Chest Deep In Trouble

As I mentioned on Facebook today I bet a lot of you were wondering why it was taking me so long to finish this chest of drawers.  Well I started the whole project in the wrong way as I had just bought a complete estate of furniture and was in a hurry to get started on it and didn't take time to consider how I wanted the chest to look when I finished.  


I always take time to sort of let a piece of furniture talk to me in a way, sometimes I'll even put a piece aside until a clear picture of the finished piece comes to me.  I didn't do that with this chest and it was a big mistake!


I ended up painting the chest twice! I first painted it plain "Paris Gray" which is a lovely color but it didn't have that soft look I like to achieve so next I applied a wash of "old white" and it ended up looking like a bad paint job. :-( 


Finally I wised up and just quit working on it and just debated  on what I wanted to do with it overnight.  Then inspiration hit and today I painted it again with a wash of "Paris Gray". Yeah, I love it!


The wash of gray let a little of the white come through giving it a softer appearance that I love and I hope you will also.  Here's the before picture.

It didn't look to bad but really was just ordinary and who wants ordinary in their homes? Not me!


I painted the handles twice also, the first time black, which my husband liked best, but they seemed too harsh for the piece  so I painted them with "Old White" chalk paint and he agreed they really looked good.

Here are the drawers painted first in a coat of "Paris Gray" chalk paint.

Then washed with "Old White".

The top I stripped and stained with "Dark Walnut" stain.

I then applied a wash of "Paris Gray" and the insides of the drawers I painted with three coats of a lovely buttery yellow. I love to paint the drawers or inside of a piece to give my customers a clean, lovely surprise when they open them.

I then applied two coats of a clear wax to protect and age the piece and here is the final product.

Notice the variation in depth of color with occasional touches of the white showing through.  

I hope you think it was worth the wait and would love to hear your thoughts on the finished product.  I will be painting the matching dresser next and hope to sell them as a set. Thanks for stopping by.

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From Brass to Class

I'm still working on a matching dresser and chester of drawers but I thought I'd share a small project I just finished.

I went to a local resale shop and found a couple of brass candle holders that had seen better days. Here's a picture of the before.

Definitely needed something didn't they? Well I got out the chalk paint (love that stuff) and gave them three coats of "Old White" and I could have left them at that but you know me that was just too easy.  So I got out "Henrietta", another color of chalk paint in a lavender pink, mixed it with lots of water about a 10 to 1 ratio then applied the wash to the candle holders and blotted it with a paper towel to give a mottled look. After that I decided they were a little too pink lol and gave them a wash of the "Old White" mixed with about the same ratio of water as the pink, and here's how they turned out:

They are a little pinker than my pictures show and yes I know I need to refinish my antique dining table lol.  I also just realized I was concentrating so hard at getting pics of the finish I did not get a whole picture of the candle holder. 
:-0 Anyway I think they would look great in any home but especially in one with "shabby chic" decor.


Hope this inspired you to get out that paint brush.  Thanks for stopping by.