Someone else please tell me you didn't know this...

I can't believe I didn't know this glorious furniture painting tip! I cannot tell you how many pieces of oil base painted furniture I have sanded to the bone. And if you have done that before you know, it is no small task! I only paint with latex products to preserve my health and the health of my clients. I use a glossy polyurethane if I want the deep luster look of oil based paint. All that to say, am I the only one who didn't know that you can paint any piece of furniture with oil based primer and then follow it with oil OR latex paint? Not sure how I missed that, but am pretty sure it will shave years off my life. Thought it was worth sharing. So, if you have a fabulous vintage piece to refinish, you can hit it with oil based primer and then paint away with that safe latex, non toxic non VOC paint!

And while we are at it. Look at this cutie pie room I have been designing. These paisleys will be gigantic. Maybe three to a wall.

I feel the need to preface this next statement with the fact that I buy all organic, no hormone added, no dye added food from Newflower Farmer's Market. However, tomorrow is Whataburger's Bday and if you wear orange you get a free burger. Just sayin.

It's coming...

The date has been set. Taylor's little fingers may fall off. I have (finally!) booked Taylor to come shoot a bunch of recent work so that I can do another six week series of updates. I know you are all losing sleep over the lack of work posted lately. The last Friday in September is the day! Prepare yourselves for baby nurseries, furniture, model homes and pictures galore!

Until then here is a project in the works and a television cabinet.

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after

I have been on a kids' room kick lately. Let me tell ya, it has been fun! I had to send pictures of this to a designer friend and thought I would share them. Typically I rip these out of my book and let the home owners hang on to them during the deicsion making process. So, I thought I would share them since I actually had them. I am so excited about this project. I love a modern twist on a traditional idea.

if you are wondering, she has chosen option#2 for her baby's (secret, to be revealed at birth, my kinda woman) name. i chose drew as a stand in.

Last, I feel compelled to share with anyone in driving distance of DFW about these delicious babies being on sale today. Go wait in line. It is so worth it. Just don't mix your cookies. Or your wife will want to toss her cookies.

Happy Monday!

canvas

remember those canvases from a while back? they asked me to add in two more. here they are all together!

this $30 craig's list dresser needed some serious love!

the old, not so beautiful hardware

after.

i filled in all of the detail work on the dresser. i wanted a nice smooth surface with no detail since i added the bold stripes.

don't you love those built in polka dot things!

do you guys ever shop at tjmaxx home goods? you should check it out. i got the lamps there for a steal!

with a name as cute as hank, it has to be on the wall!

the bedding was our jumping off point!

and there you have it. some of the details in hank's room! here is a tip for you! go ahead and buy enough fabric to make a duvet out of your crib fabric. then all you have to do when baby transitions is move them to a big bed and use the fabric you have to make a duvet that matches the room. this way you can get at least 5+ years out of their sweet nursery!

Hank

my sister does this really fun thing when she has her babies. i get to know the gender of the baby so that i can do the room, while the gender is a secret to everyone else! wohooo! this is the best of both worlds(for me anyway)because her room is ready to go when baby gets home, but she still gets to be surprised when the baby is born.

to start, we pick out a boy and girl fabric that we like. i develop concepts that i like from there, and then i create the room that is the correct gender. fun!

here are the results for hank!

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after

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we came a long way! i'll post some detail shots in another post this week.

canvas and dresser

here is a quick post for ya! i did these canvases for a little girl and little boy room. the little girl wanted a whimsical chandelier canvas and another that coordinated. the little boy wanted a canvas that was mainly gray and had their school logo and mascot in it (the R shape in the circle and the yellow jackets). and the boy canvases needed to be sophisticated instead of like a poster. oh, and the dresser below had an unfortunate "mural" on it. so, i painted that out, put new hardware on it and silver leafed it.

here is what i came up with:

girls

boys

dresser

Anyone else looking forward to the weekend? Have a great Thursday!