Raw Oak with Blue.

13 Monday May 2013

Tags

I wanted to start this brief post with a close up of the desk top. It was sanded to the raw oak then sealed with Varathane Poly. That’s all this amazing slab of oak needed. It’s beautiful.

Per my client’s request, the bottom was painted a soft blue, the same color used on Beach Bureau. They live in a small apartment and needed a desk that could sit quietly and serve its purpose without dominating the space.

I’ll hope to share another Waterfall dresser similar to this one later on this week. I can’t get that design out of my mind so I’ll be doing more of that signature look as often as I’m able!

Posted by martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com | Filed under 2-Toned Furniture, Distressed Furniture, Furniture Renovation, Painted Furniture

≈ 3 Comments

Image

Jasper Chair Company. Buy old.

09 Thursday May 2013

I was at the paint store this morning waiting for the paint people at my local Benjamin Moore store to color match something (they did an incredible job), when I spotted this chair in an ad in the March 2013 issue of Dwell, designed by Kiyoshi Sadogaura for Conde House.

The chair caught my eye because it looks very similar to the mid century chairs I found at a yard sale this past weekend. The vintage chairs were constructed by The Jasper Chair Company and are covered either with leather or a very high quality vinyl. The underside is in pristine shape and the wood is either walnut or teak. Wow. Needless to say, the price I paid is less than the $1,430 price tag on the Conde House chair.

yhst-57097523344612_2230_26907535

Conde House Chair: $1,430.

Jasper Chair Company: much less.

Posted by martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com | Filed under Mid Century

≈ 1 Comment

Image

French Provencal Nightstands

07 Tuesday May 2013

Nice. Classic. Great detail work in the wood. That’s how I would describe these nightstands, even in their dilapidated state before I painted them. Things have been busy around here with custom work and other pieces so I enlisted the help of my daughter on these two small pieces. She did a wonderful job. This will be the second project she worked on… first one was The Anna Table.

Process
1. Lightly sanded the base and completely removed the old paint finish on the tops with my orbital sander.
2. Applied water based primer.
3. Painted it with Benjamin Moore Aura Paint in eggshell finish.
4. Stained the top with Dark walnut stain and sealed them with Varathane Polyurethane in satin.
5. Lightly sanded the base.
6. Painted the drawers black and applied two coats of the Varathane finish.

Lesson Learned
Benjamin Moore paint is my favorite for walls. Their Advance line is my favorite for furniture. I tried their Aura line on these nightstands and didn’t like it very much. It took about five coats of paint to finish these pieces. That may sound ridiculous… yeah. It was. I’m not sure why that happened but I have asked the knowledgeable people at my local Benjamin Moore store and they told me that the Aura line isn’t intended for furniture. However, I know of other bloggers used Aura and love it. Go figure.

or on Facebook.

Available in my etsy shop.

Sharing at these parties:
Silver Pennies

Posted by martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com | Filed under 2-Toned Furniture, Before and After, Classic Paint Treatments, Distressed Furniture, Painted Furniture

≈ 6 Comments

Image

RELOVED Magazine and a classic dresser

26 Friday Apr 2013

Recently I was contacted by by an editor of the new magazine, RELOVED, which centers around the wonderful world of upcycling. It is written and produced in the UK and is now available there and will soon be available in the US. They included my checkered dresser in their premiere issue. Thanks so much to RELOVED for taking an interest in my work.

Here’s what the editors are saying about this exciting new publication, “Each issue features 116 pages of creative inspiration, including at least 25 beautiful projects you can make for yourself and for your home. It’s all about breathing life into old objects that have seen better days and transforming them into new favourites you can cherish for years to come. It’s the ‘Make Do and Mend’ attitude, saving a bit of money by putting the chic into shabby and doing our little bit to help the environment by reusing rather than throwing away old objects.” For information on where to buy this magazine, check out their page.

On to a quick intro to a classic dresser. I sanded the top and stained it dark walnut and sealed it with Varathane Satin Poly. The base was primed and painted a soft white. This is a classic treatment in every sense of the word and was done for a client in DC. The interior top drawers were lined with William Morris wall paper. If you’ve never heard of Morris, it is said that he was the single most influential designer of the nineteenth century. His textiles are incredible and are still produced today. There’s so much more I could say about him but I’ll leave it with that brief introduction. Check out his work … you won’t be sorry.

or on Facebook.

Posted by martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com | Filed under Classic Paint Treatments, Distressed Furniture, Furniture Renovation, Painted Furniture, Whites and Neutrals

≈ 2 Comments

Image

A tallboy for a little one.

18 Thursday Apr 2013

This super sturdy tallboy was done for a client’s young son. It was painted the same yellow as was used on another MCM piece. This yellow has to be one of my favorite colors. It’s not too bright and easy on the eyes.

Artwork on the top was done by one of my kids when they were three.

Materials
Benjamin Moore Advance Spiced Mustard in Semi Gloss
Benjamin Moore primer (water based)
120 grit sand paper
Sealed with Varathane Poly Satin (this step wasn’t necessary since Benjamin Moore Advance paint is some of the strongest paint available on the market)

or on Facebook.

