Design Guide: The Source for interior design products, services and fine home furnishings.

Rescue, Restore and Redecorate: an apt mantra; as in nature and in the world of design, one does every day. As a room full of eager students draped with black aprons waited to be taught, Amy Howard took center stage to show us why she is so passionate about restoring old pieces of furniture and how we can do it just as well as she does. Naturally, with grace, she brought us along the journey that lead to her childhood love to Rescue, Restore and Redecorate discarded furniture. I understand, dear reader, that you may be thinking this is just a post about another product to cater to the DIY’er frenzy. Well, it is not. And, yet, it is.

All the love and effort to bring a discarded piece back to life matter to Amy. She recounts a drive to the flea market she and her husband Gene were on when their pastor called, telling of his dream the night before of Amy and Gene teaching others to rescue, restore and redecorate. Touched by the message from their pastor, Gene says: “Isn’t that what God does for us? He rescues, restores and redecorates us bringing us new life.” So, you see my friend, her new product line isn’t just about the latest craze it has a deep personal meaning for her. Amy is a true southern lady with a charming personality to match. She has always had a keen eye for exquisite styling, and a timeless style of furnishings that designers like me would wait in line for hours just to get our hands on.

Although Amy manufacturers and sells a beautiful collection of furnishings, her product for the DIY market is just as wonderful as her collection pieces. Recently, my dear friend Leslie Wood (@Hadley_Court) and I had a fun time trying our hand at her workshop with her latest “green” one step paint product. It was a true delight having Amy teach us how to wax, gild and buff our wood moulding pieces into little gems. Her product is extremely easy to use (5-6 quick steps) and makes an old piece beautiful again, which perfectly fits with her Rescue, Restore and Redecorate mantra.

Here are the moulding pieces before:

Below are my finished pieces after (One Step Paint: Wax, Gold Gild and Dust of Ages):

There are many different applications in her line that can be mastered by anyone who has the desire to learn. A few of my favorites are: Toscana Finish kit (turn a chair into an Old World antique) and lacquer in a spray can.

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