With all the money going out the door with my house renovation, I am really making an effort to try and paint or refurbish my existing pieces as much as I can rather than give away, sell or buy new!!

I bought this chandelier from Joyce Horn Antiques to place in my entryway years ago.  Italian made, it was green and rust colored with bundles of hanging grapes and crystal accents galore; I just had to have it!

15 years later, all the grapes and crystals that I had originally adored were just too much for me! I kinda feel the fixture would be better in a dining room or Italian restaurant (hehe).  The first thing I did was take all the grapes and crystals off. So much better!!!  The grape drops may get refurbished into Christmas ornaments—watch your stockings!!

I decided to look in my garage to see what I had and found some left over white plaster from a previous project. Wanting to add some texture to the piece, I mixed the plaster with paint and applied it in a bouncing motion with an inexpensive chip brush. Insiders tip – you can mix paint with sheetrock mud to achieve a similar outcome!

Washing over the piece with a gray glaze, I gold leafed a sprinkling of the leaves and the metal braid on the bottom; hoping for a more contemporary, whimsical flair to its traditional design!

Ageing the gold by sanding it and adding raw umber, I re-hung the teardrop crystals and replaced the original resin candle sleeves with white wax ones. Notice I painted the glass crystals around the arms of the chandelier but not the ones running down the center to lesson the bling.

Here is the chandelier hanging in the entrance!! There are hooks on the fixture, beneath each candle where crystals previously hung. I chose to hang them higher where some of the grapes were so they are not so obvious. I also did not use all of them.

I love mixing elements and pairing items that you wouldn’t normally see combined together. Hmmm …  will it work?! I think I will hang up the two architectural overdoors above the entrances to the music room and dining room (still on the floor under the stairs).

Although I used real gold leaf on my fixture, another great way to add a metallic effect or to downplay metallic elements on a fixture is Rub and Buff. Along with buying it art supply stores you can also shop online to purchase from Amazon as well! In Houston, I buy it from Texas Art Supply or Berings Hardware & Co.

Look at how many colors are available! I found this great gift set on Amazon for $39. It looks like a Christmas wreath!!

Here is a glimpse into the music room! I really liked this space before, with its green plastered walls, but the addition of the new staircase necessitated widening the room openings here and into the dining room on the other side. I felt the spaces should be viewed as one and there should be no color change. After everything is done I might add a very faded stencil to the walls.

Here is the before (professionally taken )– I see I need to move the piano back to where it was in this picture! Of course I know to take pictures to remember the furniture placement but did I remember when the movers were here?? Of course not!

The furnishings are the same with the exception of switching out the couch for the daybed which used to be in my dressing area.

I had so much fun laying out the old plank wood from a barn in the USA that was going to go on my dining room ceiling!! Ari Rojas with AR Floor Designs did such a great job providing and hand selecting the wood for me! My plan is to paint a design on it but it is so beautiful in its natural state!!!

My dining room is definitely a work in progress! I had found some French chairs for a bargain and am having them recovered and painted. Once finished, these vintage lucite chairs will go in our game room.

Two things I love are my new vintage Fortuny drapes found at designer Dianne Joseph’s resale shop, Atelier 1505 ,and the fab lucite and brass curtain rods from LuxHoldups, found on Etsy!! They are very reasonably priced and I was able to get a custom size for my window!!! I am ordering endcaps and also replacing the old rods in the music room with these new ones.

Although the landscaping isn’t done the pool is completed and my patio furniture  arrived!! Tip from me – Really lay out dimensions of furniture before your pool is dug! In hindsight, I would have extended the patio and made the pool a little longer to accommodate how much seating I wanted! Oh well, crowded but quaint!

I do love the sun shelf loungers I found at Ledge Lounger.  A bit of a splurge, these weigh about 50lbs upon delivery. They fully submerge them in the pool, filling them with water. When installed they weigh about 350lbs — these won’t be going anywhere during hurricane season!!