Summer Break and Recent Keeps

The past week has been a complete whirlwind! School has been out for a week, and on top of adjusting to a new routine and schedule with kids home all day, I've had three full painting workshops, a regular schedule to keep at the store and a mini-getaway with my husband for our anniversary. The getaway was the best part! My hubby surprised me with a night on the town in Beverly Hills. I was begging to load up the truck with nasty looking furniture so we could drive it around Rodeo Dr. and Beverly Blvd just cuz that's more my style. :) Wouldn't that have been a kick? 

As planned, I climbed through the attic and pulled out my wedding dress over the weekend to see if I could get it on and zipped up. There was a big hole in the front of it on the outer layer of tulle despite being all boxed up. Oh well. I got into a squabbling match with my husband trying to get it on...it went something like, (him) "There is no way this is going to zip up." (me) "YES IT WILL...YOU'RE JUST NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH!!!" 

 

He managed to get it zipped up...but just barely. I can't believe I was so skinny back then. After a round of some pictures (I promised I would include if it fit), I had to run back in the house and take it off just so I could take a deep breath. 

Anyway, after our weekend in a different world (cuz if you've ever been to Beverly Hills you might as well vacation in a different world), I've spent every day in the store prepping for workshops, keeping up with the furniture inventory and training interns. It seems like this week, more than ever I was having conversations with customers that went something like, "how do you ever get rid of anything?" 

The truth of the matter is...I don't. There are a lot of things that I come across with the intent of selling, but just can't part with it right away. These are some of my favorites at home...

I got this California Date box at a yard sale for $1. It was filled with cassette tapes, and in order to get the box I had to take all of the tapes. Originally, I brought it to the store and snuck it behind some other stuff so no one would see it. Every time someone touched it or even looked at it I'd get a little heated. So, after a week or two I finally pulled it off the shelves and took it home. 

I think these are milk glass. These came from a yard sale just a few weeks ago. I paid $10 for the whole set and was stoked about it because I've been on the hunt for a vintage feeling salt and pepper shaker and a new sugar bowl. The shaker was a bonus because it is kid friendly...perfect for a sprinkle of sugar on our morning oatmeal that even my three year old can handle. 

This past November, I bought a set of locker baskets on etsy to store our Christmas CD's and DVD's for the holiday season. The plan was to sell them once Christmas was over and the movies went back in storage. But, I love the versatility of them. Right now, they are a focal point above my fireplace along with a bunch of other oddities that I've kept over the years. I think I have a collection of about ten locker baskets in and around the house right now. 

The cast iron cookware crate was a yard sale find for $10. and the box beneath it was $2 and is an old file cabinet drawer. Both of those were in the shop for a bit of time, but I finally brought them home and set them up as a side table in my family room. The antique alarm clock works and was supposed to be for store inventory...but...you know how it goes...

Ahhh...that awesome, chippy lamp! I'd say it was supposed to come to the store, but I don't think I really ever intended to sell it. I got it at Lucketts? or maybe Chartreuse and Co. in Virginia on a picking adventure with one of my best friends. It works and is ideal for my husband while he teaches piano lessons. It wasn't a screamin' deal, but at $36 it wasn't too over-the-top expensive to buy. 

The large antique glass window was from a yard sale just down the street from my house. I walked it home and propped it behind the table against the wall to get it out of the way until I could get it to the shop. Well, it's been there for a while now. 

I got the two teeny tiny kids chairs at the Irvine Antique Market this past spring. My kids love them...and I love having grown up looking furniture for the little ones. Eventually, they will get sold once my little scrappers outgrow them. 

And, to this day, my most favorite find is the church pew. It was a screamin' deal at a yard sale. I paid just $75 and love it as much as its original owner. You can read about when I first bought it here. 

That's just some of the cool stuff I've kept over the years. More recently, I bought an antique buffet and secretary that involved lots of re-arranging to keep. But, that's a post for another day!

Here Comes The Bride

I have weddings on the mind. Perhaps it's because my anniversary is this weekend and I'm feeling nostalgic. Or, maybe it's simply because it is the month of June...wedding month. 
  

Did you know that we rent our furniture and other stuff? I wouldn't go as far to say that we are a rental company...but we can be a great place to find that last minute "something" that you need to finish your reception and ceremony space!

Like that cute chest of drawers with vintage decorations! Yep...that's one of ours.

Maybe some mis-matched tables and chairs for the pre-reception waiting area. That's one of our tables, too!

Who doesn't love photo booths?! This one goes along with the vintage, farmhouse theme with all of the cute accessories. Most of those came from knot too shabby.

Even if you aren't feeling the whole vintage vibe, with the right eye you can add some unique flair to your decorating!

This Peacock themed color palette mixed it up with splashes of yellow...or more specifically, Arles. That's our Duncan Phyfe and farm chairs! 

Like I said...last minute rentals. We only reserve items for rent for up to 30 days. But, the plus side is that it is very cost effective! Chairs are only $10 to rent and tables run anywhere from $25-$75. The accessories are as little as $5 each and if you need stacks of vintage books for decorations...well, those just cost $1 to rent. 

