A transformational tale of the pitiful pine table

Everybody loves a love story, especially tales of transformation. Think the Ugly Duckling, Beauty and the Beast, Pretty Woman. Now while I have officially given up on men as "projects" and highly discourage it far and wide, my obsession with all other kinds of tranformation remains the key guiding force in my groovy life.

With that in mind, I want to help everybody get some vision and see past the ugly ducklings in your own lives: garage sale furniture, parental hand-me-downs, and maybe even your house you've given up on. All of these just may need some paint and inspiration!


OK, it's not so bad. But it's really not inspired either, is it?


My really cool client Susan had a feeling something could be done with this table. She really needed an outdoor dining table. Enter the transformation-obsessed person who wants to paint everything that isn't moving. Years earlier, I had painted a brand-new potting bench to look old and crusty for her powder room. She's so clever she used a bucket for the sink. I sure wish my computer guy would backup my old laptop that died so I could show you a picture of it. You'll just have to take my word for it. It's super cute.

Anyway, after putting our heads together, we came up with a hammered copper top and painted legs, with some stenciling. I saw this design somewhere and had to make the stencil but it wasn't hard. All you have to do is go to Hobby Lobby and get the clear sheet of stencil plastic. Trace your design using a Sharpie and then cut it out with an X-Acto knife. 


These candlesticks were an inspiration.

And, I had just finished working in this bank.
That's hammered copper wrapped around the bottom.

So anyway, this is how the table turned out. When Susan emailed me a picture last night, if I had had on a skirt, it would have not just blown up, it would have blown off. I delivered it in the dark and never got a chance to see it on her patio, in good light. I think it's even prettier at her house than it was at mine while I was painting it.



It's my new favorite thing.

 Now I am seriously on the prowl for an old pitiful table to paint for myself. You can so do this. And if you have any questions, just ask!!

Change is good! Or, one transformation leads to another ...

Change is good, for people and our spaces. In this particular case, my client (and friend) wanted her living room to feel warm and comfortable. She wanted people to want to come into her already beautiful home, sit down and stay awhile. A previous remodel had improved upon "builder white" flat walls with a three-color glaze. Everyday sheetrocked columns had been covered in tumbled marble tile.

Ten years later, my client wanted to warm it up. She had purchased new, comfy furniture, and built-in shelves on either side of the fireplace had been replaced. There was a new mantel and a generously sized TV over the fireplace. Yet, the frosty walls and cool gray tones of the columns were killing the comfy vibe.



New oversized furniture and rustic lamp
with a linen shade are much more casual.






















To begin the transformation, I suggested we bring down the 12-foot ceiling with a warm-toned metallic plaster. A new scaffold I bought myself for Christmas amazingly straddled this enormous sofa so I was able to work on the ceiling without moving the furniture out.

New ceiling is Antique Parchment Lusterstone,
a product from Faux Effects.



But as you might imagine, one project leads to another. And for me, that's not a bad thing. The ceiling turned out so warm and wonderful that my client wondered whether the walls were crying out for a warmer paint color. No problem. We needed to work with the new sofa, and the new ceiling. I didn't even flinch when I painted over my original 10-year-old glaze job with plain old vanilla paint in an eggshell finish. It's Sherwin Williams Basket Beige, to be exact. It blends beautifully with the Antique Parchment Lusterstone, and the sofa, but isn't matchy-matchy. Beautiful white crown moulding defines both perfectly.

After all this beautiful toasty transformation, the columns that had been wrapped in tumbled marble tile stuck out like ... well let's just say they needed a little help, in the form of a wash.

The columns before. Nice, but too cool.







A tinted Lime Wash solved the problem.
It dries lighter.  





The columns now blend in beautifully. And yes,
the white ceiling fan is on its way out. 

  

The change has been amazing and provides a perfect example of what I love most about what I do ... a completely transformed space and a finite sense of accomplishment. Although, from what I understand, the blue walls in the kitchen are now screaming for something warmer ...

(to be continued) 

In praise of new beginnings (and get the party started already!)

Is it just me or is everyone just a little bit excited about the start of this new year?

