thing.

And I know how that feels~so I am not sure why I kept doing it..but I took my scolding

well, and watched her slowly create zones in the shop by grouping like objects together,

as well as simplifying certain over stuffed areas.

 We talked about vintage linens, and agreed that there is

 no home for the spotted or stained but beautiful linens in my shop....

we started making a pile of things that needed to be donated or destroyed~ lol!

 She loved my idea of wrapping the lampshade

 with the twig and moss garland~yippee!

 Crowns were assembled...I had them dotted about the store. 

Doilies were dispatched! And every dresser scarf was as well~

Betsy put my paint samples in a wooden tray~

and I brought over all of my paint brushes to add to the display~

I must have been asking her  "How do you do it??"

 And she was thinking, "I can't explain it...I just do it!"

After spurts Betsy steps back and assesses~

I really was thrilled with the improvements. 

She was a sweetheart~and she was so happy that I was so happy.

That is one thing about a real friend, they step up to the plate

when you need them! 

It was the best!! 

Having someone who is super experienced and talented 

just swoop in to help figure it out was a godsend. Its usually me doing this

for others...but it might be true when they say it is harder to do for yourself in design.

Colin and I had spent the morning relocating the furniture

to places we felt it worked better in anticipation of 

Betsy's arrival~but I have always felt a house doesn't become 

a home until it is accessorized properly.

And so the same for the shop, it didn't feel its best,

and it was really bothering me. I was so glad she came to help

and am so looking forward to our second session.

Here is one of the before and afters of areas~

I will do a few more tomorrow after today's visit!

I am sure Betsy is going to love the big hutch too~

That's all for now~have a good one everybody!