Oct 7, 2017
It’s October
October is breast cancer awareness month and as a 12 year survivor I am currently obsessing over the color pink. So is everyone else in the world I might add.
And I am loving the pairing with green. Not the Lilly old style but the new softer style. Years ago I had a pink living room, with chintz couches. That’s not the look I’m dreaming of today.
All of these images have sent me racing to Craigslist looking for new things to paint in pink.
First, the gorgeous bath from Architectural Digest. In the London home of model and actress Poppy Develigne, it is simply to die for. The wall paper is had painted and that’s not the only room in this home with pink! See the story here.
I love how these chairs in this home office are done in pink and I especially like the gold accent.
So… for our version of pink, we took this lovely dresser from the Ave Home collection and used Annie Sloan Antoinette. Finished with white wax this dresser is a dream and not just for little girls. Rather than use green as the accent we paired it here with a Duck Egg Blue mirror and twin beds in Old White. Yes, we used plenty of Efex on the mirror, the bed and the dresser is sporting our latest new trim.
More fun things next week
Caio for now
xoxox Lydia
May 30, 2017
Efex In The Garden
It is garden season here in Maine. Finally!
The tomatoes, lettuce, beans and peas are in, the squashes, zucchini and cucumbers are going in this week, along with a cabbage. Can’t wait to see if this year is as bountiful as last year.
We had great heirloom tomatoes
and the cabbage was bigger than a 6 year old.
In general I don’t do annuals, they are to fussy, and/or I am to busy to keep them going all year long. Having said that I do have a few special pots that get annuals for the front of the house and our store Maine Country Home.
Over the last two years we have done several posts about Efex on Garden planters and pots. All have highlighted putting even on outdoor garden objects and decorating with plants. It’s so easy to do and a quick way do set your flowers apart from all the rest.
But… how well do Efex last outside?
Here in Maine we have harsh winters. Snow, ice, rain can all take there toll on outdoor furniture of any kind. Most of the time we put our pots away inside for the winter with the lawn mower. But… this year we were a little lazy.
Maybe it was the late fall, or an early winter without snow but the pots just got left out doors. Then can old man winter and buried them under feet of snow and ice.
I am please to say the Efex did great outside.
The plastic pots from Lowes however did not fair as well.
As you can see from these pictures the Efex and paint are still going strong. The plastic on the base cracked in half and the other half of this pair of post, the plastic cracked the entire pot rendering it useless and unfixable.
The clay pots had their own issues. Paint peeled, and chipped off but again the Efex are fine. Just waiting for another coat of paint.
The ending of this story is simple. If you live in a harsh winter climate, put your garden pots away for the winter. Then they will be ready for spring or summer when it arrives.
xoxo
Lydia
Mar 2, 2017
The Art of Margaret Wolley
Every time we’re in Auckland one of my first stops is the home of our friend and artist Margret Wolley. As many of you who have read the story before she is how we discover Efex.
Every time I step into her home there is one more little nuance, something slightly different ready to be photographed and discussed or in the case of her paintings to have lusted after.
It’s not surprising that within 48 hours of touchdown we are having coffee with Margaret and her husband. After all, my husband has known them for over 50 years. Yes, we’re dating ourselves but so what. Isn’t 60 the new 40?
Ok, I digress, the first wonderful treasure I want to share with all of you is this lovely vignette.
The chair, the side table, and sigh… the painting are all perfect. Yup, she painted them all. The painting is one I love and I own two that are similar yet slightly smaller. The chair however was a treat. Margret went to her local (less than 400 feet down the street home store Le Monde and bought Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in pure white) She had actually painted the chair years ago, but wanted to refresh the fabric. Wow, what a great change.
And finally, the little black box. Margret is a fan of Coco Channel (read big fan) and so she does a lot in black and white. This little black box with an R77 on top was done 25 years ago. And yes, that is an Efex.
I guess we can say they last well! What do you think?
Feb 24, 2017
Elegantly Simple or Simply Elegant?
When it comes to describing Janet Roewe Piller’s style at TLC Vintage it doesn’t matter which way you say it. They are both on totally correct.
Here she took a simple Efex to make a simple elegant statement with this table. It is a great example of todays on- trend up cycling. Painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® and finished with clear and dark wax this table is just so simple and so wonderfully elegant.
More than just her use of Efex, when you look at her Facebook page you see why she is Iowa’s premier Chalk Paint® dealer.
TLC Vintage…. a vintage store and a whole lot more.
