I have this really amazing group of friends that  are talented designers and artists here in Northern Va.  My interior design friend, Paula Grace and I are both blogging today about one of our mutual artist friends, Andie Samarelli  http://www.bojams.com/.  We are covering different projects so be sure to go to Paula's blog http://www.paulagracedesigns.blogspot.com/ and read about another cool project Andie did for her.  For the past few weeks, Andie has been furiously trying to finish painting all my projects.  The other important part of this is to show how a little paint can help to repurpose items.  This is a great eco-friendly way to recyle items that are no longer working in their current state.  The first project is a chest I had custom ordered and made for a client.  I made a mistake and this item ended up being too big.  It is a gorgeous piece of furniture and since I had some bucks tied up in it, I thought I'd have it painted to reflect my style and fit into my new Boston house.  Here are the before and after pics of that and a few other projects she has recently done for me.

Before

  After

Before (looks cute… doesn't work in the new house)

After (Zebra fab…I know it isn't for everyone but I love it)

Before (My daughter's boring doll house)

After (awesome!!)

After (amazing detail…look at the surf boards and life ring in the left corner)

This is an unfinished wooden jewelry box from a craft store I had her do for my daughter. She even painted her likeness on the top.  When my daughter opened it, she said, "That's me!" There are little shells and jewels in 3-D spilling out of the teasure chest.  It had so much detail, the picture does it no justice.   

Andie's work is just so awesome.  She is doing some furniture for a client's little girl's room in August.  I'll be sure to share the before and afters with you.