A Fun Project - Beginning to End

It is funny, but there are several things that happen every time.  EVERY TIME!  I know it is going to happen and I anticipate it, but when it does it is like a surprise ... every time!  I've chatted about this with other decorative artists, and we share similar characteristics, emotions and experiences.  I thought that I would try and document the experience, from beginning to end.

BEGINNING ... The phone rings.  Someone has seen your work vehicle and has gone to the trouble to write down your phone number and call.  That is a good sign.  Or a bad sign.  At this point, it's hard to tell!  The project/challenge/opportunity - what do you call it?  This one is a very small job.  One of those that you dread because it is one of the hardest things you will ever do in our business!  The walls are previously glazed.  You don't know the paint color.  You don't know the glaze color.  Oil?  Water based?  You can make educated guesses, but that is all they are!  In this case, the windows in a very nice, high end home (approximately 2 years old?) have been replaced by doors.  This should have been done in the first place!  Hello Mr/Ms Architect?  Hello Mr/Ms Custom Home Builder?  These windows look out from the large vaulted great room into the fabulous backyard, gorgeous pool and landscaping.  Should have been doors in the first place.  But ... thank you very much they didn't do it and so we have an opportunity!!!!!

BEGINNING - NEXT STEP ...  THE MEETING ... The door opens and the customer has a huge smile on her face!  She is glad we are here and she makes us glad to be here!  We take a look at the "project".  There are four areas, from 1' x 2' to about 3' x 4'.  Repeat above.  Don't know paint or glaze color.  Are we up to the job??????

THE PROJECT ... We arrive and get to work.  Takes some creativity, some experimentation and keeping fingers crossed!!!!!!  Again ... this simple technique is VERY HARD to come back and make repairs.  A glazed wall will halo!  I've seen some disastrous glazed touch-ups!!!!!  It's a nightmare!  Can we do it?   Why yes, we can!  We were able to do the touch-ups and the customer was very happy.  We were very happy!  The customer said ..."I would love to have you come back and do some other things"!  This is music to our ears!  Super!  When?  "Some day".  Oh well ... chalk that one up and be very glad of the positive outcome!  I do have pictures ... back in the vault (hard drive at the studio).  Not very interesting, but proof, nonetheless!

NEXT STEP ... did I mention that was February of 2011?

NEXT STEP ... July 2012.  Got a call from the customer!  Yay!  We set up the appointment.  Thinking about refinishing the island to give the kitchen some pizzazz.  Right up our alley!  Set up the appointment.

THE APPOINTMENT ... It has been 17 months.  The customer opened the door, and there was her huge smile!!!!!  She was happy to see us - and it was mutual happiness!  We exchanged hugs and got busy.  Busy meant catching up on life in the last many months ... her gorgeous kiddos had grown so much!  My perfect grandchildren had grown so much!  What was so neat about the meeting was that it felt so comfortable!!!!  It was exciting!

NEXT ... What are we going to do?   Did I mention that this is a gorgeous home?  The kitchen is large, very custom with beautiful wood cabinets with carved crown. There are a lot of cabinets, and they are all the same color.  My client/friend is visualizing some color.

 As I said, the cabinets are beautiful.  They are built in such a way that they look like individual pieces of furniture.

We are evaluating this built-in, adjacent to the breakfast nook overlooking the backyard.

Thinking ... maybe a white?  Distressed?

 This is the island, which is what brought us here today.  My client/friend is thinking green, and she has some paint chips.

The vent hood is another possible project - what should we do?

NEXT STEP AND ACTIVITIES ... Planning and thinking, looking through existing samples, making custom samples ... presentation and proposal ... acceptance of proposal ... YAY!  This will be a fun project!

 We started with the vent hood.  During the planning phase we considered several alternatives, then decided to go with a copper look with decorative nail heads.

Since the vent hood was finished, we needed to put some "teeth" down.  I had some leftover Modern Masters Metallic Plaster (didn't matter what color).  We stippled this over the entire surface so that it would accept the next layer.









