#25Project Transformation 3: Athens, Greece!

The finished #25Project transformations are coming in thick and fast, and a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to visit one of the selected spaces in Athens, Greece. This was the first project that I've actually been to visit, and seeing first hand just how vital the space is to people and the impact that my paint could make was quite overwhelming.

I was a little daunted as to what to expect, and truth be told, I was a little unprepared for my visit. What I found there and what I came with after the experience was nothing short of incredible.

The location was in an old theatre-turned-community-centre is situated in the heart of Athens. It receives around 400 visitors a month, mainly people who have been affected by the recent economic crisis. With a focus on art therapy, the day centre allows people to participate in art, drama and music, and gain general life skills.

What was needed was a quiet, serene place where the people who use the centre could come and relax. First, the basement was selected as a suitable location and my distributor in Greece, the incredibly dynamic and wonderful Elsa, along with an army of volunteers, began clearing the space.

They then, with amazing determination and organisation, designed a perfectly calm space full of soothing colours and a simple design perfect for the members of this day centre. They chose a light colour palette of Duck Egg Blue, Antoinette, Versailles, Olive and Old Violet which you can see in their designs laid out in the moodboard at the start of this post.

I love the way that my stencils were used around the venue, as borders and to create interesting detail to the edge of shelves. Take a look at these gorgeous details below.

With my paint and products – and the incredible work of local stockists and volunteers – the dark, cluttered space became a tranquil escape, just what the community needed. I hope that my photos and words do this place justice!

I'll be revealing more transformations from the #25Project soon. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date!

Yours, 

Annie 

Agnieszka Krawcyzk's Pretty Pastel Shelves

Today I'm sharing the final project from my wonderful Painter in Residence, Agnieszka Krawczyk. For this project, Agnieszka chose soft, pastel colours from the Chalk Paint® palette to create a delicate and romantic, vintage look.

She began by using one of my Pure Bristle Brushes to paint the whole piece in Paris Grey, and once this was dry, she applied a layer of French Linen. Agnieszka removed areas of paint using sandpaper and a scraper, revealing the paint and wood below. 

To create contrast and depth, Agnieszka left the inside of the piece predominantly in French Linen, but continued to work on the exterior surface – applying a coat of Old White, distressing again with sandpaper, and finishing with a top layer of Antoinette. Agnieszka chipped and sanded in to the edges and corners of the piece even further, revealing the built up layers of paint. She completed the piece with a coat of Clear Soft Wax and a dash of Dark Soft Wax to bring out the texture. The result is a truly vintage look.

I hope you've all enjoyed Agnieszka's work as much as I have and have been inspired to get your sandpaper and scrapers out... and start distressing!

Yours, Annie

Follow Agnieszka on Instagram, Facebook, and her website: www.beforeandafterblog.pl 

And remember to follow #PaintersInResidence on Instagram and Facebook, as well as my Painters in Residence board on Pinterest.

Agnieszka Krawczyk's decollage chest of drawers

This stunning chest of drawers is the first project from my new Painter in Residence, Agnieszka Krawczyk. Agnieszka has a great style and her projects are so interesting partly because she uses a technique that involves creating texture and layers through the use of woodworking tools, such as chisels and scrapers. She applies layers of paint thickly and then scrapes, chips and sands away to create interesting texture and layers. This technique reminds me of décollage, a technique that artists such as Robert Rauschenburg and Yves Klein used in the 60s – layering posters and ripping in to them to show previous layers. But at the same time there's an antique, vintage look – the piece looks naturally aged and distressed.  

Agnieszka used a palette of Provence, Pure, Old White, Napoleonic Blue, Antoinette, Louis Blue and Antibes Green on the outside of the chest, to create layers of colour and texture. Some of these colours were used as they come out of the tin, others were mixed to create softer and lighter shades. As soon as the paint was dry she used a scraper, sandpaper and putty knife to begin chipping in to the paint.

