The next step

Another update on my designer room

I think I told you that I love using chests of drawers for uses other than their intended bedroom use. I have a great one in the store that suddenly came to vision to use in our room. Most of the furniture will be very Swedish, light wood and natural linen. I decided to paint the vintage chest of drawers the lighter color of the two wall colors. I adore painted furniture. The color can make it fit into any decor: white or aqua is fresh with cottage or shore themes; black, of course, is dramatic with any decor from urban to traditional (a personal favorite!); taupey-latte-like color would be wonderful in foyers; lime green perfect for a nursery or tween room. Well, you get the picture!

Rita came to the rescue once again and met me with gloves in hand, all ready for the project. We did a little light sanding and wiping, prepared the drop cloths and started in. Dear Rita is always cheerful and ready to help, and,never wants for conversation either!! She always has some entertaining way of telling her tales and doesn't waste any time getting started either. My daughter, Michelle, has said from the time she was a young college student, that she wants to write a book some day with Rita as the main character!

Here's the chest, painted with the new color. It looks really great next to the wall. (I have ordered a very unique lamp from a favorite vendor with a grey shade that has an Italian wedding manuscript written on the shade!) I just love any kind of beautiful manuscript. It will be he perfect accent for this chest. It's magical how a coat of paint can transform a piece of furniture for a new look. I love Habersham furniture and own 4 or 5 pieces of it. One of their trademarks is to paint the hardware. I suggest doing this for a custom look and the interest is so stylish.

The drawers were drying, sorry! I also suggest a satin finish.

While we were painting, I had arranged for three rugs to be delivered from a great resource we love in New Hope,quite close to the designer house. It is a Persian rug gallery that specializes in antique investment quality rugs. I'll get more into the "investment" later!



My friend, Ben, the owner of the rug gallery, graciously agreed to pose for the purpose of documentation, as he was telling us about the rug that we selected. He is so supportive in loaning us this beautiful rug. The beauty and value can only be appreciated in person,so I hope you will come and see for yourself. We stopped by his gallery a week or so ago and selected three to choose from. He and Sneelock met us there and hauled the three large and heavy rugs into the room, so as to see them in the actual light and color of the room. This is always the best way to select a rug.

Here is the carpet that we selected. This one was my first choice in the gallery, but the moment it was unrolled, it was confirmed! Perfect.

Here is the history of the rug. It dates back to the mid 1800's and comes from western Persia. The appraised value is $48000.00. This is where the investment comes in! Here is the great thing about fine rugs: one, they are durable and will withstand the rigors or everyday use. Two, they never loose their value. We are so lucky! This is the perfect rug to add warmth, sophistication, and style to ground the soft neutral furnishings. Another design tip: a fine rug is never out of place for any room of fine design.

To end the documentation of the day, Rita agreed to a self portrait with me. (Yes, this is my paint smock,but since we were only doing furniture, I wore some of the new jewelry that I just brought into the store! It's way cute,come by to see for yourself!)

Thanks again, Rita! One step closer...stayed tuned.