You've found the right person and you've found the right apartment or house to live in, but your furniture together just isn't right! One of my goals is to start featuring other awesome creatives and business owners that are doing great things, but would also be helpful to couples just starting out, or celebrating 15 years of marriage.
To start, I wanted to feature my wonderful friend, Krizia, and her business Oak and Olive. Krizia is a super talented lady that takes vintage furniture and breathes new life into it through paint and stain! So, when you just move in with that special someone, or you just got married and moved into a new house and need to spruce up your style and decor, she is the one to go to. I had bought a vintage dresser years ago that thought "oh no problem!" I'll just paint that myself and it'll look great! Two years later it was still untouched and looking rather sad. I am so glad I hired Krizia to paint my dresser and make it a piece I am proud to have in my apartment instead of the dresser that I need to explain or apologize for :)
I took a little trip over to her new studio space a few weeks ago and got to see some of the pieces she's working on, and hang out with her two adorable pups Simon and Monroe! I asked Krizia some questions which you can see below, but definitely go check out her website and follow her on Instagram to see all the cool new pieces she's working on!
How did you get started painting furniture?
I started painting furniture for fun about 3 years ago, maybe 3.5. My husband and I stopped at a garage sale and wanted to buy a dresser, turned out the whole thing was too big to put in our car so we only took the drawers. The sellers were nice enough to offer to drop the actual dresser off to our apartment, but alas they never held up their end of the bargain and we never went back over to see what was up. Left with only the drawers...I decided to confront the many DIY blogs I was following at the time and saw a great project using drawers to make shelves. And that’s what I did! I don’t think I’ve ever stopped since.
Where do you go for inspiration?
Inspiration is EVERYWHERE! I’m overwhelmed by inspiration! But I guess I head on over to Pinterest a lot to search for something specific, otherwise I’m always inspired by other furniture painters and other instagramers that I follow (interior decorators, shops, bloggers, outdoor enthusiasts). I’m super inspired by nature, earthy colors, and natural beauty-it makes me feel all warm and comfy inside when I think of the outdoors. I like to bring in the colors of the outdoors and mix them with the look of natural wood, it’s always a winning combo.
How do you decide, and help others decide, what will look best for their furniture?
I always look at the piece and decide if there’s anything we can do to save some of the wood or enhance it with stain. I love a refinished look mixed with paint, it’s keeps it earthy in my eyes. If we can’t use any of the wood, I decide if the piece will look best with a clean look or a distressed look, would it look awesome with some kind of painted design? Will the knobs or fun paper inside add just the right amount of interest while keeping the outside simple and fresh? There are so many things that go through my mind and it’s sometime difficult to narrow down. I change my mind often especially after I get started because I’m such a visual person. I need to see the steps happening before I move on to the next phase and sometime the next phase is actually not right for the piece. So I just like to keep open communication with the customer and so far I’ve only had really great experiences with every one of them! I love to work with people who can go with the flow...those are my kind of people!
What is your favorite part of painting/restoring pieces?
I just really love the whole process. I love scouting out the pieces, although I really don’t have time to do it. I love when I do find the inspiration...like when it hits me, it hits hard. I feel excitement running through me and I just want to get started right away! Once that initial feeling of excitement fades away...I work through the usual steps and then I get excited again when it comes to the staging and photography parts. Oh and I kinda love social media….I just find it super fun (and addicting :/)
What advice would you give new couples moving in together for combining their two styles or tastes?
Hmm that’s a tough one…. Luckily my husband and I meshed pretty well, but looking back at old pictures from our first apartment in 2005...whoa, we have come a LONG way baby. Style evolves just like everything else. I think using what you have and making the best of it especially when first moving into a place together. Then, once you’re settled you kind of see things differently, it makes a little more sense. Simplifying and editing over time is the way is the way I like to evolve-it feels more authentic and you can collect from your travels and gather the items you truly adore. It’s important to have each of you represented at home. Combining style makes it better anyway, it’s more interesting, more unique, less Crate and Barrel-y :) (Not that anything is wrong with Crate and Barrel, I just really dislike when a home FEELS like any one store in particular).
