The Best of Years~2012

Well there was a lot to like in 2012!  I can't say I have had a year like this~so many wonderful things happened to me and looking back through old blog posts takes me to those specific places and times in an instant.  The end of a year is always a time for reflection and gratitude, and this year is no different.  I started out this year being a mom and wife with a part time long term decorating career under my belt. The blog was in its second year and going strong...but something amazing happened along the way in the spring~and life has not been the same since then! This is my year in review through the lens of my blog.

A New Look

This post is all about the changes I was making in 

my home with decorating~I had a habit of constantly switching

things up~and this quick post shows some of the pretty changes that were happening around our home.

Quilted Slipcovers for the Leather Couch

A lot of my blog posts featured ideas I came up with to solve problems,

like sitting on a cold leather sofa during the winter months in

New England.  This was a very popular tutorial about making 

easy quilted slipcovers.

Glam Accent Wall

While the quilted slipcovers were more country in style,

this glamorous accent wall was totally chic! Another one of my

popular posts that showed how you can create an expensive look

with this pretty paper from an unexpected retailer.

French Home Office

January was a super prolific month for me~

I was creating and doing and going strong...one of my 

all time favorite makeovers was my home office.

The readers agreed~what do you think?

The White Staircase

February came along and I was still busy painting

and decorating and sharing it all on the blog.

This simple act of painting an oak staircase with white

paint seemed to resonate with a lot of readers.

A Childhood Spent Around the World

This was a reflective post written on my birthday

thanking my parents for my extraordinary childhood,

and a chance to share with my readers a little bit more about me.

 French Desk gets Pink Interior

Along came the month of March and with it 

the introduction of a new Chalk Paint color:

Antoinette! Remember at this point in time I was 

a consumer of the paint, just using it and blogging about it...

I had no inkling that within one months time I would 

become a shop owner selling Chalk Paint for Annie Sloan!

All these posts are written exactly as I experience the paint,

and I find it so incredible to read what I truly thought 

of the paint.  It inspired many projects that I was happy to share

in the wonderful land of blog.

 French Vanity Seat

Another pink and french project I worked on was this

pretty vanity seat...you have to see how ugly it was before!

 Gilded Paris Apartment Doors

Creating the look of these doors for my bathroom closets

was part of a master bathroom makeover project I had 

begun in March.  This simple how to really was

 a major game changer in our bathroom.

Belgian Grey Baskets and plans to 

go to the Annie Sloan US Tour!

This would be the last blog post I would

write before my life changed forever!  Its funny

that I was busy using Chalk Paint™ in so many

of my home improvement projects but had no clue

that I might want to become a Retailer Partner with Annie Sloan.

Well all that was about to change...here I write about how I plan

to attend Annie's Boston workshop in just a few days.

I was hurrying to try and get my bathroom done so I could share it with

a blogging buddy who was going to come and stay with me

so we could attend the workshop together. A fun read...

The Annie Sloan USA Boston Workshop

This was my photo diary and commentary about the workshop.

So many strangers would soon become familiar faces

and one or two would become my boss!!

 I had NO idea....

Dinner with Annie Sloan

After the full day workshop I had been invited to a private

dinner party for Annie Sloan. Attendees were mostly stockists and 

retail partners~with the exception 

of 3 Chalk Paint lovin' bloggers of which I was one.

I found myself seated at the right hand of the ...no wait, that is a prayer.

I found my self seated at the right hand of Annie Sloan herself

for a memorable and life changing meal.

I am an Annie Sloan Retail Partner!!

I took this shot of Annie Sloan and the women 

in her circle~from the top boss lady Lisa Rickert, 

to many of the stockists who would become my close friends.

It captured the essence of how good it can be when women

are arm in arm, hand in hand, working together and loving

the process and the results! It was a family that I was 

about to get baptized into...

this blog post announced my big news!

This post discusses the structure of the company, but that soon

would change as well.  I am no longer a "Retail Partner"

and now have a direct relationship with Annie Sloan Unfolded

and am considered a "Stockist" or a retailer for

Chalk Paint™ decorative brand paint by Annie Sloan.

