Swoon Interiors

interiors that make your heart skip a beat.

A few winter tweaks …

I don’t know about you, but after so many hours indoors at home, I really get the itch to change things up a bit around my house. Some changes are small … some a little more involved (ask my husband and father-in-law). But I thought I’d share a few here …

#1 Simplifying the top of our entertainment center

 
 
Before I had a few more things up top … but I decided to go for just 3 bigger objects this time. These were all things I already had in my house but now they kind of have a new life in this very focal point of our family room.
 
I always think it’s a great idea to shop your own house and move your accessories around. Store some things away for awhile and then bring them back out when the mood hits.
 
#2 I painted my rooster! 
 
 
I’ve always liked my quirky rooster but he used to be red.  He kind of blended into the cabinets … so I took out some of my leftover Annie Sloan Chalk paint (I wrote about here) and gave him a makeover. I’m always looking for ways to brighten up my dark cabinets, so this gives a nice pop of creamy white up above the cook top.
 
 
#3 New Chandelier for my dining room (!!!!)
 
 
This is what my dear husband and father-in-law spent a couple of hours hanging for me on a recent Sunday afternoon. It makes me very happy!
 
 
You might remember the old when that came with the house …
 

 
It just felt heavy … our dining room is not all that large … so I knew we needed something a little more delicate, light … and sparkly …
 
 
#4 More sparkle … to the fireplace.
 
 
Decorating a mantel can be tricky … because I have bookshelves in this room that already hold a lot of different decorative objects, I wanted to keep this mantel a little more uniform. A collection of mercury glass votive holders in various sizes, shapes and textures did the trick. Plus, I like the juxtaposition of the more rustic fireplace with the glamour of mercury glass.
 
 
#5 A few purchases from One Kings Lane
 
In wintertime, when I can’t physically get out to wander around outdoor antiques markets, I have to get my fix browsing the Tastemaker Tag Sales and Vintage shops of One Kings Lane. 
 
So many one-of-kind treasures … it’s a great way to score some unique pieces for your home. My recent purchases …
 
 
This gray and white French ticking body pillow …
 
 
… this white ceramic pitcher and vintage French bottling tray:
 
 
I think the tray will be pretty come spring & summer to fill with vintage glass bottles and fresh cut stems from my yard.
 
 
So that’s it for me … how are you beating the doldrums of winter? 
  
 

Here she is … my little desk makeover.

My experiment with chalk paint.

Here’s the before …

And the after …

If you read my previous post on chalk paint, you know that I decided to try it out an a little desk I have that was pretty scratched up … (At one point, I liked the hand-painted details … now, not so much.)
I purchased the Annie Sloan paints in French Linen, Louis Blue and Old White, as well as a jar of dark soft wax (they also offer it in clear) from Carter’s Cottage Interiors.  Over our warm(ish) Thanksgiving weekend we carried the two piece desk out to the garage and got to work. 

Dan filled in the deep scratches with wood filler and once it dried I sanded over those parts (but nothing else) and then painted on the first coat.  Pretty good coverage after even just one …

 French Linen on the outside …

And Louis Blue on the inside …

It dried pretty quickly, within an hour, and so on went the next coat. It definitely is a very matte, flat finish … which is why I think it needed a little distressing …

I took a very fine sanding sponge and lightly sanded over everything … giving it a slightly weathered look, especially on some of the edges. This part was easy and fun.

 Next step … the soft wax

I only used a tiny bit of this for the whole project … so one can of this would probably last a lifetime. You could definitely share this with a friend, or two or three!

I took a little paint brush and made streaks wherever I saw fit, rubbing each one in with a cheesecloth before it dried to blend it in for a softer look. This part was really fun … you are kind of able to give it your own artistic look.

It’s very subtle, but you can see the difference on these two doors.  The left side has no wax and the right side does.

At this point, I wanted to soften it a bit more, so I mixed a small amount of Old White with water (about 1 part paint to 8 parts water) and then with a large paint brush I painted over everything for a kind of whitewashed look.
Perfect! This was totally the look I was going for.

Then … to replace the hardware … 5 small knobs.  I kind of wanted to add a little bling to my desk, so I searched “tiny crystal knobs” and found these on ebay.
I loved the crystals … but the knobs themselves were still a little too chrome and shiny for my liking. So I took a little tube of Rub’n’Buff (purchased at Hobby Lobby) … 

… and rubbed it over the chrome.
Voila! A more vintage look … (but it really does a number on your manicure.)

 So that’s it! What do you think?  It makes me swoon now whenever I see it. 
Although now I am trying to find just the right place for my new little desk … it seems to get a little lost in our current office … definitely doesn’t stand out much again the green walls. But we are planning a mini-makeover of that room including new paint … so we’ll see if it stays in there or finds a new more prominent place in the house!
Experiencing how easy and fun this was has definitely got me wanting to find some more old furniture and start painting! I guess I will hold out for warmer weather and some of my favorite antique fairs this summer.
Sounds so far away doesn’t it?
Hope everyone is having a good Back-To-Reality-Week!

Hangin’ out …

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I’ve been taking a little bit of a blogging break to hang out with these two …

We’ve been busy and lazy all at the same time. Lots of presents, food, a night in the city, family get togethers, board games, movies … all the makings of a perfect Christmas Break … except no snow!
I’ve been drooling over some of the pictures in this new book Dan got me for Christmas.
Would you believe … that is NOT wallpaper. It is made of burlap fringe and plaster!

Just a very small sampling … I’ll have to scan in some more favorites for you later.
I also finally got the new hardware for the little desk that I painted with chalk paint back around Thanksgiving, so I’ve been working on a post to show you how I did it. 
Look for it next year …
Hope everyone has a fun and safe New Year’s Eve!

Weekend project … a Preview

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Lots of food, movies, games, and decorating for Christmas at our house.  And would you believe … I got all three of my men to help me test out the chalk paint I purchased (you can read more about it here) on this little desk I’ve had sitting in our office. It was really fun to use!  I am already eyeing up what else I can paint.  Here’s just a glimpse of the finished project.

I promise I’ll do a full post soon with more step-by-step pictures and directions.  Cyber Monday and Christmas cards kept me busy today! How about you?

Have you heard of chalk paint?

There’s a lot of buzz about Annie Sloane Chalk Paint goin’ on …

 … I’ve heard things like, “it’s the perfect paint” and “no fail” for painting furniture. The wood needs no sanding, no priming, no preparation, NADA! 

Check out some of these pieces that have been painted using Chalk Paint.

It’s perfect for giving furniture a painted French or Swedish look with lots of patina. The colors have been inspired by European 18th century furniture and have been made bright and rich, but you can easily mix any of them to be softer and lighter with the addition of Old White.

The Annie Sloan website says that the paint is also very quick drying, so you can finish a project in one day.
After painting, you are supposed to apply a clear wax with a brush and then, if desired, a dark wax to mellow the colors and give it an aged patina.

So, I have a little desk and hutch in my office that is a bit dinged up and is stained a dark brown. I have been wanting to paint it but have been a little intimidated about the amount of sanding, striping and priming it would take.  I think I have found my answer!

Because this is produced in the UK, there are very few retailers who sell it on this side of the pond. And there are only 3, in fact, in Illinois! Carter’s Cottage Interiors in DeKalb has a website where you can order the paint directly.

After much deliberation I chose French Linen for the outside and Louis Blue for the inside of the hutch.

I can’t wait to get them and experiment.  And so, until then, I will just say …
… To Be Continued!