Vintage Waterfall Desk

This is the first waterfall piece of furniture I have painted and I was happy to find this desk at a yard sale recently.  

The old finish was in poor shape and because all the drawers had indented circles in the center, I got this one very cheap.  The woman told me that she had no idea how to fix the rings in the center of the drawers.  Her friend said the only way to fix it is to buy new veneer.  I did not let them know that my fix would be much simpler than this and I was happy to get a good deal.

I love the lines on this desk and the curved waterfall front.  

I painted the desk with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Provence.  I wanted to add some antiquing, so I mixed some Graphite Chalk Paint with water and made a wash to go over the bright blue Provence.  I made sure to really let the wash settle into all the grooves and used a cloth to wipe it back.  

Below is a comparison showing what the Provence looks like with and without the Graphite wash.

Mr. Rubbish drilled new holes for me, so I could use the same bin pulls that I used on this desk.  I was lucky to find thirteen of these vintage bin pulls on etsy for a great price!

I used wood filler to patch the rings on the front of the drawers and then sanded them smooth.  The only problem was that when I put the Graphite wash over the drawers the rings reappeared through the paint.  Shellac always works wonders at sealing in anything that needs to be concealed and it worked marvelously this time too.  I just painted one coat of shellac and then another coat of Provence followed by the Graphite wash again.

I finished the desk with a coat of Annie Sloan clear wax.  I like how the darkness of the Graphite wash antiques this desk, accentuates the lines, and ties in the oil-rubbed-bronze hardware.

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Duck Egg Blue Vanity

This gorgeous, vintage vanity came as part of set, along with two twin beds, a night stand and a dresser.  I decided to break up the set for a hair dresser that shops with us at Loot. All of her hair stations are vintage vanities and she had been looking everywhere for another vintage vanity with a mirror.  I sold her this one and custom painted it for her.

I actually forgot to take a before picture of the vanity, but here is a before of the night stand from the set.

Here is the vanity with the mirror after I painted it.

I painted the vanity with Duck Egg Chalk Paint and Old White on the trim.

After I clear waxed this piece I mixed some Coco Chalk Paint with clear wax to make a colored wax.  I applied this over the paint.  I love using Coco as a wash or in wax because it is so subtle, but definitely adds some depth.

I painted the rest of the set Paris Gray and White.  I am waiting for a small piece that I need to order from a woodworker to repair the dresser, so I will be revealing the set soon!

I painted over all the hardware with Duck Egg and then waxed them with the Coco colored wax too.  I finished up by lightly distressing all over.  

It is hard to tell in the pictures, but the Coco wax did a great job of adding an aged patina, especially to the white trim.

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Campaign Style Tallboy

I found this vintage, campaign style dresser at a recent yard sale.  I love the size, shape, and especially the hardware on this piece.

I forgot to take a picture before removing the hardware, but at least I remembered before I started painting.  When I found the tallboy, it had a two-toned look with faux wood grain drawers and black sides.

After two coats of Napoleonic Blue Chalk Paint, it looks like a brand new piece.  I love the bold colors on campaign style furniture and this rich blue is no exception.  I think the brass hardware really pops against this brilliant blue too.

I painted the interior of all the drawers with Arles Chalk Paint for a fun burst of color inside.

I applied Annie Sloan clear wax over the paint and did extra buffing, so it has a little shine.

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French Chairs a la Ticking Stripes

I found a pair of beautiful, vintage chairs at a yard sale recently. The chairs looked like someone had tried to strip the paint off and they had a lot of texture.

Because the chairs had so much texture, I decided to layer on the Chalk Paint with a two-color distressed technique. I painted a Pure White base coat and I custom mixed the top coat with equal parts Pure White, Paris Gray, and Louis Blue to create a soft, powdery blue.

I heavily distressed the chairs with 220 grit sand paper, exposing the white base coat and the wood beneath it.

