More Antique White Furniture

I really do love playing with color, mixing colors, layering colors, and just generally experimenting!  But for some reason, Antique White has been occupying my color palette these days.  This lovely 3 piece set from National Mt Airy, late 1950s era, was decidedly going to be soft whites...especially when the tops stripped so beautifully.

For this set, I tried a few new things....The stain on the tops is General Finishes Brown Mahogany.  It is a beautiful warm brown...not as dark as Minwax Dark Walnut and definitely not as dark at General Finishes Java Gel.  

I'm really enjoying their stains and will do another post at a later time about using them, and the pros & cons of their gel stains.  I finished the top with 4 coats of their High Performance Satin Poly.  The satin provides a soft sheen...not a glossy finish.

The pieces received a very light coat of Van Dyke glaze...which I've found a little tricky to use.  I put the flat high performance poly on the base, lightly sanded, applied another coat of poly, lightly sanded and then the glaze.  With a damp cloth in one hand, and a small artist's brush in the other, I applied the glaze, and then immediately wiped it off....allowing it to settle into the grooved areas.

The structure of the drawers was interesting in that there appeared to be 12 drawers, when in reality there were only 8 drawers.  All of the pieces had the original hardware.

If you are a regular follower, you know I have an obsession about the interiors of drawers...and these were no different.  They cleaned up beautifully....

A very lovely woman saw the dresser posted on my Facebook Page and decided the three pieces needed to come live with her!  :)  That always warms my heart!

As I write this post, all of my lovely blue hydrangeas have begun to turn brown....so sad to know summer is winding down.  But for now, I'm thankful for every day that is not freezing, sleeting and snowing!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Robin

Linking up at:

Finding Silver Pennies

Elizabeth & Co

Savvy Southern Style

Miss Mustardseed

Vintage Buffet from Spiegel

This depression era buffet is handsome and lovely.  It had been handed down from grandmother to grandchild, who was retiring to Florida!

Refinished top, General Finishes Antique White, some light distressing and General Finishes flat and satin high performance top coats.  Simple, but elegant....

Thanks for stopping by!

Robin

Linking up at:

Elizabeth & Co

Poor Man's Terracotta Tile - No More!

15 years ago we bought a house that was in very poor shape.  It had been a rental home for the previous 15 years to various types of renters, including college students!  

We had 10 days to remodel a bathroom, replace every door, paint the entire house, refinish the floors, and have some structural work done in the crawl space.  When the contractors removed the awful laminate in the kitchen, it revealed a sub floor of pine.  We had it sanded, but it was not salvageable...too many dark, black stains.  Our budget was stretched thin and there were no dollars to lay new hardwood floors.  

I had always longed for a terracotta tile floor in the kitchen!  Remember, this was in 1999 and I loved the look of a rustic Country French kitchen, with tile floors and Pierre Deux fabrics on the chairs and windows.  I'll paint it!  After some planning, and 60 hours of back breaking work, I had my poor man's version of a terracotta tile floor!

I painted the entire floor in a Benjamin Moore Porch and Floor paint...in a medium shade of tan.  This undercoat was to be the color or my 'grout' lines.

I taped off the squares with a 1/4" masking tape.  With a sponge, cheesecloth and 3 different shades of orange glazes, I began the faux finishing stage.  

I added two coats of a water based poly for protection.  This was to be a temporary solution to hold us over until we had the funds to install a new hardwood floor.

15 years later, I finally got my hardwood floors!  I must say the "faux" floors held up quite well.  

This is the most trafficked area of the kitchen.  You can see the raise of the grain of the wood starting to peak through...

Here's a close up of that area:

Now that's patina!  Ha!

The new floors went in this week.  I'll be repainting the kitchen cabinets within the next few weeks (hopefully) and will have some glamour shots of the completed project.

In the meantime, we are a family of four...my children were 12 & 10 when we moved into this house.  The floor held up much better than I ever imagined.  So if you are in need of a 'quick' fix, paint and poly will surely get you over the hump until you are ready for your dream floors!

