Thursday, March 29, 2012

Livy Lou’s Photo Tour

I’ve been meaning to do this post forever!  And finally yesterday, I got it together and went down to Livy Lou’s, armed with my camera, so I could show you all this fantastic little spot that is current home to my Twice Lovely creations.

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Livy Lou’s is catty-corner to the Prescott, AZ Courthouse Square on Montezuma Street (just past the historic “Whisky Row” which borders the the square to the south in “Everyone’s Hometown.”)

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Livy Lou’s Clothing and Creations was the creative brain child of Camryn Norman, who grew up in the Prescott area and has returned to raise her (absolutely adorable) kiddos.  The store is named after her daughter Liv.  Camryn is an absolute sweet heart and has been fantastic to work with over the last few months.

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She was even gracious enough to hold the baby for me while I snapped away.  :)

Her style and mine blend perfectly, making a comfy temporary home for my furniture creations before they’re taken into your homes.

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The shop has the eclectic and collected feel of Anthopologie without the trade-your-first-born price tags.  (Don’t you love this romantic, billowy tunic displayed on the rustic and chippy old door?)

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Throughout the shop, you’ll spy Twice Lovely furniture creations interspersed with Camryn’s own furniture finds and projects, like this distressed white beadboard china hutch and this fantastically chippy, stripped occasional table.  I bet if you weren’t a faithful reader of this blog (which, of course, you are) you’d be hard-pressed to pick out which pieces were mine and which were hers.

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At the back of the shop, they’ve just finished a fantastic salon that Camryn says has been a dream for quite some time.  It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.  It’ll knock your socks off!

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This cute chalkboard sign welcomes you into the waiting room.

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When you’re brought into the salon, it’s such an amazingly open and warm space, filled with fun, bright, repurposed furniture pieces.  Can we say, right up my alley?  I think so.  You can see why I’m so in love with it.  Camryn is a genius.

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So fun! Right?

They’re currently looking to fill this great space with equally great independent stylists, so if you or someone you know would like to be part of this new venture, email Camryn at livylous@yahoo.com and she’d love to share the details with you.

So that’s Livy Lou’s!  Stop by and check it out if you’re ever in the area.  It’s located on the corner of Montezuma and Goodwin Street in Prescott, AZ, 208 S. Montezuma Street, and is open from 10-6 Monday thru Saturday.

A big thanks to Camryn for giving me such an awesome place to peddle my wares.  :)

P.S. – I’m going to try and update the Twice Lovely facebook fan page and twicelovely.com to reflect all the current inventory soon.  It’s on my to-do list, so be sure to be on the lookout, especially if you’re local and looking for something special!

P.P.S. – I’m currently working on a fancy, antique bedroom set, including:

  • full size bed (headboard, footboard and side rails)
  • tall 5-drawer dresser
  • and nightstand

It would be a perfect set for a little girl!  I was planning on painting the set white with just a hint of dove gray with some subtle distressing to bring out the fantastic details, but it’s just primed and ready to be painted right now, so if you’re looking for a bedroom set, it’s still able to be custom painted.  Let me know if you’re interested and I can give you more details.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Two Toned Secretary Desk

This is one of those projects that I’ve had marinating in my little brain for a long, long time.  I’m happy to report that the finished project turned out just like I hoped it would. (I love it when that happens!)

It all started when I picked up this fantastic secretary desk.

P1050694 

It was in really good shape, so I listed it as-is, but no one was biting, so it sat, and sat, and sat some more.  Sat through the end of pregnancy.  Sat through the newborn days.  Sat through catching up on other, smaller, less work intensive projects that I could actually move by myself.  And it finally had it’s turn come up on the docket.  And I couldn’t have been more excited to give it the attention that it deserved.

I had a vision for her in shabby, distressed, french gray with dark walnut stained drawers and a fabulous vintage wallpaper on the back of the top cabinet.  Like I said, when I was finished and stepped back, it was everything I imagined it would be.

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I’m head over heels for this stately old broad!  Hope you like her too!

Linking to:

Primitive & Proper, House of Grace, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Domestically Speaking, Miss Mustard Seed, The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, Finding Fabulous, Five Days, 5 Ways

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Heavily Distressed Teal Dresser

One of the things I love about refinishing old furniture is the stories the pieces tell. They have a past. And that's part of the allure. They have bumps, bruises and scars. Sometimes the best course of action is not to restore a piece, but to embrace it's age and turn it's imperfections into assets. And that's exactly what I set out to do on this antique dresser that had character and charm to spare.

