Tag: Painted Furniture

French FEED

Hand Painted Vintage Furniture – French Style

French Carved Coffee Table – Lefrus9 On Ebay

Antique Victorian Carved Walnut Armchair  – Lefrus9 On Ebay

Look at that beautiful upholstery and the complementary painted wood.  What a spectacular piece!

These vintage French shelves are such a find.  This one has some distressing on it. 

I suppose someone could re-create this with wood and a vintage french frame hammered onto the wood. 

Debra Robertson’s French Provincial Sofa Reupholstered

Vintage platter floral serving tray

Antique Painted Furniture – Jill Little

This beautiful vanity was seen on facebook.  Hopefully it gets a facelift, but then again, someone could purchase it for it’s raw beauty.

Gray 9 drawer painted rustic chest – Artist Unknown

French Provincial Chest – Jessica Breeze, Spokane

A beautiful rustic styled French Provincial Chest – Caroline Ferrieri

Beautiful Antique French Louis XV Bergere Chair – Babylon, NY

These two chairs were also being sold with settee that matched.  – Tom Snavely  Seen on facebook

Blue Painted Cabinet – Judy Ann Hamilton

Rustic French Provincial Pulls

Antique French Blue Cabinet Michele Crepeau

Ashley McBournie – Painted Furniture

A lovely painted chest, with the looks of the Swedish styled furniture

A spectacular Queen or Full size headboard in the French Style.  Seen on facebook

French Carved Pair Of Chairs – Lefrus9 On Ebay

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Blue Painted French Provincial Furniture

French Inspired Furniture – Karla Camarena

Meg Sweeny Malloy’s French Provincial Blue Painted Buffet Chest

French Provincial Furniture Refinished By Jamie Holloway

French Provincial End Table

Riley Danielle Golay’s French Inspired Side Table

French Styled Provincial Furniture at 12019 E sprague Spokane Valley

What would you do with this piece?  What a great deal for 100!  A french settee

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Blue & Gray Painted French Furniture Reveals

Jill Little – True Love Vintage Home Market

“… Love how this turned out. The light is my favorite thing here..makes the piece so unique..painted black chalk paint by Waverly..waxed with dark wax by minwax..husband added new tongue and groove boards inside which I stained Walnut and nutmeg..distressed lightly only on the edges..rustic farmhouse charmer— in Gaylord, Michigan -Janice Krajniak

This French Provincial Dresser made by Kittinger is from Sharon at Fabulous Finds in Vienna, VA

Kittinger 1940 French Chest -from Sharon at Fabulous Finds in Vienna, VA

 

Dogs on Parade - A New collection by Domenica More Gordon

This collection is designed by the Scottish artist Domenica More Gordon. Her wonderful designs will captivate the hearts of any dog lover.

Chelseatextiles.com/

Jill Little – True Love Vintage Home Market

Lisa Schubert Dane-I finally completed a project for myself. Yay! I saved and splurged for these beautiful Restoration Hardware linen chairs with a burnt oak finish. After finding this gorgeous 100 year old solid oak table (with 5 leaves, not pictured) at a rummage sale, I refinished it to match the chairs. I couldn’t be more thrilled about how it turned out. Next up is a spectacular wall finish for behind the table and a new chandelier. Pic #3 shows before/during.

 

French Provence Furniture

Painted Provence Furniture – maison-deco.com

Wisteria sells a stunning rustic French country styled dresser with a charcoal distressed painted finish that would look lovely in a French Provincial styled home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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White Painted Vintage French Provincial Country Furniture

Painted French Provincial End Tables – Jacki Keenan

Vintage Foot board Stenciled In Red For A Fireplace Surround – David Abrams

French Provincial Dixie Vanity Desk – $700 (West Roxbury)

French Country Linen Daybed – Craigslist

French Provincial Chest of 6 Drawers by National Furniture Co

A unique way to make over a vintage French Provincial Coffee Table

– Amy Staton Pruchnic

White Painted Vintage French Provincial End table – Lorri Posey Fowler

Kathy Allen Walker Vintage Sewing Basket

Vintage French Provincial Chest – Jim Bobrik

French wrought iron folding daybed – $750 (Branford)

Painted French Provincial Furniture – Megan Fulbright

Painted French Provincial Furniture –

Painted French Provincial Furniture –

Painted French Provincial Furniture –

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Painted Country Furniture

Emily Owens – Gray Painted Dresser – Facebook

Velvet Lane Painted Furniture found on facebook marketplace

A stunning paint finish found on facebook marketplace. 

A heavily distressed chair – Karan Larsen Harms

An old metal table that would work beautifully with French country decorated interiors.  – Tammy Graham

Beautiful Re-Purposed Desk from Amy Rantamaki

Laura Bowles’s Blue Painted Secretary

An easy way to “antique” inexpensive plastic mirrors.  Use raw or painted distressed wood to anchor the frame too.  Gold leaf your frames or paint them the same color as the wood.  Picture Credit – Autumn Bowlby

Emily Therens’s White Painted French Provincial Coffee Table

A beautifully painted gray rocker – Missy Davis

Janna McRoy’s Bench – A lovely Headboard Into Bench Transformation

Regina West’s Chippy Dresser – lovely for a French country interior.