Thanks for stopping by!

Robin

Linking up at:

Finding Silver Pennies

Toning Down Bright Colors

I picked up a great set of Kling solid hard rock maple bedroom furniture, which included a chest, vanity, stool and mirror.  I didn't want this to be refinished as a 'set' so I painted the vanity, mirror and stool together.  I'll show you the 'relove' of the chest in a later post.  Here's the picture of the vanity....

I loved the legs, fluting on the sides, quality construction, but wasn't crazy about the knobs.  As always, I stripped the top and although it was maple, it was in good shape and decided to stain it.

I've been enjoying using the Milk Paints from General Finishes.  I love the silky smooth way it goes on, and easy clean up.  So Halcyon Blue was my vision for this piece.  I applied one coat of ASCP Old Ochre and then a coat of the Halcyon Blue.  Ug!  The Halcyon Blue is way brighter than what I envisioned!  What to do?  I'm thinking a wash of a toned down blue would soften the look...so let's test it out on my trusty paper plate.

Yep!  I'm liking the look of the ASCP Duck Egg Blue as a wash over the Halcyon.

I had a couple of options for the fabric on the stool & knobs for the drawers..  The fabric on the pillow pictured here was one option along with the knobs pictured here....

But my Facebook family voted on a paisley fabric (thanks, Mary & to everyone else who weighed in!).

And the customer who adopted the vanity voted on glass knobs:

They didn't need the stool or mirror, so I still have those two pieces....but they loved the color, fluting detail and refinished top.  Their floors are hardwood and they had been looking for a blue desk with wood top.  I used the Minwax Dark Walnut stain, and the entire piece received the General Finishes High Performance Poly Top Coats.  I really like that product!

So there you have it....a wash in a softer, more muted shade was perfect for toning down the brightness of the original blue.

Thanks for stopping by!

Robin

Linking up at:

Elizabeth & Co.

Finding Silver Pennies

Miss Mustard Seed

Redoux Interiors

Provence & Gold = Gorgeous

If you're wondering what has happened to me and my blog...well, it's my photography!  It's giving me a fit...I want my pictures to be pretty.  Figuring out settings, lighting and editing just don't come easily for me.  To find some acceptable pictures and then write about it is becoming a chore.  Anyway, I still love painting and if I can write a post every now and then that is helpful to at least one person, then the 'chore' is so worth it!  

I found a pretty little table in a thrift store.  Unfortunately, I forgot the 'before' pics...but it was brown and tired!  I haven't done much with layering lately or painted anything in Provence, so let's get this party started!

I first painted the entire piece in ASCP Old Ochre and then a coat of ASCP Provence.

This is the first picture of the 'in progess".  It also shows a little ASCP Old White in the curves and crevices and some slight distressing. This was my original vision at this stage...but I just wasn't feeling it.  It just needed a little something else.

How about a little gold gilding wax on the high points...and maybe some General Finishes glaze to deepen the color value a bit?

I love how the chalk paint creates some texture for the the glaze to take hold of.  And hints of Old White in the crevices helps to emphasize the beautiful curves of this lovely table.

I added just a smidge of the gold gilding wax on the very edge of the table top...

And here she is in her entirety!

I regret not having a 'before' picture.  I am still amazed at how paint can transform a piece!

Thanks for stopping by!

Robin

Linking up at:

Miss Mustard Seed

Finding Silver Pennies

Elizabeth & Co.

Adding a Little Peacock Blue to My Portfolio

As a student of Annie Sloan Chalk Paints, I have long admired and enjoyed working with her subtle colors of grays, creams, whites, blacks and blues.  They are lovely and elegant and in sync with my personal style.  However, every magazine I pick up has pictures of pieces with "a pop of color".  There is a strong desire in today's design to add bright, vibrant colors to decorating schemes.  As I am just discovering the wonders of General Finishes Milk Paint, my eye caught their Corinth Blue.  So let's start the journey:

Here is the "Before" minus the hardware....typical 1970s style end table.  Good bones, wonderful deep drawer for storage, but very average looking. 

