Scavenging in the Desert

Friends who have been out and about with me know I will brake furiously for a good flea market and wild bittersweet vines, the latter of which about plunged me into a ravine.

 So no big surprise that I would wrestle with a Cholla cactus to get at a dead limb.  The Cholla spine is loaded with tiny spikes and from what I hear are extremely painful and difficult to remove and just brushing against one can ruin a beautiful sunny Arizona day which is what the day was when I armored up and set out on the property behind the house I was staying out, which by no coincidence, was on Cholla Drive.

I was later informed that rattlesnakes should have been on my high alert more so than the Cholla spikes.  Fortunately I had the pleasure of not meeting either of these two desert warriors and was able to extract ever so carefully a few dead Cholla spines.  They are woody, much like a piece of eastern shore driftwood and I love their natural look.  Next time I will head out with rattlesnake tongs, well maybe not.

Furniture in the Raw - The Art of Liming

My new heart throb - limed furniture.  On my trip to Arizona I was poking through a work studio and noticed a chair on a table with the artist scrubbing away at it with a wire brush.  She heard my ooohs and ahhhs and invited me in to observe what she was doing.  I tried to keep my squealing down to a minimum.  She enthusiastically answered all my questions and took the time to share with me the old techniques of liming furniture, only she was using a lime wax, not the real lime, as it is too caustic.

Liming is a technique that brings out the grain of the wood giving it a whitened look.  It is most effective on prominently grained woods such as ash and oak, oak she said being the preferred.  Liming can only be applied to bare wood so the piece must first be stripped of all stains and varnishes (OK so this part isn't much fun). The next step is opening up the grain and this can be done with a wire brush and she advises to keep with the grain and rub firmly.  Next the liming wax is applied.  She uses very little and doesn't leave it to stay on very long before wiping off.  The longer it is left on the more pronounced and grainy the final effect which is great for that weathered aged look. The excess liming wax is then removed with a steel wool pad and ordinary furniture wax, or, as she did on these pieces, a rag with solvent thinner.

Thank you Cecelia!  Can't wait to try this technique on my own.

Painting for a Cottage Look

A friend recently asked my advice on a wall color for a cottage look.  A cottage look almost always has in its scenario colors from the outdoors - muted, washed and distressed.  My favorite go-to color for this look is Benjamin Moore's Moonlight White.  Blues, grays and the earthy browns dance beautifully off this fresh neutral backdrop.  And the added accent colors like red or green will integrate perfectly.  And let's not forget our ceilings, the surface that often gets second class status.  Give the room a serene watery canopy with a gray/blue such as Benjamin Moore's Whitestone to complete the look.

Easton, MD Patrick Sutton

VanEch Studio Workshop "Chalk Paint"

Society Fair

Met a friend at Alexandria's Society Fair on S. Washington Street last week: wine bar, restaurant, gourmet shop, bakery and if that's not enough, coffee bar. Loved the French Parisian cafe interior decor, and noteworthy was this enormous crystal chandelier with a metal canopy (glam meets industrial), and the black patent leather seat ottomans studded with silver nail heads around the pedestal table. Not pictured: comfy shocking pink velvet banquette and me sipping one of their whiskey and wine specialty drinks with cardamon and orange, feeling very content.



Books Worth Reading

from my shelf to yours

Vintage Chalkware

Antiquing in Cape Cod is wonderful fun and during the off-season great finds and prices can be had.   So on our yearly jaunt to Chatham for lunch at the Chatham Bars Inn, we pulled into a shop that had stuff spilling out on all over the large ront porch.  My hunt and peck was in full motion.  After exhausting myself moving a massive concrete planter, I see the great reveal:  Jacque and Jill.  The conversation went as follows:  Me: "Wow Cindy, look at these are old chalkware lamps".  Cindy: "Niki, those are hideous, look at their eyes, they're creepy".   Me:  "Well, I can paint over the eyes, maybe repaint the entire lamp."  Cindy:  "Seriously how are you going to get those home?".    By the end of the day I had them boxed up and shipped back to Virginia with enough bubble wrap to sink a ship.   

Chalkware figurines were either made of sculpted gypsum or cast from plaster molds and painted with watercolors.  They were made first beginning in the late 18th century, ending by the beginning of the 20th century.  Chalkware again picked up popularity during the Great Depression which is probably about the time Jacque and Jill were made. 

Quirky, kitschy, creepy ... I can't wait to transform these into chic decor.