I can't remember a time when I have felt this eager to get going, reach new heights, make lists, clean and throw away, start new projects. In fact, for the first time ever, the day after Christmas I was ready for all the Christmas decorations to GO! And as I took them all down and disassembled the tree, I reduced the bins and boxes by one HUGE bin! Yay. Did that ever feel good. So now it's on to real jobs, the paying kind  ...

I was discussing new directions with one of bestest friends today and she said maybe our newfound optimism comes from just being glad 2010 is OVER. That is how I felt about 2009, the year we were forced to come to terms with the fact that the gravy train was slowing down. My friend likened 2010 to a bad hangover.

Come to think of it, last year did feel a little bit like dehydration (monetary) and a pounding headache (fretful indecisive immobility) at times. Like hangovers, those bad feelings came to an end. We just put our noses to the grindstone and worked (drank) our way out of it. No whining allowed. Who promised the gravy train would chug on forever? We just have to be better and smarter now. I know I learned a lot last year and I'm ready to put that newfound knowledge to work!

Today, I found some pictures today of a little job I did in New Braunfels a while back and thought I'd share them. This is the kind of thing that blows my skirt up and makes me really, really happy:

Crystal and plaster and antique mirrors! Can I get an amen? Let me just say, this massive mirror is to die for. That's what makes this teeny tiny bathroom so fabulous: The mirror is enormously out of scale and some snooty designer type might snort that it's too large for the space. Someone else might say the chandelier is going to clonk someone tall right smack in the forehead. I sayWHO CARES??? I say the chandelier is rich and drippy crystal fabulous and the enormo mirror enlarges the space and distributes good energy all over the room!

If you can have this chandelier and this mirror and me to create warm and yummy champagne-colored plaster walls, why the heck not? Life is too short to live with mediocrity and it's really waaaaaay too short to worry about all the rules of convention!

Here's a close-up of the wall, the corner of the mirror, and the bead board below. I painted the bead board and trim a gorgeous warm cream from Benjamin Moore. It had been a cold, stark white with no soul.

What's worse: Above the bead board, where you now see the beautiful champagne plaster, was blue and white striped wallpaper. It was lovely and cheerful in the 90s, but we've all grown up since then, haven't we?

Love it!

How to find heaven while still on earth ...

Have you ever thought about what heaven will look like? We decided last week it looks like this niche. This is the kind of thing that makes me happy. It blows my skirt up and floods me with thankfulness because I am so blessed to be able to work and make money doing something that beautifies the world.

While beautification and transformation are the underlying principles in practically everything I think about, it's not that way for everyone. Sometimes we get clients who just want faux finishes because the people down the street have them, or because they saw them at the Parade of Homes. We do the amazing job and they're happy, but not in a profound way. It's more like: "Okay, I can check that off my list."

But other times, we suggest color changes and make improvements that change the way our clients actually "feel" when they are in their homes. In this house with the heavenly niche, our client was absolutely ecstatic about the glorious changes we were making in her home. She thanked us profusely, and meant it. She was the most joyful person: funny, genuine, thankful. She was a blessing to us!

Back to the heavenly niche: You must know it was a collaborative effort. My very talented angel painter friend Mary Hulin started it by skimming out the monterrey drag texture (blek!). Monterrey is just hell on fine faux finishes, but Mary made this niche as smooth as a baby's bottom. Then, a day or so later, with my neck in a permanent right-cranked cramp from the dining room ceiling, I begged to do the plaster. A straight-ahead niche was a welcome break.

It has become our new favorite finish.

Across the way, this is the dining room ceiling that right-cranked my neck and later wiped Mary out. Here's the before:

Poor little boring thing is just begging for something to be done so it can stand out and shine! You know this upgrade feature wasn't cheap and so far wasn't living up to its potential!

And after! So pretty and elegant. And worth all the paint, plaster and aggravation.

If there's a moral to the story here (and isn't there always a moral to my stories?) it has to be this: Please go find your special purpose. Whatever blows your skirt up. It may take you the rest of your life, and it isn't going to be easy, filled with nothing but peace and love and puppies. But I promise that if you look and listen you will find it.

Next up: a dreary little bathroom that has become an embarrassment.

I'd like some wine and cheese with my whine, please!

I have stress-induced ADD and here's why. I am stressed. Why am I stressed, you ask. Life is good. I have faith, blah, blah, blah. Well, the main reason I am stressed is because my house is dirty. You think I'm exagerrating. Truthfully, it isn't just messy. It's a filthy pigsty. Unorganized. Cluttered. Bordering on disgusting.


