Monday, May 12, 2014

My painted hutch brightened up my space!

 I don't get much personal time these days with the day to day operations
of our shop, Maison Decor.  But that doesn't mean the ideas don't stop flowing.
I purchased a large french provincial china cabinet for our dining room
The main reason was to use it as our bill paying and paper filing center.
With the business generating tons of paper work, and my husbands side business
running an excavation company, we have lots of papers and bills and it was
taking over our dining room table.  Since we already have a smaller china cabinet
in the room, I thought this might be a good solution for us, and so far its been 
working out great.  It might not look as pretty as if it would had it been filled
with pretty china, but form must meet function, and this is the compromise.
As soon as we put it in place, I knew I would be painting it.  The large wooden
piece darkened up the room immediately and it ruined the feel of the space.
Here is a rare shot of that end of the room, rare mostly because I avoid taking
pics of things I find ugly. Glad to have it though, because its fun to compare
the afters when you have a good before shot.
Louis Blue Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan to the rescue. 
 I just painted in place,
opening drawers a touch and getting the edges, 
swinging open doors and painted the edges
and then closing them when they dry, in about 10 minutes. 
 I like to do a fairly light coat~
and this color happens to cover exceedingly well. 
There was zero prepwork involved, 
I just grabbed my Annie paint brush and began.  
 In an hour I was almost finished! 
I will be taking down the wallpaper behind the cabinet
as it is no longer viable as a feature wall with the 
large cabinet in front of it. The color palette
in my living room and dining room is mostly white
 with soft blues and greens and shades in between.
 An hour and half later the first coat was finished! 
 I was very happy with the lightened look.  
My plan is to do another coat, but this one will be using Pure White 
and dry brushing the white over the Louis Blue. 
When you want a lighter look but a finish with depth,
layer two colors together, starting with the darker one first.
When completed I will update with a finished photo. 
 But for now, I am very happy with how much prettier and brighter the room is!
I have been working on my living room as well.
Really have the bug. The redecorating bug.  Maybe its springtime...
not really sure. But if you are looking for some real decorating tips with 
tons of beautiful ideas, get the latest issue of Southern Living's Style Guide.
Its a special edition, and the cover won me over.  See how I copied the pair 
of chairs in the layout just like they show on their cover?  
I adored the color palette too, as its close to mine, 
although their is more vibrant and mine is more muted.

Photobucket

19 comments:

  1. The hutch looks fabulous and your living room is gorgeous.

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  2. I m always amazed at what a little paint can do. Beautiful color. Beautiful home :)
    Happy Monday,
    Gee

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  3. What a great piece, Amy! I love how it looks even without the white on top, but I will look forward to seeing it all done. Too bad about the wallpaper ~ I remember when you put that up and how pretty it looked.

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  4. You have inspired me Amy. I keep looking at my buffet and secretary at home knowing I will love them even more painted but like you I'm tired when I get home so keep putting it off. I will use Duck Egg with Pure White to brighten up my living room. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  5. Hi Amy,
    I love the colour of your chairs. This is kind of celadon, perfectly with your freshly painted cabinet and the rest of the room!
    Inspiring!

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  6. The Luis Blue is really pretty--makes me want to try that color too! Your hutch looks beautiful! I love seeing the before pictures :)

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  7. Oh...I love how the french hutch and cabinet is looking. When did you get those blue chairs in the living room? I love those. I did a little makeover on my sofa and chair in the living room. But haven't shown cause I need to sew up some pillows. I'm really having a hard time getting things done cause like you...I'm not here much. But we'll keep trying...won't we?

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  8. ha! I Love how you did this right in place! I do the same myself! When I feel like changing something...I just Do It! So many times I see on one blog or another all this prep and moving the piece and oodles of steps, yet the best result is when you just Do It! We are so brave!:)
    Love the piece and that you work just like me! Yay!
    Thanks for sharing! Love the new shop too!

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  9. I am so encouraged after reading your post. Painting furniture even wiht the great options out there these days often seems os daunting. Or that it must be this way or that to be "right". I also love that you shared making it work for both beauty and practicality. Linda @bushelandapickle

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  10. Amy the hutch cabinet looks great, your home is filled with the beauty you create, I have always enjoyed all you create.

    Loving that you are such a grave soul to paint with stuff in the cabinet and in your home as well.
    Looking forward to what you do next.

    Xx
    Dore

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  11. The hutch looks so much nicer in the lighter color. Both rooms are beautiful, Amy.
    Debbie
    xo

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  12. Love the hutch and personally I think your living room is prettier than the one on the mag! take care, Maryann

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  13. Gorgeous! I love it's so bright, fresh and with a pop of colour! It has your style all over it. The gallery wall also came together nicely. home furnishings

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  14. It makes a huge difference! It's funny right when I was thinking how much I liked the wallpaper you mentioned it's coming down. Your rooms look lovely.

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  15. Amy,

    Hey....it's karianne and I'm heading to Boston next month and I'd love to stop by and see your store (maybe even get a few photographs)! Can you e-mail me?

    Have a great day rock star!
    karianne

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  16. I love it but I knew anything you painted would be fabulous, I just noticed your paint brush ? not a flat one but a hard round one do you use that on all furniture painting?

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  17. Love how your hutch turned out!!
    hugs

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  18. What a wonderful cabinet for the dining room. It has beautiful curves. I can't wait to see it with a second coat. And wow, love the two chairs in the living room too. I'm such a symmetry freak, and the soft colors and symmetry really rock my boat. So fun, to watch you switching things around. It just gets better and better!

    Cindy

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