Sometimes You Just Never Know

Refinished gray painted dresser chest of drawers

Sometimes I never know how a piece will turn out until I start on it… ok, if I’m really being honest I frequently have no idea how it will turn out, but I love the process of finding out!

This was a beautiful chest of drawers, but it had drawer front veneer issues which didn’t allow me to just refinish the whole piece, I needed to paint it, trust me on this one…

BEFORE

It came with a mirror too!

Here it is a Lucketts! The top I sanded down and stained Dark Walnut. I also added a couple of coats of Watco Danish Oil in Dark Walnut to put moisture back into the surface. I finished it off with a coat of dark wax… it truly came out GORGEOUS!

See what I mean about the top? Look at that shine!

The cabinet I painted with a product I LOVE called Cabinet Coat, I painted my kitchen cabinets in it over 4 years ago and they’re still in great shape. My favorite paint store, Virginia Paint, carries it and tinted it for me in Stonington Gray. Yes, I know it may look white but it’s not… it’s just the lightest of gray… FYI the only “downside” to Cabinet Coat is that they can only tint it in light colors

I just have to show you a close up of the knobs… they are by far my favorite! I soaked them overnight in a solution of ammonia and water (4:1), brushed them with a soft bristle brush and rinsed them off. I think they are pewter… I’m a sucker for great hardware I know!

A soon-to-be Mom bought this chest at Lucketts, but she didn’t want the mirror because she was going to be using it as a changing table / dresser. So now I have the mirror left over if anyone needs one, it’s painted the same Stonington Gray, let me know if you are interested!

Thanks as always for stopping by!

Linking up to these parties!
Between Naps on the Porch, The Dedicated House, A Stroll Thru Life, Elizabeth and Co., Savvy Southern Style, Domestically Speaking, From My Front Porch To Yours, French Country Cottage, My Romantic Home, Redoux Interiors, Miss Mustard Seed, Minettes Maze, Start At Home

June 17, 2013 35

Refinished Oak Chest, The General

I don’t normally name my furniture but the name “the General” (not really a name I know) just came to me as I was waxing this beautiful vintage oak chest. I was so very lucky to have found the chest in the condition it was in… only cosmetic issues. All of the escutcheon plates and handles were still attached, the drawers were in fabulous condition and there were no gouges or missing anything… pretty rare for a piece with this kind of age to it!

BEFORE

I opted to sand the finish off of the top (versus stripping) it was cold and I prefer to sand a finish away if possible… having said that it did take me quite a long time to remove the old finish from the top as oak is a VERY hard wood species! I used 100-150-220 grit sandpaper in that order to remove the old finish.

Here he is all gussied up! The finish on the handles is what I discovered under all of the years of dirt and grime. I soaked the handles overnight in a solution of ammonia and water and brushed them with a soft brush… super easy! I had planned on painting them but I really like how the finish looks with the new paint scheme! Can you see the stars..?

I The stained the top “Kona” and I applied a coat of Briwax Dark Wax to the oak top once the stain had dried, about 24 hours.

The drawers and cabinet are painted in a base coat of Old Ochre and a top coat of Coco Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I didn’t use any sandpaper to distress the chest, just warm water and a scrub sponge, super easy!

I applied a coat of clear Briwax to the painted areas… that wax smells but it is so much easier to work with than some of the other popular waxes, I really do love it!

I actually was able to stage the chest in our library and I love how it looks in there… but I cannot keep it as there are other pieces that belong in this space that I am not ready to give up!

So the “General” will be for sale, but maybe I will enjoy looking at him in this spot for a few days first!

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time…

Linking up to these parties!

Between Naps on the Porch, Coastal Charm, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, The Ivy Cottage, A Stroll Thru Life, The Dedicated House, Elizabeth & Co., Savvy Southern Style, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, PJH Designs, Miss Mustard Seed, French Country Cottage, My Romantic Home, Chic on a Shoestring

February 3, 2013 36

Marble Topped Eastlake Style Chest

I love this chest! It is such a great size and while those flower appliques were amazing I couldn’t save them…

Also, since not all of the pulls were on it I had to find a solution for that as well…

Here is what I started with… beautiful grey and white marble top, well bulit vintage Eastlake chest.

BEFORE

AFTER

I painted the outer cabinet in Graphite Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and the drawers in Paris Grey, I just thought this color scheme would look great with the marble top!

The graphite helps brings out the pretty veining in the marble.

I just think this little gingerbread apron is so sweet!

I decided to use some of my stash of lion’s head pulls (yes, I have a stash of them… doesn’t everyone?) they fit perfectly over the existing holes… I am still wondering whether I should distress them or not… I like the juxtaposition of the “new” with the old… What do you think? It would be an easy fix, I’m just not sure…

A shot of all of the monochromatic colors…

And the “lovely” goodbye shot… sorry I had to take these pictures while it was still on the dolly, but this thing is HEAVY with the marble on it! And no one was home to help me move it…

I think this would work great in the foyer or as an occasional piece… but I would REALLY love it as a vanity for the powder room… now that would be GORGEOUS!

