I love a good before and after, and I like this one so much because I created it exactly the way I wanted and disregarded every painting rule ever made. It’s a great mix of old furniture pieces and knew ones, a lot of chalk painted furniture, plenty of candles, shimmery plaster walls I troweled, a florentine stencil all over the walls, some carpentry from my husband, real art from Molly over the fireplace, and then a few oil pieces from me (one original from me, two I copied, hate me).
Here are a few pictures of the before. This view shows one side of the room. You can see the plain fireplace, before the surround my husband built:
This one shows the other side of the room, before the new wall we framed up and added. Notice this built in. It’s still there, it just got a makeover…but that’s another post all together.
But here is a little peak. It’s much prettier now. More on that later:
One of the first things we did was tear out the yellow shag and install hardwoods. The floors have been done for awhile now, but I still remember the process. We rented a floor nailer and spent several weekends on install. Starting your first row is the hardest part, but once you know your line is straight, it goes quickly.
The bookcase:
Kevin built it for me, I chalk painted it. Click here to get that recipe.
The walls. They were created with a custom finish that I kind of made up as I went along. The product is called Lusterstone and it is a beautiful, smooth, shimmery plaster. I would be happy to share my recipe and process, but I’m pretty sure all the products I used are from a proffessional product line not available without training to “become certified”. That makes it sound so legit, doesn’t it? If you know me in real life, you know how humorous that is.
One thing I know anyone can purchase and do themselves is the stenciling. This stencil is called “Florentine Damask“, and it is from Royal Designs Studio. Click here to view and/or purchase if you are interested. Melanie’s stencils are wonderful to use. They are durable and come with great instructions. 
They add such an elegant touch.
Stenciling is literally as simple as deciding where you want your stencil, marking level points, spraying on a temporary adhesive to hold the stencil to the wall to help prevent seepage, and then applying your product. 
I used this temporary spray adhesive, but many are on the market, I just buy what is available.
I have used both paint and plaster with my stencils. Both work beautifully. For this project I was troweling on plaster:
Once you are done, you simply pull the stencil off, clean it, and repeat. Royal Designs really does have a gorgeous collection of stencils available. Some of her new, whimsical designs are really fun. My mind is spinning.
A few other details maybe worth mentioning. One is the mirror. It was a big, black, heavy, plastic framed mirror. Chalk paint made it pretty, you can click here to get that recipe. The other detail is this sideboard. It was my grandmother’s piece of furniture, and it received a chalk paint makeover too. I don’t think I ever posted on how to get that look…I will work on a recipe for that.
And finally the art hanging on walls. Some of this I have shown you before. I really love Pino Daeni’s style. I saw his…
…and wanted to try painting her too. She’s pretty and hardworking, so up on the wall she went.
Then I fell in love with Belgian painter, Jan De Vliegher.
I wanted something with a lot of green on that wall, so I painted that too. I know, I know, a cheap imitation; but for me, it works, for now.
Lastly there are these three little beauties. I have three little sheep of my own, and so I knew I wanted to paint them.
If I had a nursery, they would be hanging in it; but I don’t, so in the sitting room they go. I really love the color in this painting; and obviously, since it’s my own work, I am most proud of it. I kind of love painting sheep and I think I may start painting more of them.
I know that was a lot of random information. I hope you found inspiration somewhere within the bouncing around from project to project in this room. I wish we knew each other in real life. I would love to have you over, so we could sit and rest together.
Most of our Christmas break was spent with family. We ate until we couldn’t move and were forced to sit down and physically recover, and while we sat, we planned our next meal. We had a great couple of weeks, and in-between the eating, I pulled out my paintbrush. Annie Sloan’s Antibes Green had been perched high on my paint shelf for months. It’s intense color had intimidated me for too long, mocking my fear of using it. This inspiration picture below convinced me it was time to pry open it’s lid:
My steps were simple. The entire desk was painted in Antibes Green. Next, I painted all the trim and accents in Provence.
I painted, Ella read:
After both colors dried, I wiped on one coat of Annie Sloan’s dark brown wax which completely toned the intensity of the color (a good thing), and I called it a day. Project complete. I love chalk paint.
Our room is almost done…only about 4 months behind schedule. Here is a sneak peak of one corner, I finally found a place to put my paintings of the girls. More to come on the finished product soon.
