Swede

Swedish Style: Antique Swedish Furniture

 

For those who are like me and suffer from Swedish furniture love [or serious disorder], I want to share this beautiful occasional chair.

This chair is in the style called Late Gustavian/Early Empire.

The little faces make it Empire.  I wish I had started collecting Swedish antiques when I first started decorating.  The issue was access not funds. Nobody I knew sold Swedish furniture and I have lived in some large cities. One thing the Internet has done is provide access to markets. Can we back up time thirty years with today's technology so I can go shopping?

Maybe I can convince you youngsters to develop your Swedish furniture addiction early.  What I love about these pieces are how elegant they are in style but are not overdone.  No shouting here. Incredible detail.

Makes my heart sing.

Summer

Photos: Swede 

Books: What do they say about you?

 

Well, if what you read says something about you, then I've got a one-track mind about Swedish decor and Swedish antiques.

Mr. Swede is building a new bookcase for all my design books in the master bedroom.  I've been begging for the bookcase for a long time.  Like two years!  He cut some boards last week. 

Summer

Photo: Swede

 

Testing Annie Sloan Chalk Paint: My Trial Results

 

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  It is all the buzz in faux painting circles. 

 

The newest paint.  The latest and greatest.  There is nothing like it they say. Certainly a lot of excitement.  Once somewhat difficult to obtain because you had to order it from England [but I think it was manufactured in Belgium], but now no more waiting, converting from pounds to dollars and shipping issues.  It is manufactured in the United States to Annie Sloan's exacting specifications and available from the distributor through stockists. I ordered several quarts from The Southern Institute of Faux Finishing in Brandon, MS and had it shipped to me.  You can also take their Chalk Paint classes. 

This is where I first learned about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I fell in luvvvvv with it when I saw Virginia Weathersby's samples at the Institute.  My favorite was Chateau Grey on top of Duck Egg Blue. The cost is $35 a quart. I used less than a pint on my chair.

Duck Egg underneath Chateau Grey is the sample on the right.

My trial of the paint [unscientific, of course since there was no control batch] is done on a French chair I purchased at a neighborhood garage sale.  Since I like Swedish and French furnishings, I chose Paris Grey for the color of the chalk paint.  The chair has a lot of detailed carvings which I thought would look good in gold metallic. For the upholstery, I chose a cleanable white fabric that I seem to use on everything. The cost of the upholstery work is always the most expensive part of the project.  I love white but I also need any spots to be easily cleanable with water and soap.  This fabric is one of my best decorating secrets. This is a new, made in China, reproduction chair that has a gloss seal on it which I presume is varnish.

The test that I was most curious about was the claim on the AS website that you don't have to sand or strip the current finish.  Just paint the chalk paint right over the top.  So I wanted to see if that really worked and if the paint did stick, but further, did it stay on. In Annie's book, "Creating the French Look", on page 83, she also states that the surfaces do not need to be prepared or primed.  Would it stick to my varnished surface?  

http://www.anniesloan.com/acatalog/copy_of_How_to_use_the_paint.html

 

First step:  Apply the Chalk Paint.  I like working with an artist's brush on small surfaces like these instead of a regular paint brush for better control and neatness.  I applied two coats.  To keep track of which surface I had painted, I rolled the chair in a clockwise motion and painted only the side that was face up and letting each painted side dry before rolling the chair to the next position.  I knew if I didn't do that I would not be able to tell what had a second coat and what didn't.

The second step:  Apply the gold to the detailed carvings.  I decided to try a new product I learned about at The Institute called gilding wax.  It is made in France and costs about $16 for a 30 ml jar.  It comes in about five colors and I chose King Gold since I wanted a lot of metallic contrast between the gold and the Paris Grey.  I applied it with a tiny artist's brush and then rubbed it with my index finger.  The rubbing effect is what makes it glow. I luvvvvvvvvvv this stuff.  Finding out about it was worth the entire tuition to my last class.   

Here is a collage of the painted details:

  Next step:  Apply two coats of Faux Effects Dead Flat Varnish.  I wanted the surfaces to look more antique Swedish with no gloss.  The varnish did "grey-out" my paint with a hazy cast.  It knocked down the gloss of the gold paint. I am debating whether next time I would use Faux Effects Varnish Plus product instead.  

Last step:  Take it to the upholstery shop.  I tried a different one this time as I wasn't satisfied with the last one I used.   So here is the end result. These photos are taken outside on my front sidewalk in the sun to get better light than I have indoors.