I have to give huge props to Meghan Wiesman who took all of the photographs above at several stylized wedding shoots! She is super talented and comes highly recommended. Also, these shoots were stylized by Aliki at Firefly Studio Events and Designs who has fantastic vision and can pull some of the most obscure items together for an intricately detailed and magical wedding. 

Ahhh...to get married! I wish I could do it all over again...the wedding that is...not the marriage. I wouldn't trade that for anything.The wedding, however would be completely different. But, after eleven years, whose wouldn't? Last year, for our ten year anniversary I had this goal to be able to fit into my wedding dress. Well, I didn't even bother to take it out of the box because I knew there wasn't a chance in my wildest dreams that it was going to budge over my excessively wide hips. This year...well, just maybe I will be able to zip it up. We'll see...and if I can get it on, I'll take a picture!

Paint Color Recipes for Chalk Paint and Milk Paint

In my search for some variety with my painting, I have been mixing colors...a lot! I thought I would share some of my most recent "recipes" along with some of the newest furniture pieces.

It's hard to believe, but this dresser is painted with milk paint. I mixed it in the magic bullet and got a deliciously, frothy mixture that applied with a super smooth finish. Bonding Agent prevented it from chipping, even on that higher gloss finish. 

I don't have an exact recipe since I used leftovers, but you can play with the combinations until you find the shade you like. I mixed about 2 tablespoons Boxwood with 2 tablespoons Kitchen Scale and then added about 1/2 a cup (maybe more) of Grain Sack to lighten it. The white color on the accents is Old White.

This little chest of drawers is so cute and charming! 

I mixed leftover Greek Blue, Arles and Paris Grey. It was a pretty random mix but I was using the bottom batches in leftover cans. You know...making the most of my Chalk Paint. 

This mid-century dresser was screaming for some visual interest. I used an ombre affect to add a splash of color. 

The bottom drawer is mixed with 2 parts Louis Blue to 1 part Antibes. I used that same base color for the middle drawer, but added 1/4 part Old White to lighten it, and another 1/4 part Old White for the top drawer. It's a beautiful sea-foam green color.

This hall tree that I've been hanging onto for over a year I finally painted. I used 2 parts Provence to 1 part Olive to get, yet another variation of the sea foam green color.

This classic Duncan Phyfe table is a custom mix of Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint.

I mixed roughly equal parts of Kitchen Scale and Mustard Seed Yellow to get another green shade. 

You can clearly see where my mixing colors trend to go...definitely to the blue greens. I guess that's my way of moving away from blue...using blue as a base and adding yellow. At least I'm trying to go out of my blue comfort zone. 

On the more classic side, this twin bed is painted in straight up, Paris Grey. I hardly ever display beds so thought I'd throw this one in the mix. Plus, I beam with pride over this one because my six year old painted it and did all of the distressing. To date, it the largest project she has ever tackled. 

I added the stencil and let her have a break from all of the waxing. 

What is your favorite mixed color? Please share on our knot too shabby Painters Facebook page so we can share ideas!!!

Kitchen Scale Colored Wax over Grain Sack Milk Paint

If you love to paint, you probably get bored doing the "same old, same old." I do. I like to play around with the colors, mix 'em up, fiddle around with the wax...stretch my limits with the possibilities. 

One of the things I love about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is using the paint to make colored waxes. I don't do it often, but sometimes just the right piece comes along and colored wax is perfect to set it apart!

Like this side table I painted a year or two ago.

This side table painted in Provence and Antibes with a colored wax using Olive. There was a lot of texture and crackeling from the previous paint job and the colored wax finish made all of those little "problem areas" really pop and look more decorative and intentional.

More recently, we (Elena and myself) were playing with the milk paint and I wanted to see how well it worked as a colored wax. 

We started with a base coat of Grain Sack on this chair.

There was just enough Grain Sack left over to slap on a second chair.

When the chairs were painted, dry and distressed we made two samples of colored wax. The first was using a pasty paint mix. Elena mixed a thick batch of kitchen scale and added it to some beeswax.

Mixed thoroughly, the kitchen scale simply tints the wax. Then you apply like normal, letting the wax set up for about 10-15 minutes before buffing it off. 

The end result was a toned down Grain Sack with hints of Kitchen Scale throughout. The colored wax settled in the grooves of the chair.

The second batch of colored wax we made was using the milk paint powder as the base.

 
When mixed, it was just colorless grey...the same color as the powder. I didn't think it was going to work, but we tried it out anyway. 

When the wax was brushed on, the color pigments broke up going on with a highly pigmented, marbly look. The blues in the kitchen scale came out, but there were also some yellows and greens.

The differences between the two chairs are so subtle. I'm sure I'm the only one that would ever see the difference between the wax mixed with paint and the wax mixed with the powder. 

When I mix colored wax in the future, I will use the powdered mix rather than the paint mix just because I like the subtle variation in color throughout the piece.

Just add this technique to the list of all the ways you can manipulate paint and get that unique, one-of-a-kind look to your own furniture!