alison mcdonald home

Say hello to a chic and romantic bedroom set in Annie Sloan's Paris Grey... Before a total makeover with paint, love and elbow grease, this French Provincial dresser and desk set had been outdated and discolored.  How can one ever tire of pairing graceful pieces with quality paint in sophisticated colors! 

This was a fun project on a piece I picked up at an estate sale. Bummer I don't have a before shot. It was a dark stained wood.  First painted Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White. Some of the dark stain came through the white, so I back-pedaled and painted on a layer of Zinsser's shellac [I HATE when that happens!!!!], followed by more old white. Next I measured and placed blue painters tape strips.  Push that tape into the grooves! Next painted the desired areas with ASCP in Coco. Brushed messily (dry brush technique) because I didn't want perfection.  Jane did a super job removing the tape. The kids always want to help but it's hard to let go!!! Finished product!!

One aspect of painting projects I really enjoy is collaborating with clients to create a new look.  On this makeover, Susan knew she wanted a bold statement piece in an eclectically-decorated baby nursery.  We created a custom turquoise color using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Greek Blue and Florence (1:1 ratio).  Playing around with colors....  custom turquoise on the top half, and Florence on the bottom. We decided the Florence was a little too green. Adding the Greek Blue made a vibrant turquoise.  Susan's idea! Sorry to all you antique lovers -- this incredible piece is gonna look a little different! Here is the painted piece. Looks amazing, but time to think even more outside the box.  For an extra pop, we selected a vibrant custom-printed wallpaper to line the back of the bookshelf. The etsy vendor was super easy to work with. Check them out at http://www.popdecors.com.  I had a single strip of wallpaper to work with, as well as an antique pie...

This desk makeover made a little girl very happy. She's undoubtedly penning novels while seated at her pink throne, or at least doodling in her My Little Pony diary...  The blank slate.  Annie Sloan Chalk paint in Old White.  And here goes! Online recipes I found were way off. I diluted more and more, and the final ratio was 1:24 Emperor's Silk:Old White.  Isn't she confident? I heart ASCP!

This dated pine desk sat in various parts of my house for months just waiting for a makeover, until I recognized it would be the perfect lab rat for my first white-wash paint project. The striations and knots in the wood were the perfect backdrop for a wash. It was messy, but not messy enough to relocate it from my daughter's bedroom. You can only ask for help moving a piece around your house so many times.... :) This baby was really heavy!! This close-up shows the painted wood surface. I used a watered-down layer of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in "Old White" and then wiped it off with a wet cloth. If too much paint was removed, I just repainted the area and learned to let it set for a few seconds longer before wiping off.  My subsequent photos are of pretty poor quality (maddening!) but I should point out that I ultimately painted the drawer faces in ASCP Paris Gray. I love the two paint colors together. As always, the surface was finished with Clear Wax. 

Accent tables are so fun to paint, especially when they have great lines and character.  Adding new knobs, keeping the old ones, or just painting right over the hardware are all possibilities.  It's also fun to add a pop of color on a small table, although you'll see that two of these were destined for Annie Sloan's Old White. But how can you go wrong?!! This is the "before "of the table. I don't know if you can see, but there was a chunk of wood missing to the right of the front right  leg. I generally shy away from structural repairs to the wood, but I think I did an okay job on it.  Lovely little number in ASCP "Emperor's Silk" Oh-so-cute bedside table for a little girl's antique big-girl bed. In ASCP "Old White."

Here we have a fun project for a client whose goal is to get the clutter off the furniture.  Her solution is to swap bedside tables with dressers so that the clutter is contained and hidden.  Imagine a king-sized 4 poster bed with a medium-sized dresser on each side (a bedroom that large in Arlington!). She found this piece on Craigslist and I refinished it in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite.  The client preferred an almost black finish, so I went to town with Annie Sloan's Dark Wax.  The original hardware was kept, but I happened to have these sweet scrolly knobs on hand, and they give the dresser a feminine touch. Once she got it into the bedroom, her hubby was a little jealous so she hunted down a companion piece on CL that is currently in the works.  Will update soon! The second dresser, before....

This is the first time I have painted in red.  What a great color and a fabulous canvas to work with.  My client found this table on the side of the road while she was walking the dogs, and knew it would be a great accent piece in her great room.  The color is Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Emperor's Silk.  I finished in clear wax and sanding, keeping the original hardware.  Just gorgeous! This is the table before painting.  Adorable as-is, but wow the pop!

This project involves a basic oak buffet that was a workhorse piece for a client over the last decade, but just couldn't find its place in their dining room since they restyled the room.  I started with two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in French Linen on the whole piece, edged the interior of the cabinet doors with ASCP Old White, followed up with clear wax and dark wax, and sanding of edges.  The knobs are the original, and I would love to see the cabinet doors updated with teardrop pulls or ring pulls in the same dark metal.  My client has a great eye, so I can't wait to see what she decides to do.  Hopefully we can get a follow up photo in the dining room!   

I've just been drooling over this desk and chair I refinished for a client.  So sad to say goodbye to it!  The little bows on the drawer fronts are so feminine and lovely.  This is a desk for Mom and no one else.  That's why we decided to go ahead and cover the seat cushion with natural linen.  Hopefully two coats of Scotch Guard will do the job. But if not, recovering the seat cushion really only takes a few minutes, including running next door to borrow my neighbor's staple gun.  I think my Mom is right that it's time for me to get my own. before chair back closeup roughed up those bows just a tad!   Such cool lines!