We love using up-cycled furniture throughout the shop and when someone asks for our recommendation on where to purchase paint and supplies or where to have items painted, we send them to the experts at Brown Bear Designs and Associates. Heather, owner of Brown Bear walks us through how to bring a old piece of furniture back to life.
“Up-cycling life worn furniture, pieces that don’t coordinate with your design style, furniture that is old, tired, decades past its prime....this is our wheel house. This furniture was built to last and we use that to your advantage.
We feel that up-cycling life worn furniture is a huge privilege. We get an opportunity to refresh pieces and yet they still retain memories of a lifetime. The selection of furniture is deeply personal. Whether you come by your furniture second hand or purchase it right off the showroom floor it should reflect you. These pieces should be comfortable, they should be welcoming, they should be sturdy, and be beautiful. Our parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles carefully chose furniture that would last and it has. As these pieces cycle into our lives today we deliberate what are we going to do with them. They have finishes that have long since seen better days, life happens on our furniture, but that doesn’t mean these pieces are no longer worth saving.
From start to finish
The desk shown above is such a piece. It belonged to the same family for four generations and was a part of a bedroom suite. Our client was looking for a desk for her new associate, and this piece immediately came to mind. It has beautiful lines and would look lovely in the reception area. The initial idea was that it had to be pretty from the back too as it was going to be in a window space. We use a matte finish paint by Jolie Paint, which means we don’t sand or prime. Once a piece is cleaned, we get our paint on. We always use two coats of paint. In this case, we added some transfers by Iron Orchid Designs and then we topped it with Clear Finishing Wax. The front of the desk was cleaned up using Howard’s Restor-a-Finish. We touched up the decorative drawer fronts, the pulls and handles, and around the desk top with gold Gilding Wax. The end result is a tale of two looks and they coordinate so beautifully with the reception area feel. It’s a space that is airy, bright and very inviting.
Color ... which one to choose
Jolie Paint has 42 magical colors in a can...that said we have recipes for more than 300 different colors. Plus, add four different Finishing Waxes and a world of color variation is yours to choose from.
The hardest question to answer is, what color makes your heart soar, skip a beat, makes your world light up when you see it. Once we get past “I only have earth tones in my home,” there really isn’t a color that doesn’t coordinate with or accent or make a statement with an established color pallet. Oh, don’t get me wrong… there are always certain colors that play better with some than others. But, take a look around when you’re outside. Trust me, Mother Nature is full of glorious coordinated color.
Did someone say white!?!
There are so many tonal whites...a selection of white is still a color choice. There are blue whites, brown whites, grey whites, pink whites, yellow whites, green whites...well you can see where I’m going. If white works for you, fantastic! We used a transfer by Iron Orchid Designs to add a bit of interest to this secretary. Again, it was the right size and scale for the space. The extra storage was a huge plus, too.
The moral of our story is ... they don’t make furniture like this anymore. Older furniture can be up-cycled and made to fit your design style to live again.”
Brown Bear Designs and Associates up-cycles furniture that is long past it's prime or that needs a little pick-me-up. They offer local Jolie Paint™️ and Iron Orchid Designs Stockist to help up-cycle and repurpose life worn furniture. Looking for that perfect table or dresser to complete your home? They have it - they offer select furniture consignment, too!
They are in the shop painting and creating. Give them a call at 775-781-1853 and pop on by for a painting workshop. Not a big painter, drop off your furniture for a custom up-cycle.
Brown Bear Designs offers 42 colors of Jolie Paint and they have a wide selection of Iron Orchid Designs Transfers, stamps and moulds in stock. Plus, they offer Paint Play workshops for you to learn hands-on about different colors and finishes.
Brown Bear Designs and Associates
1492 US-395 #103, Gardnerville, NV 89410
(775) 781-1853