I have just loaded in the new Annie Sloan Paint Brush designed by Annie herself!  Theses paint brushes are bit on the expensive side so I wanted to try them out before I started carrying them in the shop.  All I can say is they are fabulous and worth every penny {and I’m frugal}!  I don’t think I’ll paint with anything else again.

What makes them unique is that the bristles are different sizes and so the brush really works with you as you paint.   I also find I use less paint which is always good.  Since the bristles are made with natural fibers they will shed a bit like the other brushes we have in the shop.

I have small and medium size brushes at Stifel & Capra in Falls Church and they are also available online in the shopping area.

Back to getting ready for Lucketts Spring Market this weekend, come and see us!

There is nothing like people coming to your home to make you get things in order!  Lots of folks in this industry show these gorgeous pictures of their homes and I always wonder how do you have time!  My home usually comes last.  Truth be told it is very common for me to have furniture in the house with tags on it ready to be sold.

We bought our home 3 years ago and completely gutted it all the way down to the studs…when we found out we didn’t have any insulation or even drywall!   This was my 2nd fixer upper and I was thinking oh no biggie some paint and we’ll be good….NOT!   The home was in it’s original 1940′s condition.  Since then we have opened up some walls, combined rooms, installed hardwood floor, put in insulation, drywall, paint, doors, etc..  we love out little 1200sq ft home with a monster backyard.  Which yes we bought mainly for our 4 dogs:-)

Since I started Stylish Patina my house gets less and less attention and my husband complains that things are always coming and going…there is one sofa table that he put his foot down and said “No, we are keeping this”.   Needless to say the last year has been a crazy fun ride but finally I needed to pull it together.  I was my husbands 40th birthday and we were having a party for him PLUS it was Mothers day and all the Mothers were going to be there..and it was parents 40th anniversary!   So I needed to get organized.  As usually everything came together in a matter of days.

My mom {aka COO for Stylish Patina} kept asking me questions like “what food are you going to have?” my answer to this and many questions was “I don’t know I haven’t gotten that far yet, it will come together”.  And it did…an hour before people were suppose to arrive I was digging in the garage and pulling out vintage crates to hold cups and napkins, vintage apotho jars for flowers, a vintage desk to hold plates and napkins, etc.  I have known a few interiors designers in my time and people that work in the trade and they layout everything down to where the last vintage book will be placed…..me I collect all the things that I love and speak to me and then blend them together until I’m happy with how it looks.  We all have our different approaches to how we “style” a room, a house or a retail space.  For me the fun is in blending it all together.

So here are a few pictures of my home when it’s not being over run by my business or our 4 dogs:-)  The next time I get inspired {or forced} to pull it together it will most likely look totally different mainly b/c I will have sold half of the items out of my house {sorry hubby, but not the sofa table!}.

This is our "everything" room and our main living area.

Main living area

Hubby's sofa table

vintage and new come together

Bedroom

Upstairs sitting area

kitchen/eating area

my office

my latest treasure, love this little guy

just finishes this guy and had to keep him!

You can see more pictures on the Stylish Patina Facebook page here….

Due to the high demand for a way to take home sample colors of the paint I now have paint cards at Stifel & Capra {and eventually in the online shop as well}.  Each sheet is $10 and has snippets of hand painted card stock for you to take home to help you decide on your color.

ASCP Paint cards {$10}

We also now have little “pink” lye soaps that you can use to clean your brushes.  A percentage of each purchase will go to the Breast Cancer Research fund {hence the pink color!}.  These are $4/each.

The perfect soap to clean out your brushes with

We are also restocked on paint lids {$6/each}, remember you might need to hit them with a hair dryer to loosen them up a bit when putting them on your cans.

Happy painting!

June 2nd Refresh Basics Class

I bough a ton of these amazing vintage French skeleton keys but when they got here {from France!} they had tons of rust.  So of course I googled “removing rust from keys” and it told me to get coke, brand name, and put the keys in it.  So I did this and yes, it removed some of the rust.  I didn’t want them perfect just a bit cleaned up.

So now my 2nd question is after reading this blog post are you ever going to drink Coke again?  I hope not! I don’t care for soda {I love coffee} but my hubby does…he knew this little trick and of course I said to hi…”you knew this and still drink soda!”  Crazy!

