PAINTING ARTWORK ON A FRONT PORCH WALL & PAINTING ROSES AROUND ROSE'S FRONT DOOR

   PAINTING ARTWORK ON A FRONT PORCH WALL & PAINTING ROSES AROUND ROSE'S FRONT DOOR

 My client asked me to do some artwork around her front porch area. 

 She wanted it to look "special" when company walked up to her front door.

     She told me to be creative and would leave it up to me.  

She said wouldn't even peek! She wanted to be surprised.

     So, I painted this crepe myrtle tree, kind of a pinky red.   I painted these two pots of flowers and some ivy on the wall heading up to her front door.  Of course, the pot in the corner is a real pot of fern and that made my artwork look more interesting.

  Her house was a really nice gray color with a dark blacky gray roof.  

It was a really nice color for painting all of these colors that I used.

     Her name was Rose.

I wanted to paint roses around her front door, in honor of her name.  

She LOVED that!

     I painted and crackled the front door.

  Then, painted a color from the roses on the little trim.

     This was a fun project!

Rose was very happy with her new front porch and door!

Original post September 3, 2012

HAND PAINTING A BOUQUET OF FLOWERS ON BECKY'S OLD DRESSER & PICTURES OF BECKY'S BEAUTIFUL HOME

HAND PAINTING A BOUQUET OF FLOWERS ON BECKY'S OLD DRESSER & PICTURES OF HER BEAUTIFUL HOME

In my work I am so fortunate to get to visit and work in some of the most beautiful, 

well decorated  and unique styled homes.  

Becky has one of those homes and  she has the most wonderful!! taste in decorating.

 She had this old dresser and asked if I would paint a bouquet of flowers on the door.  

If possible, I always want to see a picture or something to show me what my client is wanting me to paint.  She told me the colors she wanted.  This is the bouquet I painted for her.

She was very happy with the bouquet, but I asked if she wanted me to distress and age/stain it. 

 She was a bit reluctant, 

then she loved it aged because it looked so much better with the finish of the old piece.

Becky found these crystal knobs at Anthropologie.

Isn't this beautiful!!  

Another picture of the same bedroom.

The "old" bouquet looks like it's been on that dresser since the beginning of it's time.

This is her living room.

Living room and entry to her home.

Another bedroom.

Her wonderful, wonderful kitchen.  

This is little Mabel.  What a sweetie!!

Don't you just want to sit down and have a cup of tea here!!

(Original post September 23, 2015)

DADDY'S SOCKS CHANDELIER CHAIN COVER

When I went back for touch-ups at the New Orleans house the chandeliers were hung and the canopies at the base looked sooo bare against the ceiling.  I knew they would look so much better with ceiling medallions and I mentioned it to the builder.  He asked me to go purchase and paint three for these particular chandeliers.  Then, he called me and said the electricians would be there the next day and could I have them there by 10: am.  I panicked, but got it done.



This HUGE chandelier in the stairwell had a tiny, dinky chain and I mentioned that it needed a chandelier chain cover.  So, the builder asked me to go find one.  The electricians were already there, taking down the chandelier, so I had to hurry over to Steinmart to see if they had any chain covers.  They didn't and I was walking around the store, back and forth, searching for something that could be wrapped around that dinky chain on the huge chandelier.  Anything, a scarf, anything that could wrap around that chain.  THEN,

 WAY ACROSS THE ROOM I saw some men's socks on a big wall.  Perfect!!  They  had some really good colors that would match the chandelier and the ceiling medallion that I had painted for it.  So, I bought a pack of three pairs in slightly varying shades and rushed back to the house to get them on the chain, so the electricians could hang the chandelier.

It looked wonderful!!! (thank goodness) The socks were hunky chunky and looked so much better on this large chandelier than the beautiful silk chain covers that you usually see.  

This is the ceiling medallion I painted to match the chandelier.  It's a lot of detailed work to paint these, but always look so, so nice on the ceiling. 

I used metallic gold, silver and bronze.

This fixture looks so good with the wrought iron railing in the stairwell.

These are the sock colors that I liked for the chain cover.    

I cut off the toe and the stretchy part at the top of the sock. 

Finally, everything was finished.  

I was worn out from all of that running around, but it felt good

 when the homeowner (to be), the builder, everybody was happy.

