Dining Room Update

Those who followed my month long visit to the South of France last October know that I fell in love with this apartment where I stayed in Provence. I was directed to La Madone by the words "the most beautiful place to stay in Provence" and was certainly not disappointed in any way. It was even lovelier than anticipated. The young owners have put heart and soul into restoring their home, and apartments, in a gorgeous old mansion in the town of Apt.

These images were taken in the apartment where DH and I stayed for a few days.

On my return, knowing I needed to get moving on the dining room renovation including ceiling and walls, I knew the direction I wanted to go. It had to remind me somehow of those restful colors and the simple elegance of La Madone.
Although Provence is known for vibrant colors, finding this gentle look which feels like stripped down French Country mixed with Swedish Gustavian, was a huge surprise. The mix of soft paint colors on the walls and old furniture, crystal chandeliers, natural linen upholstery and drapes, delicate old oil paintings without frames, old wood frames without paintings..........I fell for it all. Knowing I couldn't find, or afford, 18th century doors and precious paintings was OK. I knew I could mix paint colors and smoosh them on, sand them off, hopefully they would hold my dream. I could shop for little inexpensive treasures at local antiques and thrift shops, and I did!

This was my inspiration board ~ bits and pieces pulled together in the colors I wanted. I usually make a board before I head helter-skelter into a new project ~ it makes it easier to work this way. Below are the before and after pics of the dining room to date. Still have to recover the chair seats and make drapes.


The Welsh dresser with the colors and objects that gave it the UK Country Living look for many years. Loved it while it lasted.


Same dresser looking more sophisticated and French with blue-gray paint. Added old metal drawer pulls, white Mikasa French Countryside china which I already had, tarnished silver purchased at the Aix-en-Provence market, antique French books from a tiny back street used book store in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.


Bird homes, garden inspired items - still loved - but moved to new homes such as the front porch while new treasures take their place.


The sideboard I fell out of love with some time ago so painting it was easy. The old window with the tulips I will always love ~ the French journal pages are just taped over them in case I ever want to change again.

None of the lighting in this room has been changed as it works quite well all being cream colored. These buffet lamps are still nice with their unusual soft damask shades and look good on the dark painted top. Some day, when I find the perfect sized, affordable one, a crystal chandelier will definitely hang over the dining table.


The farm table I am delighted with. The lighter color suits the room and gives a more casual appearance. The chairs? Well you know by now that painting five chairs (yes, still one more arm chair to go but as it stays upstairs I'm not rushing to do it) was a lot of work. They required three coats, a lot of sanding and waxing to get the desired look - country and casual but still nicely finished, not just a 'whitewashed ' look. When the seats are recovered in a darker fabric they should look great.

Thanks for sticking with me while I did this room. Knowing you were also anxious to see it finished kept me going on the dark, dreary, shoulder aching days!
Upcoming projects will involve cleaning up the garden, revamping the front porch, and cleaning the back deck and gazebo now that Spring is just around the corner. I have some garden ideas using old bricks, shutters, a handmade log trellis, dishes and bric-a-brac galore.
See you in the garden.

Pull up a chair............soon.

Have you ever dreamed of living in another era? How about living in that era and in a far away place? I mentioned recently how I display a meaningful picture on my refrigerator, changing it seasonally or on a whim. This is my current display of what must be an old European kitchen. I love how it makes me think of living the simple life in a village where time stands still.

Walking through these narrow streets last Fall, I often heard voices in what must have been the kitchens of the French village houses. Most front directly onto the street, small gardens being in back. Perhaps these kitchens, simply furnished with a table and a few chairs, were where the family dined as well as prepared and cooked their meals.

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Because you've been patient and I've been slow, I decided to post a few photos of my chair re-do. Still a work in progress but coming along nicely.

The original plan was to paint all six chairs in the French blue-gray. After painting one arm chair I decided it would be just too much of the same color with the dresser and sideboard already two shades of grey. Instead, the four side chairs and the other arm chair are being painted a rich cream (2 coats) over a coat of dark midnight blue which just shows through on sanded edges and nicks to give an aged look. A final waxing with clear Briwax gives a mellow glow and smooth hard finish to the paint.

The seats will be recovered. I've ordered samples of grey velvets and linens, one of which will hopefully be perfect for the look I want. I'll show you these later.


Before pic of arm chair above. This is now the French grey color. It was also layered over the dark blue. I used the darker tinted wax to give an aged patina to the paint finish. This seat will be covered in a deeper color than the cream side chairs to 'anchor' it and to give it more the appearance of an occasional chair. I've also ordered a length of grey and ivory toile ~ pattern Turandot ~ and will make a pillow for it.