Thanks for stopping by…

Until next time!

September 28, 2012 5

Apothecary Chest

Here is a little apothecary chest that I picked up recently..

BEFORE

Sorry.. I had already taken off the handles and sanded a little…

This piece is SUPER heavy and solid pine. It looks hand made and whoever made it did a great job! It has little feet on it so I’m not sure if it is meant to sit on a counter or what… it’s perfect bench height if you wanted to use it for that..

AFTER

Can you see the tiny feet?

I painted the outer cabinet in Old Ochre chalk paint and the drawers in Versailles chalk paint. After some distressing I waxed it with Minwax paste wax and then buffed it. This was a pretty fast project to do as there were no repairs and everything dried so quickly!

Of course the chalk paint distressed like a dream..

Original handles that came with the piece.. I removed them to paint the drawers, it just makes life easier!

The drawers do not come out all of the way. There is a peg inserted into the back side that prevents them from being removed.. which is a good thing if you want to move it, a pain when you have chosen to paint the front two colors instead of one!

Not sure how someone will use this when it finds it’s new home.. but I would love to know when they do! This piece is heading up to Lucketts Spring Market too… I’m hoping to have enough stuff to fill the tent!

Thanks for stopping by… until next time guys!

Linking up to these great parties!
A Stroll Thru Life, Primitive and Proper, Savvy Southern Style, Domestically Speaking, Restore Interiors, Miss Mustard Seed, French Country Cottage, Chic on a Shoestring, My Romantic Home, Shabby Art Boutique, Love Notes by Lauryn

I was FEATURED!

May 3, 2012 35

The Lovely Linen Press

Yeah!! I Have a “before” picture! I’m taking these “Before” shots with my cell phone so the quality is as good as it gets, but at least I am stopping long enough to take a photo! I don’t know why I cannot get my act together and go get the camera but I just can’t seem to do it!!

Before… some (very little) missing veneer, BEAUTIFUL () gold knobs from when… maybe the 70’s…clearly replacement knobs..

Also, if you look really closely you can see where the original appliques were removed..

Check out the FABULOUS drawers inside! Just love them!!

;

This one looks pretty easy and it would have been if I wasn’t so stubborn!

I filled all of the missing veneer with putty, added new appliques to the front panels and then I painted all of those areas flat black…. I knew I wanted to heavily distress this piece and wanted the undercoat that showed through to all be black. Of course I removed the old knobs.. and saved them.. why? I don’t know but I did… and then this is where it all went wrong… painfully….ridiculously….wrong!!

I had removed the doors, to attach the appliques, and I had a VERY hard time getting the screws out. They were old and some were stripped so I decided I would just replace the hinges.. no biggie right? WRONG!!! Let my little lesson save someone else… I found hinges that were similar in size but the holes didn’t line up (oh yeah, don’t want to forget to tell you they were $14 a pair.. seriously!) So I filled the old holes using a combination of glue, skewers and filler, let them dry and then drilled new holes… ok so at this point I was happy to be moving forward, the hinges went on nicely, but it was very difficult to hang the doors and drill new hinge holes by myself… but I did it.. door one on and aligned great! Door two on and aligned great! Now this is where I ALMOST lost it… I went to shut the doors and they would NOT shut together.. see the new hinges were just ever so slightly THICKER than the old hinges.. BUYER BEWARE… I didn’t have ANY idea that could be an issue but clearly it is! I couldn’t use the old hinges because they were bent from me trying to remove them…. So onto plan “C” (sometime you have to have several plans)…

I went to Lowe’s and purchased these great decorative hinges that mount on the front of the cabinet, each one holds 12 pounds and they were the answer to my dilemma! HOWEVER, in order to use them I had to fill all the screw holes and rebuild the cutouts where the hinges were. While that is not a big deal, it does take a long time for everything to dry and then I had to break out the black paint again… ARGH!!!

I hope at this point you don’t “feel” my pain but you can understand how frustrated I was… Next time I will lay the dresser on it’s back and attach the applique’s that way!! See there is always a lesson in every mistake ‘cause I can GUARANTEE you that I will not be making this mistake again! And if I do I will not admit it

NOW… I was ready for the paint. I painted the cabinet in Versailles, another Annie Sloan chalk paint color, and what I think it is a very pretty green. The interior drawer fronts were painted with clay paint by CeCe Caldwell’s, in Smokey Mountain, a beautiful blue! After distressing, everything was waxed and buffed! I added some great lion’s head drawer pulls that I had painted metallic silver… just love them!

So here she is…

A close up on the new wood appliques and the awesome lions head pulls…

An inside peek at the drawers.. I could not get the color in the picture to come out right for some reason the cabinet looks faded and the drawers too blue.. the color is more like the picture above!