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Hi! I'm Lori.

Over 15 years of creating professionally for clients and brands. Bringing timeless creations and designs into homes and helping inspire creativity in others. From walls, furniture, and now digitally, on canvases and beautiful watercolors. I love to teach and inspire you to find that hidden creative.

A Traveling French Desk

You supply the vision and I shall deliver the beauty. It’s even more special when it is a friend. The trust given is never taken for granted.

When my sweet friend Kisha saw this Thomasville French desk that I shared on my Facebook page. She immediately had a vision for an office she has yet to establish. Some might think that’s putting the cart before the horse..

But we call it FAITH. Every step of obedience we take in trusting God to provide is always met with sweet reward.

That’s a lot of pressure for one little French desk. But I was certainly up to the challenge.
Once we decided on the color palette. I headed out to the sweetest little shop in Norman, OK to get my paint.
In Your Dreams is a beautiful shop with whimsy and fun that abounds in such creative ways.
I will definitely be back to share more of that, but that Saturday I was just in and out to get Annie Sloan’s paint in Aubusson Blue and Original.

Look at the beautiful shape and detail along her backside… so pretty!!

Kisha was looking for her French desk to look distressed and aged with a touch of metallic accents. But not too glam. French Country is a style I have painted for many years and this desk was a great piece to begin again.
I began by painting our the base of the piece in Annie Sloan’s Original, again just a beautiful antique white. With her paint it is so textured that you want to paint like you would ice a cake.. first coat nice and light crumb coat. I always sand lightly between coats to provide an ultra smooth, no brush stroke finish. It’s in the details that your finish shines- so be dedicated to the work in the process.

Then the drawers were painted out in the Annie Sloan Aubusson Blue and began accenting with Modern Masters Warm Silver Metallic paint.

This blue is one of my favorites. you can see more of it here, here, and here.(all links open in new tab) And the MM warm silver is another favorite you will find another french desk here
All the way through this process, I am sharing updates and making sure my client is happy with the look. And when she saw this next picture the warm silver became a blinding gold to her… and I LOVED IT… but she did not. And it’s all about what the client loves!!

So we adjusted and pulled some of the metallic accent areas. Repainted with Martha Stewart’s Thundercloud and covered the sides with the ASCP original. It still looks beautiful and she loves it!!

Distressing doesn’t have to look like you attacked the piece with sand paper and wide brush strokes of paint… it should look like subtle, and aged over time. Thoughtful consideration of how it wear over time, the areas most touched, and use of mediums that enhance that look. And I have a few favorites that work and play well together. They provide a beautiful finish that are durable and will last a lifetime.

One of my favorite mediums to use is Maison Blanche’s Le Dirt… You can see more of it’s use here.

She wanted a beautiful dark top. I chose with the base to use General Finishes Antique Walnut and did 3 very light coats. Sealed it off with General Finishes High Performance Top Coat.
The stain has a very durable finish on it’s own. But when it is shipping off to another state, or leaving my home to another- I want to be sure to provide the most durable finish I can offer.