TROMPE L'OEIL CARRIAGE HOUSE DOORS REVISITED

     These are the garage doors that I painted to look like old barn doors.  The client was so happy that she upgraded them to "carriage house doors".  I think it's been eight or 10 years since I painted them.

     When I'm in that neighborhood, I often drive by to see how the paint job is holding up.  From the street they always looked good.  Recently, I told you I saw a For Sale sign in the yard.  Yesterday, I was in the neighborhood and drove by to see if the house had sold and it had sold and the workers were there doing major renovations.  I gave them my card to give to the new owner in case they wanted me to try to touch up the doors.

     But, when I went outside and looked closely the doors weren't doing too well.  The one on the far left was perfectly the way I painted it and I bet they rarely opened it.  The other two were faded and looked like they were scraped by the door frame being too tight.  I think it would look just fine if they painted the faded two the house color and just left the one as a carriage house door.  In a few weeks, I'll drive by to see what they did.

     The two on the right were in the morning and noon sun and I'm thinking that's part of the fade problem.  I used exterior paint on them and there was no chipped or scratched paint.

From the street they still look ok, but not up close.

I'm sooo glad I have good photos of my work.  They were unique and special.  It was a little bit sad to see them today.

Don't forget to take good photos of your work!!

Here is the link to the 

TROMPE L'OEIL CARRIAGE HOUSE DOORS

when I first painted them.

PAINTING DISTRESSED & GLAZED, GRAY & BLUE OFFICE CABINETS

     PAINTING DISTRESSED & GLAZED, GRAY & BLUE OFFICE CABINETS

These are the blue and gray/white distressed office cabinets I just finished painting for the house under construction.  This office is small, so I couldn't get a full view. 

 The cabinets look really good with the wall and trim colors.

 

I primed and painted the grayish white.  I painted the tiny trim with blue.  Then distressed and glazed with an antiquing glaze (gray browny glaze) that I mixed. 

 Last, I sealed them with two coats of a clear low sheen sealer.

These cabinets will get new hardware and I think they are going to put chicken wire in the open doors, instead of glass.

My favorite finish to paint is distressed, glazed and old!

When I was working on the kitchen cabinets I mentioned how smooth the primer on the cabinets was.  His painters had primed and sanded them and the contractor said "smooth as a baby's bottom" (ha).  I said, I don't want my work to be "smooth as a baby's bottom".  

I want my finishes to be chunky, old and uneven.  He just nodded his head.

It just so happens, I think these office cabinets are his favorite finish.

I might be doing his kitchen cabinets like this at his home, just different colors.

PAINTING A SPECIAL AGED FINISH ON A POWDER ROOM VANITY AND TOILET SEAT

     While I was painting the bird and nest antique doors, my client asked if I would paint her guest bathroom vanity. She had a beautiful home and LOVED french decor.

The vanity was a stained oak wood.  I crackled, painted and stained the cabinet.  I embossed and painted a fleur de lis for some "french charm".  Then, I trimmed it out with a metallic gold paint.  The door handles were brass and oak and I painted the oak part to match the cabinet.

THEN, she asked if I could do anything 

with her toilet seat.  It was stained oak, too.  So, I painted it to match the vanity.  I embossed and painted a different fleur de lis on the top.

Now, that really fancied up her fancy french powder room!

The walls were painted metallic gold and it looked really nice with her newly painted vanity and toilet seat.

BIRDS & NESTS HAND PAINTED ANTIQUE DOORS

                             These hand painted antique doors are my featured post for this week.

For close-up views of the artwork inside and outside of Karen's beautiful old doors,

visit this link to my post on June 1, 2012

BIRDS & NESTS HAND PAINTED ANTIQUE DOORS

(FINI) PAINTING A "FRENCH COUNTRY" FINISH ON NEW ORLEANS STYLE KITCHEN CABINETS

MAY 19, 2013  
  Here is a photo of the finished cabinets.  Now, I've moved on to the office and painting the cabinets a light gray with blue trim and a darker glaze.  My client loves blue and blue grays.

MAY 16, 2013
    This is a "before" photo of the kitchen I've been painting in the house under construction.  The other painters did all of the priming and that's why it's white.

The coolest thing about this kitchen is how tall the cabinets are and the brick wall behind them.  In the big open living space, it looks really dramatic and fine!!

This is the multi-layered finish I painted and, finally, finished today.  The decorator chose this finish and called it "french country".

 I have a little more work to do on the shelves for the open cabinets and will do that tomorrow.  

Also, I have an office desk cabinet that I will start on, tomorrow.  Then, I have a cabinet in the master bath and will be sharing all with you.  

Oh, and I'll be painting the feet of a beautiful clawfoot bathtub.

I love the style of this house.  It is New Orleans style and has some really neat features.

And, I love that I'm working close to home on this job!!! 

CUTTING A LIMB & SAVING A BIRD'S NEST

     I'm painting kitchen cabinets in a home that is under construction.  The supervisor is a kind of tough, cowboy type.  He just moved to a new house and he said the birds were pooping on his truck, so I suggested he cut the limb where the birds were sitting.  I said, before you cut the limb, please make sure there's no bird nest.  This morning, he told me that he had a ___of a time, cutting the limb.  There was a nest with three eggs in it and he said he nearly killed himself cutting the area where the nest was and attaching/wedging it into another area on the tree.  It was so funny when he was telling me about it, but was so sweet and I told him so!!

WRITING & PAINTING WORDS ON A WALL & TUTORIAL

      WRITING & PAINTING WORDS ON A WALL & TUTORIAL   

My client wanted me to paint this beautiful bible verse on her kitchen wall.

GALATIONS 5:22

She knew she could order vinyl lettering, but she wanted it HAND PAINTED.

The first thing I did was print out the font that my client gave me.  Then, I took it to a print shop, enlarged the words and printed out the large lettering in sections.

Next, I placed and taped the lettering on the wall.  I had to work with it a little bit to get it placed in just the right spot.  I used a yard stick and a level. 

Next, I traced the letters on the wall using graphite paper and a pencil. 

The last thing I did was paint the lettering red with a small artists' brush.

My client was very happy and it looked really nice on her kitchen wall.

It's a HAND PAINTED every day good reminder!

FROM CLOSET TO LOG CABIN ~ HAND PAINTING LOG CABIN ARTWORK FOR TRENTON'S ROOM

     FROM CLOSET TO LOG CABIN ~ HAND PAINTING LOG CABIN ARTWORK FOR TRENTON'S ROOM

Trenton is a teenager, now.  But, when he was three or four years old his mother wanted to make some changes to his bedroom.  The room had two closets and she decided she wanted one of them to be turned into a built-in bed surrounded by a log cabin. 

 Dad and his friend did the remodeling and mom asked me to paint the log cabin.

Dad and a friend opened up the closet and built the frame for the bed

 They attached corrugated metal roofing sheets to make it look like a real roof.

I painted the log cabin and just couldn't stop there! 

 I painted scenery all around the room.

I painted this farm and cows.  Painted trees and bushes all around the room.  If you look closely, you will see a bird nest that  I painted just under the tin roof of the cabin. 

 I painted the ceiling blue like a sky and painted white clouds.

This tree has a squirrel resting on a limb and that is sweet Simba (a real cat!) on the table.

At first Trenton didn't want to sleep in the new bed. 

 Mom and dad found that cute little buffalo head that talked and hung it above the fireplace.  

That was all Trenton needed to feel safe in his new bed!!