Am Try project: February 2014

Monday, February 24, 2014

MRS Ps GUEST ROOM

It was time to create the next room in the Great Adventures of Mrs. P, her guest bedroom.

For those who are not familiar with Mrs. P yet, she is a fictional character Carrie and I have

created to offer a personality behind the room displays we create in The Passionate Home.

Ill offer links to the other rooms we have created at the end of this article.

While we were making up the bed with this beautiful new turquoise coverlet we learned that

Mrs. Ps eldest daughter is coming to stay for several months and is not so fond of the color.

But we know a lot of you really love the color and would really like to have it

in your bedroom. So Mrs. P has offered the Turquoise Queen Coverlet and 2 matching

pillow shams for a give away to one of the local shoppers of The Passionate Home.

All you have to do is walk into The Passionate Home located at 20506 Fraser Hwy Langley BC

and asked to be entered into the drawer for

Mrs. Ps bedding, no purchase necessary but you will have to answer a thought provoking question.

Such as ... would you like to see bedding available in the store?

Since we created the guest room in turquoise its going to fall on Mrs. P to

redecorate for her daughters upcoming visit in the shades of pink she so likes.
We are hopeful she will work with the toile curtains we fashioned with some Annie Sloan fabric.

Didnt know Annie did paint and fabric too?
When you stop in to enter for the bedding check out some of her fabrics available at the store.

I was quite shocked when I realized this birdcage was also a hanging lamp,

where does Mrs. P find these wonderfully unique things?

So far this summer Mrs. Ps gardening area was featured:

http://blogspot.ca/2013/06/fictional-characters-in-store-display.html

and her white bedroom:

http://blogspot.ca/2013/06/fictional-characters-in-store-display.html

We hope you all enjoy watching The Passionate Home transform each time we get together

to create these beautiful rooms to share with you.

BUILDING A CABINET WITH OTHER FURNITURE

I built this cabinet using 3 different pieces of furniture, trim, appliques, and 2 pine doors.

A pair of simple nightstands with drawers were screwed together for the base cabinet and the doors

were used to close in the open section of the nightstands for hidden storage.

I mimicked the oval shapes in the applique and the drawer handles.

BACK FRONT

Here are some close ups to help understand how 3 different moldings were used to frame the base.

The square embellishment (plastic) was attached to a thick square of wood before being installed.

The top was built using a discarded bookshelf frame and 10" boards
from an old waterbed frame were used for shelves.

The top was trimmed in more moldings and the sides got banister turnings.

Im in love with this new wallpaper and lined everything I could on this piece.

The cabinet is built in 2 pieces so it can easily be transported. The top simply sits on the bottom.

And I kept it!

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ALSO ...

Stop in to see whats new in shabby chic white hardware available at firstfinds.

There are over 1000 pieces of used hardware to choose from

Etsy Shop.

GUESS WHATS ARRIVED HERE IN BC his and her nightstands

BTW this is a little can not a gallon

$49.99 plus tax

I picked up my first can of Chalk Paint from THE PASSIONATE HOME

the first mini stockist of ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT in BC.

Here are the first willing test subjects,

and their new feet.

Magic ..... the new legs are installed.

You dont really want me to talk about adding legs again do you?

You want my review on this expensive little can of wonder paint right?

No sanding or priming required ...

This is the first time I have used chalk paint and I chose to spray it on the tables.

I found no difference from my regular latex primer or paint when

thinning with water or straining it for use in my spray gun.

It went on the furniture in a smooth even coat just like regular primer.

I did start to notice my hand cramping while spraying which isnt normal.

I believe this was due to the paint being thicker and having more solids thus distributing

slower thru the gun, finding the right consistency will come with practise.

The paint drys very quickly to the touch and I had no threat of runs in the paint.

When dry it feels semi rough and a bit chalky just like a flat paint would.

Once they were done it was time for .....

The Plymouth Rock sandwich from Safeway .. mm mm good!

Once I was done with lunch I got a small bowl of water and a good clean sponge.

The thing that I quickly learned while using this paint

is that it is always soluble with water.

Thus making the process of distressing very FUN and satisfying.

Im able to create all sorts of antiqued finishes with regular products every time changing

the recipe and experimenting which is fun too but takes time and thought.

See how the edges are distressed,

this has all been done wiping and rubbing with the damp sponge.

NO DUST - WET DISTRESSING

With the contact of the water the paint started to smooth the semi rough surface I mentioned earlier.

Because this paint is always water soluble you should finish it with a protector.

This is why the paint is primarily always sold with a finish wax.

I used MINWAX Finishing Paste Wax on these tables but Annie Sloan sells a clear and a dark wax.

At the time this article was written I had not tried brush painting with it yet.

I do see this as being a great indoor winter paint for me

simply because the dust level is so low when distressing.

Now to the cost, yes its expensive at first glance.

However time is money for most of us and I didnt have to take an hour sanding,

or have to waste product deglossing.

A single coat of chalk paint is all that is required when achieving an antiqued

or distressed finish, saving both product and time.

The product also dries very quickly saving more of that precious time of ours.

No cost to purchase sand paper for distressing, just a rag and some water.

Money will be saved in paint brushes as they are always washable weeks later.

UPDATE: 2 years later and I have not bought new brushes yet!!!

A similar look can be achieved with less expensive primer and distressed with sandpaper.

But I promise it will take longer and you wont have as much fun.

I find the most valuable aspect to this product being the adhesion factor.

Most ppl want instant gratification when they decide to paint something

and chalk paint now offers this with out the prep work.

There will still be slim occasions where adhesion will be an issue.

It seems that the paint will not stick to wood that has been penetrated by an oil.

Such as a tongue oil rubbed into furniture.

To summarize my thoughts:

If you are familiar with priming and painting techniques and already create decorative furniture,

I suggest trying this paint.

If you are new to painting and refinishing furniture

I suggest you read as much as you can find about this paint or even take a class

which THE PASSIONATE HOME and many of the stockist offer.

This is a decorative paint best used to create fun and fabulous vintage looks.

I finished the look with vintage provincial handles with a turquoise aged look.

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