Antique Dresser Before

A great way to give your refinished pieces authentic looking age is by layering your paint colors before distressing, and that was my plan of attack on this piece. First, I peeled off all the bits and pieces of loose veneer and sanded all the rough edges.

Now, this might be when you start to panic and bring it out to the curb for large trash pickup.

But don't.

We're going to make her a beaut!

I choose to paint a spring green color underneath with a bold teal over that. I've been positively itching to paint a piece teal. It's such a hot color right now. I've noticed the trend in my pinning of late, but this dresser from my good bloggy friend Cassie of Primitive & Proper is what really put my over the top.

I used the DIY Chalk Paint recipe that I shared in my last post, and it worked like a charm again. Because of the chalk paint's great adhesion, I skipped the priming and went right to painting on the springy green. (Yay for time savers!)

Layered Paint Dresser

After the green had thoroughly dried, I brushed two coats of a rich teal over that.

Once your top color is dry, you're ready for the fun part. I loaded my orbital sander with a fine (220 grit) sandpaper and went to town. As you sand, you'll start to see bits of the green undercoat show through, as well as some of the wood, creating lots of depth, bringing out all the details and giving your finished piece a time-worn, authentically-aged look.

Layered Distressed Paint Detail

Once the distressing was finished, I added a top coat of Minwax Paste Finishing Wax, and buffed to a soft, yet durable lustre. The more I use it, the more I'm loving the chalk paint/wax combo.

In the end, your paint layers peeking through mimic with believability a piece that has been painted and repainted through it's many years. Don't worry, I won't tell. :)

Distressed Teal Antique Dresser

Antique Original Drawer Pulls (2)

Antique Drawer Pulls Detail

Distressed Teal Layered Paint Dresser

The dressers top had no finish to speak of left, so I just went over it with my fine sandpaper in the orbital, then applied two coats of Minwax Wood Stain in Dark Walnut, finished off with Water-based Varathane in a Satin Finish.

Dark Walnut Stained Top

I'd love to hear what you think of her. Are you a fan of heavily distressed furniture? Will we ever make our husbands understand?  ;)

Linking to:

5 days…5 ways, The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, Finding Fabulous, Miss Mustard Seed, Primitive & Proper, Domestically Speaking, House of Grace

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Cobalt Blue and Kelly Green Desk and Chair

GAH!!  I was getting so good at taking before pictures for you all that I got cocky.  And you know what happens when you get cocky?  You screw it all up.  So my streak is broken and I don’t have a hideous and out-moded before pic to show you.  :(  Will you forgive me just this once?  Well, I think you might when you see how rad the after is anyways.  ;)

I picked up a little 70’s brown petite sewing desk and equally petite chair with fuzzy, disgusting 70’s upholstery from my favorite thrift store for a pittance.  It had the hole in the top that sewing desks always have (you know the one?)  Do you have a good mental picture since I can’t provide an actual one.  ;)

Now, there’s something about the pending spring that’s been giving me the fever to paint some BOLD colors, and this set is certainly no exception.  I pulled from my well-spring of furniture inspiration on Pinterest, where I’m LOVING a nice, strong cobalt, either clean edgey and modern, or distressed.

Gorgeous!!  Am I right?

I was especially inspired by the combination of the bright green foliage with the cobalt dresser in that last picture by the very talented Stilstskin Studios.

After getting a piece of 1/4 inch mdf cut at Home Depot to fit the desk top and gluing it to the top of the desk to cover and disguise the fact that it was a sewing desk, I used a water-based enamel I got at Ace Hardware for the bold, clean, glossy cobalt.  I switched out the gross, brown upholstery for a fresh, springy kelly green damask print.  And I’m in deep smit.  Or, that is, I’m smitten.  ;)

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So fun!  Donchathink?

I promise, I’ll get a before pic next time.  It makes the after so much more dramatic when you can see the gross befores, I know.

P.S. – Some people have asked me about my HVLP sprayer from Rockler that I got for Christmas.  I still love it to little bitty pieces!!  And it’s ON SALE right now for $30 off the original price, so if you’ve been waiting for a sale to get your own, now’s your chance!

 

Linking to:

Primitive & Proper, Domestically Speaking, 5 days…5 ways, The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, Finding Fabulous, Miss Mustard Seed