Scored Antiques

I have been busy the past few weeks working on several tables getting them ready for the shop. By the time I get home it seems like its dark so I only spend about an hour each day on my painting. I don’t know about you but I am not looking forward to cold short days!! I found several moving sales and picked up some neat things I hope you will like. I scored a four (4) foot shelf that I like a lot!! I took several tables to the shop today and reduced several pieces down even more so super bargains here!! My brother just drove in from Alaska and will be staying in PA for a while. Even though he is a distance from me at least I know we can at least drive to see each other. Alaska is too far to hop in your car and drive to visit. He’s going to shop around for me to find some antiques and bring them to me!! Woo Hoo!!! Here’s a few photo’s of my latest designed pieces and a few photos of my shop at Southern Estates Antiques.

Paint and bruises

It is hard to believe it is October already. The last few days I have been dragging around since I worked so hard trying to finish up my last piece to get it to the shop and it is still in the back of my car!! When I finally sat down last night, I noticed bruises from my knees up and then I looked at my arm and had blue paint everywhere and I just got out of the shower!! I know my eyes are not what they used to me, but really?!!!!! How did I miss that!!! I keep telling myself I am too old to be doing this and what do I do? Load and unload by myself again and again!! I looked like a gypsy coming home the other day with furniture all the way to the back of my front seat!! I could barely see out of the sides of the car!! Oh well, I guess it comes with the business!! Oh before I forget, I called the shop a few hours ago and Dave said another interior designer came in a bought several things from my shop!! Yeah!!!! That puts a big smile on my face and makes me very happy. Here is a look at my latest designs and I hope you like it!!

So Go Shopping!!!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Labor Day. I try very hard to always be proactive, but I have been like a turtle this past week. I have two beautiful timeless mahogany dressers sitting in my garage and I still have not finished them. A vision of one is in my head, but I just haven’t wanted to get started. Maybe I need to start drinking energy drinks. My strong coffee just does not do it for me anymore!! Maybe today will be the day! I did decide to check out some of the department stores just to take a look at furniture. Some of my favorites is Anthropologie, The Pottery Barn, West Elm, etc. As you already know, I am eclectic so I love how these stores mix it up just like me!! I like the unexpected pop of color or fabric. Remember ladies, your home is a reflective window of you!!! I tell all of my clients, if you love it the minute you see it, if you can afford it… buy it with no regrets and you will surely find the perfect place for it in your home! It doesn’t matter if the color is not exactly the same shade of blue that’s in your room. Trust me when I say, it will blend in with your other shades of blues. You can make it happen with pillows, throws, rugs, lampshades, etc. My mother’s generation thought that everything in a room had to match, but in today’s world anything and everything goes!! Mix and match, odds and ends…… I visited an old friend a few weeks ago and she has beautiful expensive accessories and furniture but when you walk in, it just felt bland and sterile....not at all like her...happy and outgoing. She asked if I would help her, so we went to work and I touched and moved every single thing in there, threw in some pops of color and it was an amazing transformation!! It felt cozy and inviting!! Its like your clothing....don't you feel alive and happy when you are wearing a beautiful vibrant color?!! Happy dance!!!! Anyway, she loved it and when her sister came down from New York to visit, she could not believe how wonderful the room looked and felt. So the point to this story is….. step outside of the box ….mix a piece of painted furniture in with all of your dark wood and see how awesome it will look!! But beware, it is like eating potato chips, you won’t stop at just one!!! Wow, I was not planning on talking that much!! Anyway, there is amazing talent right here in Greenville and they add their own custom techniques and designs to each and every piece of vintage and antique furniture, so go shopping!!

Blue signature color

I think everybody knows by now that blue is my signature color. All shades of blue!! There will always be a little shade of blue in a room no matter what your color choices may be. I also like using grey. It is like using white because it’s very neutral so I painted this antique chest in a mix of Annie Sloan’s chalk paint for a medium to light grey with a stencil embellishment just to give it a little “wow”. I distressed a little heavier on this piece than usual. I like distressing but I personally do not like the killed it with a brillo pad look!! Just my personal like and of course all of us are different in our likes and dislikes so I do try to keep that in mind when I am refinishing a piece of furniture. Back to the color……..grey looks awesome with pink, blue, yellow, green, black……you name it. The accessories pull everything together. I ordered some replacement castors from ebay just in case I ever needed them and while loaded this chest into the car I realized it had castors on it at one time, so lucky for me I just popped them in. This chest is made of a very thick mahogany wood and it is massively heavy so now it is so much easier to move around. I wish I could showcase how beautiful so many of my pieces would look in a room setting. Maybe someday if I win the lottery!! Wishing thinking!!! Now about my day…..when I left work yesterday I took a chair and several accessories over to the shop. Before leaving I took a lot of photo’s to show people all the awesome things coming in daily from our dealers on Southern Estates Antiques Facebook. It takes many hours out of my day to take pictures, load it onto my computer, work with the lighting on each photo, save it, and finally load it onto Facebook. It doesn’t matter if its painting and selling my pieces or helping someone else sell theirs it is worth the extra effort and time to me. So thank you so much for following us on Facebook…you are the BEST. Here is a few photos of my space at Southern Estates Antiques. I am always open for any advice from another dealer, customer, etc. so let me hear from you.

