Antique Secretary Dresser

One of my pickers sold me this mahogany secretary dresser, in need of a little TLC.  It looks like an ordinary dresser, but transforms into a secret secretary.  

The inside compartments of the secretary are charming with tiny brass knobs on little drawers and a center, locking door with the original key. The customer that bought this piece requested that I leave the inside with its original finish. She did some research on this piece and said that she thinks it was made in the late 1800's! 

The dark stain was well-worn and had a lot of texture variations.  I only applied a single coat of Chalk Paint®, allowing the mahogany wood and texture to peak through the paint.  I wanted to the paint to look as old and weathered as this piece of furniture, while at the same time, giving the piece a fresh look. 

I used one of Annie Sloan's wonderful, oval paint brushes to smooth and blend the thin coat of Chalk Paint®. I used cheese cloth to further blend the paint making sure to disguise any brush marks.  I also had a damp cloth that I used to wipe the paint off all the edges, exposing the mahogany.

I almost forgot to tell you how to get this stunning blue color.  I custom mixed about 1/2 Old Violet with 1/2 Old Ochre Chalk Paint® to create the perfect faded blue hue.