So what do you think? I'm pretty happy with the results.

My star system for evaluation on a 1 star to 5 star scale of what I look for in a paint are:

1) Odor - this gets 5 stars for no offensive odor or smell
2) Ease of Application - 5 stars here. It went on very nicely.
3) Thickness/Coverage - I always do two coats anyway, so I'll give it 5.
4) Clean Up - easy here with water, so 5 stars.
5) Sandability - light sanding resulted in "smooth as a baby's bottom" so 5 stars. 
6) Green - see website.  Good here.
7) Cost - at $35 a quart, it is pricey, so 3 stars.
8) Durability - does the paint stay on?  My jury is still out on this as my chair legs came back from the upholstery shop with the paint rubbed off in several places down to the wood that I had to retouch. Not sure how this happened because I transported it on a white soft blanket. This is definitely something that I will continue to evaluate.
9) Looks - 5 stars here.  It just has a beautiful "euro" look when it is sanded smooth and the touch of the finished paint is just wonderful.

For my unscientific summary, the question is would I use it again?  My answer is Yes, but on selected pieces.  I would like to get brave and paint my 1983 Henredon dining room table a light color - Old White or a beige with a gilded edge.  Do I trust this paint for that project? I would not want the paint to scratch off from use of china and flatware.  My sweet husband who occasionally reads my blog just fainted with that sentence. I would use the chalk paint on an antique, new or vintage piece of little value to give it an entirely new look without ruining an important piece if the piece was for my own household. Would I use it in manufacturing new Swedish/French furniture pieces, No.  But I would on a custom painted individual piece for a client. Production finishers do not like working with water-based paints. Long-term durability is a key issue.

Here is another look at the before and after:

 
I look forward to sharing with you my next chalk paint project.

All the best,

Summer Day

Photo Credits:  All Swede

Design Inspiration Board Blog Contest

 

I want to share with you my interior design inspiration boards that I submitted in Tobi Fairley's contest.  Tobi is an interior designer in Arkansas and held a contest via her blog for students at her summer design camp, her staff and those following her blog.

http://tobifairley.com/blog/2010/inspiration-board-winners/

You can read about the camp and the winners via this link.  I didn't win, of course, but it was fun and I learned how to build a collage board via Picasa software. I actually submitted two inspiration boards, one using one-of-a-kind antiques selected from various online antique shops and a second one selecting new furnishings from websites where the products are available to everyone. 

I took an imaginary house and filled it with things I liked.  Since I used Picasa collages, mine is not a photo of an actual board with fabric pieces, three-dimensional items, family photos, carpet samples, etc.  Using the collage limits you to just a few photos, so I was not able to select items for an entire home or even one complete room.  

Here is the first inspiration board created with mostly antiques and vintage items:

Product List:

Let’s go online shopping for inspiration for a dream home on the outskirts of Paris.

1)   First, let’s go to Jacqueline Adams Antiques for a Swedish sofa.

2)   Then, hop over to Cote Jardin for a trumeau.

3)   Next, click over at Avolli for a pair of white chairs.

4)   Let’s go to Robert Shapiro for an Italian aqua & gold center table.

5)   Next, to Robert Kime for some English damask for pillows.

6)   Then, click over at Ann Kroener Antiques for some sconces.

7)   And, we’ll need a chandelier from John Roselli.

8)   How about a side chair with a gold frame from Cupboard and Roses Antiques.

9)   Take some gold edged china from my pantry.

10)   And some white coral and mercury glass from the living room.

11)   Install some white marble overdoors.

12)   In this lovely house outside Paris.

Here is the new products inspiration board:

 
I am decorating this house in Atlanta on Peachtree Battle that I found in the real estate listings:

 
Product List:

Although I do not decorate in blue, it seemed that these items went together.

This collage is of all new furniture available now [not one of a kind antiques].

1)    Faux Effects International  faux paint on wood door panel

2)   Chaise from Councill Craftsmen

3)   Floor mirror from Restoration Hardware

4)   Haviland Prestige Turenne china at china shops where Haviland is sold

5)   Chandelier from Julie Neill

6)   Buffet by Randall Tysinger via EJ Victor Furniture

7)   Commode by Amy Howard Collection

8)   Console by Amy Howard Collection

9)   Four Poster bed by Corsican

10)   Occasional chair by Hickory Chair

11)   Sofa by EJ Victor

12)   Trumeau by EJ Victor

I have not provided the links to the product websites, but they are easy to pull up with Google.  Hope you enjoyed my picks.

All the best,

Summer