I think the chairs are turning out fine. They look more French country and definitely less formal with the painted finish. It's a lot of work...............but well worth the effort and aching shoulders!

Getting a handle on things.......

The three plain wooden drawer pulls on the dresser were the original and hardly French looking. I'd ventured out to look at metal pulls but all looked too new, were too expensive, or had to be special ordered. After picking up my lamp on Wednesday, I had to swing by SuzAnna's Antiques again as I'd left something behind. There, in the office, sitting in a box of newspaper, Stacey of Flotsam & Jetsam (who'd stopped by thanks Stacey), spied these pulls tied together with string. Literally, there at my feet, among some newly arrived items, were the perfect metal pulls.........and there were three of them, complete with their old screws...................for just $8 total. Now how serendipitous was that! I knew immediately they were the ones...........the color, worn finish, and the French look was perfect.

Guess what I was doing yesterday while taking a 'paint break' in the afternoon........measuring, drilling and installing these pulls of course.



You have to admit they really finish the piece off. Once again I found exactly what I was searching for, at a great bargain price, and at my favorite shop.




Hung a tassel, now feel this dresser looks just the way I hoped it would when I envisioned my French country dining room.

Chair Update: Have made some changes in the paint color...........no surprise right? Job going slowly as each chair requires three coats to get the desired effect ~ then will need 'aging' and a final waxing, and eventually new fabric on the seats ~ thinking vintage cotton velvet but hard to find in the color I'd love. One of the arm chairs will be a different color paint ~ it sits in a corner of the dining room and will be an accent piece with a really beautiful fabric on the seat. I love painting this furniture but it is going to take time...a lot of it!

Dining Room Reveal......

A simple French country house seems to center around the kitchen/dining room. Often it's one comfortable, large space where family and friends congregate at a large table to celebrate and eat.

Remember, the French attitude to food is very important. The growing, preparing, eating of regional specialties, and the pride of presenting it to the table knowing it's fresh, locally grown whenever possible, and each dish is made with much love, is what defines the French more than anything else.

Getting good pics of the overall new look in the dining room is difficult ~ I basically have to stand by the front door to get this much in. This is taken early morning with sunshine pouring into the room which looks out onto the front porch, facing South. I love the new table! I'm pleased with the new look ~ of course the chairs have yet to be refinished so try to imagine them a soft grey ~ my next big paint job.........anyone interested in stopping by with a paintbrush is welcome!

I don't have a large kitchen and my dining room is separated from it by a wall......which I've often wished we could remove. The doorway to the right of the dresser leads into the kitchen. There's a small breakfast area and an island which gives me a nice worktop for food prep. but not a lot of room for the people who like to hang out when you're cooking!



The dresser make over no longer looks quite as casual ~ I removed the cup hooks and decided not to have all those cups/mugs hanging which was a typical English Country Living look. I'm displaying the white Mikasa French Country china, mixed with a few other much loved pieces and the tarnished silver.


I kept this mirror which I love, as well as my beautiful sconce....you just know that's my favorite piece ever, and found at fabulous SuzAnna's Antiques here in Raleigh, NC.


This French chipped frame floral tapestry, also from SuzAnna's, with such an unusual shaped mat, has subtle colors and is perfect on the very pale grey wall. Note I have nothing at the window other than the curtain pole and brackets. I'm thinking antique French linen sheets sewn into tab topped panels which are a typical French country window treatment. Just wish I'd stuffed the sheets into my bag when in Provence last October....but they were really heavy. Guess I may have to go back with an empty suitcase next time!


The sideboard is finished other than finding two large clear crystal door knobs - these are small temporary ones. The paint is powdery grey and I decided not to wax it like the dresser as it adds another texture. The top painted with the almost black Graphite color from the entry, was given the crackle treatment which actually ended up looking more like slate! For some reason the little cracks didn't appear as expected, instead this rather natural slate look appeared and I really like it. I waxed the top with clear Briwax to seal the paint finish.
Note ~ all images can be enlarged to see details if you click on them.


My old window frame with the colorful tulip prints has been given a neutral look. I added pages from an 1800's French book and think it looks great. These dried hydrangeas are from last year's garden ~ surprisingly they've kept their lovely colors and are perfect in the room.


These larger hydrangeas I purchased two years ago and moved them from the top of an armoire to this French dough bowl. The linen runner I purchased in Cortona, Tuscany several years ago.


