PAINTING NEW WOOD TO MATCH OLD FINISH ON KITCHEN CABINETS

PAINTING NEW WOOD TO MATCH OLD FINISH ON KITCHEN CABINETS

Nine years ago, I painted these kitchen cabinets to a special old finish.  Before I painted, they were a white washed/pickled finish and the client wanted a major change.

Recently, my client called and said she had replaced her refrigerator and dishwasher cabinet fronts and they needed to be painted to match the cabinets.
Thank goodness, I keep a large notebook of clients' finishes and formulas.

On these cabinets, I used oil based products and those products age and amber, especially after nine years.  So, I had to work with the new wood, just a little bit.  After a few weeks I plan to look at them again to see if I need to age them a little bit more.  IN THESE PICTURES, I HAD NOT SEALED THEM, YET.  THE OIL BASED SEALER WILL AMBER RIGHT AWAY.   IT WILL CHANGE AND DARKEN THE NEW PAINT.  It will make the new paint match a little better.  And, over time, the oil will darken more, hopefully,  making the new cabinet fronts match the old.

When I first painted the cabinets, my client asked me to paint this stool with artwork and to match the cabinets.  She thought grapes would be nice for the artwork.

They wanted a space for cookbooks and decorative dishes.  So, they selected carefully which two cabinet doors to remove that would show and look the best.  I told them I could build them a plate rack to go on the bottom shelf and they liked that idea. So, I did.
 It's really easy to build a plate rack.
It looks nice in the middle of allll those closed cabinet doors.  So,

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HERE IS A LINK TO MY BUILDING A PLATE RACK TUTORIAL:

HOW TO BUILD & INSTALL A PLATE RACK FOR A CABINET

I LOVE MY HOME!

I was in the front yard watering and a lady in a bright yellow mustang with a black convertible top stopped and told me she loved my house and she drives by all the time, just to look at it.  That was so nice of her and especially to stop to tell me.  I know of a couple of other people who drive by, when they're in the neighborhood, just to look at my house.  That is very special to me and makes me wish I would do a lot more trimming and deadheading.  Oh, and I LOVED her car!

In this photo, you can't see it, but in that big space between the windows, I painted a pink crepe myrtle tree and a little bird flying to it. 

This is my garage door and I painted my cat, Mr. Smith and a pot of blue plumbago.  On the left, there is a kitty door in the middle of the pot plant.

I LOVE MY HOME!

HAND PAINTING ARTWORK IVY & LIRIOPE AROUND METAL URN PLAQUES (TROMPE L'OEIL)

HAND PAINTING ARTWORK IVY & LIRIOPE AROUND METAL URN PLAQUES (TROMPE L'OEIL)

Visiting one of my very favorite stores, I found some flat metal wall plaques that were shaped like urns.  I loved them and knew I wanted to hang them on my fence and paint flowers coming out of them.  Sorry, no photos of my fence, right now.  So, when a client called me and wanted me to paint something in her entry way up high over the very wide opening to her dining room, I immediately thought of those urns.  She already had the canvas painting and I could just picture urns with greenery coming out of them on either side of the painting.  

And, because it was so high I knew it needed something large like these urn plaques.

I suggested she go to that store to see if they still had these urns.  And, I told her I could paint plants coming out of the urns.  She liked the idea.  She did find the urns and when I went back to paint, they were already placed exactly where she wanted them.

Standing on my extension ladder, I painted liriope and ivy coming out of the urns and a little bit of ivy behind the canvas painting.

She was very, very happy with the way it changed the look of the entry into her home.  

I loved it, too!! 

 Of course, it was my idea, but I just knew it would look great!

PAINTING & DISTRESSING MANTEL & KITCHEN CABINETS TO MATCH

This mantel was white washed or pickled wood.  It surrounds slate tiles.  The grays and earth tones of the stone were so nice, but the color tones of the wood mantel just didn't work anymore  So, my client chose a gray/brownish color sample and wanted me to paint, age and distress the mantel.