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Anna Fiechter’s Painted Cigar Table

Anna Fiechter who lives in Saugerties, NY took a plain sidetable, and transformed it into something spectacular.  I believe her style is inspired by the shape of furniture that you would see during the French Renaissance. 

For this piece she used General Finishes Lamp Black, Aubusson Blue,Barcelona, Primer Red, Provence, Pure White. The horses she said were are image transfers.

Follow Anna Fiechter on Facebook.  

The white floral painted details really adds character to this piece

The style of the pillows work perfectly with this piece

The horse transfer really gives this piece an extra wow factor.

 

 

French FEED

Decorating With The Color Green French Provence Style

Color Inspiration

Color Inspiration from here, , here, here, and here

There are so many ways to decorate with green, where do you start?   One starting point is to find a shade that you love.   Borrow color combination ideas from vintage packaging.  French packaging often pairs together colors that just work with one another.

Here are just a few of the colors that are found in France……

– Artichoke – the color of fresh uncooked artichoke.

– Fern Green is a vivid shade of green that resembles ferns. Fern green was used in 1902.

–Laurel green is a medium light hue of greenish gray, first used as a color in 1705.

–Myrtle green, represents the color of the leaves of the Myrtle plant, first used as a color in 1835

–Teal is a dark cyan color that is seen on the neck of a duck.  – Colors From Wikipedia

How To Decorate With Shades of Green

– Add In Green Foliage – Don’t forget the blossoms, says Nicole Sforza. “Consider green (or greenish) flowers. Forsythia branches, which bloom yellow before sprouting bright green leaves, look great on the console. The Billy buttons, arranged in a light green vase on the table, can last up to two weeks. Also try Lenten roses, which have soft green flowers and foliage.” Real Simple Magazine

– Use Muted Shades of Green– In this link, Martha Stewart shows off 24 of the best rooms decorated around green that were originally featured in her magazines over the years.  In all the pictures, one common trait exists, – she uses old world colors that are muted.

– Pair Natural Wood With Lighter Blues and Green Painted Walls Natural Wood Tones– Stephanie Hoppen says “sandy beiges, and limewash finishes balance barely-there blue rooms. And don’t forget about paint finishes. Chalky flat finishes are warm, while shiny blues will give a bit of a chill”

– Use Muted Softer Colors In Main Rooms, And Brighter Ones In Less Used Rooms– Sasha Emerson, an interior designer says  “When choosing a blue hue, consider how often you’re in the room. For example, don’t choose a very bold blue for a living room — you might tire of the color. Save it for a den or a playroom and pick a more serene tone for central living spaces”

– Cooler Tones Can Work With Glass or Mirrors -Stephanie Hoppen says “Frosty blues are elegant with soft creams and shiny accents such as glass. Take the chill off icy colors by teaming them with warm browns, reds, or oranges”

– Pair Jewel Tones Together -Jennifer Flanders says, “The color emerald is synonymous with wealth, prosperity and luxury, so I think it naturally works with other colors that evoke the same air of richness and elegance.  Many other jewel tones mix well with emerald green, but in particular I love this color with deep blues and shimmery golds.”

Farrow-and-Ball Paint

Color Combinations- Real Simple Magazine gives us 4 color combinations.

  • Pair together moss green and soft blue.  Think about colors that play off nature.  The soft colors found in trees, and sky.  You can go bolder with both colors, or really soft subtle shades in the ligher hues.
  • Sea Foam Green and Chocolate.  Think about darker floors, with painted green distressed furniture.  Chocolate walls, with lighter green accessories.  Sea-foam wall colors, with darker rustic WOOD accessories.
  • Consider the classic Rugby- Kelly green and bright white. Go for a bit of a bold contrast with the brilliant Kelly green and white as an accent.
  • Pair together lime green and soft pink.  These two colors can give a soft appearance.  Consider filling an over-sized glass vase with pink cherry blossoms.

Shades of Green

 Home Beautiful’s Color Selections

The Oprah Winfrey Collection

The Oprah Winfrey Collection

Check out my favorite pieces from Oprah’s collection here

Cabinet Bonnier de La MossonCabinet Bonnier de La Mosson

Joseph Bonnier de la Mosson (1702 – 1744), was a French aristocrat who loved science and began collecting exotic insects, snakes, shells and birds. These wooden cases were acquired in 1744 when they were auctioned off following the death of Joseph Bonnier de la Maison, whom was an extremely knowledgeable amateur scientist and connoisseur of art.

They were installed in the King’s Garden Room. Inside these five units made from Dutch wood decorated with serpents a collection of preserved [“dried”] animals. In 1935, the cabinets were disassembled, and were installed permanently in the the Museum of Natural History in the Jardin des Plantes central library in 1979. They are considered an “Historic Monument.”

