From Havana With Love

From Havana With Love

Hemingways Cigar Box!

Do I have your attention?

Often when we see an antique we like to imagine what the story was that goes with the piece of furniture. Kind of a little history that tells where the piece was from and who owned it before. This little trunk box sent us to wondering…

The year is 1940, Martha and Ernest Hemingway have just arrived in Cuba. The city at night is a spectacle of sounds and lights with tourists flocking to the island for its weather, rum, and jazz. While the tropical is in full swing, down at La Floridita Hemingway is having a rum and a cigar. Contemplating what he called “the most beautiful women in the world.” As he reaches for another cigar, it comes out of a small box trunk.

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The trunk was owned by the proprietor of the cafe. Music played at night and the socialites that flocked to the city partied the night away surrounded by stars and samba. Idyllic.

Enough of the fantasy, back to the present.

It’s not a trunk, it’s a cigar box.

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Did we have you there for a second?

This little cigar box is the latest from Stacey Christensen from Faux Studio Designs in Alabama.

She took a simple cigar box and made it into a trunk. Using Efex and her latest Faux Finishing Recipe, in less than two hours she created a masterpiece. One look and we were dreaming of old Havana.

The way she used the Efex was just so darn clever.

The center is one of our escutcheons E5, but the rest of the straps are really pieces of a T14 trim.

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She went from this elegant trim to straps on a trunk. Who would have thought?!

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Then to add the authentic rustic, rust she used Modern Masters Metal Effects in Rust

Instead of a simple little box, she painted a story.

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We think that we all have a story inside waiting to come out with our creativity. So if you want to tell your own story we highly recommend Stacey’s Paint Recipes for Furniture and Cabinets. Just grab her monthly subscription and start dreaming up your story.  From Stockholm to Havana and everywhere in between she’s got you covered.

Don’t forget to add an Efex or two to really make your next project unique and customized!

Oops…gotta go, Havana is calling! Off to visit Hemingway’s home to see the trunk in full size.

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Mirror Revamp in New South Wales

Mirror Revamp in New South Wales

 Mirror Revamp Before and After

This mirror revamp says it all. We all love a great before and after. This one is so cute and so simple it just rocks. Alison Gregory of The Little French Provincial Shop has hit this latest mirror makeover right out the of park.1642648

Last year she found this little round table and took it from drab to fab.

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Now see what she had done with this plain Jane mirror.

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Oohh…that orange wood! Doesn’t it just make your skin crawl? The top was just calling out for a bit of embellishment.

The addition of scroll SC44, rosette R78, and a little bit of paint it turned into a beautiful elegant mirror that would look lovely in anyone’s entry hall or living room.

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12829436_953554781424313_5993131160690220913_o-1For those of you in New South Wales, Australia stop into Alison store. This wife and mother of two is addicted to all things French. Her great eye for detail lets her find good projects that are ready to be reloved.

From her blog her motto is  “You only live once… so live beautifully!” And boy does she do that with style!

This Before and After is not an Illusion….

This Before and After is not an Illusion….

This Before and After is not an Illusion…

Her store name in French loosely translates into painter of illusions, but this is not an illusion. This makeover from Peintre del llusion will amaze you!

My friend Johanne is not a simple painter. Trained as a faux finisher she knows more great tricks than anyone I know.

Last winter she, her husband (who is a wine merchant) and model beautiful daughter came to visit us in Maine over Easter.

We shared fun times and a lot of laughs as she tried to teach me how to create faux marble. I learned a lot but I’m not as talented as she is. Of course between painting and touring around midcoast Maine we shared some great wine.

Let’s look at what the talented Johanne as done today.

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This little chest was just a wreck. Most people would not have even touched it. I would have gotten rid of it as it was. In my eye it was beyond repair.

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Not our Johanne, Frist she added some Efex. The trim is T42 and 2 B9’s on the side.

She began painting with a coat of Old White Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan.

While the first coat was still wet, she wrapped silk paper over the entire piece to hide the damage. Would you have thought of that? Never in a million years would it have crossed my mind. Then she second coat of old white. Finally, she dry brushed French Linen and waxed with clear and dark wax.

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Lets toast to this stunning makeover.