One of my favorite parts of working with paint, is teaching others how to work with paint. Even better, teaching little girls. They are always so excited, well behaved (the class typically runs just over one hour) and they are just plain cute!
Sometimes Addilyn gets to help….which she loves!
If you are interested in having a painting party for your kiddos, here is some more information!
Happy Painting little ones!!
It's hard to believe, but we have been living in our home for a little over a year now! Our first 'big' project for the interior of the home has been our basement. We turned the 'bonus room' area into a play room for the girls.
BEFORE
AFTER
And we just finished part of the downstairs living space. We still have a lot to do, but it's clean and now has furniture!
BEFORE
AFTER
When this area is completely finished (we still need to install the fireplace hearth and wire/glass on the cabinet doors) I will post a lot more photos. However, my sweet hubby has asked that I let him finish the space before posting photos ;-)
One aspect of this little reno, is the entertainment center. Since my dear husband was not a super talented, MVP, major league baseball player, we didn't have much of a use for a cool trophy case. Matt modified the existing cabinetry so that it looked more like an entertainment center, we added some new glass doors, open shelves and a space for the ginormous TV. Once the modifications were finished, I painted it with Milk Paint (TYPEWRITER) and sealed it with Hemp Oil. I thought I would share a few tips on painting (previously finished) cabinetry with milk paint.
1. Sand the cabinetry. It doesn't need to be stripped, but you will have better results if you sand it with a course grit sand paper.
2. Clean the cabinetry with TSP, Krud Kutter or a degreaser cleaner. You can also use denatured alcohol to clean your cabinetry. Once you have cleaned the cabinetry, wipe it down with a damp cloth, and then finally wipe it down with a dry cloth.
3. Mix your Milk Paint well. It's important to mix your milk paint, and continue to mix it as you paint. (I applied two coats of TYPEWRITER.)
4. Hemp Oil can be used as a top coat and it's best on porous surfaces, so it can penetrate the surface instead of just hanging out on top. Hemp Oil is your top coat, you don't need to apply anything on top of it.
5. For this size of project, I used a brush to apply the Hemp Oil. You can use a rag, but I feel the brush is easier. I used the hemp oil to "wet sand" this cabinet. To "wet sand", I brushed on the Oil, and sanded the entire piece with fine grit sand paper. Once you wipe away the excess Oil with a cloth, you have a super smooth finish. I wanted a slightly distressed look, so I sanded the edges with a bit more pressure.
6. For an even finish, you will need to apply 2-3 coats. The key with Hemp Oil, is to only apply what the surface will absorb. If you apply too many coats, the Oil will sit on top.
7. While the oil is dry to the touch, it needs about 30 days to fully cure. You can use the piece during this period, but it might feel a little oily to the touch while it’s curing. I would recommend not setting items on the piece while it's curing.
I hope this inspires you to paint something!
I finally finished painting a hutch that has been sitting in the garage for a few months. I bought it to use as a milk paint display for the new shop, then things fell through with our downtown shop location so I just let the hutch sit un-finished. Well, things are moving forward again with the shop space so it's time to get these pieces painted!
Since it will be a display for Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint line, I figured it should be painted and finished with Miss Mustard Seed products {wink}. I layered, and dry brushed with IRONSTONE, LINEN, GRAIN SACK AND LUCKETT'S GREEN. I accented some areas with LINEN, distressed the entire piece and finished with with white wax. I left the original hardware because I liked the look of the brass. That may change when it gets into it's new space, but for now it works!
We are starting to work on some outside projects {of course, before other projects are finished}! I am starting to plan the garden, the chickens have spent the winter in the garden so I need my sweet husband to build a chicken coop and a new pen. Of course we want to add some goats to our little family this summer, so they will need a little place to live, and the list goes on and on. Plenty of fun projects to keep us out of trouble!
And my little baby is turning two next week! Time continues to fly and I am always reminded that each day is precious. No matter how long the to-do list is, I always want to cherish the time spent with family and friends!
