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"Where better to care for the soul than in the details of our daily lives?....The soul has an absolute, unforgiving need for regular excursions into enchantment. It requires them like the body needs food and the mind needs thought... An enchanted world is one that speaks to the soul, to the mysterious depths of the heart and imagination where we find value, love and union with the world around us. As mystics of many religions have taught, that sense of rapturous union can give a sense of fulfillment that makes life purposeful and vibrant." ~ Thomas Moore.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Annie Sloan and "Going White"



Hello Everyone.

This is met with a tired but a gently spoken voice.....a voice that is working hard on a mission that is both spiritual in quest yet physical in nature. The results affect my spirit which is calling for pristine, purity, simple, clean visions and beauty and lushness everywhere. I had the beauty but the purity and pristine feeling was missing but is now going to come from the frequency of what I call "Going White". I have always loved white but it was not part of the possibilities of my nomadic life. Now that it appears that I'm "settled" whether or not I wanted to be here, I am and the need to nourish my spirit and soul beckoned for surroundings that nourish it. My venture into blogland last year also took me into some of the most  tranquil homes and beautiful spaces, places where women who love white use it almost exclusively in their homes and who have graciously taken photos of their sacred spaces.......gorgeous and soothing places they've created.
I saw it was indeed possible not with a need for money, or new furnishings, or renovations or anything, but just with the color of White alone. I pray this frequency of "White" emanates out into the world too.

After doing my hallway after the fire,

 
 I saw the feeling there that I had always wanted, and so I knew it was necessary for me to extend on that feeling and expand.
The Lill white netting sheers I bought from IKEA I hung in the hallway have helped a great deal to create that feeling so well and I have lots of them. Some I hung in the porch too.....love it!

 and on the front door which I keep open often for breezes but keep it covered with the sheer......an ethereal barrior from my world and the outer one....










I spoke about my bedroom makeover here, and how that sparked the need for continuing with the Whitening improvements which fed my spirit, onto the rest of the house. The living room was begun today.

On the way back from IKEA to pick up a TV stand I even got the housemate to choose colors for the kitchen. All I did was ask...."if you could see colors you like in the kitchen what would you choose?", without the usual need to ask if he heard me he responded right away.....He said ''an antique or old white and a very pale green''.....I figured he was taking inspiration from a set of bowls I have on the shelf of a lovely creamy white and a pale sea foam green....and together they look beautiful and everyone remarks on those bowls sitting there. When I got home I imagined/played in my mind with those colors in the kitchen and got excited about it and my excitement is contagious even for reticent spirits LOL.... he could see the beauty in his minds eye too. Now the entire kitchen will be those two colors. I can't wait. :D:D:D He even said he'd paint it himself!

We went yesterday to IKEA to pick up a TV Stand with cabinet to hide the DVD"s. This too will have to be painted which brings my painted furniture pieces up to seven. I bought some wood appliques to add onto it because it was entirely boring in structure :D, contemporary and dark brown......not for long ! LOL

Today the walls in the living room were painted by hired help! I never had hired help in my life, but the housemate did not want to help and so once the man was here and giving a price, he began to like the idea. I helped by talking him into doing nothing....and he liked it. :D Today, after he paid them and they left, and I bought dinner, I asked him if he felt it was worth it and he said definitely yes.....especially the knees were grateful not to have to do baseboards!

Today also I received my order of Annie Sloan Chalk Paints ordered from a company here in Florida Robyn Story Designs

http://shop.robynstorydesigns.com/images/robyn%20story%20web%20banner%20with%20contact%20info(1).jpg
source

who were very helpful and pleasant and patient and informative and friendly and accessible....how nice was all that! Thank you Laurie! I ordered from her yesterday and received my order today! One day! I never experienced that either and I didn't pay for fast shipping only flat rate.I recommend her because she is the lowest price I've seen for the paints, $8.00 per quart lower than the first one I went to locally, and because Laurie was entirely accessible for questions no matter how silly or how many times the phone disconnected LOL and so she made me feel at ease with spending money.

In Going White in this house, I had to choose a bit more carefully than I have previously in my life. I never spent more than 2 minutes choosing a paint color, but usually less than that. This time I chose carefully because the feel of the space is what is important and not just the look. Choosing the white from an entire palette of whites and chips involved the housemate John as I spoke to myself out loud yet wanted answers from someone other than myself, so that left John..... and "we" chose one that would compliment the slipcovers, either blend with them or be a tone deeper than them. I actually preferred a whiter white but the slips determined the color. After I figured that out, I thanked him for his silent help! LOL.

