So it is no secret that I live in Colorado and LOVE winter…okay, maybe it isn’t winter that I love, rather, it is the winter sports that I have fallen so much in love with. Skiing, snowshoeing, tubing, snowball fights, ice skating, etc just thrill me to the bone…not chill me to the bone like many of my friends and family from back home assume. You see, I, like many of my fellow Colorado neighbors, am not a Colorado native. Nope. I moved here 5 years ago from the sunny, humid, tropical island of Key Colony Beach in the Florida Keys. It’s a place that most people consider “paradise!” In many ways, I suppose it is. But for this mountain lover, the only thing I usually miss about back home, is my family. And then one day, while staring at this dresser, I suddenly longed (it’s been a pretty cold winter here in Colorado!) to be sitting on the beach staring off into the brilliant green and blue waters that surround the Keys. It was pretty strange because, although I spent 25 years of my life practically growing up IN the ocean, I rarely ever miss it. And thus, I took it as a sign and found my inspiration for renewing and re-designing The Atlantis!
Sadly, in the wake of my shocking revelation, I completely forgot to take a “Before” picture! I guess I was just extremely eager to bring my unexpected vision to life. Anyways…don’t you just love it? The beautiful sea-green color is so much like the waters inshore of the great coral reef in the Florida Keys and the deeper blue accents are like the waters further offshore from the reef. I guess it should be no surprise that my mom, who spends most of her days staring at these waters from her patio, really, really loves this piece!
The distressing on this piece is ever so slight and I really love the way the paint seems to have just been weathered away by salt air and wind. And the original brass cheval mirror pins look so luscious next to these saturated colors…just wonderful!
The original brass hardware has the same effect against the white accents. Just look at those beautiful pulls and knobs!
I used some antiquing wax and cross-hatch techniques to give an aged and sandy look to the white inserts:
The colors, just like those of the ocean waters that inspired The Atlantis, change with different lighting…going from bright and vibrant colors in the first photo to the more subdued and calm colors in the photo above. I just love that.
And here is one last look:
The sun really brought out her brilliant colors…and made things a little tricky for me when photographing…but it was totally worth the extra effort.
I hope you love The Atlantis as much as I do! Thanks for stopping by.
If you are interested in owning this beauty, she’s up for sale in the Etsy shop.
Urban DEN 