Borrow this look for yourself, by painting your French furniture a muted shade of light green, and use a shade of white paint to bring out the carved features in your french furniture….

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Great French Provincial Design Is a Philosophy More Than a Look

French Provence Style

French Provence Style-magazine.pierrefrey.com

New York interior designer Miles Redd says, “Life in the 21st Century means taking the best of history and making it work for you.” That is a good philosophy to adopt, whether your design preferences are for contemporary, island chic, British Colonial or French Provincial. Selecting the best of the design traditions and adapting them to your individual lifestyle is the very essence of the design ethic.

What a Feeling

“Most of all, country French is a feeling,” according to French Heritage. Speaking of furniture, the company, which was founded by French-born Jacques Wayser and his American wife, subscribes to the adage that there is no one “period” in history that encompasses French provincial. It is, rather, a way of life, and a philosophy that encompasses the past and adapts to modern needs, uses and sensibilities. In that sense, it is neither rigid, nor formal; it is, however, very personal and always changing to meet new needs and new circumstances.

That accounts for its undying popularity. French country design is seemingly always fresh, always appropriate, and always evolving.

Flexible and Inventive

Remaining true to the beloved French Provincial style ethic is simple when you first adopt the philosophy: Respect for the styles of the past and a willingness to revise, modernize and “make do” when necessary. The essence of court-originated style during the reigns of French monarchs was captured in informal style and inexpensive woods for the “common” folk in the provinces.

Well-made, sturdy furniture lasted for generations. However, years of use took their toll, and inventive families had to make repairs and replace parts, adapting to changing needs. In time, the painted finishes and well-used looks became well-loved as well.

Personal Choice Dictates

Today, the range of options in interior design is sometimes overwhelming. It can be daunting to face the myriad of decisions involved in completing an interior design scheme. The choice of country French as a decor, however, is a wise one, allowing a wide range of available choices with an emphasis on lasting comfort and individuality.

For all your choices, ranging from wall colors to floor coverings, from furniture to window coverings, and from accessories to art, you should realize that there are no hard and fast rules. If you prefer an uncluttered modern look, you can leave windows bare if there is no issue with privacy. On the other hand, wood blinds from TheShadeStore.com, in your choice of finishes, would give you room-darkening possibilities and be perfectly suited to a provincial scheme. You could soften the look with flowing draperies in a colorful toile print, or with gathered panels in a bright country check.

Animal-ish and Whimsy

Charles Faudree and Betty Lou Phillips are two of the most respected interior designers in the country; each has a personal style. They rely on a bit of “whimsy” to make a room come alive, utilizing color, layers of fabric, and a mix of textures and themes. Iconic French symbols appear as well: The fleur-de-lis, an occasional Napleonic bee, chickens, gold braid, and French words. According to their sites (CharlesFaudree.com, and BettyLouPhillips.com), advice given by each designer is the same: “Enjoy the style!”

Guest Post by Timothy Allen

 

Timothy is an interior designer with an eye for straight lines and Mediterranean styling.

Chateau Montgeoffroy

Chateau Montgeoffroy- www.ot-saumur.fr

Chateau Montgeoffroy

Chateau Montgeoffroy- magazine.pierrefrey.com

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5 Ways To Update Vintage French Provincial Furniture

French Chair With Raw Wood

French Provincial Carved Oak Linen Dining Chair–

 Vtg Link Taylor 12 Drawer French Provincial Dresser

So you bought a vintage set of French Provincial furniture, and it looks as though it hasn’t been touched for 40 years. Is it salvageable? The answer is yes, heck yes! We show you the best techniques to update this style of furniture that will make it look like several hundred dollars.

1. Strip Your Set and Go All Natural

Raw wood has always looked good, and has never looked better. Over the summer I took all the furniture in my basement and united the finishes by removing the paint. Most of all the furniture I had in this one room was all miss-matched sets, but interesting enough, they all had the exact same wood underneath. The sofas we bought came with a mahogany finish, but underneath they were pine. After removing the paint from 6 pieces, I had a fully united set. I could then introduce color with the slipcovers and the paint finish on the walls.

Inspiration- A Louis XV Limed Oak Chest- here

Instead of Using a non-toxic stripping agent to get rid of the old paint or stain is the greenest way to go. Products like Franmar’s Soy Gel Paint and Urethane Remover work well to remove all types of abrasive paint and stain , while still being gentle on the environment. This product is also 100 percent biodegradable. It works by trapping particles within itself and keeping you from being exposed to them.

Soy Gel Paint Reviews:

Garden Web– “My current fave is Soy-Gel, which I got from the Real Milk Paint Co., though it can be ordered from the manufacturer and other suppliers. I added it to a recent order more out of curiosity, and without much hope. But holy smokes, it works like gang busters if left alone to do its thing. I haven’t done a big project with it yet, but I plan on stripping a pine floor. My test patches have been great! I have tried just about every chemical and mechanical method, and So far Soy-Gel is the best I’ve found.”