In the evening the room takes on a soft look. I need to hang a couple more things and paint all those chairs! We enjoyed lunch in the room yesterday ~ tomorrow I'll show you the arrival of unexpected visitors outside the window while we were eating.

Shake a Leg

A book full of inspiration with Annie Sloane's always great paint techniques.

Last week, when I headed out to buy the Briwax for the painted finishes, I peeked in the SALE area of the shop and found what I've wanted for a long time..........and it was a huge bargain at 70% off! The shop makes custom tables, kitchen islands etc. with reclaimed pine tops and great painted finishes It also has an amazing assortment of beautiful antiques ~ armoires, cupboards, china hutches, dressers etc.

No, didn't spy anything quite as French as this....................but would have found it irresistible if I had.........

.........but did fall in love with this big hefty leg.........and three others just like it..........all supporting a scrubbed and waxed pine top!
For years I've been wanting to change my dining room table. It is a great one, solid wood with a custom finish to match six lovely Thomasville chairs I found on sale. It made eating, letter writing, homework assignments, French lessons etc. all elegant on a table which took a bow to Queen Anne, complete with cabriole legs, and two huge leaves which could never be inserted as the table then became larger than the small room it called home.
And then there's "the look". You know, the part your dh doesn't get! My efforts to make the dining room come together as a more simple French Country space required a country looking table, handmade, hefty, already with knots and a few scratches to make it look loved, a bit rugged and lighter in color. This table had my name written all over it ~ plus a price I'd never find again. I said I'd have to think about it, left with my can of wax, came home to visualize it in my room............and dreamed of it all night.

The next day I bought it! The following day a friend brought it home in his pickup. Now it's in the dining room and I'm thrilled with it. DH dislikes change ~ wonder how he puts up with all that I scatter around him. He has hidden old, heavy Queen Anne, and her leaves, in the potting shed ~ in case I change my mind and return her to the palace - doubtful!
What about chairs you say. Guess what.........I have a new painting project ahead and it's a tough one. Four side and two arm chairs need to be changed from polished dark wood into a soft French shade, thinking another soft grey with some darker blue grey peeking through. They need sanding, chipping, waxing, and then new padding and fabric on their comfy seats.
Have you priced really good dining chairs lately, solid, non-creaky, comfortable ones which cradle your back, and support your thighs perfectly as you slowly savor a two hour French dinner with friends.......raise a couple of glasses of wine, then sit back with coffee and a little glass of B&B or a snifter of brandy? Very pricey to replace six heavy, well made ones like this, so keeping and painting is the only option. Wish me luck!

Lovely paint finishes from Annie Sloane's book.

I'll show the dining room before I paint the chairs.......that may be a long term project and I'd hate to keeping you waiting so long!

French Dinner getting closer!

Things are going great in the dining room makeover! I'm still at it, revamping several things with paint and quite enjoying it because the results are pleasing. DH is concerned ~ he dislikes change ~ he's worried I will want to change to Bohemian or Baroque in a few years!! No way, this is the look I've been dreaming about ~ French Country, simplified.

This was the sideboard, green with painted flowers on the door panels. Pretty, but getting a bit boring, and in no way did it fit in with the new colorway. So far it's received a coat of Gravity ~ a very pale grey, and since I took this pic below I've sanded all the edges so the original distressed dark paint shows through. Because one coat seems to be the look I wanted, soft and powdery, a little rough and imperfect, I'm not doing a second coat. However, I am doing something on the top! I've now painted it with the dark, almost black, Graphite grey used on the entryway walls (which are visible from the dining room), and am going to do a crackle finish followed by waxing which will hopefully make this piece look older. I may also lightly wax around the door panels to give some depth.Next time I'll share with you what I found on sale and now have sitting in my dining room ~ something I've wanted for a long time!

Dressing Up

Soon, I hope to do the reveal on the dining room ~ I will still be adding a few more things later such as art (I have a piece in mind), and perhaps drapes when I find some vintage linen. The next big project will be changing the look of six chairs with yet another paint job, and recovering the seats with new fabric. I can't afford new chairs right now!

A few snippets of how I'm putting together my china and decorative bits on the 'French' dresser. Remember when it was Welsh?

Some of my favorite items are the antique silver and old books I brought back from the South of France last October. The ice bucket is Italian. Note, I do not polish my silver, I prefer it tarnished!! The colors are so lovely!

