After Sandy Project

Well, its has been tough mentally to try to get motivated after the Super Storm Sandy....as I await for various workers to show up at the house to repair various flood damaged issues .....

When we purchased this home this piece of furniture was upstairs.  It is obviously handmade and lined in cedar ...and ugly as sin..... but very practical... I've used it as a linen closet and most recently changed it to my work cabinet, holding files, paper, supplies all behind closed doors.








I decided to give it a make over while being held captive.  I choose Annie Sloan's Old Ochre for the base.  I then decided to kick it up and add some stripes.....I painted the stripes with Annie Sloan's Coco...

I measured out 2 inches with a pencil and applied painter's tape

Tape Removed

I decided to paint a decorative key hole for where I will  place the new knobs.

I finished it off with a coat of clear wax and a bit of a dark wax .. I still need to sand and buff...along with applying the new knobs....but at least I was productive today....

If you would like to rehab some of the pieces that may have gotten damaged from the storm, or need a face lift, I would be happy to help...visit us at www.shorechicydesigns.com  or our sister company harmonizehomes.com  or call us at 917-699-1262

The monster Sandy produced a lot of treasures on the curb

From our bedroom window the morning after October 30th

This is my first post in weeks....My house sits about 50' from the Barnegat Bay in Toms River, New Jersey - 5 miles outside of the barrier island where Seaside Park, Seaside Heights, Ortley Beach was called home to many vacationers during the summer months.....I'm sure you have seen photo's of the destroyed area...

A neighbor's house

Once the water receded..in our neighbor hood many people started cleaning out...the treasures that were being discarded ....it really was so sad....and what was worst, is that I could not rescue them.....my truck was lost in the flood...so I had no means of hauling  the items back to a safe house...Actually, I don't really think that I could have done that even if I had a truck.....I just  needed a little humor to help me deal with the daily sighting of ones treasures now on a heap of garbage....

Thrift Shops Finds

Since we're about to be hunkered down at home for the next two days, I'm glad I was able to get out to a local thrift shop and find this cute cabinet which is actually three pieces...I have just photographed the top  portion.    I brought it to my house to work in anticipation of Sandy coming ashore..... 

I would recommend you visiting your local hospital thrift shops!  The hospitals benefit from your purchases and so do you...Happy Painting!

Shore Chicy Giveaway Event at the Cottage!!!!

We hope you will all be able to stop by at some point during the weekend!  Don't forget if you bring a nonperishable item for "Your Grandmother's Cupboard" your name will be entered for a raffle drawing for one of Shore Chicy's Designs.

Research on Trends in NYC....yes there is chalk paint

Any time you set foot in NYC it wreaks energy and creativity...Shore Chicy Designs hits the streets walking through Bryant Park

It was early in the work day for many...and I was fortunate to be able to take on the beauty. I then head to Union Square on my way to ABC Home furnishing at 888 Broadway..http://www.abchome.com/ If you have never visited this store it is a destination site for sure....Union square was supporting their green market on Wednesday...which is also worth the trip

The market is filled with fresh vegetables, plants and baked goods...it is fun to see local chefs running around finding the freshest ingredients..

can you believe the size of these radishes??? Okay, off to ABC...up to the 5th floor...the building and architecture is worth the trip...So this is what is hot...

I thought this was a great idea of inserting the wire mesh...the colors that I saw were very similar to Annie Sloan's Chalk - the combo Paris Grey and Old White Paint.

This Red and Green chippy look..can be easily achieve by Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint

This vendor had many lovely items with matching price tags... I even like this company's name tags located on the back of each piece...The company name is Eloquence...

They are a California Based company. You can get some great ideas...from this site... Even Ralph Lauren has a section of painted furniture...he uses the chippy look also

All of his pieces seemed to be rehabbed....but again the price tag is nothing that I could ever afford..After a few hours of wondering around ABC and Union square, I headed to SoHo...for some lunch...found this great restaurant outside dining available ..The name is Isola located on 9 Crosby Street (The Mondrian Soho Hotel)....A must visit...check out the glass shelves above the dinning area..

What an amazing idea!!! And the Chandlers that lined the bar were also amazing..

I have to apologize for the quality of pictures...I only had my I-phone with me....Take the trip and see what others are doing... If you want more details on my journey..in box me (Shore Chicy Designs) and I can provide you with more information....I hope you enjoyed my research...on what is hot in painted furniture...

Craft Show

The Shore Chicy Design crew started at 6:00AM on Saturday Morning ....a cup of coffee was poured and off to the work shop and cottage to pick up some pieces. The weather was beautiful...a bit of crispness to the air on the first day of autumn.

Allaire Historical State Park in Wall New Jersey Once the truck and car was packed the excitement of the day began...we really didn't know what to expect as it was our first show...we brought a few pieces leaving the larger ones behind.

We had ordered these great leather tags(from cocosheaven)for our pieces which I thought just added an additional individual look to each of the pieces... (etsy.com/shop/cocosheaven)

We put up our sign and we were in business....almost all of out chalk boards went....and some many people had so many different ideas on the uses of these boards...which was fun to hear.

I worked on a few pieces during the show...and this piece really was a hit...it left the show just as i finished sanding.. here it is just painted at the cottage...

This piece was the most fun....as far as the interaction...the wife liked it the husband just walked away, there were a few others that were very interested in it...but just were not sure, then someone took it as I finished the sanding...I hadn't even replaced the mirror...so I would have to say that it was the most talked about piece.. I would like to give a shout out to Nicole Romano who purchased one of my favorite versatile pieces

Nicole was so sweet, thank you for commenting on Shore Chicy's Blog page...

I will be in Island Heights this weekend with a few remaining pieces...They will be having a town wide garage sale...I will be located on 113 Central Avenue...so stop on by....

So Many Vases So Little Time...

As you may remember from yesterday's posting, I was so excited about the beautiful vases...So yesterday I began my journey to several thrift shores,,,$12.00 later I had all of these vases at my workshop...along with the jewels.....It was a great way to finish up the tiny bits of paint that are left at the bottom of the cans...I added some distilled water and painted away...  I thought they would be a great addition to a show that I will be doing at Allaire Village in Wall New Jersey - See link below... http://www.allairevillage.org/events/description/Crafters.html It will be my first show there, and I'm very excited... I hope you will enjoy the pictures...let me know what you think...