The next step was to apply the "Copper".  We used Faux Effects Palette Deco - a combination of Metallic Bronze, Metallic Copper and Metallic Gold.  These were applied at the same time and were stippled on.  After the Palette Deco "sat" for awhile, it was knocked down.

For the final effect, we troweled a coat of tinted Faux Effects Venetian Gem High Gloss Coat.  This can be a bit tricky if you are using it for the first time.  When it is mixed it is "pastel" and "opaque".  It looks like cold cream when you apply it - can freak out a customer!!!!!  When it dries, it becomes dark and sheer.  This is one of my FAVORITE products - have used it many times.  Just need to practice with mixing so that you will know the end result.

After the decorative nail heads are added, it is finished and GORGEOUS!!!!!

The island is a huge focal point and our client was looking for a pop of color, thinking green.  This was definitely a good way to go!  We used Maison Blanche's Mardi Gras as the main color, adding another "brighter" green to the mix.  The  paint was brushed on then wiped back while wet off of the raised surfaces.  This gave the island a washed look.  We left the four carved columns alone to reveal the original finish, tying it together nicely with the surrounding cabinetry.

For the final touch, there were two cabinets which lent themselves nicely to look like stand-alone furniture.  The customer liked the idea of a white wash over the existing paint and I think this was the perfect thing to do!  While there were two coats of Maison Blanche Vanille applied, they were done in a sheer way, with brush marks being deliberately left.  Again, while the paint was still wet, we wiped off the raised areas exposing the original finish of the cabinets.

This is in the breakfast nook area of the kitchen.

This cabinet was across the kitchen from the breakfast nook area.

 The overall effect of adding pops of color really opened up the kitchen - made it look even bigger!

  

LAST STEP:  As always, it was hard to pack up and move out.  We got be be "part of the family" for a short time!  Always, the sunny and excited disposition of the client was a true bonus!  She loved the results!  This was a fun project, and as usual, I felt the sadness as I drove away!

What a blessing to be able to get up each day and do what I do! 

Sometimes it's hard to stop and smell the roses!

It's been a crazy day - part of a crazy week, but I'm thankful anyway!  This has been a week full of custom samples, preparing proposals, filling orders.  I started today at 3:15, wide awake with lists in my head of what needs to be done!

It's a small thing, I know, but important to remember that I can't do it all.  I want to - I would like to think that I can, but realistically, there really are so many hours in a day and hours in a week!  That is why resort to my lists.  I keep a wirebound notebook with me at all times.  There is a date, highlighted in yellow in case I miss it, at the top of each page.  Below that is a listing of everything I need to do.  For instance,

• Call E re: the GL Mtg
• Mail bullet points to GL Committee
• Four samples for P
• Wicker Furniture - research
• Proposal for P
• Sample for A
• Call A for the A job

It goes on and on.  When I accomplish a task, it gets crossed off.  (This gives me much pleasure to cross off an item!!!!!).  If the task doesn't get done it goes on the list for the next day.

These notebooks are really useful.  I also take little notes (changes in passwords so I don't forget, interesting things I see online that I don't want to forget - that sort of thing).  I keep my notebooks - sounds pretty crazy, huh?  But, I actually have found it useful because I will need to refer to something and I can remember "pretty close" to the timeframe and find that notebook.  There it is!  The notes I took about the customer when we did their job two years ago!  That is helpful in so many ways! 

But, I digress!

Today, my "roses" is the job we started.  We are working in a lovely home, for a terrific customer, doing fun finishes.  That is a blessing!  Here is a sneak peak - the before!

This is a beautiful vent hood, indeed!  We are transforming it, however, into a beautiful copper piece!

We started by prepping, then washing with TSP.  Our first layer was a stippling layer of Metallic Plaster (Tungston).  The next step was to stipple Palette Deco, using a combination of Metallic Bronze, Metallic Copper and Metallic Gold. After this sat for awhile, we knocked it down with rubber trowels, creating a beautiful blending of the three colors, leaving gorgeous pitting and smooth areas.  That was all we could do today,  since it had to sit overnight to dry and I know you want a progress pictures, but, no can do!  Didn't take one.  But, I will tell you when the customer walked in, she said, "OMG, that is so beautiful!  I love it".   And it's not even done yet!

