Rough Luxe Style

 Rough Luxe.  

This decorating term might be getting overused lately

and for those of you who haven't heard about Rough Luxe, it simply means

combining two styles~luxury with rustic.  

Its a winning combination in home decor as it is an easy

way to have your fancy things in a room without having the formality.

We love antique mirrors and chandeliers to add a little glamour

and sparkle to a room. We are all for great reproductions as well.

The chandelier above came out of a Boston estate on Marlborough Street,

while the starburst mirrors are reproductions.  

These elements are both on the "luxe" end of Rough Luxe.

 To add a little "rough" we paired our mirrors and chandelier 

with a jute rug in a chic herringbone pattern,

underneath a linen settee with an aged wood finish and metal nail heads.  

A French gathering basket sits on the settee holding a bunch of dried lavender.

 One last accessory is the reclaimed wood beam end tables, custom made for our shop

by a Maine craftsman.  Putting it all together gives this shop vignette Rough Luxe style.

Look around your home to see what rustic elements you can mix with your fancier

pieces, and you too can be at the head of the decorating curve.

source
This wonderful mix of Rough Luxe style 

is taken off of one of my Pinterest boards. 

 If the table was a traditional style finished wood table, 

it would be a lovely, but standard room of nice looking pieces.

But by adding the big distressed table, 

it creates a feeling of excitement and style in a big way.

We are excited to offer these wonderful 100% premium jute rugs

 in different sizes in our store in Reading Mass and

 online in our Home Decor section at

 shopmaisondecor.com

 From 4x6, 6x9, 8x10 and runners too with value pricing from $85-$265. 

Create your Rough Luxe style starting from the ground up!

 Roll up those oriental rugs and refresh your living spaces. 

You will love the result!

Chandelier, Settee and Starbursts all found in both our

store and online as well. 

To read more about our stenciled wall click here.

An amazing light and giveaway

Lighting is so important to the ambience of a room.  

Lamp light is the best way to create an inviting atmosphere. 

 I use a lot of table lamps and floor lamps in home decorating, 

as well as in my home.  At home I tend to have lots of vintage lighting,  

like this tole and crystal lamp on a marble base that that has a clip-on style lamp shade. 

 This post is about light~light bulbs in particular!  I was asked if I would like 

to review a new kind of light bulb and if you read my blog, 

you will know that I do not do reviews very often.  

However this particular light bulb is LED 

and is a new product that has a lot going for it, 

so I wanted to check it out myself.  I am picky about the light a bulb 

will throw in a room.   If the light is nice, and if it can save oodles 

on my energy bill and the bulb itself will last ten years, then I am all in!

Its the CREE lightbulb, and in fact it just won 

Home Depot's Innovation Award for 2013!

If you think LED bulbs are screaming bright and harsh light, think again.

Cree has created the first LED light bulb that looks like a normal light bulb

and gives off a soft warm light just like a normal old fashioned bulb.

What is amazing is that it uses 82% less energy because most bulbs spend 

their energy creating heat, not light. Did you know that home lighting uses

13% of all the energy used in the USA?  If  Cree bulbs were used, the amount saved

in energy dollars would be $50 billion a year.  And one more stat~

they last 25 times longer than a normal bulb, and they have a 10 year warranty.

Its also priced under $10, which is amazing for the return on the dollar.

These bulbs are shaped light a regular light bulb, so my clip on style shades 

work the way they are designed to work.  The bulbs are really sturdy and shatter

resistant, as well as good for indoors and outdoors use, which is nice for 

not having to get on the ladder and change out those outdoor fixtures beside the

garage or front door.  I have a burnt out light right now, and since its winter, its 

going to stay that way until spring comes. Then I plan to install these Cree lights

and not worry about it for TEN YEARS!

I had even put in the ugly swirled florescent bulbs in the outside fixtures

 to save energy even if they did look ugly, but I figured we were saving energy 

so I would sacrifice looks for doing the right thing.

Now I won't have to! 

Can you see why I am not asking hubby or 

getting outside myself to change a light bulb right now?

Its snow-maggedon up here in Boston.

These bulb are also dimmable, which is nice if you have dimmer switches. 

They contain no mercury either, like CFL bulbs do. 

Ok, I am totally excited about the boring old light bulb now!!

I am offering a give away on the blog for the bulbs, and if you win you

will receive a 75 watt and a 60 watt bulb by leaving a comment on this blog

post if you would like to be entered to win.  One comment only, please.

This giveaway is for US residents only.

If you have a no-reply blogger address make sure I can contact you via email.

I will post on Facebook and the blog who is the winner.

Contest starts today and ends February 28th!