This is a very large family room and kitchen with very high walls and a stairwell.

My client really liked how the mantel turned out and asked me to paint the kitchen cabinets to match the mantel.  So, we decided that I would use the same color combination, but not do the distressing, like the mantel.

My clients were very happy with the way everything turned out.

The mantel is one of my very favorite things that I've painted.  It really did look very old.

PAINTING A WALL TO LOOK OLD & RUSTY

  PAINTING A WALL TO LOOK OLD & RUSTY

  Until recently, I haven't had a way to show and share my work.  I love what I do and have wished I had a way to show my family, friends and clients the variety of things that I do.  Then, I built my website, discovered Facebook and, now, have this blog.   

     Social Media has been fun for me.  I've received several emails and messages from people I don't know.  They've asked questions about my work, shared what they do and have said many kind words about my work.  Thank you so much!!

     Karen and Joe from Wisconsin have emailed me.  Karen loves to faux paint as a hobby.  She mentioned she wants to try Modern Masters rust product.

     Modern Masters "special effects" products are some of my very favorites.  And, rust is one of my favorites finishes.  I think Karen will have fun with it.  You can paint a rusty wall, pots, furniture, and anything you want to look old and rusty. 

     This is a wall I painted for a client to look old and rusty.

I know this rust faux finish is not for everyone, but it's a unique look. You can never be sure exactly how it will turn out.  It kind of has a mind of it's own.

  I love the look and love working with the product.

PAINTING IVY & BLUE PLUMBAGO FLOWERS ON AN OLD DOOR

PAINTING IVY & BLUE PLUMBAGO FLOWERS ON AN OLD DOOR

My client asked me to paint vines or something on this beautiful old door.  I asked her if I could, also, paint some blue plumbago on the bottom panel.

I painted ivy on the top but can't find those pictures.  I'll add them, later.

This looked so nice from the living room and entry.  

It lead out to the side yard where she had lots of flowers.  I love painting flowers and nature.

PAINTING MORGAN'S WALLS & PAINTING/DISTRESSING FURNITURE FOR HER NEW ROOM

So, I painted Morgan's bedroom, again.  She and her mom found some beautiful bedding that was white, with gray, black and a little bit of purple. Her bed is a black iron bed.  Earlier, I had painted her ceiling white and her woodwork is white.  They wanted me to paint three walls a medium gray and one wall a beautiful grayish purple.  Then, her mom found  some really cute pieces of furniture and asked me to paint them to match her new decor.

These shutters were blue and they asked me to paint them black, distressed and a bit of silver on the tiny trim.  (of course, the silver is shinier in this photo, than it really is.  I rubbed it over the black and it is very toned down, but my flash always makes it look really flashy bright.

They found these really cute tables and they were stained brown.  I painted them black and white and the black base and trim, a little bit distressed.  These shutters will hang on the wall, on either side of Morgan's bed and these tables will go directly under them as night stands.

They're going to recover this chair and use some funky trim.  I, only, painted the legs.  They wanted them painted solid black.

And, they found this cute little bench that will sit at the foot of her bed.  They will be recovering the cushion for this, also.  I painted it metallic silver and rubbed black paint around the arms, legs and top of back.  I think she said their cording would be black.  I know it will look wonderful!!

One of these days, I'll get to go back and see how everything looks, all put together.  They love to decorate and re-do and it always looks sooo nice.

PAINTING SHUTTERS METALLIC GOLD & LEOPARD SPOTS

PAINTING SHUTTERS METALLIC GOLD & LEOPARD SPOTS

Patti had a small window in one of her hallways.  She found shutters just the right size and asked me to paint metallic gold and leopard spots on them.  They turned out sooo cute and nice.  Actually, they were wonderful with the rest of Patti's decor around them. 
She is so creative and such a great decorator!!

These were fun to paint.  LOTS of leopard spots, but fun.

Because of the angle of her hallway, I couldn't get a picture of the whole shutter.

From time to time I get to go back to Patti's house for more work.  And, it makes me feel good to look around and see my work in almost every room, sometimes several things in one room.  Her home is so beautiful! I'm proud I got to be a part of it.

