Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Transforming a Twin Headboard for a Queen!

 
Transform a Twin French Headboard to fit a Queen & a Queen Size Mattress
A Delightful Dilemma:
 In staging the house for showings we definitely needed a headboard for this bedroom.
Our good friend and fellow artist, Carol Rea, happened to have this wonderful French Provincial twin headboard that belonged to her mother. It still had it's original green paint, great design & patina and was in beautiful condition. She was sweet enough to let us try it in the room and what a perfect touch! Now that we had the perfect twin headboard, all we needed was to transform it to fit the queen size mattress.
 
Bedroom Before
 
Bedroom After
 
 And of course transforming around here usually means crowns & wings! To age the wings and give them an old world charm and texture Denise took a pair of large feathered wings, ones like you buy in a costume store, (or if you are lucky at the thrift store) and painted them. She's done this technique for years and incorporates these wings on a variety of different pieces. For the paint, you can use any type of acrylic paint, satin or flat finish. Helpful Hint: Start at the bottom tip and work your way up the wing.  For an extra aged look, once the paint dries you can go over them with a dark glaze. We're not sure if they still make it, but Ralph Lauren made a glaze called Tobacco that she uses quite a lot. It's not at all like a dark wax which is used now in aging furniture, the glaze is painted on. This pair of wings only has the acrylic paint.
For the headboard we cut the wings down the middle and then tacked them with small furniture tacks to the back of the headboard.
 
Feather Wings Painted with Acrylic Paint
 
The crown is a reproduction, hung from a nail in the wall and is easily slipped on and off.
 
A Royal and Angelic Headboard fit for a Queen
So a design dilemma that led to a cost free, fun & creative group solution!
We couldn't have asked for anything better! 
A Big Thank You to Carol for sharing such a lovely piece from her mom's collection,
 it makes the space a thousand times more Special & Beautiful!
Using elements from our studio garage, and the kindness of a dear friend,
we were able to give this room the whimsy and charm it needed.
 
Vintage French Provincial Headboard
 
A Cozy, Whimsical Bed fit for a Queen!
 
 


Sunday, October 6, 2013

Photo Gallery Tour of Denise's Home- Part 1

Denise's Home -Now for Sale- Cielo Community in Rancho Santa Fe, California
Pacific Sotheby's International Realty
 
Six months ago we started the process of getting mom and Jamie's house ready to sell. All of the cleaning and staging and frozen pizza for dinner nights are thankfully behind us & we are finally happy to report that the realtor listing papers were signed yesterday. I asked my mom, after the realtors walked through and complimented her talents and beautiful work in designing and staging the property, if she was sad to leave? She surprisingly didn't hesitate in answering. "No" she said with a smile, "this house is a dream home and it's been a wonderful 10 years, but it's just too much work!"

Loving the Lavender in bloom
 
The driveway arch is one of our favorites


Brick patio just to the left of the driveway.
Denise did all of the landscape design for the house
I frantically snapped photos before the realtor showing yesterday and was shocked when I downloaded them from the camera onto the computer- there were over 400! Lots of friends and family have been so supportive of us neglecting them over the past few months in focusing on this sale, so I hope everyone enjoys these next 3 or 4 posts of the house. We've had so many wonderful events with Family & Friends here and we look forward to creating new memories wherever our path leads... 
Welcome!
Front Entry
White Room- Front Room to the Left
White Room- Unlike some sellers who need to fill a room for staging-
 We actually had to edit out most of the items she had in this room

We love Sergio Bustamante, and was super excited to find this 1983 original ceramic piece at a
San Diego pawn shop, it was Denise's Mother's Day gift this year
White Room and Stairs
Some of Denise's Favorite items are this Vintage Jester Cast Figure that she
transformed into a Candelabra and the Black & White Chair she recovered
Music Room- Front Room to your Right
Denise did all of the faux painting in this room
 
These large arch windows throughout the home are what
sold her on the place 10 years ago

This great Italian Tole Birdcage she bought at the Vintage Marketplace from one
of the sweetest people ever, Miss Becky of Whimzy. The Art Deco wall lamps are nice
because they just plug in and the built-in alcoves are nice for staging
The Angel was a nice fit for the room

This mirror and marble table actually covers one of the more than
70 windows in the house.
This antique piano was a nice buy for $125 at a Riverside thrift shop a year ago
Staircase- Two story mural by well known muralist and set designer,
 Edmond Piffard