For more information you can check out Cree light bulbs

here at their website: www.creebulb.com

One more thing about lighting~update your older lamps with 

a simple switch out of a lampshade like I did.

·                 I find great looking shades at various places, including HomeGoods,

and have seen nice ones at Lowes and Home Depot too.

Sophisticated grey linen shade with a gold metallic thread was just the ticket

for these vintage brass candlestick lamps.  This is an easy DIY project anyone

can accomplish without much trouble, and you will update your living space in a jiffy.

Thats it from me~I am loving the new lightbulbs, and you won't be

disappointed.  This review was truly my opinion, and I was not 

compensated in any way other than to test out this new award winning Cree bulb.

Sunday Potpourri

We have been busy lately unloading tractor trailers that have delivered

home furnishing and accents to us from our trip to the Atlanta Market.  

Lots of moving stuff around and creating new vignettes in the shop.

Same thing happens when we sell a large piece of furniture.  The area

gets a makeover.  I find that very fun, and what has been really more fun

than me doing it, is watching Justin do it!  

He is just a natural at display.

(and yes his eyes are really that blue!)

This photo above Justin's pic is the after photo when he finished 

incorporating all the new goodies and the photo below is a recent before.

Both are nice, but then we got more product delivered, and he was the 

guy who put it all together.  Its just like doing your own house,

when you want to freshen it up  occasionally with new accessories,

but here at the shop, we have to reinvent things all the time.

See how there is less stuff here?

More stuff looks good in a shop, not so much in a home.

Justin whipped up our antique gilt frame chalk board with some chalk art.

The chalk boards have drawn a lot of interest, 

and I think its because they are the real deal.

We plan to offer these oversized antique chalkboard frames so if you are interested

let us know and we will put you on a list as we will be getting these oversized frames

from various sources (the big ones are hard to find).

 You can have first dibs on refusal or right to purchase when we get

these fabulous pieces in the shop.

With all the snow recently it has given me time to take on another

paint project.  This is a drop front french desk that I fell in love

with despite its need for a little TLC before painting.

Normally I don't pick pieces that need fixing up, but this one

was calling my name~so I added a little wood filler to repair some surface

issues to the drop front section of the desk.

 Its gonna be a custom job all right!  Lots of ideas in my head, 

and I decided to go for a rustic look based on a desk image 

I saw online. After painting a base coat of 

Graphite Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan, 

I did a coat of Artisan Enhancements Easy Crackle.  

This would create texture and work to 

create the old world finish I had in mind.

We sell both Chalk Paint and Artisan products online and in our shop

if you are looking for them.

You can see the Easy Crackle drying up 

after I applied it with a stippling motion over the paint. 

I didn't put it everywhere, just a bit here and there.

 After it dried I did another coat of Graphite, followed by some washing with a 50/50 mix 

of French Linen and Old White. That is when the Easy Crackle texture started to appear

and I was well on the way to that glorious rustic Gustavian finish I was trying to achieve.

Next would be the interior....

source unknown

Oh! 

This is the inspiration photo that made me want to make it nice and rustic.

Its still beautiful but its rustic painted finish makes it stand out in a nice way.

This was the desk I recently finished for a client in not such a rustic way.

It has the antique look achieved with dark waxing, but it is more polished

looking than the French desk I am currently working on.  Now sorry to leave you

hanging, but I will be back with the finished result soon.

I posted a during photo on Facebook and was contacted by someone

who may be interested in purchasing it and they would like to 

select their own color for the interior.  So if the sale goes through,

the interior will be as much a surprise to me as it will be to you!

I hope you all had a nice Valentines weekend.

It was also my birthday weekend, as it falls the day after Valentines Day.

My hubby took me out for dinner on V-day and we had a bit of fun

dressing up in our cowboy stuff on this cold and blustery night.

I am lucky to have found this guy~he is truly the best partner for me

and I try to never take him for granted.  We will be marking our tenth

year together this April!  That coupled with a mid milestone birthday for me

has me trying to make the most out of every day.  Not sure why that is~

a big birthday or a big event just makes you more aware of what is 

special I think.  I spent part of my birthday at an auction, which is

one of my very favorite things to do! 

Check out this Empire table!

 It would be wonderful in a hallway or a living room as

a library kind of piece.  Piled up with books and magazines, 

a basket to catch the daily mail, and then put a cool lamp on top!

  Wow! I can see it in my minds eye!

 It has a drawer that blends in with the

 top molding so you can hide papers inside.

 It is solid as a rock with great chunky lines.

 You will see a few other neat pieces of 

furniture coming into the shop as well as a big french piece I bought for 

our house!  I will have to paint it and do a big reveal~so stay tuned!

