In Kensington, Maryland, On the Purple Couch and its owner Bahia Akerele helps area residents breathe new life to their furniture and also fuel their creativity.

picture frame painting

picture frame painting

KENSINGTON, Md. — Maybe you inherited it. Maybe it’s lost its appeal or shows wear and tear. So, will you toss that aging piece of furniture or keep it? There’s a third alternative — you can refresh it, said Bahia Akerele, the owner of On the Purple Couch, in Kensington, Maryland.

 On a recent Saturday, Akerele, stylish with her string of pearls, black pants decorated with paint spatter and glittery sandals, urged visitors to her shop to pick up a brush and take a stab at painting, then waxing sample frames with chalk paint.
picture frame painting

picture frame painting

Shes’ a big fan of the Annie Sloan paint line, declaring, “We can show you how to revamp your furniture without stripping, priming or sanding!” Refurbishing your furniture too big a job? Her shop can transform that table or set of chairs for you.
 Akerele said her shop is more than a place to redo your furniture, “It’s a place to create”. That in fact, is the rest of the name of the shop: “On the Purple Couch, A Place to Create.”
fabric painting

fabric painting

Akerele said the name came to her because when she thought about opening a shop, the image of a comfy purple couch just kept popping up in her head. She wanted a place that would inspire people to make their own spaces new and fresh, while making use of what they already have.

 She gets a lot of young customers looking to spruce up a rental space on a budget. But she said baby boomers are very much into the do-it-yourself approach to decorating. “’We’re in D.C.! We have a lot of powerhouses here — and people need to decompress, people need to chill out.”
flower arranging

flower arranging

 Akerele said during the workshops — she offers everything from flower arranging to jewelry making — there’s a lot of decompressing. “We sit around the table and talk — there’s no topic that does not get discussed here!” she said.
flower arranging

flower arranging

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