Windsor Carver Chairs in ASCP French Linen

While I was away in America a lovely neighbour of mine, Cassie, emailed and asked if I wanted some chairs. She had wanted to paint them herself but they are in the midst of renovating, working and expecting a baby so she decided to let them go. I said "Yes please, and can you drop them on the enormous pile of furniture waiting to be painted in my carport".

I thought the chairs would be a great candidate for the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint I bought from Knot Too Shabby while I was in California.  I bought French Linen and Old White - both these colours go very well with the neutral tones of my house and I find them very soothing, especially accented with deep purples, blue and white.

I didn't worry about sanding (except to remove some of the bumpy varnish in one spot) in accordance with Annie's instructions but just gave them a good clean as they were very dusty from sitting outside in our carport and just got straight into painting. 

Although painting these chairs with all their spindles was tedious, people, I have to say that I love this Chalk Paint - it is so much smoother than home made chalk paint and has a lovely matte finish.  I first gave the chairs a full single coat and then filled in the little holes (where the chairs had been previously upholstered) with wood filler.  I always paint first and then fill as the holes show up much better after a coat of paint and I won't miss any. I then sanded the wood filler smooth and gave the chairs another coat where necessary.  The coverage of ASCP in French Linen is excellent. A lot of the chairs only needed one coat. For both these chairs, I used about 1 cm depth of my tin so there is still heaps left.

The chairs looked a little bleak just grey so I added a fleur de lis and a white trim to the seats. I used a home made stencil to outline the fleur de lis and then filled in the detail and painted the white edging with a firm artists brush and a steady hand. I then waxed them and distressed then lightly.

The beautiful knitted blanket you see on the chair above was a recent purchase. I had planned on buying this for my mother for Christmas as we had seen it in our favourite shop when we last went shopping together.  It's 100% Australian merino wool and just beautiful. I saw it again the other day and thought I would buy it as a reminder of her (as you may recall she died recently. What's a nicer way of saying that? I really struggle phrasing it nicely... Wow I miss her - she would know how to phrase it well, literary giant that she was!!). 

Here are the chairs before - they were a nasty two toned wood colour and had been badly varnished, as you can see on the central panel on the right hand side photo.

I was chatting to Annie Sloan last night via facebook and she confirmed that her paint will be available in Australia in February 2013!! 

How exciting!

So what do you think about my chair makeover? 

You like?

...if you like them a lot they are for sale. $95 each

Just send me a message for details.

Fiona xx

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A Suitcase Full of Paint

Well I'm back from my wonderful trip in the US - it actually feels like I've had four little holidays - the weekend in San Francisco with friends, travelling down the Big Sur coast by myself, Skiing in Big Bear with other friends and then a few days in Palm Springs relaxing by myself again.  I am so relaxed and full of inspiration now.

A highlight of my trip, that if you follow my blog regularly you'll understand why, was a morning spent with Michele of Knot Too Shabby in Glendora. Michele paints beautiful furniture, blogs and has a wonderful massive shop in the cute main street of Glendora. It was wonderful to talk paint and wax with another furniture lover. 

Michelle even let me paint some stuff with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. It was my first experience with the "real deal" and it's much smoother than the home made version. I can't wait till it is sold in Australia.  Check out Michele's amazing work area at the back of her shop. My idea of heaven!

After checking the TSA airline prohibited items list and assuring myself that non flammable water based paint wouldn't be confiscated, I splurged and bought 3 boxes of Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint (Type Writer, Shutter Grey and another Tricycle), two tins of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in French Linen and Old White and some furniture wax which I wasn't sure about it being allowed on the plane but the security guys at LAX said it was fine.  I'm very interested in seeing the comparison of MMS' wax and those that I normally use.

I also bought Miss Mustard Seed's book Inspired You. I was very happy to purchase this and support a fellow blogger, especially one so talented as Marian. This book is really lovely, full of Marian's amazing inspiration as well as more of her family and day to day life than she normally shares on her blog.

Michele had some great Christmas inspiration in-store. I love this chippy old door wrapped in fairy lights.  The old door on the left below has a photographed transferred on it. Michele has a local artist make these. (who is also called Michele and is in the photo below) and Knot Too Shabby runs classes on Image transfer so if you live locally you can go learn how to do this yourself. Michele actually gave me a gorgeous Christmas wooden plaque that I'll share once I'm fully unpacked. She said I was the customer that had travelled the furthest - and probably the one who bought to most paint in one hit!!

So I'm stocked up on paint and very happy. I spent yesterday afternoon painting some chairs a neighbour gave me in ASCP French Linen. I have a little more to do on them but they are coming along just fine.

This photo via Knot Too Shabby facebook page

If you live in LA and want some gorgeous painted furniture, vintage items or paint then Knot Too Shabby is a must. Say hi to Michele for me. Plan to spend some time there as both Michele and her shop are lovely.

I'll be sharing my thoughts on ASCP and the other colours of MMS Milk Paint that I picked up over the next few weeks. I have lots of lovely furniture needing to be painted.

What's the strangest thing you've ever brought back from a holiday?

Fiona xx

The Viceroy at Palm Springs - a little retro luxury

Fancy a little luxurious getaway with me?  

Pour yourself a drink (it's Friday evening after all) and start scrolling down. 