Oh, I'm sure many of you would think it's fine. None of my friends, mind you, but some of the other people who read this blog. Ha! I want to assure you that I am not dabbling with hyperbole again. It is seriously bad and my chi has left the building. Here's a look at my daughter's closet, the other day before I made her clean it. That was the other day. It's right back to this:

I once read it's not good to shame your children, but I think she should be ashamed. Notice I'm only showing your her mess. I'm not about to give you a peek at my own personal nightmare.

So anyway, the reason my house is a pigsty is because I've been busy beautifying the houses of everybody else. Yay! Business in a recession! It's all good. But it's making me crazy. Right now I have a work-at-home day, but I can't concentrate BECAUSE THERE IS TOO MUCH CLUTTER EVERYWHERE AROUND ME. There is no peace & love in this house. So I'll blog. And show you the homes of other, organized, happy people:

I did some touch-ups at this beautiful house in the country. I wanted to go to their house for Christmas dinner, but alas, I was not invited.

I ventured to the Valley to beautify the entry ceiling of this bank. If you ever need a bank, I would suggest Texas Community Banks because they obviously have good taste and an appreciation for beautification.

Right after the bank I got a another job out of town, to antique the cabinets in an enormous kitchen makeover, whole-house remodel. Even though it was two hours away, it's a beautiful drive:



One foggy morning it looked like this.

The silence on a long drive is a good thing.

Before I started the job, the cabinets looked like this:

And then after I did my magic, they looked like this:

But wait! Here's what they look like once they got all dressed up with their "jewelry" on:

Who wouldn't love to have this refrigerator?

Or this super-sweet stove?

Love these pulls.

Wouldn't it be great if my house had its own personal dumping ground like this mud room? I bet if I had these cubbies, my house would not be as messy because I have three kids that would use them. I'm sure of it.

It was a huge job. And it's not finished. Now a sample for crown mold in the kitchen is pending approval. And we wrapped up a black stain on the upstairs cabinetry Monday. I haven't even managed photos of that room yet. And all this reminds me that I need to call the clients and tell them about the sample. So for now, I'm going to go whirl away on another tangent, which sadly does not include cleaning my house!

Patience, honey ... just give it some time and it'll work itself out!

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know two things about me. I am obsessed with transformation. And, while obviously obsessive in nature, I have been obsessing over my next career move for at least two years. Today I'm happy to report there has been a convergence of obsessions and I finally made a move!

You see, I thought I needed something to keep me off the streets between big faux jobs. After agonizing for years ... where should I sell painted furniture and should I revisit my past life of collecting and finding new homes for antique and vintage furniture and decor ... I'm happy to report that the pieces of the puzzle eventually came together this month. Now, without even knowing me, you can all run out and buy furniture with that special Painted Groove pizazz. And as a special bonus, my alter ego, Vintage Pilar, has returned with funky vintage finds. Now, all of my stuff can be found under one roof, at Back Alley Antiques at Artisan's Alley in San Antonio!

Here's how it all came together: I met Frannie Roberts, the precious and very cool manager of Back Alley Antiques, in a decorative painting class, of all places. She told me about her store and I asked whether she was interested in painted pieces. After meeting Frannie, choosing Back Alley was easy, because of Frannie's knack for merchandising and their longevity in the antiques market. Although Back Alley sells the wares of several different vendors, it is all merchandised together beautifully like a real store and very much unlike your average antique mall.

The store is clean, and pretty, and organized. Most antique stores are just dreadful and give even me a headache after a while, because it is exhausting to look at booth after booth of crowded crap. Even when they're done well, I think they miss out on a lot of sales from people who can't imagine how the antiques can fit into their homes.

So, let me show you around the place!



Here's a little child-sized chair I picked up at an auction. It was brown, stained wood, but I knew right away it really wanted to be gold. Now it is happy as Princess Pilar's Naughty Chair.

This is not one of my pieces, but I wish it was. I love it! Look real close and you'll see a super-cute set of Christmas glasses.

I think these are sooooo cute. In my family, they're the perfect size for a Christmas morning mimosa! Ha!

