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.

Heartfelt on Pink Saturday

~ Happy Saint Valentine's Day ~

Sweet PINK roses from my dear loved one.

Vintage German hearts I made into a card.

Wishing you a St. Valentine's Day full of sweetness, romance, love.............with chocolate, PINK or red roses, and hearts of course.

Stop by to wish Beverly a happy Valentine's Day ~ she's waiting there at How Sweet The Sound with the biggest group of warm hearted blog friends who want to share their pink today.

******

First Signs.......

Today will be another busy one.........just had to share this bit of Nature with you to brighten up the day.

They were nodding in the gusty wind yesterday outside the kitchen window. Bright sparks of yellow between green leaves. They seemed to shoot up overnight in this warm spell we've had for several days. Daffodils, one of the earliest Spring blooms. Accompanied by the arrival of many robins on the lawn, it certainly made one feel the change in the season is not far off.

The signs of Spring.

Later in the afternoon, when the sun was warm, I took my granddaughter to the nearby pond. Armed with a bag of food, we fed a few ducks and an army of Canada geese. Turtles were sunning on the tree trunks in the water, the Carolina blue sky was brilliant.......all seemed perfect in our little world. I couldn't resist and picked just two sprigs of fat, dangling catkins, beautiful with the daffodils.

I hope you will enjoy the early signs of Spring arriving in your garden soon.

Lady Fingers

I ran away yesterday...............to Trader Joe's. Had to escape the dining room and see the world for an hour. I love this store but have to drive to the next town to shop there. Soon one is to be built just minutes from the cottage, the lot is ready and hopefully they'll start construction this Summer.

I spied beautiful boxes of Lady Fingers...............they are from France! Right now my fingers don't belong to any lady, they are paint and wax stained, red and rough from so much washing. They need slathering in sweet lotion such as this one, my favorite Origins 'Ginger'.

Chipped, stained, French Grey wood........my nasty fingers are responsible! It's just about finished and I'll show a picture as soon as I get the top shelves on and display something pretty.

Fresh lavender for sale at the market.

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Provence ~ October 2008

If I wasn't so tired I'd draw a bath, throw in a little bag of lavender......and soak my tiredness away.

One of dozens of antiques shops in L'Isle-sur-la Sorgue, Provence.

Looking in my mirror I see I look my age ~ but that's OK, I am getting the painting and primping done, I'm not giving up, and I will sit down to dinner soon in my simple but pretty dining room.

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!