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Victorian Cast Iron Painted Furniture

If you have a fondness to the extravagant styled furniture, do consider investing in a beautiful Victorian cast iron bench to be the centerpiece of your garden.  Antique cast iron garden patio furniture is still some of the most desired furniture to date, but extremely rare to find and quite expensive for the average homeowner. Cast Iron furniture is rarely manufactured as aluminum patio furniture has become the popular choice because it still is quite durable without the high cost of iron.  Each year the aluminum patio furniture becomes more appealing as designs get more streamlined.  Target has come out with beautiful patio sets which have an upscale look, they would be just as nice inside the home than outside.  Although the aluminum sets are quite popular, ornate benches are almost non existent, forcing many people to buy antiques.  Victorian cast iron benches are the perfect choice for a rose garden, or a Romanic gazebo.  Cast iron is rare in our current market which makes it very unique. In comparison to any garden furniture to date, it still remains the extremely durable and can withstand harshest conditions such as rain, snow, hail and the sun over years without showing a shred of damage. Cast iron furniture can last a lifetime and can be cleaned with the simple products you have at home compared to the plastic furniture that breaks and yellows in the sun over just several months. Antique cast iron furniture is much more valuable than today's popular aluminum furniture, partly because the material is no longer manufactured. Today's furniture manufactures tend to go for the easiest production techniques that fetch the most money. A company can make much more money producing an array of low quality -low cost materials which then can be affordable to 90% of the public than to produce something only a small percentage of the population can afford. Companies also seem to be dodging the high quality materials because genuine natural materials are becoming quite rare which then becomes costly to make a profit. Today pressed board and plastics replaces wood in many dressers, armoires and closets. From a manufacturing standpoint, it is easier to produce because it is light weight, low quality and inexpensive.  The majority of the public isn't into quality, but low price.  Vintage cast cast cars are still in tact while today's modern plastics have been thrown away by the thousands. If that is not enough, plastic will never disintegrate, as it sits in the earths land fills for generations. (Read More.....)

High Gloss Painted Furniture

Choosing a paint can be perplexing at first as there are so many different colors to pick from. Having a wide range of colors options is a luxury and a result of years of innovation compared to the handful of color finishes just 100 years ago.  Just as important as paint color consideration is sheen choice.  The main types of paints are Flat, Matte, Satin, Semi-gloss, Gloss, High-gloss, and Latex. (Read More.....)

Marcel Prins's Unique Painted Walls

Apartment Therapy had a post featuring a designer from the Netherlands, who designed a home around frames of metallic color.  Designer Marcel Prins,who was designing the Berrington House in Munich, painted all the walls in metallic paint in blocks of different hues of green, bronze, and gold.  The Berrington-house features 24 colours metallic colors that flow from one room to another in different shades.  Metallic paint has a glamorous feel to it that when decorating, you want to consider like objects with similar properties with glossy finishes such as marble, lacquered furniture, glass and mirrors.  Metallic paint will almost bring light into any room because of its over all shine.    (Read More.....)

Book Review: Painted Finishes For Walls & Furniture By Susan Goans Driggers

I recently was able to take a good look at Susan Driggers Painted Finishes For Walls & Furniture, and I honestly have to say it fails to impress.  This  guide shows how to create a variety of the basic faux finishes which are used by even the most skilled painters, but fails to inspire a excited painter with finished furniture that could be created.   This book was published in 1999, which may account for some of the older painting styles that include stencils and decorations on furniture which are no longer in style. The book features 30 projects, but among those projects is a great wall technique they used on a lower wall featured on  page 46.  (Read More.....)

Bryonie Porter's Wallpaper Furniture

Bryonie Porter creates outstanding wallpapered furniture from the most famous wallpaper companies such as Cole & Son, Osborne & Little, and Timorous Beasties. She does a wonderful job of matching up the paint with the colors in the wallpaper.  Do take a look at her wonderful website with many more of her wallpaper creations.   Decoupage looks quite complicated, but it is much easier than it looks.  With a little patience, you can cover a lovely chest with beautiful wallpaper using some easy techniques that will allow you to have an ornatly detailed piece of furntiure without the laborous time painting the details.   We show you some simple tricks to creating the perfect decoupage wallpaper chest.  (Read More.....)

Notorious Sponge Painting Mistakes

Sponging was such a popular faux finish pushed in the 80's that everyone gave it a try.  Bad sponging jobs from amateur painters have turned the majority of the public off from sponging faux finishes all together. I am an active buyer on craigslist, and way too often have I seen very poor sponging finishes in homes that is no wonder that sponging has such a bad rap. Everyone has seen this finish done wrong. Sponge painting is one of the key tools in every professional faux artists tool kit that if it is done properly can be one of the most fantastic finishes around. We want to show you the main reasons this faux finish fails and what you can do to get it right. (Read More.....)

Award Winning Faux Painting Mural Artist Eric Grohe

I stumbled on an email forward not long ago of a talented mural artist who transforms the side of buildings into fabulous realistic murals.   It is one level of talent being able to paint an oil portrait well, but I think anyone would agree, that a person with the talent to transform a entire side of a building according to scale is in a league of their own.  Eric Grohe paints most of the artwork himself, while his Kathy (whom is an artist herself),serves as their project manager. Eric Grohe has been featured in numerous magazines and television broadcasts, and is an award winning artist of numerous awards such as the Signs of the Times international mural competition, and in 2002, he won both Best of Show and 1st Place. Other competitions have also recognized his work, notably the American Institute of Architects and the American Legion, Ohio. (Read More.....)