The crafted pantry

Hi,

A friend of mine asked me to enlighten a specific place in her lounge by painting an old crafted pantry furniture. This corner is now bright and cozy. 

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.

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. 

Red barn color

Months ago I detailed about my MMSMP experience on this post. 

Today I would like to share another milk paint project with Old Fashioned Milk Paint. As I said the other day milk paint is very popular in Northern America but not too much in Europe so every detail on this type of paint is instructive. 

Vintage wood stove

When I don't have furniture to makeover I just look around my place and always stumble upon something to upcycle, refresh or embellish. 
Our vintage wood stove is the protagonist of the project today. As for family furniture and antiques I have told about on the blog, most of them belonged to my Mum and I am so grateful to have kept them from her last removal and so happy to care them all. I guess I inherited her taste for antiques and ancient treasures. As far as I remember my childhood, there was no modern piece of furniture at home, not a single one; most of our interiors were more than 50, 80 or 100 years old!

Vintage milk bottle carrier

I have seen this milk bottle carrier in our family's house since ever! I remember when my mother used to store wine or canned tomatoes. It finally turned to be used as a decor item somewhere in the kitchen and eventually ended in my hands! It's a real beauty! The metal color is dull and rust is visible on joints and nails but do not alter its genuine character. 

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. 

The pantry table

Just before Christmas I rescued this wonderful farmhouse pantry table from a garage sale. This is the typical primitive table you can find anywhere in Spanish farms. You just had to lift the drawer to store food; I love it!

Reuse shutter for headboard

I found this shutter nearby; they were refurbishing somewhere and this well-shape piece of wood was just waiting for me to pick it up. It might have been exposed to weather but certainly on a covered patio as it is just perfect. I love restoring furniture but it's also comforting to deal with a non-woodworm damaged piece sometimes! 
Wood shape is perfect and the lock is intact so this will be a great project to add to my bedroom makeover. In this post, I was telling you my existing headboard is fine and I still like it but adding this shutter will certainly be an asset and therefore a customized headboard.

I used ammonia and liquid soap to remove dust and grease and let it dry in the sun.

Once cleaned I used Ironstone from MMS mil paint on the shutter and a chalky grey on the headboard. This is the result and a preview of my bedroom makeover. 

The watchmaker stool

This beautiful watchmaker stool is in our family since ever as it belonged to a relative who was indeed a watchmaker. This interesting stool is made from 2 pieces which form a rotating sitting chair. 

I have been hesitating a very long time before repurposing as I didn't really know how: painting, not painting...? But the major point had to be done: woodworm had made damages and the whole piece needed attention. 

After treatment I used milk paint all over and sanded a little bit to feel the real wood grain. Milk paint is so great to revamp the antique feeling on all furniture!

I customized using typewriting stencils and imagined a cocoa manufacturer sign from Ghana.

I used soft and dark wax to protect the paint; here is the result.

My MMSMP experience

Hi there,

I would like to share with you today my very first experience with MMSMP. 

My own milk paint

I recently made my own milk paint.
I selected the tutorial I liked the best (click) and I just did it.