Apologies if I've not stopped by your blog lately. We've been having difficulties with Internet Explorer and it's been virtually impossible to leave comments. It took so long and then I lost so many while trying to post them, I gave up................and returned to painting instead!
I am now using Mozilla Firefox as my browser and am finding it awesome.
I'd be really interested to know which browser you use and whether you have found Internet Explorer to be failing you lately.

Sweet Mary at Isabella's Closet made another lovely banner for me. Be sure to visit her for a great selection of ready made or custom banners.

Brushstrokes

I'm feeling like a prisoner in my dining room.................and there's no escape for several more days.

Thinking time continues.

Yesterday's thoughts were bothersome, I couldn't concentrate on one subject for long. No village strolls, no country rambles, no paddling at the shore............just thoughts on how to get the look I want in the room. I take comfort in knowing that many of you who visit here are interested in decorating your home. We share our creative endeavors. We like to use any artistic talents we may have to make our homes special, reflecting our personalities and interests.

The color on the right is Classic Grey which I now have on the walls. The center color is Metropolis which I'm using to repaint the Welsh.........soon to be French..........dresser! The third color will not be used as it's too blue.

I painted the first coat, sanded lightly and painted a second coat.

This brand of paint is great, covers well and evens out very nicely. I'm using a flat finish. Note the color looks a little more blue here in bright light.

The top of the dresser shown here while still cream is also finished except for aging. Yours truly feels somewhat aged herself right now, especially her shoulders and knees! In the reflection you can just see a smidgen of the dark Graphite color used in the entry.

Initial distressing of the dresser using sanding blocks ~ this image shows the color well. May bash it up a bit more then wax to add some age, a soft sheen, and to protect the finish.
This is where my brother calls - from France - and says, "Mar, you need to muck it up a bit more to make it authentic. He's really good at furniture painting and does a lot of it around his French home.

And you are asking.........why does an English woman living in the American South want a room to look French Country. Don't ask me. Blame it on the 'shelter' magazines exposing us to beautiful places far away. Blame it on growing up in a house where we were always painting and hanging wallpaper. But most of all ~ blame it on a recent month in France!

Singing the Blues ~ and greys......

Do you grab an idea and run with it? Do you just get your stuff together and start sanding and painting willy-nilly? Or are you like fuddy-duddy me, planning each step of a decorating project, hesitant to jump in and just have fun with it?

Here's what I do ~ collect magazine tear sheets, paint chips, photos of rooms I love, mount them on a board and stick them up there for the world to see! Meanwhile I think for a while, try to get my thoughts in order regarding where to start, Then I gather the necessities, drop cloths, wood filler, paints, brushes, tape, sandpaper, wax etc. Grab a pair of rubber gloves as I hate to get paint under my nails ~ they're long ~ old towels and t-shirts, empty paint cans and stirrers. Like a witch at her cauldron, I pour and stir, mix and blend - three black spiders, two rats' tails, no, no, no - I mean half a quart of medium grey, 2 ounces of dusty blue, a dollop of whipped cream white.

My current 'story board' as I get ready to paint and distress the Welsh Dresser, sideboard, and other sundry items in shades of French Grey and misty blue-grey.

The large crack ~ house settled? ~ was in this corner. Nice job done to repair that eyesore! And the beautiful now smooth ceiling with the texture gone, forever!!

Here you can see the new Classic Grey shade on the wall and the embossed paper below the chair rail. Like all paints, the color changes according to the time of day and the light source in the room. These pics were taken mid-morning with strong Winter sun streaming in the South facing room. This is why choosing the right shade is always so difficult and frustrating. You know it's never going to end up exactly like the little paint chip so doing a sample board is always a good idea. Remember also that paint dries darker than the color appears when first rolled on to the wall.

Notes about the painting ~

• The wallpaper border would not come down without a long process of soaking, scraping, peeling, yuck! Instead, my painter was able to skim it with 'mud' to make the lower edge disappear and then the two coats of paint covered it completely - thank goodness. Luckily it was a light colored border pattern!
• At first I thought the grey was too light but as it will be a backdrop for the painted furniture pieces, which will be deeper shades, its silvered white shade is really perfect. There is absolutely no blue in this color. As much as I love blue I didn't want a blue room.
• I actually had the paint used on the embossed wallpaper mixed 25% darker but it really doesn't show.

Hope to have more pics once the furniture painting is completed and the room put back together. Then perhaps a dinner party ~ would you like an invitation?

Note: The Graphite walls ~ DH likes the look! He still thinks he may lose his way in the middle of the night, but he actually said, "I like anything you do". How sweet after all these years.