My Experience With Stippers:

After using many of the most popular strippers on the market and having very limited success, I decided to try out other methods, which lead me to Heat Guns.

After purchasing a Wagner Heat Gun for about $20 dollars, I was thrilled with the results. Not only did it work fast, it also saved me a great deal of money with chemical stripper. The heat gun I purchased has two settings, one high, and one low. After the heat gun starts heating up, you will notice the paint start to bubble, which you can scrape off with little effort. The best technique for removing paint is to slowly move the paint gun along the paint, for an even amount of heat in each section. Heat guns can also ruin wood if they are left on the wood too long, so you don’t want your heat gun positioned in one area for two long. The wood can turn dark, which can be impossible to sand out. While some suggest wood tools, instead of metal tools, I enjoy working with a multi purpose metal tool, such as this one from Shur-Line. Working with heat guns for stripping paint, it is imperative to buy a Respirator made for fumes. One of the draw backs of heating up the paint, is the fumes they produce, so a respirator is a must have when using this technique.

Products That Might Be Worth Trying:

– Wagner Power PaintEater – $59 Removes paint, ergonomic handle, and may be better than those attachments meant for your drill.

–Electric Paint Remover Sold through Chicago $63

–TruePower Electric Paint Remover-$39-

  • Removes paint, paint chips, paint oxides and mildew, and feather finishes paint edges.
  • Use on wood, masonite, concrete and steel
  • Will not abrade surfaces – Perfect for large, flat, solid surfaces

MUST Have- Safety Gear

Breathing in fumes from stripper, stain or paint can create heath problems that can effect your lungs long term. If you have a garage, workshop, or even a storage shed, working from within it will help contain any harmful dust or debris from being let out into your yard or the surrounding area. Purchase a heavy duty respirator designed for paint fumes. I am so glad to come across the MSA Safety works Paint and Pesticide Respirator because it is comfortable to wear for several hours straight, and it will save your lungs for today and long term.

2. Old World Patina – Paint Or Stain?

After centuries of trying to perfect our furniture, it comes at no surprise that many companies are selling the all natural chalk paint and milk paint products that our ancestors used. Milk and chalk paints can be a sensational source of color. If you are after an old world Provence look, consider either stripping your furniture and staining it, or painting it, and distressing it.

Take the Finish Off

I have found for my furniture, stripping the existing finishes off allows the piece to age naturally over time without seeing several layers of existing paint. I sit at a beautiful curvy French desk all day long, and one of the areas where my arm hits as I type on my keyboard shows the white paint that the desk was painted in originally. The desk is blue, and the white just sticks out like a sore thumb. If I would have put the extra work into the desk, and removed the paint, then over time, the natural ware would show the wood. Wood or existing paint? Wood is so much more attractive.

Distressing looks so much nicer with the natural raw wood. Something about having the all natural wood showing through the finish allows for a nicer aged finish than simply painting over the existing paint or varnish. Working with the raw wood really can go a long way for creating the old world distressed finishes. Stripping all the existing paint gives you a raw look, rather than working over a poly finish.

Layer Your Colors:

Layering paint can produce a sensational old world effect. Try several tones of blue, and combine it with a layer of white. Consider several layers of paint which you can then hand sand, adding the right amount of distressing. Layer on a translucent glaze, or wax to complete the look.

Work With Stain Finishes:

Consider doing a “wash” instead of a solid color. After removing your paint finish, consider mixing your paint with part water, and applying a stain. You can also buy semi transparent stains through your local hardware store. Using a beige, and then white stain would produce the aged old world looks that are so well loved.

Add Texture:

In this article we show a chest with beautiful texture on the drawers. A gray toned blue is used under a creamy white, with beautiful texture that shows off an old world paint finish. Adding texture can be easier than you think. Simply get a box of un-sanded grout. Paint your furniture using a base coat with NO grout added. Once it is dry, mix together a bit of grout with the existing paint. Next stipple on the finish with your paint brush and let it dry over night, or for two days. Once it is dry, lightly sand it, and add your top coat. Using the same technique, mix together half and half paint and un-sanded grout and paint on an even coat of paint. Using two colors like the picture shown in the article will produce the best results. For a subtle effect, consider using a creamy beige and white together. The colors don’t have to be opposites to work well. Once the dresser has dried over night, take a hand sander and start sanding the finish. The texture from the first coat will show through to the second coat. Add additional wax, or glaze to make the finish pop, or leave it as it is.

Old World Techniques -Additional Articles:

-Improve Your French Dresser Or Sideboard With Faux Marble – The French Provincial Furniture
 
-Decorating Secrets- 60 Quotes From The Best Experts In Design – The Swedish Furniture
 
-Add Dimension To Your French Furniture- French Style Authority
 
– How To Faux Crackle French Provincial Furniture- The French Provincial Furniture
 
-Designers Pick Their Favorite Gray Paints- The Swedish Furniture
 
-How To Paint French Provincial Furniture A Perfect White – The French Provincial Furniture
 
-How To Paint French Provincial Furniture Black- The French Provincial Furniture

3. Go New And Modern With Color :

Do you like vibrant colors? The lines found in the French styled furniture can powerfully pull off the sensational bright colors. There are so many bright colors that I admire but don’t have the guts to put up on the walls, so why not put it on a piece of furniture.

