Gold Leafing and Antiquing a Fireplace Mantle

When I finally convinced my husband that we needed a kitchen renovation, I figured that if I got him that far...let me see if I can also get another room added on - a great room, off the kitchen.  Amazingly he said "yes!"  This was a few years ago - and I have been working on this great room since then.  It's been a work in progress.

Since my laptop is in the repair shop (my hard drive was damaged...so I won't have access to a lot of my pictures til next week or so), I'd like to share the pictures I do have to show you the work I did on the room.

First Incarnation...

I was happy to finally have a fireplace and mantle in my home - yippee, something else to decorate! (And that tree was supposed to be on our deck then - sorry about that one). But having the mantle so stark white really wasn't doing it for me.  I had done a nice sueded plaster on the walls in a cinnamon hue - very Ralph Lauren-ish kind of look and feel (without it being Ralph Lauren material!)...and I loved the warmth of it. 

So - what's a girl to do to make it all come together?  Add some decorative onlays, gold leaf them and then antique the entire mantle.

 Mantle...After

The gold leafing (or gilding) of the onlay gave the mantle more distinction and character, I think.  And the antiquing gave the onlay a nice patina - and now the tone of the painted wood blends so much better with the finish on the wall. Before the white just shouted at me - I am so much happier with this look.

Closeup of gilded and antiqued onlay

GILDING TIP: I first painted the onlay with a yellow gold paint - this will help you out later...because not every piece of leaf will stick! I used Gold Leaf sheets from Michael's - nothing fancy. But after you put on the size (the glue that makes the leaf stick to what you are gilding) - let it come to a tack. Don't put the gold leaf on when the size is still wet. Never place your finger on the size to check if it's ready - use your index finger knuckle to check it. Once it's ready, place the sheets on your object and tamp them down softly with a soft artist's brush. Once everything is on your onlay (or whatever you are gilding), take some cheesecloth and start to take away the gold leafing that didn't stick.  You can use an artist's brush to get into any crevices etc.

Once that's done, use your cheesecloth to burnish the gold leaf - you'll begin to see that it starts to get shinier.  Now - the leaf sold at Michael's and elsewhere is not real gold leaf...so the leaf will look a bit too brassy.  But after you antique it (as I did - with the rest of the mantle), it will lessen the shininess.  In addition, I took an artist's brush and took some dark brown tint and brushed it on to age and darken it.  You can also use a dark wax (Annie Sloan's or Liberon etc) to do this as well - and that will protect and seal your work!

So - hope you enjoyed this.  If you'd like to see a few more pics of this up close...click the links below to my website. 

Happy painting!!!

Closeup of the Mantle Finish 

Closeup of the Gilded Onlay 

Linking this project up to...
Elizabeth & Co

Miss Mustardseed
Redoux Interiors
Shabby Nesr
Romantic Home
Serenity Now
French Country Cottage
At the Picket Fence
Funky Junk Interiors
Home Stories A to Z
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Savvy Southern Style
Embracing Change

And some of these great parties as well

Glazed Burlap Inserts in Faux Woodgrained Wainscoting

Just a quick post today.  I did a really beautiful project awhile back that helped amp up the beauty of this home. The homeowner wanted something different yet rich and more classicially traditional.  Her entryway, especially her stairway to the second floor, was quite tall - and there was very little architecture.  To help ameliorate (sorry for the high-end vacab...I was an English major!!) this "tallness," I suggested that she add some wainscoting with panels and some crown molding.  Once that was done, we went to work doing a faux mahogany finish (with a dollop of eggplant in the glaze mix).

Once white and plain...

The Recipe...

The base color was a brownish red (Leather Red from Aqua Finishing Solutions).  Then I floated Dutch Metal Gold - also from Aqua Finishing Solutions - on the edges for a little sophistication.  It's not quite visible in the photo...but that's because it's suffused under a glaze of Antique Mahogany plus some Eggplant Stain and Seal and a dash of Ebony (also from Aqua Finishing Solutions).

The finishing touch came by adding the burlap to the inserts.  I purchased the burlap online - but you can buy it anywhere as long as it's a burlap that has more of an open weave.  If it's tight, it won't work - well, maybe it will but I don't recommend it.  I put it on with carpenters glue (Elmer's).  You need to try to get the edges as clean as possible.  Mine were not perfect - so I added the cording to neaten it up.  After the glue was dry, I gave the burlap a clear topcoat. The client wanted to retain the light color of the burlap but I darkened it a bit with some dark brown glaze.

I've done this finish on furniture as well.  You can put it on just about anything that has an insert (it would look beautiful as an insert in a ceiling panel!) Come to think of it, I have an end table with a raised molding around the top (sort of like a tray table top) that could use this finish!

