Sophisticated Grey Side table

    This sad little side table was found at the thrift store just begging to be taken home, so of course I heard it's cry and took this baby with me. I have had it about a year, it has spent  a lot of time on the covered deck waiting and waiting for me to get to it. Finally it didn't have to wait any longer.

The finish on this table it flaking all over, so it is going to have to be completely sanded first

    After putting 2 coats of grey chalk paint I realized all the mahogany stain was bleeding through and making it look pinkish grey. I was hoping the grey was dark enough for this to not happen, but I wasn't so lucky. I had to spray a coat of Zinsser Shellac over the whole table. Nice thing is that is dries fast.

I realize now I forgot to take pictures of the rest of the process, but basically I painted a 3rd coat of paint, then tapped off the section I wanted to stencil. I used French Linen and painted the stencil. I then used Old White to accentuate the spindle and other trim pieces. I decided to not wax this piece and used a satin polyurethane to protect it.

I love this detail!

Classy Little Dresser.

   Classy Little Dresser

This cute little dresser was quite a find. Sometimes Craigelist can be hit or miss, but once in awhile you can find a deal that you can't pass up and this dresser was one of them. It is from the 1930's and is in wonderful condition. The construction of this piece is quality all the way around and I wish every piece I bought was as well made as this one. I went simple on my makeover on this one, because I wanted as much of the natural wood as possible. I think the most of the wood is a burled walnut. It is hard to see in these photos how gorgeous the grain is.

I just love the hardware, and it is in great condition, so I do not have to do a thing with those.

I guess I didn't take any "during the process" photos this time or I can't find them, but the process isn't any different on this piece than on most of what I do.

I stripped the drawers and top down, because I wanted to keep them wood, but the old shiny varnish had to go. Once stripped I sanded and stained the wood in an antique chestnut stain.

The body of the dresser I painted in Old White, Annie Sloan chalk paint. I think I had to do about 3 coats of paint. 

I usually do one thick coat of paint and then I do 2 thinner coats of paint. I like a smoother finish so I lightly sand out the rough spots, and do what distressing I want to do. After that is the clear wax and this little cutie is done!

I had to convince myself once again to not keep this dresser, I just love true antiques. The lady who bought this dresser is going to use it in her baby's room not just for a dresser, but for a changing table. I love that idea!

Elegant Country Chic Desk

This is a wonderful desk that a client brought to me to paint. It had no structural issues, it was very solid and full of beautiful detail. As you look through the start to finish pay attention to detail, because I am adding even more detail than it starts with.

First job is to strip the top so it can be stained in a dark Kona color.

Drawers are degreased and clean and ready for paint.

Here is one coat of Kona stain, but it is the mahogany color is still popping through too much so I am going to do a second coat.

First coat of paint is on!

It's a start but there is so much left to do

Here is the added detail that is going to make this desk really stand out, embossed wallpaper. I originally bought this wallpaper at Lowe's and it is designed to be painted. Right now it is just set in there and not painted,  just to see if it would work. All I did was paint a layer of chalk paint, and then cut the pieces to fit. Once I knew the pieces would fit in nicely I just followed the direction for the wallpaper. It is pre-pasted so all I had to do was dredge through water, fold in 1/2 paste side facing in, let set for 30 seconds then unfold and set in place. Then very gently I rubbed all the air bubbles out. I let it fully dry overnight before I painted the paper.

Here is my tester piece that helped me and the client decide what color to paint the desk. We picked the middle color and it is a mixture of mostly Old White and a little bit cocoa , Annie Sloan chalk paint.

 To get the aged look on the embossed paper I painted it the same color as the desk, then I mixed a glaze mixture with a clear paint extender, and antique glaze from Lowe's . I brushed it all over the paper and dabbed off the excess. After it dried I did a dry brush technique with old white to make it pop. 

I did have some bleed through with the original stain, so I had to do a spray shellac in those areas. I then put two more coats on, for a total of 3 coats of paint, and clear wax. Some people like to sand and shabby chic it after they wax, but I actually like to sand before waxing. I like a smoother finish, still shabby chic, but not to rustic looking.

Here is the final piece, and she is a beauty!!!