Walnut and White Credenza

11 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com in 2-Toned Furniture, Mid Century, Painted Furniture, Tutorial

Here is a custom job done for a very nice client. She and I worked together to find just the right piece… she searched CraigsList in her area and I did the same in mine. With patience and a knowledge of exactly what type of storage she wanted, she eventually found this piece. This type of collaboration is what I love about my line of work… customers can actually own beautiful, well made furniture which is customized to their liking without blowing their budget. That surely beats buying new poorly constructed stuff, don’t ya think?

Materials
White paint: Benjamin Moore Advance Linen White in semi-gloss
Stain: Minwax Antique Walnut
Finish: Varathane polyurethane in gloss
Other: Used a wood conditioner for the first time to prep the wood for staining

Process
Frame was sanded down to raw wood then conditioned. Two coats of stain were then applied. It was sealed with three coats of poly.

Drawers were sanded lightly then primed. Then five coats of linen white were applied. Not sure why the BM Advance whites need so many coats. It might be my technique because I tend to lay thin coats down in order to minimize brush strokes.

You can find me on

Pinterest,

Facebook,

and Hometalk.

Gray Tallboy

04 Tuesday Jun 2013

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

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

chalk paint, dresser, gray painted furniture, homemade chalk paint, tallboy

Two weeks ago marked the beginning of summer humidity that descends on the Washington, DC area. I happened to choose that week to do eight furniture projects… in my humid garage! Yikes. Drying time has been extended and I’m using the super great Benjamin Moore Advance paints that normally take about 15 hours to dry between coats! The humidity isn’t being my friend.

Anyway, this is the first of the several pieces I would like to share. It’s one of those pieces that came to me and stood in the way in the garage so I chose a neutral color and hope to sell it quickly as space is limited!

You can find this in my etsy shop. It’s also available at furnishly.com.

Sorry, no before pictures my friends. The piece was dark and ugly. Some pieces just need paint. Here are my four steps to a super fast transformation that will last:

1. Lightly sand the piece and remove hardware.

2. Paint two coats of either Annie Sloan or homemade chalk paint (mine is homemade). I don’t use chalk paint for all of my projects but for pieces like this one, it’s a winning choice every time.

3. Lightly sand and distress.

4. Seal with one of the following: Wax, Minwax Wipe-On Polyurethane, or Varathane Satin Polyurethane. I used the Wipe-On Polyurethane.

You can find me on

Pinterest,

Facebook,

and Hometalk.

This is available in my etsy shop!

Linking up to:
Miss Mustard Seed

Lucketts Experience

28 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com in Wall art using vintage finds

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Lucketts Spring Market

Two weeks ago, I made my way to Leesburg, VA where The Old Lucketts Store hosts its annual spring antique market. This year was particularly special because I was able to meet a few blogging stars!

I was there for just a couple of hours and came home with one thing… tractor parts! They’re hanging on my newly painted walls. Wall color is Perfectly Pesto from Benjamin Moore.

Lucketts 4 MarthaLeoneDesign

Donna from Funky Junk Interiors, Miriam (director of community development) from Hometalk, Allison from The Golden Sycamore, and me.

Me, Karen from The Graphics Fairy, and Sharon from Elizabeth & Company.

I also had the wonderful privilege of meeting Susan from Uniquely Yours or Mine and Marian from Miss Mustard Seed.

Donna from Funky Junk Interiors was at the Hometalk tent and demonstrated how to transfer letters using decals. In the end, the lettering looked distressed and beautiful on the green board (in the excitement I forgot to snap a photo).

Lucketts MarthaLeoneDesign.com

I’ll share more furniture in a couple of days!

Linking up to:
Funky Junk Interiors

Image

Waterfall #2

20 Monday May 2013

Introducing another waterfall dresser designed with a similar concept as was done on my other waterfall dresser. If you’re interested in reading through my thought process behind the concept, read that previous post.

This waterfall piece came with beautiful hardware but after painting the dresser, the hardware didn’t work with the design. So off to etsy I went in search of drawer pulls from the same era and with similar subtle curves as the darker shapes on the dresser. I found them thanks to a fantastic shop. The authentic worn look was a bonus!

drawer pulls

Violette Sippers has a great selection of old, worn knobs and drawer pulls. Visit her etsy shop to get great stuff!

You can find me on Pinterest, Facebook, and Hometalk.

This is available in my etsy shop!

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

≈ 5 Comments

Image

Raw Oak with Blue.

13 Monday May 2013

Tags

2 toned, beach cottage furniture

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 • It’s Overflowing • Blissfully Everafter • Life We Live 4 •
My Repurposed Life • The Shabby Nest • French Country Cottage • Redoux Interiors • Miss Mustard Seed • DIY Showoff • Be Colorful • Mod Vintage Life • Alderberry Hill • Boggie Board Cottage • Mod Vintage Life • Elizabeth & Company • Tuesday’s The Scoop • Home Stories A to Z • Knick of Time • VMG206

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

≈ 11 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

≈ 23 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.