The green console

Hi,
Today I bring you my recent makeover in terms of aging wood! 
I have this recycled wood console with me for while. The shape is OK; the quality isn't high level though. 

Mary B. 's home - Part II

This is the chapter II of the Mary's furniture makeover in the entrance hall, lounge and dining area. 

As I told you in chapter 1 I had a great time painting the entire furniture in this house! 
Introducing new color scheme in a same project can sometimes be adventurous even if we take the liberty of giving new feeling in specific areas. We must bear in mind colors might be boring after a while but in this case I think we did great. 

Staging Mary B.'s home - Part. I

A customer contacted me last month to transform the entire furniture decor of her home! 
This cozy house has been completely renovated and the style is mostly colonial. Most of the furniture were great pieces but a painting touch would enhance their beauty even more. 
The project has been a pleasure to deal with as the lady was very open minded and happy to get some color advice; it was like collaborating in a home styling project from artisan decorative effects! 
We then chose the colors and finishes on every single piece and I we were done...

Rainbow dresser

Hi,

This lovely kitchen dresser has been repaired and painted a while ago but for some reason I hadn't published anything about it on the blog so here it is. 
What I love about it is to explain the whole process of fixing, repairing and painting furniture from beginning to end. 
It was love at first sight and in spite of the bad shape and dirt, I could see a treasure and that it could turn into something magnificent! 
The pictures were taken from my cell phone so it's not great but you can follow the steps. 

Show time for my workshop

Happy to be here again!
I am glad to talk you today about my first TV experience! OMG, this is more than great: I loved it!
I have been recently approached by Cristina Lopez from RTV Marbella in order to participate in her show Nunca es tarde (click),  ("It's never too late" in Spanish). 
The subject matter is appealing and interesting: they make people meet an instructor to teach them any activity (sports, cuisine, art...) on their spare time and develop interest in such experience.  

My workshop - Part 4

Hi there,

After a few inactive months on the blog I am back to show you the workshop activity. 

Casa Ella project

I come here today to tell you about a beautiful deco project I have been working over the summer; I have named it the "Casa Ella" project. Casa Ella is a beautiful Bead & Breakfast; the house is a 100 years old property located in the Benahavis village near my workshop. It has been refurbished several time since then but had to face a complete makeover in order to match modern B&B requirements. The owners came to see me while the property was being refurbished and were able to choose furniture and colors to paint with.

Painting beams

Last winter, friends of ours asked me to paint a few beams for their tailored-made coffee table. Every single beam had to fit perfectly in the metal structure. 
I thought it would be interesting to paint both side of the beams, just in case they would like to change and update their living room decor. 

My workshop - part 3

My workshop is now open for two months! 

I cannot publish on the blog as much as I used to do before but you can always follow along on Facebook and Instagram to get fresh updates. I think I can publish monthly different chapters under the "My workshop - part..." title so you all get updated regarding what's going on!

In addition to chalk painting workshops and orders, I have been involved in small painting projects on furniture and items I need on a daily basis. When time allows I take care of the logistic side of the place: organizing, drilling in the wall for additional shelves, revamp the window display, etc.

Check out last news @ the workshop and enjoy the tour!

My workshop - Part 2

Most of my updates are posted in my Facebook profile and Instagram as I am currently not publishing here as I don't have too much time left. This is what happen when you do everything on your own! However satisfaction is the best award when you see that everything is just as you like as well as a good public acceptance. 

Standing mirror makeover

This is a great makeover I want to share with you today! 
I have a standing mirror for years... I was no longer happy to see it around but did not want to get rid off it, of course! It's the perfect mirror which fits in any corner or at the end of a hallway. 
As I said I couldn't stand for its look anymore and have been thinking how could I turn it into something more... "my own style". 
And so the inspiration came, probably browsing Pinterest for hours(!) and I started this new project. 

Chess or checkerboard?

This is a very simple DIY I come with today. When I had the wooden plank cut for the jewelry organizer (click here if you missed it) I didn't know what to do with the other half so I put it in my storage room since then... 

