Good Old Pieces that are Not Painted

It occurred to me the other day that I post a lot about painted furniture.  A lot.  Although I do love the fresh new look paint can bring to a dated piece of furniture, I also have a big appreciation for nice old pieces that aren't painted.  I have some myself - (gasp!)  Here are some of my favorites

This picture is from a few houses ago.  I got this piece when I first moved to Chattanooga and I love it just like it is!

Another great old piece I've had for years, currently living in my guest bedroom. I think this is Birdseye Maple.

This is a very old pine cottage style headboard.  Its in my guest bedroom.  I decorated this room to my mom's taste.  She stays here more than anyone, and I wanted it to feel special to her.

I posted about these Mid-Century armchairs when I bought them a few months ago.  Not sure what kind of wood that is, but it's in impeccable condition and I wouldn't dream of painting them. The seat cushions are another story.  I am going to save the needlepoint seats but go over them in a more modern fabric.

Amazing old wardrobe I've had for over 15 years.  It is incredibly useful now because Project Dollhouse has no coat closet.  I placed it just off of the foyer in our family room and it holds all of our jackets, sweaters and backpacks.  The big drawer at the bottom is full of gift bags, wrapping paper, tape and bows.  

I love the woodgrain pattern of this piece.

A recent find.  This unusual jewelry box brings a much needed masculine element to my girlified master bedroom.  It also plays "Lara's Theme" from Dr. Zhivago.  I love that movie and it makes me think of Julie Christy and Omar Shariff.  

This is another piece I may have bought for the hardware....

Do you have any favorite pieces you won't paint?

Need some help pulling your style together?  The Green Room Interiors can make your home a beautiful place to be!  Call Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email the greenroominteriors@gmail.com

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Inkblots

Did you happen to catch the finale of Project Runway All Stars on Thursday?  The winner, Mondo Guerra's inspiration for his final collection was "Therapy" since he said the last few challenges had been making him crazy!

My favorite piece of the collection was this ink blot dress created from fabric he painted himself.  Gorgeous! And he made it look so easy.  He just squeezed some black paint out of a bottle, folded the fabric over and this pattern was created.


I'm dying to try a project using this technique.  What do you think of these?

Source

Source

Inkblot wallpaper(!) from Porter Teleo

Image 

Here

I'm thinking art project or maybe even trying this on canvas for seat cushions.  

Congrats to Mondo!  What do you think of the ink blots?

Need some help pulling your style together?  The Green Room Interiors can make your home a beautiful place to be!  Call Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

To see the latest additions to my shop, head over to The Green Room Interiors on Facebook.  "Like" us!

Artist Liza Hathaway Matthews

If you've read this blog for any amount of time , then you already know I'm a huge fan of color!  I love to combine different colors and experiment with how different colors play off of each other.  When abstract artist Liza Hathaway Matthews contacted me about doing a post that featured her colorful paintings I was more than happy to oblige!  


Liza's paintings celebrate color, movement and texture and her paintings really speak to me.  Have a look at some of Liza's work.

Blossom

Mossy

Melons

And if you're looking for a piece to fit in with your own color palette, Liza also does commission pieces!  

See more of vibrant paintings online here

Need some help pulling your style together?  The Green Room Interiors can make your home a beautiful place to be!  Call Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com.

Like The Green Room Interiors on Facebook to see the latest offerings in my shop!

Asian Nighstands Makeover

Here's the latest on my master bedroom project.  First, take another look at the inspiration board.

Lots of Asian/Chinois elements combined with some modern textiles and gold accents.

So, on an Atlanta weekend shopping trip a few months ago, I came across these nightstands, which I may or may not have purchased just for the hardware.

 These are homemade chests, solid wood and not the least bit wonky.  Anyway, they each have two deep drawers which can house scads of magazines and other reading material.  So much storage I'm considering granting the husband a portion of one of the drawers :)

I was certain I would repaint them in Chinese red, much like the color of the side tables in my mood board.  I went and bought a quart of Ben Moore's Million Dollar Red - heaven in a can!

Since they were already painted, I gave them a very light sanding, a quick wipedown, and I was ready to paint.

First coat was very splotchy.  If you've ever painted anything red, you already know that multiple coats are required.

Second coat, looking better, but I wasn't loving them in red the way I was loving them in red in my head.  