Edmond painted faux stone bricks around the four arch windows in the tower
 

Downstairs Hallway
Another view of the Downstairs Hallway
To your right and a few steps down is the Mini Wine Cellar
Denise had the cobble stone floor put in for added charm
This niche happened to be a perfect spot for this Antique Cabinet
we use for bar glasses
Detail of figure and wood inlay on the Antique Cabinet
Our favorite warrior
Right across from the warrior is actually two sets of French Doors that open up
onto the side patio and ivy wall
Another musical statue as you enter the patio
This is probably one of the most charming spots on the whole property-
one that we definitely could have spent more time in- the café lights are gorgeous at dusk-
I think I'll make everyone eat dinner out here tonight :)
Denise's
 Diamond Ivy Wall that she designed and lovingly nurtured for many years
Another one of her babies is this gorgeous white rose arbor that leads
to the outdoor fireplace, pool and backyard
 
Back into the house this hallway leads to the dining room and art room
 
On the left in the Hallway is the Guest Bath
Denise hand painted these large diamonds on the wall
and made a mold to create the medallions at each point 
She brought back the Italian masks from a European vacation
many years ago
The curtain adds a nice feature to the space


Down the Hallway to the right is the Dining Room
Corner of the Dining Room
Because of the large size of the windows, Denise sewed and created
 most of the window treatments in the entire house
Dining Room with Denise's Gold Checkerboard Ceiling
Denise's hand painted Dining Chair. We have used these chairs for more than 15 years
and they still look just as beautiful as they did when she first painted them
 

Nice long marble side table with antique sea serpent lamps

More of the Downstairs Interior and Back Exterior in Part 2
Thanks for taking time to take a look!
Ashley & Denise
 


Photo Gallery Tour of Denise's Home- Part 2


Back of Denise's Home- Now for Sale- Rancho Santa Fe, California
 
We are glad it's Friday! Spent every second up until yesterday afternoon getting the house ready for the realtor appointment- we still have some hauling and cleaning to do, but the majority of our work is done and now we just let the house do it's thing and know someone will fall in love with it as much as we have! This post I'll upload photos of the back exterior and more from the downstairs interior...
 
Seating area just out the back kitchen door
Outdoor Fireplace
Two cute stories about the back patio.
When Denise & Jamie first moved into the house there was no landscaping. Denise designed everything, down to the last blade of grass, however for the Homeowner's Association she needed a Landscape Architect to submit the plans. After approval and installation (installation mostly consisting of Denise digging holes, planting and staining) the architect was so impressed by her concrete stain job that he had a friend at Behr come out, who in turn loved it as well, and had it photographed. Now this was years ago, not long after they moved into the house. Fast forward to the summer of 2010 and friends are asking our opinion on staining concrete inside their new store. They are showing us color options and I see the cover photo of the concrete stain brochure and it looks familiar, but it doesn't register. I say to Denise, that looks like your patio and fireplace, it takes her a few seconds too and we both smile...fast forward to spring 2013 and Denise is thinking about re-staining the back patio for the house sale- even though we all love the worn and aged look. She's shopping and there again is her patio on the cover of the Behr Concrete Dye Kit...she bought the kit just for the photo!
 
Behr brochures featuring the back patio
 
 
Denise's home and patio featured on Behr brochures, paint cans & boxes.
The house is seen here in it's original off white paint
Rose Garden
 The bushes were so full this year and they are still blooming
 
Pool with fountain heads and bowl.
Rose garden in the distance

 
The large kitchen window




Pool & Gazebo at Sunset

Pool at Sunset


Inside, the Kitchen and another Dining area

Family Room
 
Family Room with fun vintage theater style wood and leather chairs


Kitchen Hallway
Girls Art & Game Room


One of Denise's Face Tables
A peaceful work space to create

Love this clock- she painted the face & added the finial
 A faux stone window at the end of this hallway leading out
of the Art Room. Denise also painted and faux finished these walls
 

To the left is the Laundry Room, Garage and
this quote Denise put up, one of her favorites
Coming outside this back garage door is a
view of the Carriage Suite and more ivy
Just off the Art Room is the outdoor barbecue and this gazebo...
 
... a favorite spot for breakfast
....or dinner at twilight

Lemons, Kumquats, Passion Fruit and Blueberries grow well in pots along the Rock Wall
 
Rock wall was hand built with local stone
 

Kumquat Tree
 
 
View down the hillside, the property sits on nearly 4 acres
 
 

Backyard and Garden Boxes
 
 
Just beyond the Garden Boxes these grape vines grew new this year. She had several varieties
and tons and tons of them. The hillside could be transformed into a gorgeous orchard.

Denise designed these two Garden Boxes with stone foundations
& picket fences, they are great for growing veggies
 
 


Garden Box
Denise's Curly Willow Tree,
one of her favorite things
 
Geranium boxes and ivy grow along the dividing neighbor's wall
 
Check out Part 3 for the Upstairs Pics
Smiles