Romantic Medicine Cabinet Makeover and favorite Self Tanner

                                   Our master bathroom has an antique French style. 

Created by adjusting things such as the colors of the cabinets and doors, 

adding appliqués and gilding to the closet doors, using vintage  

 hooked rugs and old style chandeliers which I painted gold and enhanced with 

aqua crystals and lastly replacing the laminate counters with marble.

This pretty photo (above) was from the Romantic Country photo shoot

 with Fifi O'Neil two years ago.

Fifi loves to add more, more, more to a space!

She hung jewelry from my towel rack and set pretty towels 

in the wire wall mounted shelf rack. 

 In reality many of my daily toiletries sat on the counter.

As in real life, things are often pretty.

It was actually very cluttered and messy looking.  

But now it looks like this!

 I found an old glass door wall cabinet

created a vintage version of a medicine cabinet to store things.

Of course the cabinet was anything but pretty when I found it.

 I envisioned it in romantic gold and aqua. 

Our bathroom has gold accents which give it a rich old European look.

  I'm back in the swing of rehabbing things with the most beautiful new paint!

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Jolie Paint is made in the USA and is zero VOC. Yes!

  The colors are absolutely gorgeous!

The wall cabinet was painted in Bliss

 (a green/blue shown top of left column in the Jolie color card).

 I highlighted it with their gold metal leaf and gold gilding wax 

to return it to it's Florentine glory.  Using metal leaf is so simple!  

Jolie has a step by step guide which is flawless, even for a beginner. 

 It made all the difference in my project.

Simply paint a liquid adhesive called "Gold Size" on the 

areas you want to be covered in the gold metal leaf.  

After a few minutes rub sections of the whisper thin sheets of

metal leaf over the adhesive.

Use a stiff but soft brush to remove the excess bits of leaf to reveal the 

highlighted gold leafed areas. 

 It is so amazingly simple!! And soooo glorious looking!

I sanded down the cabinet lightly to soften the feel and give it 

a bit of an aged and distressed effect.

The cabinet had decorative trellis like grooves at the top pediment 

which I highlighted with a tiny artist brush using the Jolie Gold Gilding Wax. 

(One could also have applied the Gold Size in these grooves,

 followed by the metal leaf, but I decided to use

the gilding wax and was happy with the finished look. ) 

Summer Palace by Laura Ashley wallpaper was next,

applied with some tacky spray adhesive on the back wall.

 When the glass doors are closed, it looks extra pretty!

This project only took me two hours to complete.

The Jolie paint and gold leaf adhesive dry so quickly!

 And that self tanner I recently discovered?  

Sublime Bronze by L'Oreal  

These days I never suntan, and haven't for years to keep

skin damage and wrinkles at bay.  However I still have to put on a bathing

suit when we go to the lake cottage, and this stuff is really a miracle of sorts.

 One application is enough to banish the white pasty skin look, 

and two applications have you looking like you just returned 

from two weeks in Monte Carlo and the French Riviera!  

I love how the new "medicine" cabinet looks and functions.

Take a second look around your bathroom and see what simple changes you 

can make to give it a romantic European look.  Changing out the very things

that are already there can be simple using Jolie Paint and Metal Leaf.

Leave me a note if you have tried it, or are planning to.

 I would love to hear about your project!

Click here to visit Jolie Paint 

My blog readers will get 20% off of orders over $200 using this link below.
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You will LOVE their paints and enhancements for making over

your furniture and home accessories and creating something beautiful!

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Gilding is so French!

 The antique Venetian mirror that I found on vacation has a gilded motif, and that

brought about the thinking of incorporating some gold accents on my French chairs.

Horchow Chair from Pinterest

 This lovely cane back chair with blue-grey paint and gilded accents captured the essence of what I hoped my silvery grey chairs could aspire to....although my chairs are not as fancy,  it is the "essence" that was the plan. Adding some dimension with stain over the cane backs, and then gilding the decorative details became an afternoon's project.

 Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint line has added gilding wax to the lineup, and it comes in five metallic shades, two of which are gold colors. I went with "Bright Gold" after comparing the two.  

This gilding wax will complement any furniture, so start thinking what you can gild!

 Gilding with gilding wax is much easier and quicker than gilding the old school way using gold leaf and sizing.  Simply rub on or paint on the gilding wax, using your fingertip or a small stiff paint brush, like the one I used. After squeezing a bit of gold wax onto a piece of wax paper, I traced around the grooves of the chair using the brush, as well as the floral detail on the chair back.

 One tip I have when using gilding wax and a brush, is to dip the edges of the brush into a bit of mineral spirits, then into the gilding wax, and then apply to the surface.  It is the same methodology of dipping a paint brush into water when painting watercolors.  It glides right over the surface, leaving a gilded stripe in its path.

After gilding the accents on each dining room chair, I took a chip brush and applied

some dark wood stain over the caning.  Applied right over the previously painted

surface, it gave the look of my inspiration photo that I had hoped to achieve. Some

chairs are more heavily gilded, and some spots are sparse, as if worn off over time.