So, I was faced with a decision.  Should I add a little depth with stain?  Should I just start over and paint the whole thing black?  I actually did want to bring some red in, but this solid red paint was already getting on my nerves, and they hadn't even left the basement yet. 

So, I impulsively decided to paint over the red with some black paint and then sand it to reveal some the red underneath.

Ugh!  Still too much red so I added another coat of black and sanded the edges to reveal just a hint of the red that was underneath.

Good enough Perfect!  Added a coat of Wipe-on Poly for extra durability, re-installed the hardware and called it a day!

Just one more obstacle - have to get hubby to haul them upstairs for me!

Need some help pulling your style together?  The Green Room Interiors can make your home a beautiful place to be!  Call Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

To see the latest items for sale in my shop, please head over to The Green Room Interiors on Facebook!

Fun with Vintage Wallpaper - Etsy Shop Fondue

Is it already Friday?  This week has flown by but I wanted to share a new Etsy shop with you. Fondue is full of handcrafted items that turn mundane things like light switches, tissue box covers and lampshades into works of art using vintage wallpaper.  Here's a sample of the goods:

Aren't these lampshades a fun way to brighten up a lackluster corner?

Fondue also has a big selection of switchplate covers.

And tissue box covers, all made from vintage wallpaper.

All images from Fondue on Etsy.

Have a wonderful, safe weekend!

Need some help pulling your style together?  The Green Room Interiors can make your home a beautiful place to be!  Call Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

Small Kitchens with Wallpaper

As I'm working out the details for my small kitchen,  these images are providing lots of inspiration for creating big style in a tiny kitchen.  Enjoy!

Source: natthefatrat.tumblr.com via natalie on Pinterest

Source: hayleyhurst.com via Hayley on Pinterest

The light fixtures are so fun!  I just included this star fixture in my roundup of flushmount light fixtures.  See it here.

Source: flickr.com via Una Vida Bella on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Liz on Pinterest

Okay, scrap my plan - get me a Saarinen table and some x-base benches, stat!

Source: paloma81.blogspot.com via Libby on Pinterest

Source: nestfully.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Source: thekitchn.com via ckampy on Pinterest

Source: compulsivelycompiled.blogspot.com via Anna on Pinterest

Source: bazaarofserendipity.blogspot.com via McNeill on Pinterest

Happy Monday, friends!


Need some help pulling your style together?  The Green Room Interiors can make your home a beautiful place to be !  Call Kimberly Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com 

Project Dollhouse - Kitchen Now and the Plan

I'm loving my little kitchen over at Project Dollhouse!  There's a lot to like about living with less space (and stuff.)  The work area of the kitchen is laid out well, all of the surfaces are easy to maintain and cooking in there is a breeze!  

Anyway, here's a look at the kitchen as it is today.  There's plenty more to do, but it's fun to see it coming together. Don't you think the best part of designing a space is the planning?

Originally when we looked at the kitchen, I didn't think there was room for an eat-in space.  Because there's no pantry, I assumed the wall above would be used for some sort of storage solution.  To my delight, my cabinets house everything I need to store (and I even have a few empty cabinets).  So, that leaves me room for this little dining space.  This is directly opposite the stove wall.

Here's the plan:

The old wallpaper will be covered with this new wallpaper, which I already have in my possession!

I'm keeping the small dining table - it's a Salvation Army find. The gateleg design allows the legs to swing in if you want to let the sides of the table down. It's super practical and I also love the bamboo detailing on the legs. I'm keeping the existing chairs, (possibly repainting them in a yet to be determined color) and the seat cushions will be changed out to Formosa by Waverly.

For extra seating, I'm going to bring in a ceramic garden stool, in cobalt.   Saw a gorgeous one at Southeastern Salvage this weekend, similar to this one.

Since this is a "created" dining space, there's not a good source of light directly over it.  This consignment shop lamp will sit right on the dining table.  I was so lucky to find this.  The marbleized shade must be at least 20 years old and it's in perfect condition.  

I had the hubs carry the subway tile up the wall where we had removed one of the upper cabinets.  

He will(!) install some shelves to display my small but much loved blue & white porcelain collection.

All together in a quick collage

Any thoughts on paint colors for the chairs? Should I just freshen them up with more white paint?

Need some help pulling your style together?  The Green Room Interiors can make your home a beautiful place to be!  Call Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com