Furniture Rescues
Old House Journal|July - August 2020
A self-taught artist transforms old furniture into unique, practical art.
Brian D. Coleman
Furniture Rescues

Diane Llewellyn Grover wasn’t always a furniture artist. In fact, she’s a clinical social worker. Painting became a preferred form of relaxation. She began experimenting with tired old furniture, transferring pre-Raphaelite and Impressionist art prints onto drawers or door fronts, then painting the pieces. Shown here is a dull bonnet dresser she updated with a print of the nymph from “September Morn” by Paul Emile Chabas (1911) and glazed green paint. When friends starting asking for reclaimed furniture, her business The Paint Factory was born: thepaintfactorypdx.com

the process

1. SELECTION

This story is from the July - August 2020 edition of Old House Journal.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the July - August 2020 edition of Old House Journal.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM OLD HOUSE JOURNALView All
THE Villa RENEWED
Old House Journal

THE Villa RENEWED

This house in Greene County, New York, has been faithfully restored, from its foundation and structure to exterior elements and trim inside.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
walls & ceilings
Old House Journal

walls & ceilings

BY THE 1870s, the tripartite treatment was fashionable: walls divided into dado (or wainscot) below the chair rail, fill or field section, and frieze at the top of the wall.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
lighting + hardware
Old House Journal

lighting + hardware

ANTIQUE, REPRODUCTION, or contemporary, lighting fixtures and lamps are among the most cost-effective ways to add drama or period style to a room.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
CRAFTSMAN PATINA
Old House Journal

CRAFTSMAN PATINA

A smitten owner brings the Arts & Crafts aesthetic to a 1921 bungalow in Seattle.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
furniture & decorative accessories
Old House Journal

furniture & decorative accessories

PERIOD ROOMS are the goal of a very small niche of old-house owners.

time-read
1 min  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
wall & floor tiles
Old House Journal

wall & floor tiles

TODAY WE FIND TILE from small studios . . . carved relief tiles, subway tile and mosaics, glazes matte and iridescent . . . plus encaustics and California revivals.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
A TRANSCENDENT BATHROOM IN OJAI
Old House Journal

A TRANSCENDENT BATHROOM IN OJAI

A seamless addition allowed for this timeless primary bath, which has been re-imagined as an upgrade dating to ca. 1930.

time-read
1 min  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
CRAFTSMAN DETAILS IN A KITCHEN
Old House Journal

CRAFTSMAN DETAILS IN A KITCHEN

An excellent layout and period motifs distinguish this midsize kitchen in a bungalow-era house.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
home design - HOUSES HAVE A PAST - AND A FUTURE, TOO
Old House Journal

home design - HOUSES HAVE A PAST - AND A FUTURE, TOO

THE BEST RENOVATIONS TOE THE LINE BETWEEN NECESSARY UPDATES AND ENOUGH SENSITIVITY TO ASSURE DESIGN INTEGRITY.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
a farmhouse RESCUE
Old House Journal

a farmhouse RESCUE

Using a cache of salvaged finds, the homeowner, architect, and contractor together rescued a tumbledown farmhouse in Vermont.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023