Looking for inspiration on Pinterest I stumble upon the idea of Donna from Funky Junk Interiors; she did an awesome board for his bathroom (click). She is much more inventive and skilled than me with junk stuff so I wouldn't be able to do such thing but I kept the chess idea in my mind. 

I needed a huge amount of tape and patience to end the painting process. Fixing the hooks was much easier. I love the result and it's now hanging at the guest bedroom's entrance. 

Nightstands: milk and chalk paint

You can read in my blog I often use milk and chalk paint for many of my projects. As for the pantry kitchen table for my bedroom, I have used both on the same piece. I just love milk paint! I love the texture and the antique style it provides on any piece of furniture. 

Tea station improvement

Due to very high temperatures during summer tea or herbal teas are definitely not an option! However fall is now arriving to the Spanish coast and a cup of tea is now OK for me around 5pm. 
I use to store my tea and herbal tea bags in the same place: a very simple but functional tea box. I remember painting it white a few years ago. 
While checking my monthly tea supplies I realized I could improve a little bit this sad off white color with a few details so I started a real tea station improvement. 

Create a growth chart

This is a very simple DIY project I want to share with you today: a growing chart or... wall ruler made from a pallet plank.  I am about to refresh my craft room adding deco items made from reclaimed pieces so here is one! I used walnut stain for the first time and I must say I love it: mixed with water you can actually reduce the tone as much as you like; no smell, so easy to clean and more important: cheap (about 1€!). In 10cms intervals, I used short brush strokes of paint, then varnish, then paint, and so on, until completing the ruler. Check out the final result. Click here to see Pinterest board for more ideas and Hometalk graphic at the end of this post. 
 

BEFORE

AFTER

French café chairs

Since my painted floor is finished I decided to update my French chairs and turn them on something brighter and colorful. They are probably 100 years ago and I love them! If you follow me on Instagram I have already posted a few ones since my living area is done. Anyway when I rescued them about a year and a half ago, I restored and aged them applying asphalt on top of paint.

BEFORE

BEFORE

I loved the final result by then. This time I just used chalk paint and a colorless clear coat without an aging painting technique.

AFTER

Painting hardwood floor

Painting my hard floor is in my mind since we made the kitchen makeover. Once we decided a hard floor tropical wood all over we hadn't realized how dark it would turn overtime. 

BEFORE

White scandinavian interiors have much to do with this decision and most of my research on Pinterest, Hometalk and 1.000 deco sites took my fears away, especially Cleverly Inspired and Nostalgiecat providing easy instructions on their own floor jobs so here we go... 

AFTER

I had to paint by area as the whole surface is about 752 sqm totaling entrance hall, kitchen, dining and lounge. I used Old White from Annie S. mixed with a quarter of water, sanded the whole surface (especially on wood joints) and 2 coats of matte clear coat are needed. The effect is great, a kind of aged creamy white.  Check out the "before & after" pictures as well as the process. 

From reclaimed plank of wood to wall coat

DIY:  WALL COATS FOR ENTRANCE HALL

This construction-plank of wood is a leftover from my exterior table project.  Standing idly in a corner of my porch, it waited patiently its turn to be transformed into something magnificent… 

BEFORE

I have never been in love with blue but since my last trip across the East Coast, ideas and inspiration taken from Pinterest and the beach style topics on Houzz I guess I have changed my mind. Firstly, a space had to be created in the entrance hall for what would eventually become my navy-themed area; therefore the shoe cabinet and coat hanger had to go.  These were replaced by an unpainted trunk from my craft room.

Check out the BEFORE/AFTER pics and tutorial afterwards.

AFTER

Upcycled shutters - Part II

Everything is completed: shutters and tailored made cushions for welcoming summer!

Upcycled shutters - Part I

Most of the works have been done on the shutters rescued from the trash. It’s been a long and hard work as no paint stripping is strong enough to remove lacquer; it has been a nightmare and I only could remove and age using the heat gun.

Check out the makeover for a cozy corner.