Matt and I are working on a large custom cabinetry project. The clients are so sweet, the two designers we are working with are equally sweet, and their new home is going to be beautiful. Up until now, my time has been spent doing CAD drawings on the computer, and a lot of emails, now we are getting into custom paint finish/wood type/style specifics; the fun stuff! Work has been busy (not much time for my own projects:-) so I thought I would show a few inspiration photos for the cabinetry paint finish and style.
There will be different paint finishes and cabinetry styles through out the home. The goal is for the cabinetry to look collected over time, yet flow perfectly. We are going to be using some reclaimed wood, and at this point our paint samples have all been Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint samples. I will be sure to show some of the finishes we came up with for samples! So fun!!
A couple of months ago I purchased a few boxes of rusted letters. All different sizes and a few different fonts. Once I move to a larger shop/studio space {hopefully really soon!!} I plan on offering more letters. They are so fun and versatile.
They start at just $2 for the 3" letters and go up from there. I have been using them in my Milk Paint 101 Class. We work on various techniques and then paint a reclaimed piece of wood, the wood becomes the base of our sign and we attach the rusted letters to the wood. The signs can also make great (and personalized) gifts!
I have used them in my studio....
and in the little reading nook of the girls' playroom....and other little places 'here and there'. If you would like to purchase the letters, you can pop into the studio any Friday, or if Fridays don't work, let me know and I can send you pictures and pricing. They are so fun!
Typically in March and April I do some major Spring cleaning at the cottage. Our little vacation rental in Carlton keeps me busy in the summers! I have cut the gardens way back and filled in a lot of flower bed space with shrubs and bark dust, but the flowers still need tending to and the cottage needs cleaning after each guest leaves. I am always ready and excited for the start of the busy season {usually May} but then always ready for the busy season to come to an end {usually November}. I took the girls with me to take inventory of everything that needs to be done. The list is long! So I took a few new pictures for the vacation rental website page instead ;-) I can't seem to find any interior 'before' pictures of this little cottage, I know I have some somewhere. But this little place was definitely a 'fixer upper'!!
A few interior photos...
Once I get the outside in ship-shape, I will share some pictures of the exterior! It's such a sweet little home and full of many memories!
Lately my work has consisted of A LOT of administrative/paperwork type work. It always happens on the front end of larger jobs. But, there is a light at the end of my paperwork tunnel, which means I get to move onto the pretty and fun part! In the mean time, I have been puttering around the house and moving furniture here and there and organizing closets and such.
I painted this dresser a few months ago and it sits in our guest bedroom. The next room on my 'organization list' is the guest bedroom! I want it ship-pity sharp for our summer house guests….and it will probably take me that long to get it ready!
** the dresser was painted and wax with Annie Sloan products. first coat ~ Graphite. second coat ~ Napoleonic Blue. waxed with clear wax and then dark wax **
I thought I would post a few photos of the many projects we have going on around our home. We have lived here a year now, and I honestly thought we would be a lot further along on our projects. But, Matt is working on things as he has extra time and after 12 years of renovating homes, I am finally learning to just go with it! To love the place I am in, no matter how it looks. Not to mention that this property is amazing and we feel so blessed to call this place home!!
I finally finished pealing the wallpaper off of the top half of the walls. One day soon I will post how I removed most of the wallpaper. I jot an awesome tip from a blog reader and it worked perfectly!!! My dear husband is going to panel the bottom five feet of the wall. He is also going to cut an opening/doorway into the wall which will open up to the stairs/entry wall. The walls are plaster and I did a great job of jacking up the walls with the scraper. Oopsie! Matt is going to apply a skim coat of plaster over the top half of the wall. I will paint it and this room will be finished!
**Just look at that cute face! We won't mentioned how he has already stained the brand new oak stair treads with doggie slobber….it's a bit of a sore subject**
One project leads to another! As soon as Matt gets something done in the basement, it leads to something else needing repaired or addressed! However, he is making progress! Matt will install paneling on one of the stairwell walls and he is going to open the other wall up with balusters, which will tie in with the dining room and the powder room……and you see how everything leads to another project! Which, by the way, we both love!
