Victorian Love

July 16, 2013 Chelsea | StyleMutt Home

I received an amazing gift...

~Before~

~After~

The story on this piece is short and very sweet. My brother has fallen in love and will be marrying an amazing girl next January. Her parents, who are moving, very generously gave me some pieces from their home to do what I please. Every piece which they have given be will be available for sale upon completion, (including this Victorian loveseat). Whatever is made on each piece will be given to my brother and his fiance as a wedding gift. Matt and I were very blessed, (and continue to be), by the support of our family, especially early on in our marriage. It is a dear pleasure to be able to pay that support forward in this way.

The secret to a crisp, clean paint job on a superbly upholstered piece? B-L-U-E T-A-P-E! So many curves and so many details to keep protected. I used my fingers and very gently tucked the tape in, ever so slightly, wherever I could. Also, paint slow. Very slow. No quick brush strokes. Be patient and use appropriately sized brushes for different areas. I am very relieved to say that I did not get a single spec of paint on the fabric, but if I had, I kept a bowl of cold water and a dry cloth within reach so I could very quickly remove the paint. Grateful it didn't come to that on this job!

Victorian pieces are all about details...

SOLD

Thank you for coming by!

~Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Chunky, rustic chair

July 12, 2013 Chelsea | StyleMutt Home

Happy Friday, yo.

Rounding out our week is a chair that was dropped off recently with a pretty cool request; to refinish it similarly to how I did this large 6-drawer dresser last week. Oh, the pressure!

With no particular plan in mind, I tried some different things - some which worked, some which didn't. The end result, however, nails the vision beautifully.

I just love me a solid, chunky chair! {The accent table is available for sale}

The low down:
-I used Old White by Annie Sloan chalk paint to cover the entire piece, except for the armrests
-The armrests I gave a good sand using 120 grit sandpaper
-I distressed the entire piece using steel wool - an excellent tool for curvy legs and spindles
-After distressing, I went over the entire piece with a whitewash, just to soften the distressed areas, which seemed too harsh. I dipped the end of my brush in water, shook it out, then dipped very slightly in the Old White paint, and then brushed the wash on. This makes the wood look weathered and bleached, like its been sitting outside in the sun.
-I finished by sealing the piece in soft clear wax, (over the painted portion), and Polyurethane clear semi-gloss, (covering the armrests).

And because it's Friday I wanted to throw in a highlight from my week: Finding Colin's hospital bracelet! When redoing Shire's room I switched her dresser, which meant her old one got the boot. When I was cleaning it out right before it's new owner came to pick it up, I found this tiny hospital bracelet! Shire's is in a folder but I couldn't find Colin's. The twins were born premature at 34 weeks and were 4lbs 1oz and 4lbs 13oz. Colin was the heavier one, but holding his tiny hospital bracelet in my hand reminded me just how itty bitty they were. I say bracelet, but they were actually worn on their ankles during the 3+ week stay in the NICU.

Thank you for reading and have a safe and wonderful weekend!

~Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Color mixing: Chateau Grey + Duck Egg

July 11, 2013 Chelsea | StyleMutt Home

Hi friends! Today I've got a really cool custom order I had this week which required some color mixing. The inspiration: this totally amazing lamp found by my client at Tuesday Morning. Isn't it beautiful!

The idea was to create a color that would compliment the deep saturated turquoise of the lamp base and tie together some of the soft colors around my client's living room. After a bit of thought I pulled out Annie Sloan's Duck Egg and Chateau Grey chalk paints.

Chateau Grey is a beautiful mossy green and Duck Egg is an aqua with a touch of grey.

(I always use a chopstick to mix colors)

(50/50 mixture on the right, 1pt Duck Egg/3pts Chateau Grey on the left - we used the color on the left)

I first tried a 50/50 mix, but ultimately it was a bit too blue for this project. The 1pt Duck Egg to 3pts Chateau Grey was a beautiful color next to the inspired lamp.