One Small Change: Sideboard in Artisan Country Mustard

If you caught the waxing video of this piece here it is all finished.

We sat here for a few weeks mulling over whether the sideboard should be soft and neutral  or a rich blue or maybe green... from the first week we moved in I had painted the sideboard and detailed it over and over in my mind before settling on a concept. In the end I decided to take the advice we have given out to many clients over the last decade (more on this further below)...and I'm so pleased I did :-) 


This sideboard was never going to be neutral in this home really, sitting in our upstairs "dining/ informal living area" it's more of an intimate conversation space where we wanted to use colour, our personality, different textures, to create a rich warm, inviting and bespoke space.

Upstairs view looking out large windows 

This space was not about the norm or being "light and bright" it's really a space where we  as a family use a lot and with the main lounge downstairs,  "guests" would only come up here if they were staying for dinner or maybe a few drinks in the evenings... so it needed to be us,  a merge of eclectic, rustic, vintage, contemporary with that fine line of balance.

evening outlook from upstairs, this is what you see through the windows near the sideboard... staring at those colours since being here has inspired me...

I love ALL styles, mid century, vintage, french, industrial and I'm a firm believer that all of these can be incorporated together in a space to create great depth, visual interest  and is a key ingredient in creating bespoke interior space, the merge and balance of different styles put together ... with my clients in the past I would often and easily tie industrial in with french, Mid century with boho, contemporary with  vintage using decor, colours and paint finishes to create a cohesive balance,  but to be honest with my own home it's been really really hard because I love them all and with all the colours and decor at my disposal it's been hard to narrow it down. If you asked me 2 weeks ago what colour I wanted my sideboard to be in, I would have said, blue, green, maybe turquoise, white,  grey... all of the above.



Ive been battling with wanting to get everything done yesterday; that's my personality and I have  had to learn to be patient and pace myself in this new lifestyle of ours. Back in Auckland on any given day or week there would be 5 commissions that all needed to be completed by that Friday, along with 3 new concepts that needed to be finalised, emailed and discussed with clients for upcoming commissions, plus a workshop on the Saturday, as well as talking to customers in the gallery throughout the week on how they should paint their pieces,  I loved every minute of it. The pressure became the challenge, and with challenge came reward and relationships.  I was on auto pilot most of the time,  and things needed to tick precisely like clock work or it would be havoc,  I had a wonderful team that supported and allowed me that efficiency....that was the norm for me... so fast forward to this Life style change in the Bay of Islands without the daily / hourly pressure or challenge, the decisions that need to made in my own home is taking a frustratingly long time to come up with! I'm sure I'm not alone in this... 

They say you shouldn't  make big changes in your landscape or garden until you've lived in your home for at least a year to stake out the prevailing wind, the flood areas, the changes of seasons and how it affects the land. This is not too dissimilar with your home and interiors, I think you really need to live in your home through all the seasons to get a good grasp of the lighting, the changing views through the seasons and how you as a family will use  the different spaces. Small changes can be made but I think any large structural changes need to wait, so that's what we're doing, hanging tight until we've had a chance to go through all the season's in this new/ old house before any walls get removed, taken down, new windows and openings put in. But furniture, that can be done and some need to be done straight away :-)  with our personal rule of trying to not buying anything new, therefore utilising everything we've owned over the years, straight away it makes for for an eclectic start to our home. 

We have always told our clients in the past that a sideboard is a great piece to undertake a bespoke creative finish. It often stands alone on it's own wall, and you can create a finish to make it the statement or feature in the room pulling in colours from the surrounding furnishings or the outlook that you have. So this is the advice we have taken ourselves and reached out for the Bold Artisan Country Mustard for this piece.


Country Mustard at night, takes on a more subdued look  

With green, blue and grey velvets in the lounge/ seating area not far from this sideboard, personal artwork and photos with subtle hints of yellow and mustard. Artisan Country Mustard is a bold and eclectic choice but also one that has made a statement and presence in this space.

Green velvet low back couch in line of sight
Rich Green Velvet couch facing the view and two blue french style chairs 
in the same line of sight as the sideboard 
That silk cushion below with multi-coloured greens has been Ice dyed in 
Chalk Paint also...

Way over on the opposite side of the room sits grey velvet in a nook and
water colour artwork also done in Chalk Paint 


and just to add to this eclectic setting also some large blue velvet french style chairs which I had big plans  to reupholster; however since painting the sideboard I actually love that it's blue so have decided to leave it as it is... the curtains however are another story...

It's funny how changing one piece in a room, can knit and tie everything in if done with thought.  I never get tired of witnessing this even though I have seen it happen time and time again. That piece that makes the couch or cushion now work when it didn't before, or that piece that now makes the carpet and floors look better now... or that piece that actually now works with the dining table, that one change can be all that you need to pull it together...everyone has that one odd piece in their home somewhere.

When you walk up the stairs, your eye is drawn straight to the side board, our neighbours came over  the other day and they walked straight to it, ran their hands across it expecting it to feel rough and not silky smooth the way it does from the wax. Then your eye travels  around,  with the different colours and rich textures  we find our visitors do walk around more in this room,  ok so it is not the light and bright neutral space, its not minimalist, it does have a mixture of contemporary, classic, tropical boho maybe...? it's hard to pin point because like many of my works I don't like to pinpoint it to one particular style but rather a merge and mix of different styles... but most importantly this space feels like us. We are all different and so should our homes and this is what we have been encouraging with Artisan paints and products; the possibilities.   For now we love the feelings it evokes as we walk up the stairs... a bit of a contrast to the plans we have for the main lounge downstairs where we will be working with more of a neutral colour palette...but you know us, there will be a twist (stay tuned for that) 



The colour has been toned down through texture and age, and with a touch of metallics it has added a classic and elegant look to it. There is a beautiful outlook of greenery from this room which contrasts beautifully with this piece for a tropical style feel, it also pulls the view of evening sunsets in.  Painting furniture is not just about changing the colour but the opportunity to create something completely different and bespoke for your home that you can't get anywhere else.... A finish like this is not just for the classic styled home but can be the soulful piece in a contemporary space add one large  black and white print above it to balance it off and create a contemporary edge,   Whether it's Country Mustard or a bold blue like Azure Kingfisher, or a green like Greenhouse, dare to go bold with your stand alone piece .. given that this one has been painted many times over now in her life time, we think we will leave her alone  to sit in Country Mustard for a while :-)

- Dorophya x

 

Work In Progress Video : 

 


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