Pretty in Pink: Antoinette Armoire

While visiting family in Sacramento over the holidays, Mr. Rubbish and I found a whole bedroom set at the Salvation Army and we happened to be there the day that everything in the store was 50% off.  The set came with the armoire, a long dresser, two night stands and a king size headboard. I took the sticker off the set to take to the register and then started to doubt my decision for a moment.  I thought about all the  transport that was required to get this set back to Santa Cruz and then all the painting it would require once we got it there. Another customer must have sensed my hesitation because she came up to me and said she was in love with the set and if I did not buy it, she would.  Well, that provided me with all the motivation I needed and I took my ticket to the register.

My little sister just bought her first house, so I painted the long dresser to be used as a sideboard in her new living room.  I will show you how it turned out next time I visit her.  She likes having me come over because I love decorating for her. You may recall her bedroom redo I helped her start a while ago.

The finish on this bedroom set was some kind of hideous, green, faux finish from the 70's.  The details and solid construction are what make this set special.  My grandparents had a bedroom set with this same finish and I always remember thinking how pretty it would look painted. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to paint their set.  

I love the inside of this armoire with the little compartment shelves.  I kept the inside green because it is a great complement to the pink exterior.

Because of the lovely details and the petite scale, I thought this armoire would be perfect in a little girl's room.  This is the first time I have painted anything with Antoinette Chalk Paint and it sure is a pretty pink!

After two coats of Antoinette, I dry brushed Old White Chalk Paint over all the trim and hardware.

The hardware is gorgeous and really stands out against the pink.

I finished the armoire with a coat of Annie Sloan clear wax and buffed it to soft sheen.

 It is all ready for a princess bedroom!

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Burlap and Graphite Chair

 Last month, I won this little, ladder-back chair at an auction for two dollars.  After fixing up sets of chairs, it is refreshing to paint a single chair.  I always feel exhausted by the time I paint, wax and upholster a whole set of dining chairs!

 This was an easy project.  I started by removing the torn seat cusion and then painted directly over the rough, orange-brown stain with Graphite Chalk Paint. The Chalk Paint did a wonderful job of masking the uneven finish beneath it, not requiring any pre-sanding on my part.

After the Graphite paint dried, I sanded it all over, so that it was completely smooth and nicely worn along the edges.  Then, I waxed the chair with a mixture of  Fiddes & Sons clear and rugger brown waxes.

I chose burlap to reupholster the seat cushion because I wanted to keep the chair simple and nothing says simple like burlap.  I used my favorite stencil from Maison de Stencils, which is the same one I used on my slipcovered parson chairs. 

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Mid-Week Design Inspiration: French Bedrooms

Hi, everyone, I'm Susi and I write as a guest blogger for Design Shuffle, a wonderful platform for designers and design lovers from around the world to share their work and find inspiration. Speaking of inspiration, I'm thrilled to write the Mid-Week Design Inspiration post for Amanda this week. This week's post is all about French bedrooms. Romantic and oh so stylish, French bedrooms are beautiful interior design inspiration for creating a gorgeous bedroom of our own. Here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!



This French bedroom feels like it is straight out of Dangerous Liasons or a fairytale. Beautiful architecture surrounds a bed piled with dusty pastels. Beautiful.



Soft lighting and a canopy gives a romantic, feminine feeling to this bedroom. Love that the pattern is carried from walls to canopy to linens. Tres chic!



Soft French grey is a lovely color for a bedroom. Paired with gold from giltwood furniture or a gilt mirror and pale pastels, grey can create a feminine room.



This Provencal inspired bedroom is centered by a beautiful canopy bed draped in French linens. The bed is from Ikea. Stunned? So were we! Amazing what some paint and creativity can do!



Not all French bedroom designs must be a riot of pattern. This French bedroom is done in a lovely French grey that calm and soothing. Pretty furniture has fantastic details.



Toile is quintessentially French and a perfect fabric for the bedroom. Love the red and white toile on this canopy bed for its bright pattern.



This gorgeous emerald room (photographed by Didier Delmas) is a dark, dramatic French bedroom. What beautiful decorating ideas are found in this sumptuous space! Love the emerald and plum palette.



At first glance, this looks like a settee but is in fact a bed. How whimsical! Love all the beautiful pattern on the bed and wall. Antique oil paintings add a very French feel to the room. Images [ 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 ]

From romantic bedrooms to modern living rooms, from Boston interior designers to San Francisco interior designers and more! Design Shuffle has so much to offer any interior designer/enthusiasts, come check us out!

