Annie Sloan, Martha Stewart, Barb Blair + Paint

I love my home, the collections I have in it, and all the DIY stuff I do to it. Adding things, fixing things, changing things - it is all fun. Ever since my first dorm room at the University of Delaware, I've been interested in making a nice space to live in.

 

It's that time of year, when we here in the northern hemisphere move back into our interior spaces. What are you going to do to change up your space? Have you planned anything? With all the spiders moving into all the nooks and crannies around here, it must be a cozy place to be. It's a job keeping after the webs for sure.

Do you know Annie Sloan? She is an author of over 20 decorating books and lives in England. She also has a line of paint called Chalk Paint which she developed over 20 years ago. Annie has a background in the fine arts. Her books focus on interior decoration and paint finishes -- one of my favorites of hers is called Colour in Decoration co-written with Kate Gwynn. It is a book which I refer to over and over again when I want to get some inspiration. Published in 1990, it has stood the test of time. The photos on this post are from Colour in Decoration.

 

Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint and her other products including wax and lacquers are now being distributed in the US and you can find retailers here. I have not tried them but perhaps one of you has. Would love to hear about your experience. There was an interview with Annie on the Design*Sponge website this week. You can read more about Annie Sloan here. 

I got an interesting email a few weeks ago. Martha Stewart has announced a new furniture paint called Vintage Decor Paint produced by Plaid and available at Michael's. You can watch a video and demo here. It is a matte finish which I am not wild over. Matte paints don't wear well - especially here at our farm. It looks to me like Martha's people took Annie's concept and are now bringing it mainstream at Michael's.

There's a young furniture/home dec author who has come across my radar. She is Barb Blair who wrote the book Furniture Makeovers published by Chronicle last fall. Barb also sells some beautiful re-finished vintage furniture. You can read all about her here. 

 

And of course, there is my old favorite, now sadly deceased - British author Jocasta Innes. Jocasta is who taught me to do decorative painting through her books. You can find many of her books on Alibris here. I love the way Jocasta writes - common sense-ically - like you were in her kitchen having a chat. 

So what about you? Have you tried Chalk Paint of any kind? Do you have any painting projects planned for the winter months? Do you have any favorite painting/home decor authors you turn to again and again for inspiration?

The photos in the post above came from the pages of (oop) Colour in Decoration.  It is available used on Amazon or on Alibris.