"She Flies by her own wings"--Bohemian Feathers

Jenna
Jul 23, 2021
3 min read

Are you one who stays up to date with what's in style? Or do you decorate based on your own personal likes? So much of the new home decor you see is this Modern Mid-Century Decor...straight lines, metal, gold, geometric shapes, industrial, Bohemian, and feathers...basically a lot of style you would see back in the 60's but updated into a modern aesthetic.

I received a custom order from a local woman who was redoing her daughter's room over the summer. She planned to decorate in a very calm and monotone decor with accents of color; white dresser, white bedspread but accents of color with florals, greenery, and throw pillows. I showed her a photo of a previously designed coffee table someone had done that I thought she would have liked based on the main color. She immediately loved it. I knew I could match that color using my Eye Love Hue Paints. So I got to work!

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Here's all the products I used:

Jewelry Box
Sanding Block
Primer
Eye Love Hue Paint (Mint Julep, Free Spirit, Satin Clear Coat)
Artist Brush or 2in Zibra Brush
Belle's and Whistles Boho Soul transfer
Metal Scraper
Benecreat Self Adhesive Velvet

Step 1:

I started by first sanding down my box with a light sanding sponge. This give it a bit of grit so that the box isn't so smooth when I begin painting and allows the paint to have something to adhere to. I then started removing all the old lining. I do this by using a small screwdriver as well as a metal scraper. This helps to remove not only the old lining but also to scrape up the old glue and cardboard. This is important when you want to reline the box. A fresh start is always best! Once I had all these steps complete I cleaned the entire piece thoroughly.

Step 2:

I then primed the entire piece as I was going from a dark wood to a lighter color. I didn't want any of the wood to come through the paint. Primer is absolutely necessary when going from dark to light or if you have a wood that tends to bleed (mahogany and cherry for sure). Eye Love Hue has great coverage and doesn't allow much bleed through but I always like to take precautions.

Step 3:

I knew I could match the color I showed my client using Eye Love Hue Paint. It just took some simple color mixing. To achieve that I mixed both Mint Julep and Free Spirit. I started with equal amounts of both and then added little bits of each until I got the perfect shade. Then using my larger artist brush I painted 2 coats of the paint for great overall coverage.

I love using Eye Love Hue as it doesn't only have great coverage but it rarely needs sanding. There isn't that gritty feel that a lot of chalk paints have.

Step 4:

I allowed my paint to dry for 24 hours minimum before starting to apply the Belle's and Whistle's Boho Soul transfer. We decided to only use the larger feathers from this design which left me with 3 additional pages to use later on. Applying transfers is super easy! You can catch my video of how simple it is here. After applying the transfers I took the sand sponge and lightly distressed along some of the corners and edges. I finished the exterior by applying a clear coat of Eye Love Hue Mystic Shell Satin. This both seals the transfers and protects the paint. The following day I used a small amount of brown wax around the corners to add a vintage effect.

Step 5:

Now to finish the box off. The interior was in decent shape when I picked up this box however I always like to give a client new lining. If the exterior is new the interior might as well be new too. For this I used the Benecreat Self Adhesive Lining in soft gray and measured all the areas I needed to replace. I always make sure to keep all the old lining to use as an example. This was the first box I had done that had a sitting tray in it. It was nice to actually learn something new on a box as I am working.