I am also trying to do a bit of a living room makeover, but 

am not finding the time to get as many changes as I would like.

Some new pillows and some art prints have been added,

as well as a new sisal carpet, which I really love.

However our room is a bit too small, and it is giving me a challenge on

the floor plan.  So just like anyone, decorating can be fun but 

it also can be frustrating.  Thinking  now I might need to purchase a pair

of matching arm chairs to sit across from the sofa.  But all of this

decorating dilemma will be addressed in upcoming posts, so you can 

chime in on what you think works and doesn't.

I love getting free advice!

For paint and home decorative accessories,

Annie Sloan workshops and more click on our link below.

www.shopmaisondecor.com

Creating a Feature Wall the Easy Way!

 Here is a sneak preview of the finished feature wall 

I created in the entrance of our shop. 

The guys built a wall for us to have more interior display space 

and it has been really wonderful in that regard. 

We can create little vignettes showcasing different things on every 

side of the new wall, which is an L shape.  

And just like in your home, sometimes you have an area where 

you might want to make a statement using wallpaper or a contrast paint color. 

 Its a great decorator trick, and whats nice about it is that you only have to do one wall!  

 I have a way of making the feature wall even easier without losing any panache. 

 Check out how I transformed this entry wall in a matter of minutes, 90 to be exact.  

 When you enter the shop, there is now a nice taupe colored wall 

that we display one of our pieces of furniture.  Nice, but kind of vanilla, right?  

As I often do, I kind of mentioned to Justin one day during 

work that I intended to do a stencil pattern on our front wall, 

in anticipation of some of our new furniture we purchased at market. 

 After my announcement, I showed him my idea, and he said, 

well its not exactly my thing, but if you wanna do it~go for it.

  He stayed in the back working on whatever he was doing as I set up the ladder.

 Besides the ladder, all I needed were a few things: 

 A big wall stencil, some tacky repositionable spray (at Michaels)

 to hold the stencil in place, a sample of Pearl Plaster, 

a brush for stenciling the pattern and a level. 

 I did not use the painters tape as the spray worked great holding it in place.

 I used a level to put the stencil in the center at the top of the wall. 

Before I placed it into position, I found the center point of the wall 

and then held the level up to draw a straight line North to South. 

 Since this was clearly a one woman job with Justin staying out of it,

 I wanted to make sure I got the stencil straight. 

Using a level is a necessary step and it takes two minutes.  

You can erase the pencil line when finished with the wall. 

 Do not eyeball this part! Trust me. 

Your stencil pattern can start going off kilter 

as you continue on with each placement.

 This shows the second time I stenciled the pattern, 

lining up the tracing marks that are on the plastic of the stencil.  

This is a large stencil, and the pattern is large too, 

without a lot of intricate cut outs, you can get the paint or in my case,

 the Pearl Plaster applied to the wall quickly.  

Pearl Plaster is great for stenciling as it doesn't drip, 

and it gives a luxurious look without being too over the top.

 See my little sample of Pearl Plaster on my ladder? 

I would lightly add some pearl to the brush and then rub

 it off inside the lid so I didn't have too much material on the brush, 

and then I stenciled the pattern.  It was moving right along!

 AFter I had my center row finished, 

I did the row to the left and then the right.

 Finished result was this~you can see Justin still hanging 

in the back while I was snapping away and loving the new wall!! 

Whats the old saying? Mother knows best!? 

Yup, I was pretty sure this was going to look 

fantastic with our new Linen Settee in front of it.

You can easily do this project in just a few hours 

and with just a sample of Pearl Plaster.

Our beautiful stencil was done with the

 Large Acanthus Trellis Stencil by Royal Design Studios.

We carry both products in our shop and in our online store!  

Of course you can use any stencil, or paint for that matter, 

if metallics are not your thing. 

And how about that settee? 

LOVE!!

Pearl Plaster Shop Here

Stencils Shop Here

For lowest prices online for Chalk Paint

 and for our Home Accessories check out our website

www.shopmaisondecor.com

Maison Decor Guys first video!

Hope you enjoy our first Maison Decor Guys video.

Colin sneaks up on Justin with a camera and starts  

making a movie while Justin is finishing a custom 

Chalk Paint® project.  When Justin realizes that Colin

is not taking stills, the fun ensues.

Hope you enjoy our behind the scenes action at our shop!

Press the arrow in the center to watch,

and the brackets in the bottom to make the video play full screen.

Other news at the shop is our new Global Village collection.

Look for these items to come to our online shop soon.

Breadboards, seltzer crates, olive baskets, barrel stave pendants..

its all cool stuff!