This vignette just makes me happy and shows Frannie's skill at grouping items from many different sellers. Just in this photo, that's my cute little lamp and my antique mirror I spoofed up with some leopard spots. And that iron bed with the vintage linens? They're not mine, but I love it all.

Here's a beautiful old mirror that I had no impulse to improve. It's great just the way it is.

A closeup of my spotty mirror.

I initially loved this little table for its height. It's a little taller than most side tables, which makes it perfect for today's larger scale pieces. Many older side tables are dwarfed beside beds or chairs but this one was perfect. Right underneath, written on a little white piece of tape, is the name "Frances Doyle." I sure wish I knew who Frances Doyle is, or was. My grandmother used to write people's names on tape and put it on knick knacks or pieces of furniture as a way of designating who would get what when she passed on, or who it came from if it was a gift. It still makes me happy to pick up a piece of something she "put my name on" and see her handwriting. So I named this piece "Frances Doyle."

This piece didn't need a thing. I just love, love, loved it. I really wish I had it back, but times are hard and somebody needs it worse than I do. Or at least someone has more money than I do!

Here's Princess Pilar's Naughty Chair after Frannie found a home for it. I think it needs to be on top of something actually, but I'll bring that up later, when I'm not such a newbie.

Goodbye beautiful crystal chandelier I bought on ebay. You were beautiful and I loved you, but you looked like a dwarf in even my tiny dining area. I hope you find a happy new home in a much smaller room.

Hey! There's that half-of-a-table I thought made the perfect console table for an entry or, as Frannie thought, a table between two slipper chairs. Fantastic. The Venetian Gem leather top is yummy.

I have my eye on this chicken lamp. I know there is a better name for this other than "chicken lamp," but I'm from West Texas and I don't know what it is. It is so fabulous. But I'm trying to make some money here, not spend it.

Two small shades adorned with rick-rack and pompon fringe for a small lamp or sconce. They're super-cute on their own.

But check them out beside that blue lamp? I'm telling you, Frannie has an eye for this stuff.

These ladderback chairs with the faux ostrich rungs finally found a home with this charming table. They look so happy here with this table because the scale is right.

To get there, plug in 555 West Bitters Road, San Antonio, into your GPS. For those more familiar with San Antonio, it's on Bitters between West Avenue and Blanco Road.

In praise of progress ...

I can see the top of all of my desk. And for this I am very grateful. Now I can continue onward toward more interesting & profitable ventures, such as painting and completing creative proposals for eager clients.

But one recent development that I'm very excited about is a new retail outlet for pieces of my painted furniture. Finally! In the very near future, you'll be able to find my painted furniture, specifically vintage and antique pieces, at Back Alley Antiques, in Artisan's Alley in San Antonio. Stuff like this, some of which you've seen before:



A favorite piece, sold in an auction and now living out its sweet little life at my friend Marty's house. Lucky table.

This little chest couldn't make the trip to Back Alley. For one thing, it's not an antique, or even vintage.

It used to look like this:

But Wendy at Nesbit Living & Recovery Center had faith I could do something better with it. See, now it is very happy living between these two chairs, holding business cards and brochures. I get to go by and say hi whenever I go up there.

As far as antique stores go, Back Alley is great because the entire store is merchandised like a real store, rather than an overwhelming antique market maze with rows of vendor booths. Those tend to make me confused and annoyed. And God knows I don't need any more reasons to be confused and annoyed.

I painted a set of four ladderbacks with alternating black & camel-colored ostrich. Really fun.



This is a re-purposed find ... half of a table to be exact. I think it will make a great quirky side table or entry table piece. I still have this one and think I may add a little more glitz before it hits the market.

This is a great antique china cabinet I painted a while back for a client. I may not get this crazy at Back Alley, but you never know. This job called for some outlandish thinking outside the box.

I want to paint using some lighter colors, more beiges, maybe some blue or gray, ala Wisteria ... so I'm eager to get into my studio and see what I can whip up. And use the StucoLux product from Faux Effects. I know that's going on a table top asap. StucoLux is the next thing I'm going to become obsessed with ... but you'll have to wait for that because I can't find a photo ...

I'm still looking for another location somewhere around the state ... maybe Houston's Urban Market, so if anyone has a suggestion ... I want to hear from you!