Sharing this on:
Blissfully Ever After • Miss Mustard Seed • Redoux Interiors • Liz Marie Blog • At The Picket Fence • Silver Pennies • DIY Showoff • Be Colorful • Mod Vintage Life • My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia • Coastal Charm • The Scoop at Cedar Hill Ranch • Elizabeth & Company • Knick of Time Interiors • Love of Family and Home • Primp • No Minimimalist Here • Beyond the Picket Fence • The Shabby Creek Cottage • Simple Home Life

Posted by martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com | Filed under Bold Contemporary Design, Mid Century, Painted Furniture, Uncategorized

≈ 21 Comments

Image

Dixie Tallboy

09 Tuesday Apr 2013

Tags

dixie dresser, tallboy

This mid century tallboy has wonderful details in the woodwork and would have been fine if I had sanded and stained the entire piece. But I couldn’t leave well enough alone so I painted parts and sanded others. Original hardware was reused as is one of my favorite things to do, especially with mid century pieces. Inspiration I was listening to music while painting this piece and imagined musical notes dancing across the three top drawers. The unpainted vertical lines resemble the stems of musical notes and play across the drawer fronts in a random pattern.

Process
Raw wood surfaces: Sanded then sealed with Varathane Satin Polyurethane.
Painted surfaces: Lightly sanded, primed, then painted with Benjamin Moore Advance Soft White in gloss.

Lesson Learned While sanding the top, I looked away and lost focus. Here’s the outcome. Yikes. To fix it I painted the edge.

or on Facebook.

This piece is available in my shop:

Posted by martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com | Filed under 2-Toned Furniture, Before and After, Mid Century, Painted Furniture

≈ 8 Comments

Image

Boy Blue Dresser

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

Tags

blue painted furniture

A few weeks ago I delivered Beach Bureau #2 to a customer. In exchange for a reduction in the price, she gave me a rock solid dresser. This dresser is super old but very well built. I just love it… basic and able to hold its own in any space.

Some would say the finish looks a bit blotchy. I kinda agree but do like the subtle variations in blue that showed up as a result of the paint technique and waxing. I do wish I had taken a before shot as it was in dire need of restoration.

Process
I used the same color that was painted on Blue French Dresser but mixed Plaster of Paris with it to make homemade chalk paint. It was painted two coats and waxed. The top was sanded down and given one coat of dark walnut stain then coated with Varathane gloss poly.

Do you see how these original drawer pulls are not mounted straight? The wood surface on the back side isn’t wide enough for me to drill new holes.

or on Facebook.

This piece is available in my shop:

Posted by martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com | Filed under 2-Toned Furniture, Distressed Furniture, Furniture Renovation, Painted Furniture

≈ 4 Comments

Image

Light Gray Buffet

22 Friday Mar 2013

Tags

furniture redo, mid-century, painted furniture

Some pieces just need a great paint job to reveal the beauty that sits dormant under years of grime and dust. I chose an elegant shade of light gray to compliment the amazing original hardware.

Process
1. Cleaned it with TSP and vinegar and water
2. Primed the lower half, sanded the top with an orbital sander.
3. Stained the top with Minwax Dark Walnut, two coats.
4. Sealed the top with Varathane Floor Finish which is a great go-to sealer for stained surfaces.
5. Painted the base in a custom light gray mix.
6. Lightly distressed the base to compliment the patina of the hardware.

Before

This is available in my etsy shop.

or on Facebook.

Posted by martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com | Filed under Distressed Furniture, Furniture Renovation, Mid Century, Painted Furniture, Tips, Tutorial, Whites and Neutrals

≈ 9 Comments

Image

DIY Lifestyle Magazine Article

19 Tuesday Mar 2013

Tags

diyer, lifestyle, lifestyle magazine

Thanks to DIY Lifestyle Magazine for publishing my article
on the waterfall dresser in their March 2013 issue.
If you haven’t heard of it, DIY Lifestyle Magazine is the first Ipad Magazine
for the DIYer made by DIYers. They cover topics on home improvement,
crafts, food, and fashion.

The great people at DIY Lifestyle have offered the March issue of their magazine to my readers for free! (You will need an ipad for this magazine). For your free trial, download the magazine here: http://bit.ly/T2rMXd then click on subscribe and then current subscribers, enter in “PromoDIY1″ to get the current issue for free; and do it soon because the coupon is only valid until April 1st. Enjoy!

Just in case you missed the post on Waterfall Dresser, here are a few shots.

or on Facebook.

Posted by martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com | Filed under Bold Contemporary Design, Tutorial, Whites and Neutrals

≈ 4 Comments

Blue French Dresser

12 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com in Before and After, Classic Paint Treatments, Furniture Renovation

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

blue painted furniture, french dresser

This dresser came to me in super bad shape. Three of the drawers were broken and it was coated in grime. I cleaned it and learned a thing or two about repairing broken drawers.

The basic idea with this one was to give it look and feel that was quite different from its roots. Instead of creme and soft, it became dark and glossy. The distressing was an afterthought and was done to detract from the streaks left by the sealer. To explain— I used a new sealer on this piece and found that it doesn’t work as well on painted finishes as it does on stained finishes. It left a few too many streaks for my taste although I was careful to apply it with the proper brush. It does work very well on stained finishes as you will see in some of my later posts.

Color
I mixed a bit of black to my blue from the Knapp Dresser (below) and got the darker version of the color. The dresser was primed before painting.

Sealer
My new go-to sealer for wood finishes is Varathane Floor Finish. It’s a water-based product that doesn’t yellow. I probably won’t use it on painted finishes again unless I discover how to produce a beautiful smooth application.

This is available in my etsy shop but I think it already has a buyer!