My Journey In Painting

I have had a lot of fun over the years doing furniture makeovers, trying new paint techniques and giving old furniture an updated look.  I love to paint because it allows me to experiment with faux techniques and it allows me to explore truly antique paint colors.  I also enjoy the challenge of turning something dated into something beautiful. My husband says that it feeds my shopping habit while also allowing me to make a little bit of money on the side.  I make over furniture as a hobby, and I try to focus on classic upscale styles such as Chippendale dressers, which I usually make over with simple black paint.  However, I do also have a lot of fun with cottage furniture.  But my absolute favorite style of furniture is French provincial furniture.  Sadly, I rarely come across antique French furniture because those pieces are in such demand.  But when I find a piece that is ready for a dramatic transformation it can be extremely exciting.

French furniture has become my choice of furniture because it has so much potential. You really cannot paint a classic chippendale dresser yellow or pink, but you can with a French dresser. The curvy lines of most French furniture pieces are just brimming potential.

There are three ways that French furniture pieces are typically redone....

1. Bright Colors and Patterns - Typically either solid colors or dramatic patterns such as the prints Jonathan Adler is famous for.

2. Faux woods and Marbles such as are found in the palace of Versailles, or Tuscan blacks.

3. Antique Swedish looks - High end white finishes.

So just how did I start painting?

I owe my creativity to my parents. My father always took an interest in my hobbies as I grew up and encouraged me even if my projects might have been a disaster. My mother also enrolled me in sewing lessons as a young girl, which introduced me to simple creative projects that I could do on my own.

I originally graduated from college with a police science diploma, and soon was volunteering in police departments, but I found as hard as I would try to fit into that culture, it just wasn't me. I moved on to the fashion world, and I got several positions in bridal salons.  I also dabbled a little bit with sewing and jewelry.  Later I began the process of starting a business creating tiaras, but even with all of my hard work and intentions, it just didn't work out. I decided to go back to school, pursuing law, which maybe was how God directed me to my husband Michael.  In some of my previous apartments I painted the walls, but that was the extent of my painting experience. The apartment right before I got married I plastered the walls of my bathroom into squares giving it the look of Tuscan tiles. I was surprised I got my damage deposit back, because it was a mess. I wish I would have taken a picture.

I am Canadian, while my husband is American, so I wasn't able to work full time when I first moved down to Virginia. We went through the extensive immigration process, which meant at first I couldn't work right away after arriving in the United States.  It allowed me some time for small projects and makeovers.  But it wasn't until the second year of our marriage when our apartment building went through a management change that things really opened up for me.  I ended up becoming manager of our apartment building. Actually, I managed two buildings, which allowed me plenty of opportunity to learn how to mix different paints, and do small DYI makeovers. It helped tremendously that the owner of the building was super nice. He was grateful for any improvement and allowed me great freedom in decorating the buildings.  I really took to painting and really took an interest in color theory. I have learned to love faux finishes and the possibilities they hold for creating period looks.

Two of my major accomplishments in the year we managed the buildings was getting the floor sanded and stained in our apartment, and the beautiful design I painted on the front porch of the building using concrete stain.

Our Second Apartment

My Concrete Stain Patio Makeover

After the apartment buildings got sold, we moved on and I started painting furniture.  As we were in the process of moving, I needed to get rid of some furniture and I discovered the joy of selling things on craigslist.  I found that there were a lot of people out there interested in looking for nice quality furniture.

I decided to look for only furniture I loved myself. I focused on colonial and traditional furniture styles which were easy to find in Virginia. I learned that people really loved classic white and black finishes.  While some of my girlfriends painted colorful pieces, I learned that only certain types of furniture worked with certain colors.

As I got more into painting, our small 2 bedroom condo quickly became overcrowded with all my painted projects laying around. I felt so bad for my husband, but every business has to start off some way or another. We constantly had wet painted furniture all over the condo, and there were times when it drove me kind of batty. I learned how to be a very neat painter, because often times I had carpet I had to keep a meticulous eye on. My husband started blogging, which over the years turned out to be a full-time business. He left his job as an attorney, and we both moved towards making money online. Living in a 2 bedroom condo, with one bedroom holding all of our furniture, I painted furniture while he worked hard on our Internet adventure. Today, we have over 60 websites and we are having a lot of fun. I still paint furniture, (which can be found here) and enjoy it a lot. I still paint up classic furniture, but in my free time I really enjoy trying to master Swedish finishes. They intrigue me, and I am still experimenting with other finishes as well. I am still learning and growing, and I am hardly a master painter.

If you want to add me as a facebook friend, please feel free.  I would love to hear about your pastimes and hobbies.

Here are some of the french provincial pieces I have painted over the years....

White Re-Painted French Provincial Dresser

My Antique Telephone Bench Makeover

French Provincial End Tables Cabinets

French Chair Makeover

My Favorite French Provincial Buffet Cabinet

2 Tier French Provincial Table

Bombe French End Tables ~ Glossy Black

French Provincial Table ~White Re-Painted

French Provincial Tall Chest ~ Hand Made French Keyholes

French Provincial Dresser Hand Made Keyhole Escutcheons

Classic Black French Provincial Buffet & Hutch ~ Painted Interior

Tall French Provincial Dresser ~ Re-Painted White

French Provincial Chest Close Up

An Antique Chest, Not French Provincial, But an excellent example of what style can look great with gloss paint

French Provincial White Chest Dresser

French Provincial Chest Dresser White Painted & Distressed

Antique French Provincial Chest Before Being Painted

Antique French Provincial Chest After

Classic Black French Chest

Classic Little Girl French Provincial Dixie Nightstands ~ Re-Painted

French Folding Chairs Sprayed With Walnut Gloss

A Twin Size French Provincial Bed ~ Re-Painted

A Full Size White French Provincial Re-Painted Bed

French Provincial White Headboard Re-Painted

A French Styled Sewing Cabinet Painted in Blue and White Washed

White French Provincial Bed

Shabby French Provincial Mirror

Regency Barrel Chairs Torn Apart and Re-Upholstered

Regency Barrel Chairs Torn Apart and Re-Upholstered

Black Re-Painted French Provincial Dresser

French Provincial White Re-Painted Dining Table

A Large French Provincial Black Chest Makeover

A Black Re-painted French Provincial Buffet

2 White French Provincial Dining Tables ~ Re-painted

A Green French Provincial 4 Post Bed Makeover

The Shape of this French Provincial Dresser is The Prettiest I have Seen

My Favorite Serpentine French Provincial Dresser

My re-painted black French Provincial Table

White French Provincial Dining Table- Repainted

Faux Metallic Gold French Provincial End Tables

A faux Gold With Black Oil - French Provincial End Tables

My Pink French Provincial Makeover

My Green French Provincial Furniture Makover