Thank you, Patti!

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PAINTING COLUMNS & MANTEL FROM WHITE TO LOOK LIKE WOOD, OLD & DISTRESSED

PAINTING COLUMNS & MANTEL FROM WHITE TO LOOK LIKE WOOD, OLD & DISTRESSED

For three or four years in a row Monica would call me to work in her home in September.  

I textured and painted walls, columns, mantel, a door, stripes in a powder room and a bathroom and lots of other things.  She already had a beautiful home, but with all of the special finishes it was even more beautiful!

This is an "old broken plaster" finish I textured and painted on this curved wall going into her dining room.  I painted the same special finish on the arched wall in the background, behind her dining room table.  And, I painted the columns to look like wood, old and distressed.

There are columns on either side of the entry into her dining room.  They were painted white before I painted them to look like stained wood and old.

I love painting this old finish.

And, here is the mantel that is in her living room.  It was painted white before I painted this special finish.  The columns and the mantel are the same color and finish.

This is a close up of the finish on the mantel.

I loved working with Monica and Kade.  The best and sweetest people in the world!!

Oh, and I loved their kitty cat named Macy!

PAINTING YOUR BATHROOM MEDICINE CABINET TO MATCH YOUR WALL COLOR

This photo didn't turn out very well.  I will post photos, later, when my client is finished re-decorating this powder room.  But, I wanted to share something with you...

These cabinets and the medicine cabinet had a pickled/white-washed finish on them.  My client saw a neighbor's cabinets that I painted a few months ago and wanted me to work on her's. 

When I went by to look at her powder room, I asked if she wanted me to paint the medicine cabinet the color of the walls to  make it disappear and she said yes.  I usually ask my clients the same question.  Sometimes they want to paint it the wall color and sometimes they want it the same as the new cabinet finish. 

Some clients have the medicine cabinet removed and patch the wall.  But, if you use and need the medicine cabinet, it looks really nice to paint it the wall color and make it disappear, kind of.

Also, I'm painting mirror molding for this powder room.

If you want to frame your plain mirror and would like to look at my tutorial on painting and installing mirror molding, see my post in June, 2012.

Soon, I'll be going back to this home to do more work and and I'm sure the powder room will be completed.  I'll take better photos and post them.

PAINTING FOR KACI & HER MOMMY

Last week, I was painting for Kaci and her mommy.  I painted the walls in their living room and kitchen.  Also, I painted two ceilings.

This is little Kaci.

One of the days, while I was painting, she and her mommy were watching the game and guess which team they favored!

This master bedroom is decorated beautifully.  My client wanted to paint the ceiling this medium green.  A color she had around the room and it looked really, really nice.  The bedroom is very open to her landscape and a greenbelt, so the green tied in nicely.

And, she wanted to do something special to her dining room ceiling.  I suggested my metallic "antique copper" finish.  It doesn't reflect in this photo, but it looks so nice with her new wood floors and the rest of her decor.

I really enjoyed working in this home.  The living room and master bedroom have very large windows and I was able to see deer and lots of birds.  Oh, and some squirrels running around on her very large deck.

But, my favorite thing was playing with sweet, little Kaci!!

DRAWING & PAINTING APPLE GREEN & CHOCOLATE BROWN STRIPES IN AN ENTRY HALL & TUTORIAL

     DRAWING & PAINTING APPLE GREEN & CHOCOLATE BROWN STRIPES IN AN ENTRY HALL & TUTORIAL

Patti's house is just amazing and she does all of the decorating, herself!!  When she was building her home she started bringing things for me to paint for her new home about a year ahead of completion.  Then, when it was nearing completion I worked there for about three months doing all kinds of special wall and ceiling finishes that she came up with.
 Her taste is AMAZING!!

     Last week I had to go back to do some repair work on the stripes that I painted in her entry hall.  The walls/stripes are about 16' high and about 12" wide.

The brown and green shades that she picked are just beautiful, together. 