I was very happy, too!! 

When you need a chandelier or fan chain cover, remember socks.  I think they're great!  Not sure why we haven't thought about them, before.  They come in such nice colors, men's, women's, children's and are a really good choice compared to the ones you usually find, already made.

Original post 8/3/13

USING A DARK GEL STAIN ON LORI'S FAMILY ROOM CABINETS

USING A DARK GEL STAIN ON LORI'S FAMILY ROOM CABINETS

In Lori's home all of the cabinets use to have a pickled, white washed finish.

 She asked me to paint some of her cabinets black/distressed.  The black looks amazing with her wood floors and decor.  Then, she asked me to darken her kitchen cabinets just a little bit so they would look distressed.  I used a gel stain on the edges and a little in the middle of the doors. 

The gel stain really toned down the pickled finish.

Recently, she called and wanted me to use gel stain on her family room cabinets.

Even though the cabinets were pickled, white washed, the wood was a little different and the wood soaked up more of the gel stain than in the kitchen.
 I painted on and wiped off with a rag. 

 It looked really, really nice with the brick on the fireplace.  

She is especially happy with the way the new color looks on the mantel.

There are so many different ways to use a gel stain.

This turned out to be a really good one.

Lori is very happy with the final result of her family room cabinets.

(Original post 12/26/16)

DESIGN & BUILD YOUR OWN FIREPLACE MANTEL ~ EMBELLISH YOUR EXISTING MANTEL

DESIGN & BUILD YOUR OWN FIREPLACE MANTEL ~ EMBELLISH YOUR EXISTING MANTEL

Recently I came across this picture of mantel assembly pieces.

I'm sharing it with you to show how easy it would be to build your own mantel.  

Or, add columns and decorative pieces to your existing mantel. 

If you think you can't do it, a carpenter will know what to do.

You design and pick out the pieces and ask the carpenter to help you. 

Sometimes I will see a carpenter working on an existing mantel. 

 At first it does not look so good with all of the unfinished pieces being added.

But, once everything gets painted or stained the same color it looks great.

Google fireplace mantels to get ideas for your own creation. 

 I saw several that were $3,000 , $4,000. and even more expensive to purchase. 

Pinterest is another place to find good ideas.

 You can find trim pieces at home improvement stores and online. 

 Try to picture them after everything has been painted.

This is a mantel I painted.  It does not have a lot of trim pieces, but beautiful.

Another one I painted.  I love all of the round and curved trim pieces.

They are mostly individual pieces nailed, glued or screwed together.

Another huge mantel that I painted.  It was so tall I had to reach up to work on it.

These mantels were all assembled with lots of parts and pieces like the first picture above.

You can do it, too!
VISIT MY
LYNDA BERGMAN DIY BLOG
STILL WORKING ON IT ~ ADDING MORE & MORE TUTORIALS
VISIT AGAIN, SOON

(Original Post 8/6/2017)

PAINTING A MURAL OF SKY & SCISSORTAIL FLYCATCHER BIRDS IN A SKYLIGHT

PAINTING A MURAL OF SKY & SCISSORTAIL FLYCATCHER BIRDS IN A SKYLIGHT

Monica called and asked if I would paint a mural of Scissortail Flycatcher birds in the skylight of their master bathroom.  She said when they drive in the country they always see them on power lines and flying in the air and look so beautiful.   They love Scissortails.

So, I used my 8' ladder and got up in that skylight. 

 I really enjoyed painting this sky and Texas Scissortail Flycatchers. 

There was no stress painting this mural.  Monica and Kade are so easy to work with.  I knew they would probably be thrilled to see their Scissortails in the skylight.  And, they were!! 

It is a nice surprise to walk into the master bath and see this mural above the ceiling.

(Original Post 11/9/12/)

BLACK & GOLD DISTRESSED FINISH ON A 7' HIGH MIRROR FRAME

• BLACK & GOLD DISTRESSED FINISH ON A 7' HIGH MIRROR FRAME

I painted this 7' high mirror frame for a client.  It was green and I painted a special distressed finish with black, brown and "old gold". She hung it on a very high wall above her fireplace.  After it was hung, I went back and hi-lited some of the raised design with the "old gold" paint so it would show up better since it was so high on the wall. My client was very happy with the transformation!

Original post on 9/25/2011.