PAINTING GAYLE'S MANTEL FROM PICKLED, WHITE WASHED OAK TO BLACK DISTRESSED

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(UPDATE:  OMGoodness!!  I was working at Gayle's this morning and she told me that she had played golf yesterday and got a hole-in-one!!  Her golf friends were cheering and when she got home her husband had already started celebrating!! and had banners and stuff around congratulating her. WOW!  Congratulations, Gayle!!)  

     Gayle loves decorating her home.  A while back I painted those peach walls.  Her dining room is attached to this living room and has peach walls, also. I asked if we could paint her ceiling a peachy red to blend with the walls and she let me paint that, too.  I don't have photos of her dining room ceiling, but will take some next week because I'm working there again starting Monday.

     Her mantel in her living room was a pickled oak finish.  One of us mentioned the black and I knew it would look really good with all of her peach decor and her black rug and furniture.  (well, I just talked to Gayle and she said it was my idea to paint her mantel black.  She said I was there painting something else and I told her we just had to paint the mantel black! and she agreed and let me paint it and she just said that she loves the way it looks now.)

Doesn't this room look soooo cozy!!

Painting the mantel black made such a dramatic difference to the room.

First, I primed the mantel.  Then, I painted it with a black oil based paint and rubbed the edges with a rag so the brown base coat color would show through, thus looking a bit distressed.

Then, I sealed it with two coats of an oil based sealer.

I love the way this turned out and it looks so beautiful in her already beautiful living room.

This is Gayle's dining room ceiling.  The peachy red adds a nice touch to the dining room and ties in so nicely with the living room decor.

Original Post 1/27/13

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HAND PAINTING ARTWORK ON ANTIQUE CEILING TINS

HAND PAINTING ARTWORK ON ANTIQUE CEILING TINS

This is an old metal ceiling tin I found at an antique salvage store.

As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to paint it.

It had some rust on it.  I washed it well and primed it hoping the rust would not come back through the paint.  If a little rust came back through the paint that would look good, too.
 After priming I painted the artwork on the corners.
Then, painted an antiquing glaze on top of all of the paint.

When my client saw the ceiling tin above she wanted me to paint two of her antique ceiling tins. She had just built a new home out in the country and was still having fun decorating.  There was a little rust on these and I did not prime them.  I swiped paint over the whole tin.  When I saw that scrollie design at the bottom, I knew they would be really beautiful as a vase.  

So, I painted the vases with flowers right over the embossed design.

I used her colors and she hung them over her bed.

Later when I visited I knew they were in the perfect place. 

 So pretty!!

Original Post 11/9/16

HAND PAINTED "TOILE RURAL SCENE" ON A CLAWFOOT BATHTUB

HAND PAINTED "TOILE RURAL SCENE" ON A CLAWFOOT BATHTUB

A few years back a client asked me to paint something on her clawfoot bathtub. 

Immediately I envisioned a "toile" rural scene painted on it because she loved French decor. 

I thought that would be unique. 

This is the scene I painted.

She left everything up to me and these are the colors I chose.  (approved, of course)

 The colors look so beautiful with her dark wood floors.

You guessed it!!  Me, painting the bathtub.

I primed the tub with a "bonding" primer, painted the artwork and sealed with two coats of clear sealer.

 

 Today I am back at her home working and love seeing it, again.  

It has held up really well.

My client is still very happy with it, too.

Original Post 1/30/12

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PAINTING CLOUDS & STRIPES IN A KID'S BEDROOM & TUTORIAL

PAINTING CLOUDS & STRIPES IN A KIDS BEDROOM & TUTORIAL

 Kevy's mom wanted me to paint a sky and stars in her bedroom.

I faux painted the walls with a very dark blue and sponge painted the ceiling with the same blue.   For the stars, I used a stencil and placed them randomly around the ceiling and walls  using metallic gold paint.

  They purchased some light reflective stars and placed them on the ceiling.

When Kevy turned off her light at night the stars were visible.

It looked so pretty.

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THE STRIPES & CLOUDS IN THE ROOM BELOW I PAINTED FOR TWIN BOYS

I painted the walls the lighter blue.  Drew the stripes with a pencil and level.

Painted the darker blue over the lighter blue.

I used the darker blue to paint the midnight sky.

 Stenciled metallic gold stars on the ceiling and walls.

Remember metallics "reflect"

 so, place the metallic paint where it will be reflecting light.

Drew solid white clouds and placed the metallic gold stars randomly on the ceiling.

If you look closely you can see I swiped blue inside the clouds with a brush.

I love the two shades of blue together.
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STILL WORKING ON IT ~ ADDING MORE & MORE TUTORIALS
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Original post 8/21/2017

PAINTING HUGE, BEAUTIFUL ART & MIRROR FRAMES FOR SAUNDRA'S NEW HOME

PAINTING HUGE, BEAUTIFUL ART & MIRROR FRAMES FOR SAUNDRA'S NEW HOME

Saundra is building a new home.  