The walls were painted that apple green and was the base coat for the brown stripes.  With my ruler and a pencil I measured the width of each stripe carefully around the room, remembering these stripes had to end somewhere.  While measuring and drawing stripes you might need to start adjusting the width of the stripes so it won't look wrong where they meet at your final stripe.  See all of those corner angles in the entry?  That is where I adjusted the width of the stripes-a little less wide or a little wider.  I can't believe anyone would ever notice that every single stripe is not the same width.  After measuring the width carefully I used my level to draw the height from ceiling to floor...a straight line.  I'm always amazed when I'm using a level.  It's such a smart/handy tool.  I measured, drew these stripes and had to hand paint every single one of the brown ones!  I painted only one coat of brown over the green so the green would show through.  That is the look Patti likes.  

This is the chair that was in the entry hall with those green and brown stripes...isn't it beautiful!!

You can see the dining room from the entry hall.  See that HUGE chandelier...this is one of the things she wanted me to paint way ahead of time,  It was so large, they couldn't fit it through the double doors of my studio.  So, I had to go to the warehouse where it was stored to paint it.

Soon, I will be posting more of the work I did for Patti's new home.  One thing for sure, she wasn't afraid of color or design and she turned it into a really unique and 

very, very beautiful home!!

PAINTING BLACK & AN "ANTIQUE COPPER" SPECIAL FINISH ON KITCHEN CABINETS

PAINTING BLACK & AN "ANTIQUE COPPER" SPECIAL FINISH ON KITCHEN CABINETS     

 I love!! this kitchen.

My client is a great decorator.  

He was remodeling his kitchen and asked me to do an

 "antique copper" special finish on his kitchen cabinets.

The cabinets were stained wood and he wanted to leave a lot of it showing.  He showed me the areas he wanted to paint the "antique copper" and some areas he wanted me to paint black. 

 It looks great!!

Because of my camera flash the copper is reflecting a little too much, but in real light it doesn't reflect like this and you can see how well all of the colors blend.

The tile backsplash and the saltillo floors are just wonderful with the cabinet colors.  

He added an antique copper farm sink and an antique copper faucet.

I love!! this kitchen.

REPAIRING & PAINTING A BROKEN VINTAGE STAINED GLASS LIGHT FIXTURE

REPAIRING & PAINTING A BROKEN VINTAGE STAINED GLASS LIGHT FIXTURE  

If you have a vintage decorative glass light fixture and one of the glass parts gets broken, don't panic!  You can repair it.  Here is how I helped repair this one.

The large globe on this fixture was broken. 

 My client felt fortunate that she found a replacement globe that fit, exactly.

  It's a globe for the kind of light fixture that fits against the ceiling.  You probably recognize it. 

 You can find the replacement globes at hardware stores.

I brought several colors of paint with me and sat on the floor beneath the fixture, so I could see and match the colors exactly.  This new globe was a milky white opaque, not clear, so I had to work on the outside of it.  I primed, painted a base coat and used a rag and a brush to work the colors.  I sealed it with a low sheen clear coat to match the finish on the other pieces of glass. 

Also, the sealer helps protect the new finish.  

We, carefully, put it in the fixture.  And, it matched!! 

This is the ceiling above the light fixture.  Faux painted/trompe l'oeil bricks.

I love this house!!  It's one of my most favorite houses that I've worked in.  

The landscaping was sooo special and the interior was, too.  So unique!

One of the glass sections of this candle fixture was broken.  My client brought to me the fixture and a clear piece of glass already cut to fit.  I worked with my brush and a rag to match the colors and existing technique.  This time I worked on the inside of the glass because the other indvidual pieces were shiny glass on the outside.  My finished colors are a little lighter than the other pieces.

Once the soot from the burning candle starts staining, the colors will match even better.

If your decorative glass fixture gets broken, look at it carefully and try to figure out how it was painted the first time.  Choose your colors and technique, then start painting.  If you think you've messed up, use a razor blade, scrape the paint off and start over.  You can do it!!