Do you like the brighter colors, or the patterned printed chests? You might want to just buy spray paint for those high gloss mirrored finishes.

In the past I have hand painted gloss only to find paint lines from my brushes. With brighter red, or yellow, it can take up to 7 or 8 coats of paint, so spraying your paint just makes more sense. Often times the gloss you find in spray paint can be so much more vibrant and glossy than regular gloss paint in the quart size. Oil paint can produce sensational glossy finishes. Overall, I have found for those really glossy finishes, it is worth buying the spray paint, than hand painting. The coverage is faster, and the gloss is so much more vibrant and glass like.

Glossy finishes are best achieved with spray paint, and why not buy a case of your favorite color online? For some of my last couple projects, I have been really impressed with Krylon’s Paint and Primer sprays. I started looking online when my local hardware stores spray paint failed to impress me. Never do I see the lavenders, the soft grays, or light blues. The nicer colors are online, and many companies are starting to sell by the case.

French Chests From Cote France

French Chests From Cote France

Krylon Spray Paint

Color Master Colors By Krylon. These colors above come from their website, and if you look on their website, you can toggle over the colors for the name of the paint swatch that you love. Type the specific paint name in Amazon, and you can buy it in cases of 6 with free shipping.

Additional Articles:

– Go Bold With Red- Part 1 Grand Sophisticated Interiors – The Swedish Furniture

– Go Bold With Red- Part 2 Country Interiors- The Swedish Furniture

– High Gloss Painted Furniture – The Painted Furniture Online

– Absolutely Breathtaking French Painted Furniture- French Style Authority

– How To Paint Black Furniture-A Dozen Examples Of Exceptional Black Painted Furniture- French Style Authority

– 10 Ways To Use Pink, Orange and Coral In Your Home- French Style Authority

– Decorating With Pastels For A French Styled Home- French Style Authority

4. Add Furniture Jewelry

Ormolu is the jewelry of the furniture trade. Antique and reproduction furniture ormolu can be found on ebay making it easier than ever to dress up that worn antique, or that vintage chest that is outdated.

Reproduction ormolu can be found in bronze, and there are sellers out there who also produce these beautiful appliques in stain-able wood filler. Being able to buy appliques in unlimited quantities allows you to dress up the chest of your dreams.

The high gloss looks found on bombe chests are often accented with heavy ormolu or furniture appliques.

Add Furniture Escutcheons

Dress up your chest with keyholes, or otherwise known as escutcheons. Buy a set of identical keyholes for each drawer of your chest. Keyholes can be gold leafed, or painted the same color as the chest. Consider dating your metal furniture appliques or keyholes with aging solutions. In this post ” 9 DIY Recipes For Rusty Hardware” From Hersite, you can get the look of aged hardware in your own home.

Additional Articles:

-French Furniture Restoration ~Gold Leafing Tips- French Style Authority

5. Pattern Your Furniture

Patterns can look so wonderful in a space lacking interest. There are several ways to get the look of a pattern on your chest, which range from complicated approaches to simple techniques.

One of the harder techniques would be hand painting furniture. For those who have the gifted talent of hand drawing, this may be a project that you can accomplish over a weekend. For those who don’t have the natural abilities of drawing, there are several other approaches that can give you a professional look without much try.

One of those ways is an overhead projector. An overhead projector may be your new best friend after seeing how simple it is to copy a design without much work than having a marker in your hand. With this chest, I simply photocopied a flower pattern from a cardboard box that I bought from Ikea. I had gold paint in one hand, and outlined the flower, and painted it in after I traced out the design. This zebra painted dresser was traced using an overhead projector, as well as this dresser. Overhead projectors allow you to trace a perfect, proportionate design right the first time. They also allow you to match up the existing pattern which has been already traced on to your furniture, allowing for even spacing for the next pattern. This also works quite nicely on walls. Take your favorite comic book, custom graphics from books and be able to re-produce them with ease.

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French FEED

5 Paint Color Choices For Provincial Furniture

Painting furniture can be an outstandingly satisfying craft. You can find an old, outdated piece and breathe new life into it with a simple color of paint. Once it’s in a new space, it can brighten and invigorate it, adding charm and drama all at the same time.

Sometimes the hardest decision of all is what color to use. When you want to go bold, here are some top color choices to consider.

Emerald Green

Emerald green is the hot color of 2013, according to the design industry. It connotes thoughts of riches and a recovering economy, and its lushness can bring a look of jewel luster into your home.

Because neutrals are still popular to decorate with, a splash of bright, bold, emerald green can be a lovely contrast against beiges and tans. Think about painting a chest or end table emerald green and adding some gold or silver accents or hardware. You’ll have a standout piece that will take charge.