When I opened the paint I got from Annie Sloan, the Old White is almost exactly the same as the white we just painted the walls which I was also using for painting a mirror frame. I compared them and lo and behold, of all the whites I had been looking at, and I didn't know there were so many! it was very very close to AS Old White. Ok. Fine. The furniture will blend in which is basically what I want, with some nice warm accents and Old Ochre is described as being about 3 shades deeper than the Old White. Nice. .

Here is a pic I found that shows the two colors together...AS Old White and Old Ochre ! But I'm doing the colors in reverse, the Old White will be prominent with the Old Ochre as accent
Annie Sloan Chalk Painted Hutch
Source

I also got samples of "Coco" and my newest love in color, pink Antoinette.
I got the wax too because I was convinced it is necessary to "seal" the paint and keep it protected, coated and long lasting. Since I'm doing 7 pieces of furniture I didn't want to have all that hard work be wasted by the easy scratching of non sealed chalk paint. And I learned something....its not called "Chalk Paint" because it has chalk in it as I assumed.....not that it doesn't but its a proprietary blend and "no one knows"......but.it is called "Chalk Paint" because of its texture before it is waxed. I thought that was interesting.
I really didn't want to do the waxing, so much work for me, but the alternatives I was not sure about, and one was glaze, but what glaze would work to seal all my painted furniture and if that didn't work, would another sealant work? something non toxic?? Since I could not know unless I experimented, I did the simplest thing because I was tired of thinking about it for weeks, and that was just get the wax, do the "Annie Sloan System" knowing it works, and be done with it. So I'm in. I got a wax brush there for $10.95 and she threw in some chip brushes.






Tonight already, with the walls white and the mantle put back up, mirror frame painted, its beginning to have that serene pristine feeling.....the only darkness is coming from the furniture which will be lightened this week.
I will be posting about my progress, as this blogging about it makes it interesting as if I'm speaking to someone who is actually interested! :D. I will take pictures of the individual pieces, then with all of them in place in the room. The 'before' pics for the living room all came out blurry, terribly blurry but I will post a couple anyway because some kind of comparison is needed, but I apologize for not having a steady hand in these and not too much patience either.....I'm very "relaxed" about this whole blogging procedure LOL.....


Here are the before ones....apologies! sheesh dark too! well.....its all I have now. This is a charming place, it just had too much in the way of non harmonious tones....now all will be serene with Old Whites and Warm metallic accents of coppers and ambers and the beautiful things I have will all look like one happy bright family! That secretary desk there with the arch over it is an old Bombay Co. piece, and will be painted.




Below is one of the pieces going to be painted....probably the first......its the largest one. I'm going to paint the fish tank on top too....no not the glass as my housemate asked.






A Queen Anne side table, from the old Bombay Co......will be Annie Sloaned ......lol......painted......




A general picture.....of the living room.....the center table in front of the sofa you cannot see because it is dark will also be painted. It is an Asian table with intricate carvings in it.....will be much nicer to see once it is lightened.



The pale yellow walls with the border paper coming down. The grapes are going to be replaced with my new loves.....white glittery pine cones! LOL Which I spray painted today, the only "fun' I had today....




The mantle.......before........but.looks much improved now, not too much different but improved. Will take pics tomorrow.




Painted walls "Off White"



Leaving the inner wall on the fireplace wall gold, the housemate likes it. This wall is magical at Xmas time!!




I will leave you with a "pretty".....a single glittery pine cone hanging from my canopy.....alone but not lonely.



Thanks for hanging out with me today :D


sharing this with FRENCH COUNTRY COTTAGE

and with TIMEWASHED: Blissful White Wednesday







26 comments:

  1. I love everything you are doing. Going white is good for the soul :)

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    1. ah thanks Sandy. Yes I feel that too about white for the soul! I always loved it have many clothes in all whites, but didn't think I could go white in this house, but the owner is now fine with everything. He says after seeing my room he knows what to expect now and it will feel like a castle lol
      So I want to ask you, you've painted alot of furniture I saw in one of your posts....do you use regular paint? how does it hold up? what are you looking for in your painted pieces? please tell me I want to hear from others who paint furniture, something I never bothered with before....but am seeing is necessary now to get the house to look totally renovated without spending money or rearranging walls.....all for the price of paint only!
      blessings
      lady

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  2. FANTASTIC LADY!!!! You know how I feel about white and this makeover is exceptional!

    I must get my home in order; it is messy due to all my art work lately but tomorrow is my art show and I am very thrilled to be a part of it!

    OK, now to get the day started! Anita

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    1. Yes, you've mentioned how you feel about white and I can imagine. :D
      I think its exceptional that I finally figured it out that "White" is what I needed rather than 'things' or any material (except land of course lol) ,....but I needed the frequency of White. sigh.
      This morning I opened my eyes at dawn and it was still dark but light coming through and inside my room everything blended, melded nicely in a tranquil way. I looked up at the white ceiling fan and it didn't break up the white that is the ceiling...it didn't demand attention away from my soft morning reverie........ the curtains.... white lace....all else whites......it was soft on my eyes and on my soul. Its a wonderful thing! Now the play of light from the sun in my room is the star of this show and I love that!
      I'm so glad about your show?! what show is it? will you take pics? how can we see??
      you must be having fun! :D
      have a playful day!

