Totally new to home stagingAnd even worse in the field of painting, I’m planning a makeover of my two bedside tables, which are too classic for my taste. Who better to do this than Ingrid Brouard, whose work I was already praising in November 2022?
Delphine Raimond
Interior design has many facets, including the customization of furniture, which can be totally transformed by painting. Delighted to find Ingrid, her brushes, her ideas and her sound advice in her beautiful workshop in Saint Antoine, I place my furniture on the workbench, already imagining them colored, embellished and, of course, unique! I show her two photos of the room, so she and I can choose the colors that will adorn the tops and legs. After selecting from the Annie Sloan palette, with its infinite combinations, Ingrid tells me about the latest decorating trend: embossed stencils! Here’s a great idea for personalizing my work! Finding the right model is the longest phase of a workshop,” she says, laughing, “because the range is laaaaarge! I confiiiiirm! Here I am, turning pages and pages in huge binders… selecting, eliminating… and stopping on a large turtle and a series of three cacti picked here and there. Since I don’t want to spend the whole day there either, that’s my last word, Ingrid! A shrink would probably see a host of potential interpretations in my choices, but at this very moment, my brain devoid of the “manual” chromosome doesn’t really understand how all this is going to come to life!
Let’s get started! Lightly glued in place, I cover Franklin as generously as delicately with wood paste, which is easy and pleasant to spread, before removing the stencil and being satisfied with the result. While my turtle dries, I place and move my cacti on the second piece of furniture, with the frenzy of an artist in search of the ultimate pictorial composition of a lifetime! When my designs are ready, I get down to painting… and it all goes so fast! All the products in the range are water-based, cover all surfaces (even the synthetic coating on my furniture legs), dry extremely quickly and are odorless! A real pleasure to work with! I tape on, paint over, turn over, untape, re-tape, paint under… and the magic happens, under the guidance of Ingrid, adorable, cheerful and passionate! Then comes the polishing with sandpaper – and elbow grease – to give the patterns a ceruse finish, followed by a light varnish, the delicate finishing touch!
If handicrafts are a real therapy for letting go, then customizing an object gives you a sense of complete satisfaction with the result! Accessible to all, the practice is recreational and highly enjoyable.
Home Improvements – Saint Antoine – 5774 3356