Adventures of treasure hunting

Here’s the latest adventures of my treasure hunting. I found an old dresser and mirror a few weeks ago and while loading it up I walked past a bedroom that had the most awesome old bedroom furniture in it. I asked if it was for sell too and the gentleman said yes!!! I immediately said, “I will take it”. They had sold their home and were moving to Florida and he did not want to move all of it and I can see why……..super heavy!!! What a great find though!!! I love the clean lines of it. It will be very retro once I paint it and will blend great with today’s styles. All the pieces are on old castors so it will be easier to move around. I ended up with five pieces and had to make three trips to pick everything up. It was so worth it!!! I have already started painting the old dresser and mirror. I am very happy with it so far!! I have been experimenting with mixing some of my paints together making custom colors for the next few pieces that I will bring into Southern Estates Antiques. I also have been using several of Miss Mustard Seed milk paint colors. Grain Sack has been painted on a mahogany arm chair with hints of Annie Sloan Antoinette Pink chalk paint. I am leaving the fabric seat in the original fabric of soft wide stripe pink and beige which is in mint condition. I just finished up some old folding antique chairs with original coffee grain sack material for the seats and I painted the chairs with Annie Sloan provence and old white. I custom mixed pure white with Graphite to make a soft shade of grey for an old mahogany chest on castors that I took to Southern Estates Antiques last week. I also have a bed that goes with this chest if anybody is interested. I also have a pair of rare antique french provincial night tables painted with Annie Sloan coco and old white, distressed and glazed for lasting beauty. So you can see…I have been very busy!! I never get tired of hearing how much people like and buy my furniture and accessories. That makes all of my hours and hours of searching, hauling, cleaning, painting, sanding, glazing, waxing and hauling again to the shop worth it!!! SO…..THANK YOU SO MUCH MY VALUABLE CUSTOMERS!!!

An interesting few weeks

It has been an interesting few weeks. I rushed out the door Wednesday headed to Southern Estates and was pulled over by a patrolman. I always stop at the stop sign, but this time I did not come to a complete stop before pulling out into Pelham Road, ugh!! I slowed down and pulled right out in front of a patrolman!! I knew I had messed up and here comes the patrol car lights!!! He gave me a warning ticket for disregarding stop sign…..Thank you Lord!! I won’t do that again…whew!! I live everyday trying to beat the clock and I have got to start enjoying my life a little more, so the past few days I haven’t painted anything. I met my girlfriend at Red Lobster for dinner on Monday night and had a great time even though I had to drive home in rain flooding the roads. I went home Tuesday after work and sat on the patio with Selena and just enjoyed watching my flowers grow and my little backyard rabbit. Its funny, because in my mind I think I can go and go like a Duracell battery but I forget I am not twenty-five anymore and every day I seem to wake up with a new ache or pain. Oh well, life goes on and I am just happy to be here!! I like to keep things moving in my room at Southern Estates Antiques, so I always reduce prices on a regular basis. I want my unique finds to be affordable to everyone. It keeps things moving in my room and it makes me happy to know someone has a beautiful painted piece from me in their home. I have about every color chalk paint, chalk and clay paint, milk paint, waxes, glazes, stains, stencils and knobs out there, so tell me your favorite color and what you would like to see or have. I will be your personal shopper and try my best to find it for you. Send me a message via facebook. I hope to hear from you soon!!

Just go for it and SMILE!!

Every year seems to get shorter and shorter the older I get. It almost July!! I have been painting antique furniture like a crazy person trying to keep a variety of pieces always available. Painted furniture is not for everybody. Some people love it and some do not, but even the furniture industries sell painted furniture because it is a “hot” item right now. I have several dealers that tell me they always smile when they walk by my room because it makes them feel happy. That’s what painted furniture does to people. You can have a room full of exquisite antiques but the room feels drab and heavy without color. It doesn’t have to be bold to brighten up the room, just some color, any color!! If you know me, then you know I am eclectic and I like to mix vintage with modern. When I look around my house it makes me happy. I see memories from my past in family antiques, a little quirky, a little modern, a few painted antiques, a few pieces of unique art I picked up years ago, a collection of rabbits and birds that I love. All these things are a reflection of me! I sell to a large number of younger people only because they are not afraid of mixing it up. My rule of thumb is….if you love it, buy it. You will always find just the right place for it in your home with no regrets. I have learned that from past experiences myself and pasted it up only to get home and think, “I should have bought that”. Go back and it is gone!! Darn, I wish I had bought that when I had the chance. So, having said all this….get inspired to paint your own, buy it already painted or commission someone to do it for you. Just go for it and you will not be disappointed and best of all, it will make you smile and feel happy every time you walk into the room!!