I gave them (yes, there is a pair) a good sanding and then scrubbing with steel wool and denatured alcohol.  I'm not sure this much prep is necessary, but when starting out with a new product, I'd prefer to take extra steps for durability until I fully understand the product I am working with.

I've used the GF Lamp Black and loved how it covered....and the Corinth Blue was no different.  

The color is gorgeous and helps bring out the interesting design of the drawers and legs.  The blue is a bit bright (for my conservative eyes!) so I used the General Finishes Van Dyke Brown glaze to help tone down the brightness.  I also chose to use their High Performance Poly Top Coat.  It gives a smooth, and very durable finish.  You do have to be mindful of drips when applying it, so if you give it a try, keep an eye out for a drip to sneak up on you!  :)  I just keep a small artist brush nearby and smooth out the drip....The poly levels beautifully and gives a very even finish.

I was thrilled when I picked these up to learn they still had the original hardware!

Although this bright color was not in my normal "wheelhouse", you can expect to see more of this from RPK.  I was delighted with the outcome and am hopeful they find a loving home that needs a 'pop of color'!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Linking To:

Miss Mustard Seed

Elizabeth & Co

Finding Silver Pennies

Hitting a Snag

It's been awhile since I've written a post.  One of my dear customers had a bit of an "oops" and it's taken the wind out of my sails.  I came into possession a lovely Dixie dresser and chest....and thought she would love it.

After she saw the pictures of the 'unloved' pieces, she fell in love with them.  Her vision was a black base, darker than the traditional walnut stain I generally use, and pewter hardware.  Done!

During the 'relove' process, I kept her up to date on the progress:  Tops stripped and looking good, hardware done, drawers and base prepped, painted and top coats applied.  Top getting the final stain and top coats....Let's make a plan for the hand off.  She was so excited!  On this beautiful sunny, spring day, she had hubby, daughter and daughter's boyfriend with her to help load these two gorgeous pieces.  This was her time away from her home...just an hour or so.  Why is that a big deal, you might ask?  Well, you see, she has a special needs child, so most of her waking hours are spent loving him, trying to anticipate his needs and next move.  Decorating her home is her one 'vice' and it gives her so much pleasure.

She walked into the house and saw them:

Another happy adoption.  Let's load 'em up and get 'em home.

An hour later I receive the following text:

Robin, I am heart broken, one of the drawers fell out of the truck on the highway.  Honestly I just now stopped crying.  Do you know of any way that we can get another matching drawer.  It was the top left drawer of the dresser.  :(

My heart stopped.  This dresser is from the late 1950s...not like we can call the company and order another drawer.  So my quest to help her resolve this has begun.  But my stride has slowed, thus no new posts.

We've found someone who can make the drawer...but there is a lovely rope detail in the bottom lip of the drawer that we are having trouble duplicating.  No mill rooms in this area can or are willing to make it....

This was the only close up I had showing the rope detail...not very clear but you get the idea:

And then, one of the dearest, kindest ladies in this business posted a picture of the exact dresser on her blog:

Do you guys know Danielle at Finding Silver Pennies?  If not, I suggest you check out her blog.  She is so creative and shares so much of her process with all of us.  Thank you, Danielle!

Anyway, we exchanged emails and she said she would reach out to some fellow DIYers to see if they had any ideas on how to recreate this molding.  That got me thinking...I should also be reaching out.

So here I am.  Do you have any ideas on how to make a form and duplicate this trim?  I've read lots of tutorials, but all of the appliques made were flat.  Because this drawer has a radius, the mold can not lay flat, which would also make it hard to pour any liquid substance into a mold that has an arc to it.  I'M STUMPED.  I know DoItYourselfChic makes flexible appliques which would be perfect, but their rope applique it too big for this project.  Any thoughts???

Thank you for listening....I hope somehow this gets resolved and my lovely client can get her new bedroom put together.

Robin

Linking to:

Finding Silver Pennies