I love the simplicity of ticking stripes and I was happy to find pale blue, ticking stripe fabric at my local fabric shop.

The ticking stripes are the perfect complement to the rustic, Frenchy-blue finish of these chairs.

With the extra ticking stripe fabric and some cream colored burlap, I made this ruffled table runner.

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Chalk Painted Madonna

Chalk Paint is not just for furniture.  I forget this sometimes because I am always painting away trying to get through my ever-multiplying container of furniture.  It was refreshing to take a little time to relax and work on something small again.

I found this ceramic, Madonna statue at a local antique shop for a great price.  I wanted to make it look like an antique, wooden statue with an aged patina.

I brought out several cans of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, sat at one of our dining tables at Loot, and started painting my Madonna statue.

I painted her garments Old White and Graphite and chose Country Gray for her skin tone.  Her hair is Coco, of course, and I painted her tiny cheeks with Scandinavian Pink. The base is Primer Red and last, but not least, she has lovely, Louis Blue eyelids.

After the paints dried, I applied clear and dark wax which helped add the aged patina.

The Chalk Paint really transformed this lifeless Madonna statue.  I think she is beautiful now with her old world colors and a little bit of Chalk Paint makeup :)  

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Duck Egg Child's Armoire

I had this little armoire in my house and when we moved,  I no longer had a need for it, so I brought it to Loot to sell.

It is a simple, child's armoire from the 1950's. It was cute in white, but nobody bought it, so I decided to give it a Chalk Paint makeover.

I painted the base with Duck Egg and then made a wash with Coco Chalk Paint and water (50/50). I brushed the Coco wash over the Duck Egg paint and then wiped it back with a rag.  

I dry brushed Old White Chalk Paint over the pretty, wreath applique, allowing some of the Duck Egg to peak through, before applying the Coco wash.  When the wash was dry, I applied one coat of Annie Sloan clear wax and buffed to a soft sheen.

Here is the armoire from a distance.  It was one of the pieces we brought up to Goat Hill Fair.

The child's armoire sold at Loot right away with the new finish!  A woman and her young daughter came in and bought it for the daughter's bedroom.  

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Verdigris Bird Lamps

My sister-in-law found these unique bird lamps at a thrift store in Pennsylvania and bought them for me for Christmas.  My parents went to visit them at Christmas time and my mom brought them back for me in her suitcase.  I finally got them when I visited my family on my birthday back in February.  I love these lamps!  I finished painting them a while ago, but I had to wait to find the perfect shades.

This is what the pair looked like when I got them.  They are vintage (I am guessing 80s) with a copper finish, which gave me the idea to make them copper verdigris.

They look elegant atop my Louis Blue and Graphite Buffet.

It took me a while to find the right shades for this pair.  I wanted them to be simple because I did not want to detract from the beautiful detailing of the lamps.  I went to Target and brought back shades at least three different times and none of them seemed to be a perfect fit.  Finally, I know this is probably obvious to everyone else, Nancy suggested I take a lamp with me and try the shades on there. Well, I already knew that Target did not have the right shades for me, so I started to look around locally.  On the way home from the farmer's market, I spotted a local family-owned company, Riverside Lighting, whose windows were full of, what seemed like hundreds, of lamps and shades.  I made my way over there the next day and they have an entire room of just lampshades!  Plus, they were 20% off that day and I found the perfect pair of shades!  They are sophisticated, creamy linen with a simple drum shape and I think they look just right in scale and style on the bird lamps.

To create the verdigris look over the copper finish, I mixed Provence and Chateau Gray Chalk Paint.  Then, I dry brushed it over the lamps, letting the copper show through.  For those of you that have not tried Annie Sloan Chalk Paint over metal yet, I can tell you it does an amazing job of adhering.  I did not even wax over top of the paint because I thought the chalky look and feel made the verdigris finish seem authentic.

These beautiful, bird lamps are for sale at Loot.

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