My first year

Posted on December 29, 2013 by goodbyteaching | 26 Comments

Painting furniture has been the perfect hobby/obsession for me. I retired from teaching at the end of January 2013 and plunged right into painting. I had first read about Annie Sloan chalk paint in a newspaper article that featured Katrina Barclay who owns Malenka Originals. Here is a look back, more or less in order, at the things that I have painted. It’s pretty obvious that I like colour.

Mahogany dresser painted in Provence with dark wax:

French Provincial coffee table painted in French Linen with a blue wash and gilding:

Pine dresser in a lightened Napoleon Blue and stained top:

Waterfall Dressers: The first one is Barcelona Orange, the second is a peacock blue that was a mix of Napoleon Blue and Aubusson. I later repainted it in the 3rd photo.

Mahogany end tables painted in a lightened Provence with Old White and German Silver gilding:

Mahogany End tables.

Art Deco mahogany dresser in Provence with an Aubusson wash:

Mahogany Desk in Old White and Emile in the drawers:

Smaller Mahogany desk in French Linen, Old White and copper gilding:

Small dresser in Chateau Grey and Old White:

Two incarnations of a Mid-Century table:

Miss Mustard Seed Typewriter and Old White:

Coffee table in Graphite and Old White:

End table in Graphite and Silver Craft paint:

Drum table in Old White, with Graphite, Paloma and Gilding on the edges:

French Provincial Dresser in Pure White with Old Violet and Gilding:

French Provincial dresser with Old Violet and gilding

Teak coffee table in Graphite and Florence:

Washstand in MMS Tricycle and dark wax:

End table that was painted first in Tricycle then changed to a Provence/Florence mix:

Provence mixed with Florence to make a true turquoise.

Pine dining table refinished top and Pure White:

Round table with Provence and Old White base:

French Provincial table in Old White with walnut top:

Antique table in Chateau Grey with a white wash:

Table painted with Chateau Grey and a white wash

Vintage rocking chair in a Provence/Florence mix:

Maple dresser in Emperor’s Silk, Tricycle and Old White:

Antique mahogany dresser in Cream:

Oak desk in Graphite:

Antique dresser in Emperor’s Silk:

Antique dresser painted with Emperor’s Silk

Mid-century table in Provence/ Florence mix with MMS Typewriter and Emperor’s Silk feet:

Nesting tables in lightened Provence with Graphite and gilding on the edges:

I have also done a few custom pieces and various chairs and small tables which I haven’t included in this post. It has been a very busy retirement so far.

Linking up with:

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http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2013/12/197th-inspire-me-tuesday.html#mo
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Colonial Revival Furniture

Posted on September 2, 2013 by goodbyteaching | 10 Comments

Traditional Living Room by Framingham Photographers Mary Prince

This lovely photo from Houzz.com is a classic example of American Colonial revival style. White walls, a large brick hearth, a blanket box, a wing chair and some rustic elements such as the rifle and the copper wash tub. Colonial revival is seen as the quintessential American style and has not lost its popularity since the 1870’s despite many trends and design movements. It is an idealization of the past and a re-interpretation of the furniture and design of the 17th and 18th centuries. It has been a traditional style for the last 140 years but it has seen periods where it was immensely popular,usually as a response to social or economic turmoil. A definite revival of the style can be seen in the 1950’s and later in the 1970’s. The 1970’s movement of back to the land, and the fascination with farmhouse styling and all things handmade could be said to be reactions to the upheaval of the 1960’s. One could argue that the present DIY/Vintage movement is a further example of this same type of reaction, an eco-conscious return to the past as a response to global warming, terrorism and war.

Colonial Revival design in the 20th century falls into 2 categories: a formal 18th century style which is suitable for spacious homes and the American rustic style which was seen in smaller homes, cottages and rec rooms. Many homes were an amalgam of both as can be seen this living room below.

This 1950’s or 60’s living room has a mixture of traditional Colonial furnishings and more modern furniture. The Windsor chair, the portrait on the wall, the sconces, the tables and what appears to be a warming pan on the opposite wall are mixed with more modern sofas and lamps.

According to Antique Home Style, the features of both styles are:

Woodwork and trim used widely throughout the house including wood mantels and surrounds, corner cupboards in kitchens, and dining rooms, wainscot and crown moulding trim at ceiling and wide baseboards and case trim around doors and windows

18th C. Colonial

Formal design
Fine furniture, cabinetry making, and joinery techniques
Fine hardwoods such as walnut, cherry, mahogany
Reinterpretation of classic 18th & early 19th C. artisans such as Chippendale, Sheridan, and Hepplewhite. Duncan Phyfe was extremely popular.
Fabrics included tapestry, velveteens, brocades

Early American

Rustic interpretations of early colonial furnishings
Mixed woods including knotty pine, maple, hickory, chestnut, and poplar
Rag, hooked, and braided rugs
Fabrics were cotton, wool, and linen
Iron and brass fixtures and lighting

The early American style was very popular in the 1950’s and could be seen in informal living/dining rooms, bedrooms and kitchens ( think Betty Draper’s pine kitchen on Mad Men). This photo shows a style that I saw a lot when I was growing up.