Red

It seems red is a classic for painted furniture, one that can last through the years. Every room can hold a bold piece of red painted furniture, and the colors can range from candy apple to deep garnet. Like emerald green, a deep jewel tone will add drama, and a brighter red will add cheer.

Whether it’s a chair, table, or something else, a red accent piece of painted furniture will work well with almost any other color schemes, from neutral palettes to brighter colors ranging from blues to greens to yellows. Red can add freshness, drama, or whatever look you’re going for.

Blue

Colors of nature are very in right now, so painting a piece of furniture with the bold tones of blues in nature will be just the thing to do in 2013. Blue can be soothing like the sky, or invigorating like the sea. Choose from any blue shades to create a bold standout piece that will bring the natural world indoors.

Like red, blue tends to work well with most other color palettes and is a wonderful contrast to black and white.

Lavender

Whereas pink or purple may be too young to place in areas other than girl’s rooms in the home, lavender is like pink all grown-up. A single painted piece of lavender furniture will pop in a room and add that vintage drama that can bring the room to life.

Lavender is a great color to mix with other bold tones, like yellow and green, or use it against a white palette for extreme drama. Have fun with it – go bold – remember, it’s not a kid color anymore!

Yellow

Yellow is taking off on the runways now, so why not bring it in the home. A bold piece of yellow painted furniture, from chests to chairs to dining tables, will add a fresh new feel to any room.

Yellow can brighten darker areas and works great with natural woods or metallics. Don’t be afraid to go bold – lean towards the canaries, lemons, and golds rather than the softer butter and cream yellows.

Adding that piece of boldly painted furniture to your home will invigorate your home. Take a look around at what you have already; you never know, the very piece you want may already be in your home…just waiting.

Heather Legg is a writer who writes about small businesses and Spokeo removal, the art of creativity and keeping a positive perspective every day.

DE TONGE Provincial Table- Famous French Furniture Manufacture-Coco House, Palm Beach, FL

Wrought Iron Leaf Iron Chandelier In A Happy Yellow- dos gallos

Antique Yellow Painted Wicker Fiddelhead Chair – BG Galleries -Weymouth, MA

French Painted Tole Garden Table – Milord Antiques

 

Cabinet de curiosités Clément Lafaille, après 1766. Style néoclassique. Muséum d’histoire naturelle de La Rochelle. Source

Yellow Reproduction French Vaisselier- Traditional Home

Yellow Painted Provencal Armoire – Cote Jardin Antiques

Louis XV Painted Buffet – Bremermann Designs

French Commodes – Available Through Cote France

Marieclairemaison

French Painted Buffet Deux Corps-  Jean Williams Antiques

Blue Painted French Furniture- European Paint Finishes

Etienne French Painted Furniture

Cote France Tables

Green Painted French Provence Styled Furniture- Available Through Cote France

Louis XV Period Painted Console Table,  Bermingham and Co – New York

Au Rendez-Vous de Montmartre, Paris And Beyond Blog– Red Painted Desk Cote France

Red Painted French Louis XV Chest- Cote Jardin Antiques

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5 Tips To Combine Both Antique And Modern Styles In Your Home

Sébastien and Raphael Llado Levavasseur

There are some people, who just can’t stop gushing about their Provence inspired elegant bedrooms. You may also come across people, who hold minimalist contemporary furniture, in very high esteem. Yet, every once in a while, comes a creative soul, who wishes to incorporate furniture designs from widely varying historical ages, in his home.

The ensuing unique mix of tradition and modernity that their homes possess becomes an extension of their quirky and eclectic personalities. If you happen to be someone, who falls in this category, then the following 5 tips are sure to give you some great ideas.

1. Existing Furniture Must Be Removed

It doesn’t matter if you plan to combine tradition and modernity, in one particular room of your house. Your eclectic vision might even encompass your entire home. Whatever might be the case, a clean space is necessary in order to invite timeless design ideas to inspire your mind.

This means that rather than moving things around, and making haphazard additions and omissions to your design area, you should remove all furniture from it, and start from scratch.

2. Retain Pieces That Match Your Larger Schemes

Once you have removed all furniture from the particular room that you wish to design (or redesign, for that matter), you can proceed to think about what goes and what stays, in them. Here, you need to be objective about the furniture pieces that would mesh into your design, rather than letting your emotions rule.

Remember, only the truly deserving furniture pieces must find a place of honor in your eclectic home.

3. Rethink about Your Walls and Flooring

Sometimes, it is easy to get caught up in the larger designing scheme of your house, so that you completely ignore the finer and subtler details. If you are not careful, you can end up with all the right furniture in your eclectic home, only to realize that the color of your walls, and the material of your floor, totally kills all your efforts.

In order to avoid this, it is advisable that you dabble with neutral colors and designs that go well with all kinds of furniture, be they from the 19th century, or the current era.   This will give your home the poise and balance to carry off an assorted look.