How to Shabby Chic Your Furniture

At my new store I was busy painting furniture~I wrote

a post about how to make dark furniture into that shabby cottage look.

It became one of my most popular posts of the year.

Painting the Sofa with Chalk Paint

This post shows how I impulsively painted my gilded french sofa with Antibes.

It also shows other happenings in the new Maison Decor shop.

I had a zillion emails asking me about the results of this paint job!

I went on to later paint it pink with Antoinette. 

Yes, you can paint your upholstery!

Tiffany Blue Chair

After painting the sofa I painted a set of faux

leather chairs with stunning results. These 

chairs now live at my house and are used day to day,

and after six months of use I can report that there 

are no signs of wear. So much cheaper than reupholstering!

French Poem wall stencil

A stencil for the wall in the shop was easy and dramatic!

Opening Store #2 in Boston!

Just when life was getting crazy, in July I got the 

bright idea to open another store in Boston!

yeah....I did....read about it here.

With my son Justin on board to head up the store,

we plunged in full steam ahead.

Progression on Boston Store

Behind the scenes of how we took this raw space

and in one months time got it ready to open!

 Justin, Colin, hubby and I worked our tails off getting it

all finished just in the nick of time. 

 I was so proud of our family's teamwork.

Bonkers in Boston

Our opening weekend on Labor Day 

exceeded our wildest expectations! 

We paid the rent two times over in that weekend~

and the phrase "Miller Time" became an unwitting 

way to announce one's success in the Annie Sloan circles

after this photo made the rounds~lol.

Pearl Plaster Finish

We continued to explore new ways to finish

furniture~and this pearlescent product was quite exciting!

Workshops and Gilding stuff!

Much of my time is spent teaching Chalk Paint™ workshops.

You can sign up online for these to learn the exciting things

that this paint can do for your home decor.  One of my other

favorite things I discovered this year was the power of gilding.

This post shows a lot of those products and the gorgeous results.

You can experiment with this product in our popular workshops.

Custom Mora Clocks

At Maison Decor we are busy painting reproduction

mora wall clocks for our customers! This link will take you to 

the online shop where you can select your personal favorite.

An incredible Before and After!

Custom painted furniture is a big part of our business

at Maison Decor now.  This popular blog post shows how 

this French Linen Armoire inspired a customer to want her 

hope chest to take on the same look....she loved it so much she 

bought the armoire too!!

Creating the French Look

My obsession remains taking old worn furniture

and creating beautiful finishes with Chalk Paint~

this popular post showed off a music cabinet,

and the steps I took to get this look.

Painting Stripes

December brought more painting inspiration ideas~

like adding painted stripes to your pieces! My blog posts took a turn

towards all the activity now going on in my life as an

Annie Sloan Retailer and its natural that my home life

was going to take a back burner in the blog posts.

However many readers miss seeing my home and I hope 

to get it some blog time next year with a few exciting

home decor projects we have in mind.  

I'll still be painting lots of furniture next year~and teaching and blogging

too.  I have a few trips planned as well! I will be headed to New Orleans with Mr. Maison Decor to attend the annual Annie Sloan Stockists meeting.

 I was invited to attend a creative retreat in February by 

someone I think is the tops in her field! I can't wait to get more inspiration

and continue to share it all right here.  

One thing that is for sure~this year

would not have been a success for me personally without

my loving husband's support and encouragement.

He is everything I brag about on occasion and more~

it is not a glossed over version of the truth. I am one lucky woman,

and have so much to be thankful for with him by my side.

Years later and we are getting older for sure~

but together we will be forever and ever! What

a great feeling that is~better than the biggest sales days at the 

stores, or magazine mentions or diamond rings and new cars!

This is what it is truly all about....

And this too~

With so much pride in my family I can look back

on a year filled with highlights that give me great joy.

But none more so than what I find with my sons and 

my husband.  Sending you all my thanks for being

a blog follower or reader, a shopper, a painter with our paint

and most of all your friendship!

Happy New Year~and heres to 2013

and the bounty it may hold.