And, how many of these maple dressers with the Chippendale handles have been manufactured in the last 60 years?

http://uhurufurniture.blogspot.ca/2012/10/maple-highboy-95.html

There seems to be no end to the popularity of this furniture especially in children’s bedrooms. The dresser that I painted was made in the 1940’s by Imperial-Loyalist, a Stratford Ontario manufacturer. Canadians of a certain age are familiar with Vilas and Roxton, reputable furniture makers, who produced maple and other hardwood pieces in the rustic American style. There is a lot of this furniture around from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s; it’s very solid and well-made but definitely stuck in a time warp. What’s interesting about my dresser is the odd styling. It is maple, inside and out, has squared bun feet, very large squared knobs, and a gallery top. It seems to have wanted to be both Colonial and modern( the knobs) at the same time. It had a thick mahogany coloured stain which was typical for the time period. This is the only before photo that I have but you can see the colour clearly:

I painted it with a mixture of AS Emperor’s Silk and Barcelona Orange. I have used this combo before and it produces a vivid red. However, when it dried on this piece, it looked brick red, not a colour that I like particularly. Perhaps it was the orange and the red stain underneath that was doing this. Since I had run out of the paint after 2 coats, I mixed up MMS Tricycle and applied 2 coats of that. Now, the colour is a candy apple red which was what I was going for. The top section is in Pure White. I originally was not going to distress the knobs but the squared circle design seemed to invite it. I was inspired by a Martha Leone design which you can see here. I hope she won’t mind my copying her.

Click to enlarge photos:

Sources:

http://www.antiquehomestyle.com/inside/colonial/

http://www.oldhousejournal.com/magazine/2003/february/colonial_revival.shtml

http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/summer02/revival.cfm

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http://betweennapsontheporch.net/pyramidal-boxwood-topiaries-for-a-traditional-landscape/

center>

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http://dukesandduchesses.com/2013/09/project-inspired-link-party-grilling-feature

http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.ca/

http://www.thestylesisters.blogspot.ca/

http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.ca/

Atomic/Space Age Design

Posted on March 20, 2013 by goodbyteaching | 6 Comments

From MODish.net

ebay.com

The Atomic/Space age in design flourished from the late 1940’s t0 the 1960’s. It was a reflection of popular culture’s obsession with the splitting of the atom and what that meant for the future. In spite of the threat of nuclear war, there was also a sense of optimism and the belief that science was the key to prosperity. ” The splitting of the atom, simple biological forms, and even astronomical discoveries caught the imagination of artists in every field of endeavor.” (source) This was seen in all aspects of design as the preceding photos demonstrate. Some of the characteristics of the period are: free form or curved lines, such as the amoeba shaped table above, scientific and atomic motifs as in this classic bark cloth or this wacky lamp.

Braxton and Yancy

Legs were short, tapered, often with brass tips and some were metal and hairpin-shaped as in this picture:

New materials such as plastic, melamine, formica and laminate were employed everywhere in a colour palette that was either pastel like pink, turquoise, pale yellow or bold colours such as orange, bright yellow and red. The spare, functional design of the Scandinavian movement can also be seen in the lack of ornamentation, and lighter woods. This dresser/sideboard is the perfect example:

It is teak and melamine, has a space age motif on the top, the colour is described as malachite ( a hot colour trend for 2013) and it has the ubiquitous stick legs, that in this case flare outward. Noguchi’s iconic glass coffee table, the Eames leather and plywood lounge chair, Sarrinen’s plastic tulip chair, Adrian Pearsall’s gondola shaped sofas, all of these put an emphasis on the organic and functional. Presently, interest in all things retro from mid-century is very high. A search on Craigslist or Kijiji will show that vintage teak furniture, especially if it is Danish made, is selling for a lot more than traditional style mahogany or walnut. The retail furniture world is also reflecting this in that the furniture being marketed for young professionals is a re-interpretation of mid-century style. What seemed dated and 60-ish a decade ago, is now hip.

From MODish.net

Having grown up in this period, I have a nostalgia for a lot of this design and admit to watching Mad Men very closely for both the furniture and the clothing. I am particularly fond of 1950’s dressers; there are quite a few of them around at garage sales or online and they can usually be bought quite cheaply if the owner is not a collector. What is great about them is that they are very well made in blond mahogany or birch, have a streamlined, slightly different shape and usually have atomic style handles. Mengel furniture had a line called “Permanized” and they weren’t kidding because most of these sets are in terrific shape 60 years later. Above is an example of one of these dressers with chevron handles that evoke images of flight. Or this one that has flying saucer knobs.

I recently painted an end table that was all right in its original state as you can see in the picture but it did have a large nick on one side. These tables are quite common and some of them are all laminate. This is walnut, made in Montreal and is certainly Atomic in its side design with the brass bars and curved lines. I painted it in Barcelona orange; it is a departure from the original but the colour is in keeping with its era.