I am gradually bringing in these awesome keys to the shop in Falls Church and out the barn so come and see us.  They are awesome as a home decor item but also on a necklace free form…love them!

love these:-) vintage from France

I am always looking for new ways to use vintage items as decor in your home.  One of the things I love is vintage player piano rolls. They are a good size and add dimension and interest {plus they are vintage}!  Here is a picture of a little something I pulled together with stuff I had around the house.

vintage player piano rolls

use items you have around the house

Lavendar, wine corks and piano rolls:-)

Tonight is First Friday in Falls Church so if you are looking for a little outing swing by Stifel & Capra for a glass of wine and check out as mom calls it “Stylish Patina 2″,  the new upstairs location.  You can see the new sample pots from Annie Sloan and view all of the fabulous art, vintage treasures and hand crafted jewelry by the other artist in Stifel & Capra.  A perfect opportunity to pick up a Mother’s Day gift!  Here are a few pics of what I have in store for you at Stylish Patina….

Vintage chair mint condition...I have more...

Come see us on First Friday!

new little space upstairs

sweet little dresser

See more pictures on the Stylish Patina FB Page!  If you like what you see “Pin us” on Pinterest, I had a new hovering button installed to make it easy for you.

If you bring a significant other there are a couple great restaurants in walking distance!  Across the street is an amazing Latin restaurant and then we have Dogwood Tavern, Mad Fox Brewery and a few yummy sushi places!  Hope to see you tonight.

I have finally given into the desire for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint samples!  Well they are now here and in the shop at Stifel & Capra {260 West Broad Street, Falls Church Va 22046}.  The truth is I was holding out until our distributor was manufacturing them vs. me hand pouring each sample.  AND I was worried I wouldn’t have anywhere to put them all but just as life often does it all came together.  The adorable little sunroom on the 2nd floor of Stifel & Capra came available and so now I have the samples upstairs in Stylish Patina #2.

Here is a little peek into the upstairs room

I just put in the shop 4 samples of each color minus old violet {there was a mix up with the order}.  I have additional samples at the house and will get these each week like I do the other paint products.  Each sample is $13.50.  If you are interested in one of each color email me and I can give you sample set price {kelly@stylishpatina.com}.

sample heaven

come and see the new space upstairs and get your samples!

Some of you may remember I had two amazing buffets that I found a while ago.  One of them I ended up painting as a custom project for a client and it turned out just wonderful!  She wanted ASCP Pure White to match other items she had in her home.  Just look at this stunner!

Just a little inspiration for your refresh projects….

BEFORE yes that is my messy garage

After

After

I am super excited to announce that I have taken on more space at Stifel & Capra in Falls Church!  There is an adorable little sunroom upstairs in our old house in Falls Church and it recently came available so now it’s going to be filled with Stylish Patina.  Here is the before picture..you will have to wait for the afters!

This Friday is “First Friday” in Falls Church and the shop will be open late {until 7pm}, come and check out the new space and….another surprise but I’m not announcing that just yet!

Before

Look at all that light!

New goodies!

now how's that orange for a POP of color!

These pretty ladies are gorgeous as is {maybe some new seats} or would look beautiful painted!  There are 6 of them total, one arm and the others w/o arms.  I had lots of folks looking for chairs at the barn sale this past weekend so I picked up this set hoping someone needed them:-)  They are $55/each a major steal considering the great condition they are in, check them out!  Email me if interested, kelly@stylishpatina.com.

$55/each

look at those curves in the front!

cane is in great shape

I have been eyeing these amazing vintage chairs since we bought them a month ago.  I had no idea where I could use them in my tiny little house with 4 dogs!  But I thought maybe I would redo my office and use one as a desk chair and then one as a sitting chair in the office but no….The next thought was using them in our kitchen/dining room.  I had red curtains in there so I did an inexpensive little DIY project.  I use these neutral Ikea panels, tied them with a little twine, brought in a rug from another room and added two of my beautiful chairs and walla…a touch of amazing vintage style with an old rustic farm table!

I’m planning on having a bench seat made and adding a bunch of pillows and she should be done!

A work in progress

Amazing what a little twine can do...

LOVE the lines and the fabric of these chairs

Vintage blue ball jars make perfect vases

look at those curves!