The Yellow Cape Cod: potterybarn

Showing posts with label potterybarn. Show all posts

How To Match A Potterybarn Finish~DIY Weathered Turquoise Mirror

While I'm away from the blog this week I thought it would be fun to schedule a few posts from the past. These are projects I completed last year around this same time...

Today's look back post was a fun DIY project tutorial that demonstrates how easy it can be to re-create a distressed finish. I found a gorgeous set of chunky candlesticks from Potterybarn in a beautiful distressed sea glass green finish. They were perfect for my clients living room.

To add more of this gorgeous color to the space, I set out on a quest to re-create this finish on a mirror and discovered it was pretty simple.

Recently I shared this dramatic living room makeover. If you missed it, click here. You may have noticed, the adjacent spaces are painted a pretty aqua color (Drizzle by Sherwin Williams). You can see the hallway just outside the living room doorway.

To tie the new neutral space into the rest of the home, we brought in a few accessories in a similar sea glass green shade.

This beautiful painting is a treasured piece the couple acquired while traveling. The background is a beautiful aqua green.

The bookcase was styled with pretty accessories in aqua green including a collection of sea glass bottles.

Last but not least, we brought in these Potterybarn candlesticks...

The distressed aqua finish is such a compliment to the space. We needed a large mirror over the sofa and thought, "if only there was a mirror in this finish".

Well, now there is…

Here is how I did it:

I started with a large rectangular painted mirror that had been stowed away in storage. It was the perfect size and shape, just not the right color. To prepare it for the makeover, it was sanded down and imperfections were filled with wood putty.

I studied the finish on the candlesticks. There were three colors, "layers" that I could see; taupe, aqua, and black. These layers were topped off with a dark antique glaze.

Now that I knew what colors I needed, I set out to find the perfect paint products. I have been wanting to try chalk paint for a while and thought this would be a great opportunity.

I visited one of my favorite local boutiques {My Sweet Holly} and gathered supplies, aqua and black clay chalk paint and a dark antique wax. I brought one of the candlesticks with me to help choose the perfect shade of aqua. The wonderful owner of the boutique reminded me that the paint would go on very rough, but after sanding and waxing the finish would be gorgeous.

Since the prepped mirror was already a tan/taupe color, my first layer was in place.

For the next layer, I gave the piece one coat of black paint.

Once it was dry, I painted over the black with two coats of aqua and let it dry overnight.

The next day, I gave the entire piece a light sanding. Once it was nice and smooth, I sanded a little harder, concentrating on the edges where a piece would naturally age.

Once I had the desired amount of distressing, I vacuumed the dust off the mirror with a shop-vac and wiped it with a slightly damp cloth.

I finished with a coat of dark wax.

The boutique owner was right, after the sanding and waxing step, the finish was smooth as silk.

If you missed the full room makeover reveal post, please click here.

For information on my affordable online design consultation service, click here.

Easy DIY Hand Painted Monogram

At the end of this post, I'm sharing a comical behind the scenes outtake from this project...

Today's project tutorial was written while working in a room for a very special client, Kendall. (Also known as Princess "K").

When I created the design plan for her bedroom, I wanted to incorporate a large monogram. The design of the monogram had to compliment our bedding without competing with it, therefore it had to be simple. But pretty.

A monogrammed wall decal from Potterybarn Kids caught my eye, but wasn't going to work in this space. It was beautiful and would have been quick and easy to install but the color was not the perfect companion to the custom wall color we choose for Kendall's room.

The solution was a hand painted version of the PB monogram using Kendall's wall paint.

Here is how I did it…

I printed the image and took it to my local copy center. For $5 they enlarged the image 300% onto blueprint paper. I folded the image in half to create a line that would serve as a guide. Using a level next to the fold line, I was able to make sure the image was nice and straight before taping it to the wall.

Once the image was in the perfect spot, I peeled the corner back and inserted a sheet of wax-free pattern tracing paper. Wax-free pattern tracing paper can be found at your local fabric store in the notions aisle. It comes in many colors, I prefer to use white.

I traced the image using an ink pen. Without disrupting the placement of the image, I moved the tracing paper around as I went along.

Once the image was completely traced, I filled it in with a detail paint brush and two coats of paint. After the paint was completely cured, I gently removed my white tracing guide marks with a damp cloth.

Thank you for letting me decorate your room, Princess K.

Before you go, take a look at the finished monogram and see

if anything stands out to you…

While proofreading this tutorial, I noticed one of the loops around the outside of the image was missing. The copy center accidentally cut it off when they enlarged the image. My initial reaction was to re-write this post after adding the missing loop, but I decided to post it as is. This blog is all about "real" decorating experiences, right?

Gotta go add the missing loop, have a great weekend!

Linked up to Home Stories A to Z

For information on my affordable online design service, please click here. I'm currently accepting new clients.

How To Get The PB Distressed White Finish

Potterybarn always gets it just right with their aged finishes. A little bit old and crusty yet still refined. Today, I'd like to share how I used these PB finials as inspiration for a client mirror makeover.

{Potterybarn}

Last week, I shared a before/after of a Foyer I decorated for a client. We started the transformation by shopping her house and we found a gorgeous mirror stashed away. It was beautiful as it was however, the color was almost identical to the wall color.

So, I brought it home with me to my furniture studio and gave it a little makeover. Here is how it went down...

It already had a great antique faux finish. I wanted to keep the same look, just a lighter shade, more of a creamy white and less yellow.

Less like this...

{Before}

Holiday Home Series: Simple Thrift Store Centerpieces

Welcome back to the Holiday Home Series.

Yesterday, I shared my Christmas Dining Room that was put together with thrift store, dollar store and discount store finds. The theme in the dining room is simple, casual, whimsical and nature inspired. I found this pine cone wreath at The Goodwill on half off day.

It reminded me of a birds nest. Since I have little birds in the trees on the buffet, I thought it was a perfect centerpiece.

I brought it home and removed the horrible bow. To mimic the look of a birds nest in a pine tree, I nestled the pine cone wreath on top of a fresh pine wreath in the center of the table.

To give it graphic interest and a little bling, I stuck small white glittered snowflakes from the dollar store around the "nest".

I placed a few red ornaments in the center to mimic a nest full of eggs.

Melissa over at The Inspired Room creates a gorgeous centerpiece every year by placing various items inside a wreath, stop by and see what she did this year. Her wreath centerpieces inspired my birds nest, thanks, Melissa!