These picture frames and mirror frame were truly beautiful.  The problem was, they were all bright metallic gold.  They looked wonderful in her home that she just sold, but she felt the bright gold would not go as well in her new home.
 She asked me to age them and make them darker.

The mirror is over 6' tall.

This painting is almost that tall and a few inches taller and I am.

This one is very wide and tall.

I used my dining room table as a work surface.

See where I had already started aging on the left side.  The right side is the original bright gold.

Darkening the frame made this painting even more beautiful.

She asked me to paint the off white 1" fabric mats on both paintings.  That really made the colors in the paintings look better, too.  This one, I painted dark brown and dry brushed metallic gold on it.

See the bright gold and the darker where I aged it?

And, see that little flat strip in the middle of the frame?  As I painted it, I dabbed my brush on it to make it look more textured.  You can see it better, two pictures above this one.

This one was bright gold, too. 

 Saundra chose a gray distressed finish.

I rubbed the paint to make only a few gold highlights come through the gray.

Then, she and her husband decided they wanted more warmth and depth, so I worked on it to bring more brown and gold through the gray.  

They are putting this painting on the stones over their fireplace and it will have a spotlight on 

it.  They want to make sure it shows up well on the color of stones they chose.

This is the original metallic gold I started with.  

To get this finish, I started with a dark brown under coat.

After I worked on it a while, this is how it looks now.

After I painted this little 1" mat a soft gray white, Saundra asked me to dry brush some metallic silver on it.  Oh my!!  it is really beautiful!

We are all amazed at how different and beautiful the paintings and mirror look, now.

Painting your frames and mats really can make a difference in your decor.

I might be painting some powder room cabinets in her new home and 

I can hardly wait to see what she has created this time.

Thank you, Saundra.

Original Post:  December 5, 2015

PAINTING CABINETS WITH GEL STAIN & A REMODEL OF RUEBEN'S MASTER BATH

PAINTNG CABINETS WITH GEL STAIN & A REMODEL OF RUEBEN'S MASTER BATH

A few years ago, Carrie and Rueben asked me to paint their pickled oak wood guest bath and powder room cabinets to a darker stained finish.  Rueben liked the finish so much that he asked me to do the same technique on his cabinets in his master bath.  Recently, he was remodeling his master bath with new tile, flooring, glass shower enclosure and new granite counter tops.  He thought the stained cabinets would be the finishing touch to his new decor.

All of the colors blend so well and look so nice.  Everything looks "finer", now.

The large mirror did not have a frame, so he had someone make one.  All of that mitering is not easy.  At least, not easy for me!

New frame pieces.  Look at that mitering job.
I can't get over how well the miters match.

Picture of pickled oak cabinets "before".  And, new mirror frame.
I used a gel stain for the cabinet finish.
Gel stains can be used on an already painted or sealed surface.
Thank you, Rueben.

Original Post 9/10/2019

DRAWING & PAINTING FAUX BRICKS FOR A TEENAGE BOY'S ROOM

DRAWING & PAINTING FAUX BRICKS FOR A TEENAGE BOY'S ROOM

Kimberly was redecorating her teenage son's room and asked me to draw and paint bricks on the wall behind his bed.

She wanted the bricks and mortar to be in the gray and black tones.

I used a grayish white for the bricks.

And, she wanted them uneven and smudgy, so that's what I did.

This is Paisley.  Beautiful little doggie.

She is one spoiled baby.  She likes to be in her mommy's arms.

Is she snubbing me!

First, I painted the mortar color on the wall as a base coat.  Then, I started painting the individual bricks.  I swiped and smudged with my brush and let some of the base coat show through.  I was going to come back with a little brush and make the grout lines a little darker and more uneven.  Then, Kimberly decided she wanted the grout to be even darker.  So, I used a dark blackie gray and with a little brush I painted the grout lines.  Also, I lightly painted a second coat of  grayish white on the bricks. 

On the internet, she found the cutest large wire bear head.  

I think she's is going to get it to hang over her son's bed.

When I paint bricks a harlequin pattern, stones or stripes I always draw a grid on the wall.  It's just easier for me to follow.  It takes a couple of extra hours, but I have a guide to paint by.  Every other row of bricks has to be moved over and if I didn't have the grid I know I would have it all messed up and uneven.  I know that because the very first time I ever drew a harlequin pattern I started getting them uneven.  That's when I knew I would always have to draw a grid first.

Kimberly told me the size she wanted the bricks to be. 

 I measured at the top of the wall and drew the lines vertically.  Then she decided how wide she wanted the bricks and  I measured and drew horizontally.  I always use my level when I'm drawing lines.

She had a painter paint my gray base coat color on all of the other walls.  They were a beige.

Monday, I'm going back to Kimberly's to paint her kitchen cabinets.  I'm eager to see if she got that wire bear head for over the bed.  If she did I'll show it to you.

Thank you Kimberly!!

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Here is a link to another brick wall that I painted and tutorial:

PAINTING FAUX BRICKS (TROMPE L'OEIL) & TUTORIAL

(Original post on August 2, 2015)