Paris Script Bench

I love to redo benches and I was happy to find this vintage one at the Santa Cruz Flea Market a few weeks ago.  

The old finish was scuffed up and, as you can see, the seat cushion was pretty disgusting.  The man I bought it from told me that the night before he had a dream that his old bench had become beautiful.  Well, I suppose his dream was about to come true.

I removed the old fabric and cushion first and then painted the bench.  I painted it with a gorgeous grayish-brown color that Nancy made by combining paints.

I bought new foam for the seat and I used some leftover Paris Script fabric, from another bench I fixed up, to recover the cushion.  

I wish the man from the flea market could see his old, ugly bench now.

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Paris Gray and White Vanity

This gorgeous vanity came from an estate sale.  It was my big piece at the Loot sale and I am thrilled it sold the first day!  It sold to a darling 14 year old who wanted it for her bedroom.  She came into the shop in the morning and fell in love with it, but her dad wasn't convinced.  She came back just before we closed for the day and he bought it for her.  What a nice dad!  I am delighted that this vanity went to loving home.

This is what it looked like when I found it:

The finish was a little worn in places, but nothing a little Chalk Paint could not fix. This vanity is extremely well-built and heavy.  I broke a sweat when I helped Mr. Rubbish carry it to and from the truck, even with the drawers removed.

It came with a gorgeous, beveled mirror with a beautiful applique on top and a beaded trim along the edges.

I envisioned this vanity being very pale, but I wanted to highlight the applique and detailing around the drawers.  I thought the Paris Gray Chalk Paint was too dark for this piece, so I mixed it half and half with Old White Chalk Paint.  The color became the gorgeous, subtle gray I had envisioned.  

I used the Old White Chalk Paint on a tiny paint brush to paint the trim around each drawer.  I also painted the trim around the mirror and the applique on top with Old White.

I also used the Old White Chalk Paint, thinned with water, to create a whitewash on the existing drawer hardware.

My only advice for mixing paint is to either mix enough paint to complete the job or measure the ratio of each color exactly.  I ran out of paint and I still had to do one more coat on the top of the vanity.  It took too many attempts to get an exact match of color.  I finally did it, but it would have been much easier had I mixed enough paint to start with.  What project is ever complete without one or two mishaps along the way?  I am very pleased with how the vanity turned out in the end!

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Gold French Chairs

I attended my first auction with Nancy and we both spotted these petite, antique chairs right when we walked in.  We knew that we had to have them, but we were sure that everyone else in the place wanted them too.  It turned out that only one other woman bid on them and we outbid her!

I cannot believe we own these amazing, French antique chairs!  Look at the darling swags the caning, and the gold leafing.  

The seats are done in tufted satin. These must be the most adorable chairs I have ever seen!

If I had room at my house, I would keep them.  They are currently for sale at Loot and I hope they find a loving home!

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Country Gray and Old White Armoire

A few weeks ago, on a rare occasion that Mr. Rubbish went to an estate sale with me, we found this French provincial armoire.  I usually only buy inexpensive items at estate sales, but Mr. Rubbish surprised me and bought this armoire.  He said that it was his investment because he knew I could fix it up and sell it for more.  

 Mr. Rubbish called the estate "the barbie house".  Not only was all the furniture cream, gold and pink, but the woman who had lived there had hundreds of, what looked like, barbie shoes; all vintage, all size 5 and all in their original boxes.  If only I wore a size 5!

The armoire has a great shape and the insides of all the drawers are in pristine, like-new condition!  It is a Thomasville and is so well built and solid too.  I love the arched top and the metal wire in both doors. 

 I was not liking the gold and cream color scheme, circa 1970.  

So, I just updated the color scheme, but kept it two-toned.  I used Country Gray and Old White Chalk Paint, so it matched the dresser I just finished.  

The armoire went from French Provincial to Paris Chic!

Here is another before shot of the doors :

...and after

 I love that Chalk Paint adheres to metal too.  I mixed the Old White with water and whitewashed the metal wire and all the hardware.

I used a tiny brush to apply the old white on the trim and then applied wax over the entire piece to protect the finish.

The armoire has not sold yet, but a lot of customers commented on it in at Loot last weekend.  I hope it sells, so that Mr. Rubbish can make a return on his investment :)

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