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  3. Oh, so pretty! I'm a dark lady but I do love the serenity of white. If only my cottage were larger I'd have a white room. I love the silver Buddha, and that pinecomb decoration is lovely!

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  4. The waxing isn't difficult, don't apply too much, but you've probably been told how to do that. Have youthought about painting the grapes-afew in a cloche? What a transformation! But remember have fun doing it, it really is exciting isn't it?

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    1. Mary Anne Komar, I've gone to your blog to respond to all your comments to me but I don't know if you're getting them...can you check? I appreciate your comments! I didn't think of painting the grapes...another paint job??!! LOL....but under the cloche you're right must look gorgeous! Im playing with that idea now. thank you! and thank you for reading and commenting....it is so nice to have cyber friends....I have NONE locally anymore, so this helps a great deal. :D:D:D I am trying to remember to have fun too, to inject into all this drugdery/creativity lol...a project that is fun and today I'm trying to figure out how to paint beautiful ornaments. I'm wanting pale pink xmas ornaments. sigh. :D

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  5. Oh it is looking wonderful! I love how tranquil the curtains from Ikea look in the space. It will all be a beautiful transformation Lady! I know it's hard work, but it is always worth it. I think you are going to love the lighter look on the furniture (even though it is a lot of work). Waxing is pretty easy, and the beautiful look and feel of it cannot be beat. Any pieces that I paint get waxed. I can't wait to see the end result of all of your lovely planning and work.
    You are so smart to have hired the painting done...I have so much to paint in this house and the task seems so daunting that I don't even like to think about it. My daughter came to help me paint Landon's room (white of course) and it was fun to have someone to paint with. Landon cannot talk, but I think he is grateful to have his room freshened up again. It has been ages since I last painted it.
    sending hugs...

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    1. Yes, those curtains helped me to ''see'' materially what I needed to do here to get the tranquil feeling all over this house...that was the beginning, when I saw them blowing in gentle breezes! heaven! What I wrote to Anita:
      This morning I opened my eyes at dawn and it was still dark but light coming through and inside my room everything blended, melded nicely in a tranquil way. I looked up at the white ceiling fan and it didn't break up the white that is the ceiling...it didn't demand attention away from my soft morning reverie........ the curtains.... white lace....all else whites......it was soft on my eyes and on my soul. Its a wonderful thing!

      Waxing is easy? so you've done this before too? can you send me a link if you've posted about it? I love hearing from those who do this....often....lol.
      Yes, not painting the walls was a help and John didn't really want to help either he said he'd do a little at a time..stretching over weeks....that would not work for me. Talking him into doing nothing was what won him over, he pays for it, and the paints too. I do all the planning, visioning, work, and creative design to make the most out of what we both have. It will be beautiful very shortly I can see it....soothing and easy on my spirit. It has been 10 years since any work/painting was done. So it was greatly needed anyway.
      I hope I can get through all the pieces....is why I got the ASCP to make life easier...? hopefully. lol.
      blessings
      lady

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  6. Hi my dear friend, I can see now why haven´t heared from you lately! I wish I lived closer so I could lend you a hand with that work -´cause we ARE indeed "decorators" after all! LOL LOL LOL Over here we continue in the middle of a great mess, preparing for the move that at this point seems inevitable (without knowing yet where or how we will live next year, but keeping high spirits and Faith intact) so as you can imagine, when I read about you going "white and pristine", I cannot help feeling a bit of HEALTHY envy LOL Look forward to see pictures of the painted furniture and the final result (knowing about your manual skills and creativity, I have no doubt it will be sublime!)
    Blessings,
    K.

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    1. LOL you must have read my mind today, while I was admitting I MUST be a decorator after all! At least some times right?? too funny we are.
      Thanks for you confidence in my sublime creative abilities lol....I will take pics and post them for the only ones interested or who will see it is my housemate, his mother and those who view my blog LOL
      I'm sooooo tired today....just tired.....I think I'm finally recuperating from my nerves being fried from weeks of barking dog syndrome where the police were able to help with two of them and now I'm finally getting my frazzled nerves calm and I'm just so tired, I'm probably just unwinding now, catching up on relaxing, healing so I can venture into being creative and get those juices flowing again.
      warmest hugs
      lady

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  7. Your place is really shaping up! I have one of those Lill curtains hanging in my bathroom to soften it. Have fun painting your furniture. I'm sure it's going to look great when you're done!