Above is a sample I did for a client where I painted and glazed the burlap in the same color. I just added some black accents to the sides of the insert.  Here you can see the burlap weave better - it's more open.  And you can see the edges. If you don't get it down close to the edge - it will look unfinished.  In the darker sample you don't see the edges quite so much...but on the lighter wainscoting inserts that I did for my client - the edges were more noticeable.  But, no big deal - that's what they make cording for!

It's a beautiful finish.  So - give this burlap finish a try in your own home!!

Linking this project up with Between Naps on the Porch

and some of my blog friends HERE

Using Art as a Starting Point for Choosing a Color Palette for Your Rooms

I love to use artwork to inform a color scheme in rooms that I am working on. Artists use and combine colors in such unique and beautiful ways...so it's virtually foolproof letting a great piece of art be your guide to a beautiful color plan. 

Artist, Kathe Frage Via

This beautiful piece, available on canvas or paper, is very modestly priced and it can be the inspiration for a sweet room.  You could frame it in a faded gold - or a cream frame. I then might do a wainscoting and trim in Benjamin Moore's White Opulence (Classic Colors, 879) because it's a warm white that has a little touch of pink in it. Then for the wall color above it, I would think about Benjamin Moore's Love and Happiness (1191).  For a little extra texture, I might do a vertical stried finish on the wall with a creamy pink glaze. For the ceiling - I'd mix the two colors together to get a barely there pale pink - just for a blush color overhead.

Benjamin Moore's Love and Happiness (1191)

For a little girl's bedroom, I'd add a colorful floral, like Quadrille's Henriot Floral as an upholstered headboard. I'm partial to the name "Henriot" because it's the name most closely associated with Quimper pottery (which is such a favorite of mine).  

Quadrille's Henriot Floral in Pinks on Ecru

I'd add a cream or ecru duvet cover (that would match the background of the headboard).  I add a red and cream polka dot for the dust ruffle and for a pillow or two. Duralee offers this fabric - but I'm sure that this would be fairly easy to source less expensively.

Red and cream polka dots for the dust ruffle and a pillow or two.

Some extra pillows for the bed could be...

Robert Allen's Flower Prints in Poppy



A pink velevet - Kravet's Versailles



Robert Allen's Zinging Along in Poppy

I might do the Versailles pink velvet, edged with the Quadrille Henriot fabric as a throw at the bottom of the bed.

Window treatments: I could also see the red polka dot fabric as a Roman shade - with the Quadrille Henriot fabric as the draperies.

Carpet:  I would love to see something that's easy care - maybe a slight shag in a pink or slightly darker to help ground it.

Additional art could be something like these decals from Surface Inspired on Etsy. You can order them in just about any color.

Source

Just Another Idea for a Little Girl's Room:  I would do a vertical stripe with the Love and Happiness color and White Opulence by Benjamin Moore.  We did a pink and cream stripe in a little girl's room that came out so beautiful. My client and I (and her mom) went to the Kips Bay Showhouse in New York City several years ago - and my client went nuts over this room designed by Bograd Kids.  She wanted something similar for her little girl in their new home that they were renovating.



Inspiration Room



She so loved the Showhouse space that as soon as the room was ready, we were in there painting...stripes! A lot of them - it was a very big room!

We also revamped all of the furniture in the room (that was in the family for over 60 years) by painting it a soft cream and antiquing it. 

If you would love to have a Showhouse-inspired room in your home, give me a call at 631 793-1315

Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint

I just started playing with this paint from England - and I think it's really terrific. I have to do a few more pieces (thinking of re-doing my entire dining room furniture - every bit of it!).

But to start with - I just did two small entry tables and a mirror (actually - it's a frame that will become a mirror!).

This is one table with a faded brocade stencil on top.

Here's what it looked like before...chippy, with half of its paint taken off

Here's a table I picked up for $25 from Craig's list...before

 

Here it is after - with Paris Gray and Old White and some Dark Wax

In the future, I plan on putting a mirror on top of it - and I'll antique the mirror. I think it will look incredible. It won't be going in this spot in my entry (colors don't match!!). I will probably use it for staging one of the homes I do in the future.


Now...for the mirror frame. I bought this ornate frame in an antique store in Sag Harbor. The store was going out of business, so I got it for a song - $20. It was dusty - but a nice shade of pale blue - so I just enhanced it a bit. I used some Chateau Gray, Paris Gray and Old White to highlight the carvings. I waxed and buffed - and put some Dark Wax in the crevices.

Here's a closer look...

Then I started playing with some old things in my studio that had great promise - but somehow they didn't turn out all that great. Would Chalk Paint save them? I think so! I took a frame that I had done some quilted texture on - plus an embedded stencil. I had originally painted it an off white - and it looked great. Then - I mucked it up by painting it a coppery metallic and it just didn't work. So - I tried some Chalk Paint on it - then sanded away.

 

If you would love to have some of your old pieces of furniture revived, call me at 631 793-1315. I would be glad to create something beautiful out of an old, forgotten piece.