Furniture Projects, Craft Projects, Thrift Store projects

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Sophisticated Grey Lowboy dresser



I just finished the whole set and it turned out incredible. I put them up for sale and they were gone in 2 days.


You can go to this link to see pictures of the Tallboy project


Here is the lowboy all finished and fancy free




 Here is the wonderful BEFORE shot.



 Yep drawers galore here!!! These are the drawers for the lowboy dresser and the nightstand.


This is what the finish was looking like, not good, not good at all!


I want it to have a layered look when I go to sand and distress it, so I am purposefully painting the first coat with ASCP Old White.


Doing some trim work.




Here is the first coat of my homemade mixture of French Linen. I used all Annie Sloan chalk paints to make it. I wanted this to match the tallboy dresser so I needed to mix together the same mixture, it is like being a mad scientist of chalk paint.



I mixed a color darker than French Linen for all the flat parts of the drawers, this will give the dresser more depth in the end. Is it more work to do this? YES! Is it worth it? YES!


I am done with second coat and adding in more Old White trim color. I like to sand before I wax, I know it is messier, but I find it much easier to do it before.


I forgot to take pictures of the hardware while painting it, but basically I did a dry brush technique with Old White, let it dry then waxed it with clear wax.

















Paint Furniture Fabric like a Pro!



I recently tried a new project, painting the upholstery on a chair. 
http://shabby2uniquelychic.blogspot.com/2014/07/elegant-gray-painted-fabric-chair.html

I would have never been brave enough to try this if it weren't for seeing other people do it first. One of my favorite websites is HomeTalk, if someone has done it you will find it there. If someone hasn't done it then you can ask the pro's and get your questions answered.
Here is a clipboard I put together to show you there are so many other creative people out their painting the fabric on furniture.
Click the picture and it will take you all these wonderful painted projects! Happy clicking everyone!
http://www.hometalk.com/b/2035118/painting-fabric-on-furniture

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Sophisticated Grey Painted Lady Dresser


I bought a whole dresser set off of Craigeslist for a really good price. I knew that it wasn't a high quality piece, laminate top, fake wood grain, but I saw the detail and the potential it had, and knew it would look great painted. I feel like anything can be redeemed with a little paint and TLC.



I didn't really take any picture of the process, I got to into painting that I forgot.  This is a picture where it is almost finished. I was running low on my favorite Annie Sloan French Linen, so I mixed my own using a ratio of Cocoa, Old White, and Graphite. I got almost a perfect match, 4 yrs of art school paid off.


At this point I felt the balance of colors was a little off, so my next step was to add white trim to the bottom and a little more white trim on the top drawer.




I started out with Old white on the body, but after painting the drawers I just didn't like how it all looked together. The cool thing about making mistakes or changing your mind is that it can actually enhance things in the end. After sanding the white pops through giving more dimension. I did a lighter version on French Linen on the body and did a darker French linen on the drawers. The top I did in the darker French line color. Old white trims out the drawers, top, and bottom edge. It is hard to see the difference in colors in the pictures, but in person it really adds more depth and interest.

Here she all done, waxed and ready for sale!






















  
  I will be taking better picture soon that are not in my garage, but I was too excited to wait until I took them. Now I have the longer lower dresser and nightstand to do!