4. Add New Pieces

Once you have got the basics right, then you can proceed to adding more and more appropriate furniture pieces to your room. The key here is to maintain a delicate balance between furniture from differ rent historical periods. You can approach several furniture West Palm Beach stores that have in-house design consultants, who can help you to acquire the right look.

5. Accessorize Leniently

In order to have a really eclectic house, which also feels like home, it is essential to add some personal details to it. You home will look more and more inviting, as you inject drapery, mirrors, framed photographs and art that mix well with the larger plan of your home.  For instance: a postmodernist painting can strangely work well with old-fashioned motifs on a wooden chest of drawers, beneath it.

A combination of eras, in your home, is all about experimentation. Yet, with a bit of luck, you can also chance upon customized furniture packages Miami that make your task easy.

 

With its elegant decor based patinas, furniture and unusual objects unearthed in the region, ” Gustave  “is a small house of the sixteenth century, in the walled city of Belleme, transformed into a delightful tea room, deli and curio shop.  Read the original article at Magazine e-magDECO 

Raphael and his dog Donut.

Sébastien and Raphael Llado Levavasseur
18 rue Ville Close, 61130 Bellême
Telephone: 00 33 (0) 2 33 73 94 89
Website: http://www.maison-gustave.fr/

A Louis XV Style Gilt Metal Mounted Painted Side Table

At the entrance of the teahouse is the deli.  Two-body Swedish early nineteenth Lisa Martino “The House Fassier” display and confectioner Louis XV style chair XIXth “Stephanie Mayeux Antiques”.

Petite Antique French Lady’s Writing Desk w/Orig. Tooled Leather

Provence Style Chest –Benjamin Wilson Antiques

Distressed paneling sits behind a Louis XVI style caned seat

Portrait of Lord Swedish Lisa Martino 

 Gustavian clock with a Louis XV style hunting table, with a  Caned Louis XVI style bench


Pair of Louis XV Painted and Parcel Gilt Chaises a la Reine

A fruitwood table -Louis XV period

A Pair of Louis XV Style Fauteuils

Provence Style Chest Greenwich Living Antiques & Design Center

A 19th Century French Carved and Painted Provincial 3 Tier Table

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36 French Landscaping Looks For Your Back Yard

French style decorating has become so popular because of beauty of the the old world looks that are associated with the style.  There are a couple of elements that you can incorporate into your landscaping and the type of furniture you choose which will give you the classic French looks found in Provence.

1.  Consider replacing your lawn with gravel.  It sounds like a bad idea right?  Create texture using raised garden beds, and add in patio furniture, water gardens, which adds a lot more texture than just plain grass.

Consider showcasing the lawn that you do have.  If you have rectangular backyard, consider cutting around your lawn, forming a circle shape in the center of your property. A circular or square pattern which you can edge with stone or coordinating greenery can give you more of a designer look.

2.  Add In Rustic Container Gardens- Garden style urns can really capture the old world romance that you see in Versailles.  Paint can do wonders to those new resin urns that you see at home depot.  To get a rustic look, start with painting your urn an oil paint in flat black.  After it dries, mix together sand and brown paint and apply it to the urn.  When it is almost dry, take the hose, and spray water on the urn.  The pressure of the water will create a natural distressed effect that doesn’t look like you painted it yourself.  Consider using this picture as your inspiration.

3. Create Order In Your Backyard- Pair common elements together to create a landscape that looks like it was designed by the pros.  Plant fruit trees, instead of regular trees that will mature and produce dozens of fruit from year to year.  Line up urns, and patio chairs along the edges.  Line up shrubs and hedges in a row to draw special attention to these selected areas.

4. Consider investing in metal furniture that you don’t have to shelter over the winter.  Having a large yard is a lot of maintenance.  Wood furniture over time can root if it is left in the snow, while metal furniture, does a lot better in winter conditions. If you can shelter your furniture, do!  If you cannot, purchase clear plastic shower curtains at your local dollar store to drape over some of your furniture.  Wood, and metal furniture can be touched up with paint from year to year.

5.  Folding outdoor furniture is really popular in France.  Consider investing in a set of folding chairs which you can paint.  Any sort of metal furniture will create the French mood you are after.  Don’t worry if the furniture you choose is vintage, as anything can be improved with paint.  Metal garden pots, posts, fences, chairs are all elements that are commonly seen in the French countryside.  You cannot go wrong with anything metal in your back yard if you are after the French look.

 

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Distressing Painted French Provincial Furniture

The best way to practice distressing techniques is on an old piece of furniture that is either a thrift store find, or something you don’t mind donating if the end result is not what you expected. Don’t begin your experiment with pieces that are valuable or antique furniture passed down in your family until you have tried this technique and are confident in the results.

Distressing adds a lot of interest and detail on painted furniture. It is the one technique that will improve a painted finish guaranteed! Over the years of selling white furniture, I have had more men love distressing than women. Distressing can look primitive, rustic and even masculine.