And the barn is almost finished! Matt still needs to build a sliding door for the front of the barn and a garage door for the basement storage area, and of course he has to finished the driveway parking area. But, this is one project that is almost ready to be marked off the list ;-)
Within the next two weeks we will be starting a home renovation for an out-of-town client so I will have some great 'before pictures' to show you soon! And hopefully some 'after' pictures of projects on our home ;-)
Here is the recipe. Your family will love you for baking these….I promise!
The dining room in our home has 2-3 layers of wallpaper. When we first moved in, I started ripping the paper thinking it wouldn't be a big deal. After 1 day of that, I stopped. Well, I got the bug again. We have almost been in our new home for 1 year! And the dining room is starting to bother me. Soooooo, I started on the wallpaper again. Removing wallpaper is not for the faint of heart! What an awful chore! I enlisted the girls help, and that was fun, but they moved on after 30 minutes or so. (Matt tested for lead and fortunately this wallpaper doesn't have any.) I am into about 6 hours of removing wallpaper, and this is my progress...
That is wall 1 of 4. Oh my.
Matt is going to cut in an opening (to go into the entry and to easily go down to the basement) into this big wall and we decided that he will install a wainscoting on the bottom half of the dining room walls.
And I am such a wallpaper-removing-wimp, the thought of this wall and the beam kills me, so he is going to trim out the entire wall and give it a built-in look. But, I still have a lot of work to do!
There are a few different methods and ideas on removing wallpaper. Sometimes you are lucky and it comes right off, not the case here. I am using a product called DIF. It's a gel and it comes in a spray bottle. Before applying it to the wall, you use a handy tool to score the wallpaper, than spray on the DIF. Let is set for 15 minutes and it's easier to peel the paper off.
I have really wanted to wallpaper a few walls in the house. But now I just don't know if I want the drama of removing the wallpaper when I am ready for a change. I have looked at quite a few beautiful rooms with fabric walls and I love the thought of easily changing out the fabric with you are ready for a change.
Thoughts? Have you had a good or bad experience with wallpaper? Do tell!
Last month I found this darling dresser. I am slowly trying to accumulate furniture pieces for when I move the shop downtown. (By the way, it looks like we may have found a great spot! I will share the details within the next week or so, when everything is finalized.)
Here is the BEFORE photo…..darling little details on this dresser!
And after….
I cleaned the dresser with a de-greaser cleaner and then wiped it down with warm water. I scuffed it up a bit with 100 grit sandpaper, it was pretty shiny.
I painted the drawers DUCK EGG, and the frame OLD WHITE. I distressed the edges and then gave it two coats of clear wax. I left the original brass hardware because I just liked the look of the brass against the blue.
Once I move the shop downtown, I will list her for sale. If I don't keep her for myself ;-)
Happy Painting!
Several months ago I ordered a beautiful taupe, buffalo check wallpaper to hang in our stairwell. The rolls are still sitting in their wrapper ;-) We have since decided to panel our stairwell and I thought I would use the wallpaper for our bedroom. Well, the wallpaper color clashed just enough with the wall color. Since I didn't have the energy to re-paint the bedroom and attached bathroom and closet, I decided to come up with a different plan of attack! I have painted stripes before (both in the cottage, and in our last home), but I just wasn't digging stripes for the master bedroom. I googled "painting gingham checked walls" and a great tutorial from Southern Living popped up.
Perfect! In less than 6 hours and $50, I had a beautiful gingham checked wall!
If you feel inspired to paint a gingham checked wall, I highly recommend following the instructions posted by Southern Living! In a nutshell, you are measuring, leveling, drawing horizontal lines, taping and painting (mixing the paint with clear mixing glaze).
Once your horizontal lines are complete, you do the same thing vertically!