I have just had the good fortune of spending a couple of days at the Viceroy of Palm Springs. This hotel is absolutely stunning. Interior designer Kelly Wearstler has weaved some serious magic here. I am not normally a fan of yellow, preferring the cooler end of the colour spectrum of blues and neutrals, but the citron yellow of the Viceroy paired with white and black is so stylish.

I was a bit unsure of where to stay in Palm Springs. I wanted somewhere close to downtown as I was travelling alone and wanted to walk to dinner and feel safe at night. I also wanted to spend some time by a pool and have a little luxury. I am so glad I chose the Viceroy. It was not that much more expensive than much less luxurious hotels nearby and once I'd settled in I was not concerned about the money at all, as the attention to detail in the interior decorating, the customer service and the grounds were worth every dollar. I was also given a generous 25% discount on everything (room, resort fee and any food and drinks) and a free upgrade to a poolside room just by asking. It always pays to look on the internet for other deals at the hotel you want to stay at and then just ask what the hotel can do for you.

I love the design of my room - the plaster detail above the beds, the divine hanging bedside pendant lights, the black trim that totally transforms the flat hotel ceiling and the striped carpet. There were so many simple touches that would not have been too expensive to implement that really updated the original hotel rooms and made them very stylish. Another example is the mirrored handles on the wooden wardrobe doors. These seemed to be just stuck on the original doors but added a great deal of glamour to the room.

Each room had a balcony with a wicker table setting over looking the Adult's only pool . This pool has lots of trees around it which gave the room a fair bot of privacy but there are heavy curtains that you can pull over your balcony if you want. 

The bathroom was simple but white and clean and the robe was the most comfortable hotel robe I've ever worn. There was also a great range of toiletries in lovely big generous bottles.  The marble tiled floor gave a nice finishing touch. 

The grounds of the hotel are lovely.  I was extremely relaxed by the pool and even had a very reasonably priced cooked breakfast there one morning.  I was so relaxed! What a great way to end my holiday in California.

It's would be a fantastic venue for a wedding or big party.

The management let me photograph one of the private one bedroom villas that are situated right next to the large pool and spa. I would love to go back and have some time with Phil in this villa. It is so beautiful.

A very well equipped kitchen. 

Although if I was in such a romantic luxurious place I wouldn't be cooking!

What do you think? Gorgeous??

I didn't spend all my time in Palm Springs by the pool. I managed to drag myself away one morning to go for a hike in the Indian Canyons just about 5 miles away.  It is so surprising to find an oasis in the middle of the desert. So cool walking amongst the palm trees and by the running water.

I didn't like this sign below at all though. Especially as I was hiking by myself - although I only hiked (more like a nature trail than wilderness) a couple of miles and did pass people on my way but I was very wary... especially as down in the palm grove there were heaps of holes in the sand. I saw something move in one of the holes and thought it may have been a lizard or something. When I asked the ranger what made and lived in the holes, he said tarantulas...oh great - that's when I decided to head back to the hotel and lie by the pool!

So I'm back home now and come crashing back to the reality of motherhood. My poor little boy has been projectile vomiting all afternoon. The poor little boy is so uncomplaining. Hopefully he sleeps well tonight.

I'll post more of my travels over the next week. I didn't blog much while I was away as Bloggsy really annoyed me - and I was too busy having fun!!

hope you all have a great weekend

Fiona xx

**All my own photos and this is not a sponsored post**

More of my time in Carmel - beaches, gorgeous hotel and restaurant.

My time in Carmel seems ages ago but it's only been a week since I was there. I've certainly been packing it all in on this trip. I wanted to share where I stayed in Carmel and some of the beautiful beach photos I took.

While in the US I've been waking really early which is quite unusual for me so I've been getting up for sunrise most days. I love the beach in the early morning. Actually I love the beach at anytime! Look at the sun peaking through the trees below.

While in Carmel, I stayed at the Lamplighter Inn which is just a couple of blocks from the beach. It's such a cute little collection of rooms/cabins with the most beautiful fairy light lit courtyard. Travelling alone, I felt very safe there and it was lovely and sociable with free evening drinks and nibbles around a fire out in the evenings.

I booked last minute so had to change rooms which was fine as I got to experience 2 rooms - treetop and Katydid. The rooms are all different and so very much to my liking. White linen always does it for me.

I had a beautiful simple meal at the French restaurant La Bicyclette in Carmel. I just ordered a glass of champagne, some delicious white bean and vegetable broth and a pear and walnut salad. It was mouth watering delicious. Then the lovely waitress gave me a complimentary dessert, her favourite - a chocolate pudding with raspberries and a glass of a really nice Cabernet Sauvignon. What a treat. My whole meal including tip was around $23.

One thing I love about travelling alone is the conversations you have with strangers. People are very friendly and approach you more often when you are by yourself. I've met some very interesting people on my trip. I also have enjoyed time by myself wandering along the beach. Just around from Carmel Point where so many of the beautiful houses are, is Carmel River State beach. The water is the most beautiful colour - bright aqua with wild surf. Quite different to Carmel beach and well worth the walk.

The sunset in Carmel is pretty gorgeous also. Every night there are lots of people gathered on the beach to watch it. Some people with deck chairs and wine. How lovely. I'll leave you today with some photos of the beach and sunset.

Fiona xx