Your painted furniture should either have one coat or multiple coats of paint in the same color with bare wood under the paint. When distressing the piece of furniture, you should see the top color and the wood.

For a layered effect, use a neutral color as your base coat such as gray or black. When you distress the furniture, black will also show along side the natural wood color and your top coat paint color.

The worst thing you can do with distressing is have a white primer under a color. If your top color is white, then, it works just fine. Although you don’t want a red dresser with white paint peeking through.

The way to get around this is to fully sand your furniture before painting so you will have one coat of paint and your natural wood color which shows through distressing.

1. Distressing can be very simple. The first way of distressing is with sandpaper. Start by sanding it with fine sandpaper in the direction of the wood grain. This will greatly improve the look of your finished piece. Sand in the areas which would get banged up over time. The edges of the chest, the feet, the areas around the handle. You want your distressing to look as natural as possible. Use a hand sander, or a foam sander for great results.

2. Heavy distressing involves more than just sandpaper. Metal chains whipped on to a wood chest can depressions to the piece. Be careful that your distressing is random, and not obvious such as a screw driver, or a hammer. Chains work quite well for heavy distressing because the indents will be random than purposeful.

A. Now you want to emphasize the marks you made. You can either use a wood stain in walnut, or brown glazing. Either of these two colors will give the impression of dirt. Both techniques are simply done by painting on a coat of glaze or stain, and wiping it off quickly. Be sure not to use flat white paint with either two approches, as both the glaze and stain will permanently stain the white.

Antique Walnut Polyshade in Satin, or Pecan Polyshade in Satin are great stains to use over white or a color. Apply it with a brush and paint thinner, and wipe it off with a rag.

Be sure to wear throw away Vinyl gloves through this process, as it will save the time getting the chemicals off your skin once you are finished. Vinyl gloves stay on your hands easier than latex and can be used many times before throwing them away through out your painting projects

Simply paint on the stain or the glaze, and within a couple minutes after it sets and dries, wipe the stain off the piece which should leave just enough stain to collect in the holes to emphasize the distressed wood. Often times after glazing I like to add a polycrylic sealant to the furniture. With stain no sealant is necessarily. Enjoy your new antique looking white furniture!

This beautiful bathroom vanity is constructed in a size that is perfect for small bathrooms and is suited perfectly for any French Provence country decor. It has a durable resin top, one faux drawer, one door with one adjustable shelf inside, and a sliding back for easy plumbing connections. It is featured in a striking off white Bordeaux finish with rub through and antique finished fixtures with a biscuit ceramic sink. The Bordeaux collection also includes dining room furniture.

Floor to top of faucet: 41H Floor to top of backsplash: 39H Floor to top of counter: 35H Hardwood Solids with Red Birch Veneers; Resin; Ceramic; Metal

Bishop Coffee Table is shown in Antique White finish on base and Signature Stain top. This solid wood table has one drawer with antiqued drawer pulls.

LOUIS XV CONSOLE;Vintage Cygne Blanc finish on six drawer console with drawers finished in Heritage Stain. Antiqued hardware.

The Provence cabinet boasts hand carved detail and beaded trim for storage with feminine flair. Its antiqued mirrors and Vintage Cygne Blanc finish lend a nostalgic appeal.

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More Inspiration!

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My French Provincial Dixie Union Flag Dresser Makeover

French Provincial Dressers are one of the most perfect designed dressers to paint abstract designs. They work so perfectly because painted furniture  was common on Antique Louis XV and XVI furniture, so the look transfers easily to french provincial pieces.

The Union Jack Flag has caught attention of the design crowd, and the geometrical flag has been featured in a number of interior design blogs and magazines and it has even made its way into fashion.

Upholstered furniture is the new trend with these geometrical flags, but can be very tricky because flags are often not sold by the yard or meter at your local fabric store.  Painting a piece of furniture on the other hand can be very easy with any flag pattern.

With my flag dresser, being that I was working with the Union Jack Flag, I painted my piece in white to begin with.  Then I taped the lines of flag, and once the paint was dried, I removed the tape, and added a brown glaze to antique the dresser.

(If I were to do it all over again, I would certainly use a flat paint instead of an oil based color.  The reason for this, is oil paint can be very thick, and working with tape, you want your paint to COVER in one coat (or 2), not making it so heavy that when you pull off your tape there is an obvious ridge where the paint built up against the tape.

Flat paint usually is the best to use when you are working with bright colors.  Learning from experience, it took me about 8 coats of semi gloss paint to paint a wall orange.  In the end, the walls were not perfectly finished because each layer of paint makes your walls imperfect.  You always want that sanded finish that fresh drywall provides.  The lesson I learned that I can pass on, is to make your first coat flat, and if you want a gloss, then paint it after your walls are covered with the flat paint.

So my recommendation after doing this flag dresser is to always sand first, and paint in flat paint for all your colors, and then go over the dresser with a WATER BASED polycrylic clear finish when you are completed. Never use oil based polyurethane on white.  In a year it will turn a ugly yellow, if not in a day.

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