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    1. Thank you for saying so. I know it will be completely transformed....so new feeling and lighter! Thank you. blessings, lady

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  8. Good morning sweet lady!

    Thank you my dear for coming to visit my blog post! I am so behind and need to make a new one today, RIGHT NOW! The art show I participated in yesterday took up all my time. THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WORDS! Enjoy that white room of yours today! Anita

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  9. Hello my friend I always inspired by your ideas when I read your blog and I love it so I nominate you as Libster award :)

    http://delvalinatuanger.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-liebster-award.html

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    1. Thank you for your kind comments. I appreciate the Liebster Award too, that is very sweet. I think I do not know how to respond to it though, aside from appreciation. I don't know how they work or what they do. I blog mainly to journal some of my life's projects in hopes of inspiring others as you have said and that is enough for me.
      :D
      blessings, lady

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  10. Good morning sweet Lady!

    Thank you for coming to visit me today. I feel horrible about posting so quickly, but my weekend was consumed with an art show and my thoughts this morning were scattered. But I wanted to post a Thanksgiving wish to ALL but it resulted in a less than adequate post. But your kind words are precious! Have a super week! Anita

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  11. GOOD MORNING DEAREST LADY!!!

    Thank you sweet friend for coming to visit me yesterday! Enjoy your festivities with whomever and wherever you are! And your light pink ornaments sound so beautiful! Anita

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  12. My Goodness you have been busy....It has been fun catching up!! I did my white phase a while back...it was fun but now with the Hubby & chickens & pets...not practical I am afraid...so I am back to the natural look...LOL But it will be fun to see what you do with everything... & you can never go wrong with Pinecones...I love them!!! Glad to see all is well

    XO

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    1. Hi Linda, yes I've been busy. When I say I'm going to do something, I do it, I don't wait. :D And loving pine cones alot now too, they will be hanging up all year, I have no intentions of taking those beauties down...what for? I love glitter all year too LOL
      How is everything with you?
      lady

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  13. Wow.....you are really going to town with white. It is so very soothing a color...I totally agree....but I'm never able to do anything IN ALL WHITE....perhaps it is my age ...or just my love of color...I don't know. I know this will be lovely when you are through.

    xo

    Jo

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    1. Gosh I haven't seen all my emails, yes, Jo lol going to town with white. I've lived with color all my life and even annoyed some people with the use of it LOL, but the serenity I'm seeing with all white images in blogland is causing my soul to reach out for it, and I realized I needed to Go White...it is feeling much better I have to say. I do love color though and have it in other areas, but the White is like a whisper to my spirit that I listen to with calm ears....if I may wax poetic :D
      Its already feeling quite nice I have to say....by Xmas all will be done.
      How are you??
      blessings,
      lady

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  14. Well, you are a weaver of magic, that is for sure, dearest Lady!
    I am learning much...getting ideas! :))
    Most of my furniture is Queen Anne...and I am itching to make it lighter in color....thinking...
    Those sheer panels..and your mantle...bliss!
    On to your newer post!!
    I''l be responding via gmail soon....(as soon as the computer stops acting up....my visits are spotty, the connection has been on and off)
    xoxo

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    1. I love the mantle too, especially at Xmas when it gets more pine greens, glittery pine cones and I use the candles more oooohhhhhh LOL the sheer panels I recommend for everyone...everywhere..! they are so cheap too $5.00 for a pair and they are very wide widths and very long! I bought 6 packages of them when I thought I was moving and one day I just took them out and wanted to see sheer white movement and I hung them on the porch like a crazy woman, and they worked out! lol....I washed them a couple of days ago and their white in the sun is dreamy....go for it! hang them anywhere. In the house I use tension rods up at the ceiling level.....and they make no sense but they look dreamy .
      blessings
      lady

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  15. Your hallway sure looks serene and pretty. I have grown to love the white looks as well, it just grows on you over time from seeing it so much here in blogland. I now have a white living room for the past year and have enjoyed it so very much.

    Can't wait to see your progress and all your painting. I have yet to do any furniture painting as that is a way too ambitious job for me since I have nothing but oak in my home, and can never see my hubby being happy about painting any of that. I love your white fireplace and I have toyed with the idea of painting mine white, probably is if I don't like it I am stuck,
    so still toying!! lol

    Well, enjoy you new white adventure.......

    Blessings, Nellie

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    1. Thank you Nellie, yes the hallway kind of started the Serene White theme. and yes also, as mentioned, blogland has definitely helped me in seeing how it looks, from real women all over the world! amazing. Thank you for visiting. I will be done before Xmas. Several more pieces to paint, then to play finally with decor and vignettes for the first time in my life, LOL and I shall simply enjoy!
      blessings,
      lady

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Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated and responded to when possible.