We’re excited to introduce and feature Shannon Kaye in our “Decorating on a Dime” series today! Shannon started her Decorative Painting business in 1998 and was quickly picked up by Pottery Barn Kids to paint for their catalogs. She hand painted bespoke wallpaper-style patterns and other unique finishes such as writing entire book chapters, fish scale patterns and over-sized zigzags on the walls and ceilings of some of the finest homes in the San Francisco Bay Area. She also created original artwork and installations including pieces for Carlos Santana’s Maria Maria restaurant.
Shannon shares one of her recent projects with us today:
Dresser (video below) I needed a piece for the video and wanted something with some details that would be fun to paint over with a long low stature to suit my landscape painting idea. My friend jumped online as we were talking about it and within about 10 minutes I’d found this perfect second hand piece online for $250. It was dry and faded but other than that in excellent condition.
Finished project, beautiful!
Sideboard- I needed an entertainment center for my own home and when I saw this piece at the Alameda Flea Market I knew it would be perfect. I look for pieces in excellent condition in terms of their sturdiness, function (do the drawers open easily? are the pulls in good condition?) more than the finish because I always know I’m going to refinish the piece I buy. This piece looked to be a 1930’s art deco style sideboard with utensil dividers in the top drawer and tall storage on the sides. It had a really bad black paint finish over beautiful wood. I bought it for $300 and it fit perfectly under my television ‘as is’ for a few years. Eventually I re-purposed it to add storage to my bedroom. I painted it with the chevron pattern to go with the zigzag pattern I painted on my ceiling and helped my contractor friend build the additional shelf unit from scraps from one of his jobs.
Armoire- I actually painted this armoire for a client. She had it tucked away in a back room but needed additional storage for her daughter’s room that we were redecorating. I love re-purposing pieces for clients and bringing new life to the things they already have so she happily let me take the piece to my studio for a re-do. So this piece was free! I painted the interior and exterior in a dark forest green then added car detail tape to create the pinstripes. I painted over the tape and coated the entire exterior in chartreuse the pulled the tape to reveal a modern pattern on a simple vintage piece.
Here are examples of some of Shannon’s other projects:
Before:
After:
Shannon Kaye is an Artist/Interior Designer and Paint/Color Expert. She just signed on as Host and Executive Producer for a webseries of how-to paint projects with the DIY Channel. Her goal is to launch her own textile line and webseries, Color in the City, a travel show where she’ll visit cities, create color palettes based on her experience and offer tips for bringing the feel of those sites home. Her plan is to develop this project into a television show, book, and speaking tour.
Be sure to check out Shannon’s website! www.shannonkaye.com
Feel free to tell us about your DIY furniture projects by leaving a comment below!