What the heck is Primitive Style?
I’ll admit, I had no idea what primitive style was when I was in my young twenties. Until I walked into my husbands parents house and I felt like I walked back in time. I was amazed how you could feel like you were back in the early 1800’s. I had no idea primitive was a style people did in their homes. So when my husband started building furniture and I volunteered to paint… I had no clue what I was doing! My mother-in-law was kind enough to show examples of pieces she liked and from there I took it as a challenge.
I studied antique and primitive furniture and was determined to make it look as old as I could. And all I did was trial and error and I just kept trying to make a new piece of furniture look old. Boy oh boy it was harder than I anticipated. I think because I didn’t just want to do things the easy way and like everyone else. I wanted to discover new techniques! And there is so much product out there! Where to start? Well…just dive on in and try anything and everything!
This is one of our earlier pieces — (side note- my husband is an amazing builder- and honestly I just wanted to make his pieces shine!)
It still amazes me year after year I always try something different or something new…and I’m like ahh this is it! I have always been so hard on myself and put so much pressure to make sure it looks just the way people want it! And guess what….it’s hard! Yes, it is hard! Because each piece is hand-painted by me… and everyone comes out a little different. As much as I try to do the same piece over and over again, it will never be the exact same! I am definitely not a robot! — ha! Today I am very humbled to look back on where we came from and where our pieces started. Today I now offer a light, medium, and heavy distressing option for our pieces. I know not everyone is into primitive style, and that’s okay! What ever works for you in your home!
See below our Cottage Cupboard we recently completed — what a difference 7 years makes…