It's a subtle change, which I love. My sweet but very picky/perfectionist husband even liked it and complimented me on the straight lines!
And this was happening as I was trying to snap some photos of the bedroom wall ;-)
One day I may feel inspired to hang wallpaper in the bedroom, but for now I am content with the gingham checked wall!
A week before Christmas we had carpet installed in the playroom! It was good to have a deadline and feels so good to have a room finished! The girls spend a lot of time in this room. We are so close to finishing our basement living room too…..
Matt is working on the finish work now. Look at that cool brick we found under the drywall of the fireplace. We may paint the brick, but we shall see!
Matt is building an archway from the playroom to the basement living room, almost like a secret room. ;-) We plan on having paneled walls through out the house, so this will tie in nicely. I know it's trendy right now, but we plan on remodeling the entire home and I think it will all flow perfectly.
Below are a few BEFORE photos
And here is the space now. A little brighter, cleaner and the perfect spot for a playroom!
Matt turned an akward closet into a little book nook for the girls. He added some shelves for a few of their favorite books and it is one of their favorite spots. I still need to make a super cozy cushion, but for now this works.
There are still quite a few things I want to do in this space, but for now it works so great. We sure love this house! We have a handful of house projects that we should be wrapping up soon, so I will have plenty of pictures to post!
So this weekend we hosted a centerpiece workshop. It was a lot of fun and always a treat to meet new ladies!! I never remember, or have time, to snap photos of events, but this time I tried to be intentional of snapping a few photos. {My apologies about the quality of photo, all of the lights were on and I am not a professional:}
It was such a fun workshop! Friday night we had a full house, and Saturday morning had a few less but still full and fun! Each lady painted their box with Milk Paint and then filled it with fresh greens and embellishments. It's so fun to see how different each centerpiece turned out. Everyone walked away with a beautiful centerpiece and a giant smile, so I would say it was a success!
And in 'Haney news'….
we just got a dog.
The sweetest bulldog ever! He is such a sweet heart and the girls love him!
The roof is going on the barn. We were going to install a metal roof and then last minute we switched to a comp roof. Lots of reasoning behind the switch but I will spare you the details!
And with Savanna getting Addilyn's big girl bed, Addilyn got a 'new' big girl bed.
I purchased this bed years ago at a barn sale. It was rusted and chippy and I didn't have a space for it but I just loved it! It sat in the garage for years and then last year, my sweet husband scraped all of the loose paint off and we painted it with Chalk Paint®, {1 part old white and 1 part arles.} We decorated Addilyn's room for Christmas, and both of the girls love snuggling and reading on her new bed. This is such a fun {and very exhausting} age. It melts my heart to see the girls playing together! I try to remind myself that this stage will pass so soon and I want to be present and cherish our times together.
Well, I need to get back to painting the basement entertainment center before the girls wake up! Hopefully I will be able to post 'finished' photos soon!!
xoxo
No matter how hard I try, I can't stop my baby from growing! Some days can be really long with a 1.5 year old, just being honest, but I love her to pieces and really do cherish our time together. We just moved her into a big girl bed so I thought it was a good excuse to post some updated photos of her bedroom!
We do have the metal/mesh side rails, I just think for pictures it looks better without them ;-)
All of her furniture is painted with various shades of green, I used Chalk Paint® and Milk Paint {surprise surprise}. One of the many things I love about Chalk Paint® and Milk Paint, is that I can just paint over the furniture when I am ready for a change. No need to sand, strip or prime! Love the stuff!