The result is subtle, but noticeable, enhancing the dining room in that antique kind

 of Frenchy way that you all know I love.  The chairs have a sophistication that 

they lacked before, and yet at the same time they aren't screaming for attention. 

Using Annie Sloan's gilding wax is easy, affordable and yields great results!

Give it a try, and get some gilded goodness going in your home.

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Paint Inspiration: Secretary Desks

Looking for some unique painted secretary desks to 

inspire your next project of the XL size?

Just in time for Easter and Spring~

Crackled doors in cream, a pink and black harlequin

pattern on the lower doors, rubbed white legs and pediment

with touches of gilding~and don't forget the rabbit head!

This might be easier to pull off~

looks like a custom mix of Provence, Florence and

 Pure WhiteChalk Paint® finished with clear

 and dark wax.  I love the look of this fresh color 

on a traditional piece, don't you?

For those that have artist skill a takeoff

on a Gramercy wallpaper motif gets translated

onto a faded out aqua background.  I would consider

doing a hand painted vine and then adding flowers and birds

using Transfer Gel by Artisan Enhancements or decoupage.

Lately I have fallen in love with the look of 

this antique green.  We used Olive Chalk Paint®

to achieve a very similar color and finished it with Gilder Paste

 in African Bronze, which has a greenish gold cast.

After my trip to Colorado for an artist retreat

I played with the Venetian inspired painted 

finishes using lots of color and metallic.

If I were to capture these colors I would start with 

Cream and Versailles and tweak them to make them a 

little bit stronger.  Old Ochre as the base, clear and dark wax

with Gilding Wax or Gilders Paste to finish it off. 

I am working on a massive armoire and am always

in search of inspiration in the paint department!

So far I have finished two coats of French Linen,

but that is only the beginning. Hopefully I get a chance 

to work on this piece during the week and 

I will be back with updates on how it is taking shape.

Sources: These images are from my Pinterest page~

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Painted Pink Inspiration

source

A lovely painted Swedish built in bed.

To replicate this color I would mix Scandinavian Pink and Antoinette 

with some Old White and apply in various layers 

with wash and ragging techniques.

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Pinky peach walls over taupe wainscoting with lots of gilt

The lighthearted pink is grounded by the taupe and the golden accessories

stand out nicely against the pink.  

I recently washed one part of a wall in my shop and it 

was so easy and fun to do. The more I added water and ragged it off

the lighter an airier it became. 

If you want to get a hand painted european plaster look

with ease try applying Chalk Paint® and water 

and use a brush and damp rag for spectacular results!

My ragged wall in Scandinavian Pink, Antoinette and Pure White.

In person it looks a lot lighter~but this closeup shows the unevenness 

of paint application.  Perfection is NOT the rule.

Add more Old or Pure White for a lighter look as well as more water~

this works well with white walls as the under color of the wall

will reveal itself as you rag it off. If you are covering up

the wall color you will need to rag off less paint, or let a

 first coat dry then apply a second coat of a lighter or darker shade.

I loved doing this treatment and plan to do other sections of the shop

in neutral tones using French Linen and Old Ochre.

source

When painting furniture many times I look for design 

inspiration and come across beautiful things like this 

stunning blue and pink armoire. 

source

Beautiful crusted pink doors with touches of white in the

nooks and crevices.  Such inspiration!

source

This is my own mirror that I painted pink once upon a time.

As I redecorated the room it would no longer remain pink,

but it will always be one of my favorites.

source unknown

If I wanted to copy this chest I would use Antoinette Chalk Paint®

with a little Old White and plenty of French Gilding wax.

source unknown

One project I hope to tackle someday is creating this look~

 paneled walls with decorative molding. You can buy kits

to make these walls, at a pretty price I am sure. But think of 

how gorgeous it would be in the right setting~

source

Another paneled wall sets the stage for this palest pink bed.

One fabulous mirror and the room is done.

I would replace the thousand tiny pillows with a few larger

down filled pillows in cut linen velvet or grain sack.

 Most of these projects can be done with successfully

with Chalk Paint® and some require gilding materials.

 Shopping list: 

Antoinette Chalk Paint and French Gilding Wax in King Gold

Many of these projects just need these items.

Pink has always been a color close to my heart~

a long time ago I painted my first house. 

 Myself.  In pink.

I bought Sears Weather Beater paint in the 1980s 

and took it back 3 times to have the color adjusted

to just the right shade of pink.

My old house no longer is pink~

the people I sold it to painted it yellow. 

I can't say I blame them, pink is not for everyone, 

but it sure is for me! 

And I think it suited this little cottage nicely.

Add a little pink to your life with a painted cabinet

or just do the interior of a bookcase or armoire~

 add a lot by doing your walls and furnishings in ballet pink.

As always, I am looking for inspiration to share here with you.

Have a great week! 

And think PINK!

  

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