Jelena Pticek's geometric sideboard

For her second Painters in Residence project, Jelena Pticek transformed an old, heavy-looking piece of furniture in to a wonderfully modern piece – using my paint, Chalk Paint®, and a handmade cardboard template.

Jelena applied French Linen – a cool neutral, khaki grey from the Chalk Paint® palette – using one of my Flat Brushes to create a smooth, neutral background that works beautifully with bright, rich colours.

She created her template and began to play around with the size to make certain it worked with the scale of the furniture. Using the template Jelena created the layout of the triangles – outlining each triangle with masking tape.

The new handles that Jelena had sourced for the sideboard inspired the colour palette for the geometric design. Using a palette of: Barcelona Orange, Duck Egg Blue, Antoinette and Scandinavian Pink she painted inside the marked-out triangles – making sure the four colours were spread out evenly across the sideboard.  

To keep things fun inside the cabinet, Jelena painted with Scandinavian Pink. She then finished the piece by removing the masking tape (once the paint was completely dry) and applying my Clear Soft Wax to make the piece really hard-wearing.

 

Yours, Annie

Follow Jelena on Instagram, Facebook, and their website:http://www.poppyseedcreativeliving.com/

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

Abigail & Ryan Bell's Floral Coral Chest of Drawers

For their second project as Painters in Residence, Abigail and Ryan Bell (of Abigail*Ryan) experimented with mixing my colours to create this bright – almost neon – coral pink.

Abigail and Ryan had a very specific colour in mind for this little chest of drawers – something retro and vibrant to match the clean lines of the piece. To find the colour that sang for them, they began mixing colours from the Chalk Paint® palette; Scandinavian Pink, Emperor's Silk, Barcelona Orange, a little English Yellow and Pure... and voilà! (Mixing colour with Pure as opposed to Old White will create a very clean, bright colour. Mixing colour with Old White creates a softer hue.)

As Abigail and Ryan were looking for a smooth, modern finish, they used my Flat Brush to apply the paint. The pair applied my Soft Clear Wax to protect and finish the piece, and then styled it with a vibrant floral arrangement bursting from the drawers. The perfect stand-out Spring piece.

Have you ever used Chalk Paint® to create a decorative display for your home or garden?

Yours, Annie

Follow this blog for exclusive pictures from Abigail and Ryan's residency and follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and her website: www.abigailryan.com

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

Beau Ford's Work Hard, Be Kind Desk

For her third Painters in Residence project, Beau Ford gave this sad and forgotten school desk a complete make-over using my paint, Chalk Paint®.


After replacing the top and giving the whole desk a quick clean, Beau set to work on the paintwork. First, she painted the base of the desk in English Yellow, then applying Paris Grey as an accent on the feet.

She painted the top of the table in a chevron pattern, using a ruler as a rough guide. She worked with a range of colours to make a bright statement: Barcelona Orange, Scandinavian Pink, English Yellow, Provence, Greek Blue and Napoleonic Blue.

When you lift the lid of the desk you find a charming surprise – the words "Work Hard, Be Kind written in lovely, freehand type.

Beau used Clear Wax and Dark Wax to finish the piece and give the overall piece an aged look.

What do you think? Have you used Chalk Paint® to create a bright and bold pattern on your furniture?

Yours, Annie

Follow this blog for exclusive pics from Beau's residency and follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and her blog: http://drip-designsfurniture.blogspot.com.au

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

The Naturalness of a Swedish Christmas

Swedish Christmasses are absolutely inspiring and beautiful, and quite different to any others. They are not particularly ‘yo-ho-ho’, or tinselly, they are natural, earthy, and somewhat pagan – which appeals to my Presbyterian background and desire for simplicity.

St Lucia Day
Swedish Christmas holidays start with celebrations at home and in church of St Lucia Day (mid-December). For many of Nordic origins, Lucia is the bearer of light in their cold, dark winters. She comes with candles in her hair, pure white dress (with a red sash), bringing hot beverages and pastries. 