There go you!  That was it!  That was the rose that I got to stop and smell today!  I am so grateful and so blessed that we have work.  Work that I love.  Customers who are happy.  Whenever I get to feeling overwhelmed, I can look back on a moment like today and that gives me a smile.

Now I gotta go!  Much to do!  Items left on the list!!!!!  Goodnight!

Fee Fi Faux Fun

It's been a good week and it's been a good day.  While I am sitting here, supposed to be working on pictures for the website (which was supposed to have been up and running a couple of weeks ago - my bad) I keep getting sidetracked.  I'm going through before and after pictures of jobs that we've done over the past few years.   Each set of pictures brings a flood of memories and feelings!  Each customer becomes a friend!  You spend so much time with them - planning the project in advance ... anticipating the project once the finishes are selected ... executing the job (when it is easy to become attached to the house ... feels like a safe place) ... and finally completing the job and packing up to leave.

It is so funny to me - from the moment we pull up to the project to unload and get started, all I want to do is complete the job!  Get it done!  Pack 'er up!  Get the check!!!!!  However, when the moment comes to actually pull away from the curb, I always feel sad!  There is an intimate connection with people when you are in their homes at vulnerable times.  And when a  home is "under destruction", it is a vulnerable time!  Routines are disrupted.  The routine of having "guests" in the home becomes a little fuzzy!  

Here is an example.  This picture represents the first meeting at the customer location.  That is my briefcase on the floor.  We have introduction and go through the polite "what is expected" conversations.  After this new meeting, we get down to business.  Pull out the sample boards.  Look at pictures the customer has clipped and try to really listen so that we can get the perfect understanding of the picture our client is wanting to see.

 

We go through the dance of designing custom samples based on our understanding.   Hopefully, we get it pretty quick, and are ready for the next phase:  anticipating the project.  This includes activities such as ordering materials (did you calculate enough?), loading the truck with supplies and materials (why didn't you purchase a trailer because you KNOW you are going to have to make more than one trip, and finally ... the day of the project you don't want to be late, so you show up 30 minutes early!

That's okay - I'm chronically early and I know it.  I have spent many hours sitting down the street waiting until it is "reasonably late enough to be early" before I ring the doorbell.    I would rather be the person early than the one late - keeping a customer waiting!  

So, there are times when you arrive and your customer is NOT ready for you!  They thought they had another 30-45 minutes before you arrive and they are not ready to vacate their space because of important things ... makeup, hair, dressing!  Okay, now I'm feeling bad!  But, the customer is wonderful - says "Here is a cup of coffee, come on in".  So, while your customer finishes their beauty regime you sit on their tub, trying to pretend this is a perfectly normal thing you do!  But, sometimes you are blessed and the customer is wonderful and they make you feel like sitting in the bathroom with them is a perfectly routine part of the project!

Then, you move in and create the "creative chaos" condition!

Each job, no matter how many times you have executed this finish, is individual and unique. We have a lot of fun - don't get me wrong!  But it's hard work!  This job required four sets of scaffolding, along with a walking plank.  Because of the layout, we were required to take the top scaffold off and move around and put it back ... numerous times!!!!!!

This is a beautiful finish - it is metallic plasters with a finish called "Asian Silk".  We added dimensional stencils randomly around the room.  This finish takes several steps but is always beautiful!

When we are done, it is such a great feeling!  

It is so neat to see the before, experience the during and finally, see the final result!

 But there is is again - that sad feeling!  I know it's crazy, but it always feels a little like you are moving away from this home that has been yours for a temporary time.  Weird, huh?









The hard part, is going back for the "after" pictures.  When you have a room, even with fabulous walls, ceiling, floors, cabinets - whatever you have done, it still looks like an empty room.  You have to come back after the room and its furnishing have been put back together - Humpty Dumpty, whole again!

 

What a blessing to do what I do!  What a blessing to be able to see wonderful homes, and more importantly, meet such great people!  Thank you, my Wonderful Customers, for making my heart warm!

Enjoying my day in Kansas!