The inside of the drawers have been painted in Duck Egg Blue, and the edges have been painted with Napoleonic Blue to frame the shape. To finish the piece Agnieszka used Clear Wax – this seals the paint and makes it wipeable.

Have you ever used my paint to create a chippy, distressed texture? Agnieszka's work has really inspired me to pick up some different tools.

Yours, Annie

Follow this blog for exclusive pictures from Agnieszka's residency and follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and her website: www.beforeandafterblog.pl 

And remember to follow #PaintersInResidence on Instagram and Facebook, as well as my Painters in Residence board on Pinterest.

Janice Issitt's Vintage Floral Bedroom

After treating herself to this vibrant floral bed linen, Painter in Residence Janice Issitt decided to create a colour scheme to complement her new bedding.

The striking cupboard that sits next to her bed has been painted in a number of colours from the Chalk Paint® palette. The hot pink/red colour is a mix of Emperor's Silk and Henrietta, and was left over from another project that Janice worked on. She used Country Grey and Old White to provide a neutral background to frame the rest of the cupboard.

Janice cut her own stencils to give the cupboard character and a vintage feel. She painted the stencils in Aubusson Blue, Antibes Green, Florence and Greek Blue, picking out colours on her bedspread. She then finished the cupboard with Clear Soft Wax to protect the surface.

Janice also painted the mirror that sits on top of the cupboard in Paloma, a contemporary neutral with a purple tone. She used a combination of Clear and Dark Soft Wax to give it an aged appearance – the perfect complement to the vintage floral style of the room.  

What do you think of the finished look? Have you ever created a vintage floral colour scheme using Chalk Paint®?

Yours, Annie

Follow this blog for exclusive pics from Janice's residency and follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and her blog: janiceissittlifestyle.blogspot.com

And remember to follow #PaintersInResidence on Instagram and Facebook, as well as my Painters in Residence board on Pinterest.

Cuban Interiors

Cuba was everything I hoped it would be. Evocative, creative and real. It's just what they do.  Old, repaired, cared for and cherished, nothing thrown away, battered and worn.   
Gentle and Beautiful and Bright 

A bar, musicians resting, Antibes Green on the lower part of the wall 

 and Old Ochre lightened with Old White above the green.

A bookshop- it was almost like a theatre set but it was real, I think. 

A surprising mix of zebra 
skin and 
a chandelier with piles of old books, lots of 
pictures  and pampas grass. 
The pink on the walls of this restaurant is like 
Antoinette 
but I'd never have thought to 
put yellow with it. 

Same restaurant with an extraordinary bright luminous blue  on the walls . 
I'd like to try this using Provence and Old White mix in one room with lightened Louis Blue in an other so they can be seen together. These two colours are the same tone but very different in character so they are slightly uneasy with each other  which gives it an exotic Cuban feel. 

    

Hanging pictures is so difficult but this is done brilliantly.
It's a broken grid with wonderful colour on the wall
and in the cloth and the pictures. Antoinette

Antibes

 These are the colours I will try to recreate these rooms with.  I have plans.  

                      Annie 

David Hicks 

one of my favourite interior decorators - 

making pink  & yellow work 

When I did my book 'Colour in Decoration' in 1988 I visited a lot of houses for photography.  One of the houses was David Hick's house in Oxfordshire and I was lucky enough to meet him there. He showed me the house and talked to me about how he had achieved the looks.

The drawing room, above was a huge shock! Here was a very adult, rather proper English gentleman, married to a great granddaughter of Queen Victoria .....with an outrageous pink and yellow room. 
It was wonderful and made me realise that colours have associations but that does not mean that they can't used in less obvious ways. 

Antoinette

Cream
 
French Linen
 There was lots of white in the room including white painted  French furniture, creamy white china dressed with pink curtains and his trademark geometric carpet  in a colour not unlike my French Linen. 
It all worked because of the very grounding French Linen colours stopping it looking like a posh nursery.   
Of course the fabulous 18th century paintings were helpful too!