I first came across this charming ceremony after seeing St Lucia Day – Christmas in Sweden (1908) by Carl Larrson. His use of light, and depictions of domestic life played out in folksy room interiors – all painted furniture, painted everything pretty much  – made him a HUGE influence on me. 

Carl Larsson’s Country Look

It was Larsson who re-introduced Swedish painted furniture to everybody. It had been big in the 18th century in the countryside, and in grand houses, because they had ample amounts of wood to paint. Like William Morris he romanticized going back to one’s roots, to making handmade things. Larsson used the traditional colours of Sweden – the wonderful pinky and browny reds that are native to the country in the natural pigments. Just take a look at these two interiors below of Christmas and family life.

 Girl and Rocking Chair (1907)

Christmas Morning 1894

Gustavian

Together with his wife Karin, Larsson revived a kind of provincial 'Gustavian' style in their timber cottage Lilla Hyttnäs. Named after Gustav III, the original Gustavian style was grand, all white painted rooms with pale furniture on lime-washed floorboards (copying the French court of Versailles). The Larssons’ twist was more bohemian, using earthy red sienna colours and ochres. Larsson hand painted all his furniture and some of the details depicted here are exquisite. I have always been influenced by Larsson’s colour choice and of course we have our own Scandinavian Pink.

Getting Ready for a Game 1901

I also have a personal love for the Swedish way of doing things (be it celebrations or room interiors) as my granddaughter is part Swedish! A

Happy Christmas!

Yours, Annie

PS I will be going to Sweden next year in connection with a new book!

  Cuba Colour 

 +

Provence + Greek Blue + Old White 

Barcelona Orange

Scandinavian Pink with some Emperors Silk

French Linen

Graphite 

The colour of the car with the yellow and deep red in the background

Primer Red 

English Yellow

The car has a top of Aubusson Blue

For the main part with the car I'd make a greenish grey with Paris Grey mix with some Chateau Grey. The chrome lines are terrific too - maybe with some aluminium leaf. 

Cream 

Old Violet

 +

Greek Blue with Old White

 Streets in Havana are full of colour and beautiful architecture and all unspoilt by absolutely NO advertising, road markings and all the usual things that spoil streets in the rest of the world.
So refreshing and inspiring.

Swedish Painted Furniture
Gustavian Neo-classical  Decoration

Gunnebo Slott - an 18th century Swedish country house
 Everything of course with loads of OLD WHITE!!

Scandinavian Pink and Old White

Paris Grey

Aubusson Blue

Country Grey

Château Grey and Old White

 King Gustav III of Sweden was heavily influenced by French politics and French decoration.
After seeing what happened to the French monarchy in the revolution Gustav established a very strong royal rule, curtailing his permissive parliament's reforms
Although in many ways quite autocratic, his interest in culture and intellectual freedom led to a hugely rich cultural heritage. 
He introduced French Neo-classical style to Sweden

 Gustavian interiors were light and elegant interpretations of the Louis XVI style, with echoes of English, German and Dutch influences

Aubusson Blue


How the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint colour got its name!

Aubusson is a town in central France where weaving has been done since the 14th century.  The style for which it is associated can be seen in the two pieces above both from circa 1750. 

 When I first started decorating in the late 1970s, I used to work in the some pretty wonderful places in London and in country houses.  I'd often heard reference to  'taking care of the Aubusson carpet' so I investigated and discovered these  fabulous beauties and the incredible blue. All these colours were natural probably indigo dyes so the colour varies with  intensity.  The piece above looks a little more turquoise than it is really. The top fragment is more accurate.

Look how well it goes with Country Grey & Scandinavian Pink - Coco and French Linen too with Versailles!

Aubusson Blue 

 Country Grey

Scandinavian Pink with Old White

Louis XV chairs with Aubusson tapestry upholstery