I will say that it is a long drive!  Eight hours in a car with two dogs ... whew!  We were glad to get to my parent's home last night.  This morning Michael cooked a fab breakfast for all of us (Mom, Dad, Brother & Sis-in-Law, Nephew and Niece) and it was a joy to get together!  It's so hard when kids grow up and move away (me included!) and hard for everyone to get together very often, so it is especially sweet when we can see the Kansas relatives.

It was fun to see the completed project at the folk's house, which has been a labor of love for both Ozawkie families!  The downstairs family room has undergone a transformation since I was here!

The room has been painted a beautiful terra cotta color. (Way to go Nana and Hunter!)  New furniture and  pictures on the walls.  So fun to see the fruits of their hard labor!  Way to go guys!

I'm so grateful to be here and will enjoy this short, blessed weekend!

New Bedroom Furniture for Sandy

Life is good and fun, too!  A project was finished today - a special one because this project was done with a special friend.  We redid her bedroom furniture and it looks so great!  Although the work is finished we don't have the pretty, "with the bedding and staged" pictures but I'm so excited that my friend is excited that I will share.

Here is a before picture, ready for some La Craie!

Sandy, sporting her painting clothes and armed with a brush.  Show me what to do!

Kim

We started with Hurricane, painting all surfaces.  Then, with the Hurricane we created a Pebbled Surface on the Dresser Top, Bureau Top and the two End Tables.

Next was application of size, for crackling in randomly chosen areas, as well as in the two ovals which are the main focus of the bed.

The next color applied was La Bonne Terre.  Once dried we sanded certain areas, creating some distressing and also smoothing out the crackled areas. 

Ready for wax - we used the Antique Wax Dark Brown, and the result is gorgeous!  Very subtle tones and the crackling worked really well with the two colors!  Sandy is thrilled and I'm thrilled!  What a fun project!

Will post the final pretty pictures once staged but wanted to share some La Craie Love with you today!  This was a first project for Sandy, working with paint and furniture of this nature.  She was delighted with the paint and its ease of application.  The wax going on, of course, was her favorite part!

 Even the old hardware, which was going to be replaced, was cleaned up and used again - looks like new!

 The feeling in the room is "beachy"!

Ready for the wax

.Will post some "afters" soon! 

I don't even know what I don't know!

To say that I am sitting here, updating my blog, which is simply routine to me ... would be a crazy thing to say!  This is not routine!  I don't know what I'm doing!  I'm so very inspired by Bloggers.  I love them!  I read them!  I ponder them!  And yet, here I am and do I really have anything to say?

Today, I signed up to attend the Southern Bloggers Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina, in October.  I'm attending with my two good friends, who are in the business.  One is a 'seasoned' Blogger, and the other is a 'new' Blogger, who will also presenting at the conference.



What is so interesting about this is that you might think I'm a Blogger, officially, to attend something like this event!  Vous vous trompez ... I have no idea what I'm doing!  Except that I'm excited.  

I'm still doing what I love - making things beautiful ... meeting and getting to know neat people ... and doing something new:  I am distributing  Maison Blanche Furniture Paint's products.  Here is a little picture clue - a nice solid hutch newly sporting a finish I call Pebbled Blue Bayou!  It is sitting, completed in the studio, awaiting its new home (temporarily housed at Historic Camp Bowie Mercantile looking for its new owner!

Here a shot of the booth, lonely and waiting for La Craie Paint!  We are in Booth # 707, located at:  Historic Camp Bowie Mercantile, 7200 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX  76116.    Check out their website: www.historicfortworth.org.    We have nice signs and we have some nice display space, awaiting our yummy paint!  I have an oversized sign made with all of the color samples, as well as hand painted and waxes samples to touch and feel.

  

 Here is our little hutch, in its new and temporary home.  Come and see us!  Come and buy some paint, wax and look forward to the new and coming products!  We will do custom finishes - do you have a piece of furniture and want to purposely re-purpose it?  You've come to the right place!

 Make note of our little blog.  We have big aspirations and inspirations as we learn answers to the questions that we don't even know yet!