Inexpensive Home Updates at Soldier58
Spring is finally in the air, thoughts are turning to home updates and Soldier58 in historic Bordentown City is a hub of activity this time of year. “Our customers are a mix, some are avid do-it-yourselfers and others are looking for us to do the work for them,” says Soldier58 co-owner Paul Duffy.
One of the reasons customers flock to Soldier58 is because they carry Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan. The industry leader of furniture and decorative paint. “There are a lot of copycat brands out now,” explains Duffy “but Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan is the original, since 1990.”
Chalk Paint® was invented by Annie Sloan who’s been leading the decorative painting revolution over the last 3 decades. Annie Sloan is widely recognized as one of the world’s most respected experts in paint and color.
What’s the number one DIY project this time of year? Duffy replies without hesitation “Kitchen Cabinets. Our customers know that painting their kitchen cabinets can give them huge bang for their buck, so they come to us.”
Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan requires no surface prep, just clean the item and paint it. “Customers appreciate that painting their kitchen cabinets doesn’t have to be a multistep process, just clean them and paint them” says Duffy “and most of our customers spend around $250 for paint and supplies to get the job done.”
That means you can transform your builders grade oak cabinets into light and bright with a shade of white, you can go dramatic with a sophisticated graige or black, or even try out the season’s newest trend in kitchens — white uppers and medium or dark painted lowers.
For customers who are looking for a hands-on lesson, Soldier58 offers a monthly Kitchen Cabinet Workshop. “Painting your kitchen cabinets can be an intimidating project” says Duffy “our Kitchen Cabinet Workshop participants work on a real cabinet door and they learn tips and tricks for getting a beautiful professional looking painted finish for their cabinets.”
Soldier58’s workshop schedule also includes workshops geared to creating beautiful furniture finishes. Everything from their popular “Chalk Paint® 101: The Basics” to more advanced workshops that include specialty finishes, gilding, and more.
Workshops at Soldier58 teach you how to do more than just put a coat of paint on furniture. “Our workshops are a jumping off point,” says Soldier58 co-owner Johanna Schwalm. “They’re designed to not only teach techniques but also to encourage participants to think outside the box and create something unique to them.”
So, that old matchy-matchy dining room or bedroom set, the garage full of handme-down furniture from your mother, and those curbside finds can all be transformed into pieces you will actually be proud to show off.
Schwalm explains “Customers look around their homes and see furniture they own, but they don’t love. They come in, show us their photos, talk about styles and colors they love, look at all the samples in the store, and we help them select colors and finishes.”
What if you don’t have the time or inclination to paint your own furniture? Soldier58 can do it for you. “Custom painting has become a big part of what we do,” explains Schwalm. “We can handle everything from a single dresser to an entire room of furniture.”
“People are always surprised by how reasonable it is to have their furniture custom painted.” says Schwalm. Custom painting is a smart choice if you have well-made furniture that simply needs an update, because replacing your furniture with new pieces of the same quality will be so costly.
“Our custom painting schedule tends to fill up quickly,” Schwalm explains “especially this time of year, so we encourage customers to contact us early to get on the calendar.”
Soldier58 is a small shop filled with big ideas and everything you need to get your Spring projects off the ground. You can visit them at 225 Farnsworth Ave. in historic Bordentown City or online at Soldier58.com or call 609.433.9166.