Just as she grows, I know her room will continue to change and grow with her. Of course there is more I would love to do in her room, but for now it works and it's a fun space for her to play in!
xoxo
I am sure enjoying these days leading up to Thanksgiving, it's one of my favorite holidays! We are really trying to wrap up some projects around our home before the first of the year. Come January, we both have some larger work projects and it would sure be nice to have some things finished around here ;-) You know how I showed pictures of our painted kitchen cabinets a couple of weeks ago? Well, the blue that I painted my little office area just wasn't working for me. I tried to like it, but I couldn't. So, one afternoon I just started re- painting it and I am much happier. It isn't permanent, but now I don't cringe every time I look at it! I painted the desk with Chalk Paint® {OLD WHITE} and I painted the office chair with Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint {KITCHEN SCALE}. I lightly sanded the chair to distress it, and added a little antiquing wax to darken it.
Matt finished modifying the basement entertainment center and now it's my turn to paint it! It will take me a while, but I love to see things starting to change in the basement! Carpet for the play room is scheduled for December 16th, so we now have a deadline...
And the barn is progressing! Siding and roofing should happen within the next two weeks! We keep changing material selections and colors, it really is such a process to build and remodel. Having an endless budget would make it a lot more fun, but we don't, so we are trying to make smart decisions and still have a barn that has a bit of character.
And here is the neighbor's barn across the street, I love it! So fun to get to view both barns out of our windows!!
And we are celebrating Thanksgiving with Matt's family. I really love Thanksgiving and the slow paced day of reflecting on all we are thankful for. We have some intense family situations on Matt's side and mine, but still so much to be thankful for! Our contribution for the feast is home made rolls and then these fun sweet treats...
Wishing you a blessed and memorable Thanksgiving with family and friends!
xoxo
A few months ago I decided to paint our master bathroom cabinets. Although we hope to remodel that space eventually, it falls very low on the priority list. It functions and it is clean, by clean I mean not falling apart ;-). There is no need to move that project to the top of the list, we have plenty more 'urgent' projects that need to be tackled! But, I still want to start making changes!
The original maple cabinets are in good shape and they were very easy to paint. I used a rough grit sand paper to scuff up the cabinets. I scrubbed them down well with TSP and warm soapy water. I wiped the damp cabinets with a dry cloth and waited for everything to be completely dry. Easy-peasy!
I knew that I wanted to slightly distress the cabinets. I wanted black to show through when I distressed. Instead of painting the entire cabinet black {GRAPHITE}, I painted one, thin coat along the edges, where I planned on distressing. I rubbed the edges with a hard beeswax so that when I sanded the second color, the black would show through, not the original maple.
I applied two coats of FRENCH LINEN and then lightly sanded the edges to reveal the black paint underneath. I waxed with Annie Sloan's clear wax. The original hardware was a bit modern for my taste. They must have been a custom size because I couldn't find any knobs or pulls that would match the existing drilled holes! Instead of filling and sanding the existing hardware holds and then re-drilling new holes, Matt cut down a sheet of metal to make metal plates. We sprayed them with a matte black textured spray paint and we used that to attach the new hardware. Still time consuming, but not as time consuming as filling/sanding/drilling new holes would have been!
There is a lot we want to do to this space with the timing is right. But for now, I will keep making simple changes and 'tweaking' it here and there ;-)
So I leave tomorrow for California. A two day paint training workshop for Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint retailers. I will miss my little family dearly, but I am really excited to have a few days to myself, and get my creative juices flowing! In the mean time, I have been filling the freezer and refrigerator with meals and treats. I made these easy and yummy banana + pecan muffins and I thought I would share the recipe!
BANANA + PECAN MUFFINS
INGREDIENTS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan, regular or mini, with paper liners. Lightly toast pecans.
Peel four bananas, and place them in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until mashed, about 1 minute. Add brown sugar, oil, and egg; beat until smooth. Reduce speed to low. Add flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; beat until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla; beat until combined.
Fill muffin liners three-quarters full. Slice remaining banana into 1/8-inch-thick rounds; place a slice on each muffin. Top each muffin with toasted pecans. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes for regular muffins and 20 for mini, rotating pan halfway through. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Store, covered, at room temperature.
A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from a lady; they were moving her mom to an apartment and needing to downsize. She wanted to know if I would like to come look at the items they were needing move. I loaded up the girls, picked up a girlfriend and we were on our way. She had a beautiful table and chair set. Absolutely beautiful! But, it was a big set and I didn't have room. So I came home with a pair of chairs and some smaller treasures.
The chairs were in really good shape, and super comfortable. Since I don't have the skills necessary to reupholster these beauties, I decided to paint them.
Here are the details on how I painted fabric with Chalk Paint®.
- Vacuumed the fabric and trimmed the loose strings.
- Wiped down the wood with a warm, damp rag. After allowing the wood to dry, I painted two coats of Milk Paint {Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint ~ ironstone} on the wood. I was fine with the paint chipping, so I did not apply the bonding agent.
- For the fabric, I added water to Chalk Paint®. I added 4 parts {OLD OCHRE} Chalk Paint® to a mason jar and 1 part water. Shake it good to thin the paint down a bit. By thinning the paint down it helps the paint to cover easier, and it makes it a bit softer to the touch once it dries.
- Once the fabric was painted, I touched up the painted wood with an artist brush. I didn't tape anything off, so naturally I had a bit of the fabric paint color on the wood details. I sanded the edges of the wood to give the wood a distressed look.
- The last step was to apply clear wax to the wood and the fabric. The wax helped to soften the fabric and also provides a protective barrier.
I am very happy with the results. The fabric is not 'crunchy' or hard. It's not super soft like cotton or linen, it feels more like an outdoor fabric. One day I may have these chairs reupholstered, but for now I am very happy with how they turned out! And no sewing skills were required ;-)
Last weekend I finished painting our kitchen cabinets. I got the 'bug to start painting" about two weeks ago and worked on painting the walls and cabinetry during nap times and in between making meals. One of the many benefits of Chalk Paint® is the ease of use! I truly was waxing cabinet doors while my little ones sat on the counter top and helped me make dinner.
Above are the 'BEFORE' photos. Now, in all honesty, we plan to do a major kitchen renovation next winter. New cabinets, countertops, new walls/laundry room/pantry, etc. With that, I feel there is extra freedom because if I don't love the colors, we will be changing things. Plus, I was a little less careful with the painting than I would have been if this paint job was going to last me longer {I didn't paint the inside of the cabinets or take the doors off of the hinges to paint.}
I chose black {Annie Sloan's GRAPHITE} for a majority of the cabinets because we have black appliances in almost every cabinet. I distressed the edges and applied the dark wax over the entire cabinet. I am really please how it turned out and the appliances now blend into the cabinetry.
I painted the upper cabinets next to the sink white {Annie Sloan's OLD WHITE} only because I didn't the kitchen to start too feel to heavy with so much black. I left the cabinets doors off of the uppers and distressed the edges. I also painted the walls a soft cream, and that helped to lighted the space as well.
We have a little nook area off of the kitchen and that is temporarily housing my computer/home office area. We took these cabinets from the office of our vacation rental, people vacationing don't need an entire wall of built-in file drawers! We will build new cabinetry for this area when we remodel, but for now this serves a great purpose.
Although this will all be changing in a year or so, I just needed to give it some color. I am a firm believer in the fact that our homes should be inviting and reflect our personality. Not that our homes are perfect or designed perfectly, but that our spaces help to make being in our homes more enjoyable. By just adding a bit of color to our kitchen, I am enjoying cooking and baking so much more! Color really does make a difference!
Next week I will post more details about the paint colors and applications I used! Until then, enjoy your weekend!!
Owners of MD Haney & Co., Matt and Darci Haney, are a husband and wife team who love architecture and beautiful spaces. They have a passion for what they do and believe that is evident in all of their projects. MD Haney & Co. is a design/build company that specializes in design, renovating homes, custom cabinetry and furniture re-finishing. MD Haney & Co. is also a Chalk Paint® decorative paint, and Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint stockist. Besides refinishing and repurposing worn out pieces, they sell decorative paint, re-purposed furniture and offer monthly painting and creative workshops.
