French Provincial Hutch with Chicken Wire

I recently came across this french provincial hutch at a yard sale.  I can never pass on a frenchy piece, so this one came back to the shop with me for a little makeover.

The hutch was done in the typical cream and gold, which is a common look for the reproduction french provincial furniture made in  the 1970's.  I wanted to make the piece look more like an old world French antique than a tacky, vintage reproduction.

I gave it a softer look by painting it with Coco Chalk Paint®.  I wanted to create a weathered look to make the piece look authentically older. After applying two coats of Coco Chalk Paint®, I made a wash by mixing 50% Old Ochre Chalk Paint® with 50% water. I painted the wash on in sections and blended it over the Coco with a rag.

BEFORE

AFTER

The Old Ochre muted the Coco and transformed it into a soft, warm, neutral grey. After the wash dried, I applied a coat of Annie Sloan Clear Wax, which made the color even more beautiful and added a smooth, creamy look. I coated the brass hardware with rustic brown spray paint to offer a nice contrast with the paint.

I painted the, previously gold, back and shelves with Old Ochre to brighten up the inside of the hutch.

The final part of the transformation was taking the glass out and replacing it with chicken wire that was also sprayed a rustic brown.   

The transformation from 1970's French provincial to antique French country is complete!

China Cabinet with Secretary

I picked up this china cabinet from the flea market recently for a great price toward the end of the day. It is really heavy and I could tell the man selling it wanted to get rid of it, so he didn't have to haul it back home again.

I love the doors, trim moldings and metal wire fronts on the cabinet.  The man that sold it to me also gave me the orignial old skeleton key that locks all the cabinet doors.

This cabinet is really special and even has a secret secretary in the center, disguised as a drawer.

dt

I mixed a batch of Chalk Paint® using equal parts French Linen and Old Ochre.  The resulting color is a soft and pretty, warm grey.

I clear waxed the entire piece and applied the dark wax with an artist brush only along the edges, grooves, and molding to bring out the details on this lovely piece of furniture.

The upper cabinet was dark inside, so I lightened it up by painting the interior with Old Ochre Chalk Paint®.

This amazing cabinet did not last very long at Loot.  This is one that I would have kept for myself, had I the space for it. Besides being easy on the eyes, it is also a very functional piece.  I love the amount of storage it has and the added convenience of a little desk, which is an ideal place for sitting to write letters and/or pay bills.

Amazing Chalk Paint® Transformation on Oak Kitchen Cabinets

A few months ago, I was hired to paint the dated, oak cabinets in this spacious kitchen.  The owners wanted a custom look without replacing all the cabinetry, which would be quite costly in a kitchen this size.  

Before

The kitchen looked drab and uninviting before, with the heavily grained oak overpowering the whole space. It was definitely the perfect time for a fresh look in this kitchen.

After

After scrubbing the cabinet doors with an orange oil cleaner, I applied three coats of Old Ochre Chalk Paint® to cover the open grain of the oak. I sanded all the doors using super fine, 600 grit sandpaper before painting the third coat.  After the final coat of paint, I used 220 grit sandpaper to sand all the edges, adding dimension to the drawers and doors. When all the sanding was done, I applied two coats of Annie Sloan's Clear Wax over the paint and the finish turned out smooth and silky.

The man of the house, who happens to be a contracter with an eye for detail, was fairly skeptical that Chalk Paint® would live up to its reputation as the best paint in the world.  I think he was also a little bit doubtful in my ability to handle painting a kitchen this large all by myself and, although I did not let it show, I was a bit doubtful myself (my business partner sprained her ankle the first day on the job). However, by the time I finished painting all the cabinets, he was singing praises!

The old linoleum was replaced with a rich, dark, hardwood, which offers the perfect complement to the creamy cabinetry.

Initially, the owners were considering replacing the tile countertops with a solid surface, like granite, but after seeing the painted cabinets paired with the tile, they love the combination and decided to keep the tile.

They put iron cup pulls and knobs on the cabinetry, which definitely added to the new custom look of the kitchen.

 Old Ochre is a beautiful, soft color and it brings much needed warmth to this spacious kitchen.

Another enhancement the owners added to the cabinetry, is the lovely crown molding on top. This is such a small detail, but it made a monumental improvement to the look of the kitchen cabinets. 

The final improvement to this kitchen was replacing the boxed-in flourescent light with an elegant iron light fixture.  What a lovely kitchen we created together!

Custom Painted Built-in Cabinet

Nancy and I were recently hired by customers at Loot to paint this freshly made, built-in cabinet that sits in a corner of their newly remodeled kitchen.  

Before

The cabinet started out with unfinished wood.

After

Our customers chose Versailles Chalk Paint for the exterior and Old White Chalk Paint for the inside of the cabinet.  

The customers wanted some dimension, so we distressed all the edges and then applied Annie Sloan clear wax, followed by dark wax.  Instead of applying the dark wax over the entire cabinet, we used a small artist brush to paint the dark wax into all the grooves and edges. We did this same dark wax technique on the painted beadboard on the inside of the built-in.

Our customers were thrilled with their newly painted built-in cabinet!  These two Chalk Paint colors look absolutely perfect against the pale, creamy wall color and also tie in with the warm tones in the hardwood floors.

Pure White Chalk Paint® Kitchen Cabinets

 

One of our customers at Loot hired Nancy and I to paint the kitchen cabinets of her beach house.  She just purchased this home and I wish I could show you pictures of how different it looked before she started her remodel. Everything in the house was in a shade of brown when she bought it. First, She replaced the floor with this lovely, beachy hardwood.  Then, she hired us to transform her brownish-orange kitchen cabinets.

 

 

I forgot to take pictures before the cabinet doors were removed, but at least I remembered to take a few shots before we actually started painting.

 

 

 

The finish on the cabinets before was outdated and did not look right with the pretty, light countertops and bright blue backsplash.  After a little Chalk Paint®, they look like they were made to go together.

 

 The Pure White Chalk Paint® on the cabinets really tied the look together.

 

Here is the Chalk Paint® in action: no need to prime, sand, or strip the existing finish.  Just paint away! 

 

 

In order to achieve a really smooth finish, I thinned the top coat with a bit of water by dipping my brush in a cup of water periodically to keep it moist as I painted.

 

The kitchen is modern and sophisticated now and Chalk Paint® helped achieve the look.  This demonstrates that Chalk Paint® is valuable for creating many different types of finishes.  It looks beautiful and authentic on antique pieces and creates an equally stunning finish on modern, clean lines, like these kitchen cabinets. The coverage, ease of use, and versatility of Chalk Paint® are some of the reasons why I love using this paint so much.

 

 

Of course, the predictably perfect finish created with Chalk Paint® is the main reason it is my favorite decorative paint.

 

 

Chalk Paint® sticks to everything and looks the same, no matter what is beneath it.  The bar is a perfect example of this. Once covered in Chalk Paint®, the cabinets match the, newly installed, back paneling, making it look like it was always meant to be that way. 

 

 

I love her industrial style bar stools against the bright Pure White. 

 

We opted to use Annie Sloan's matte lacquer rather than the wax on these cabinets.  It is designed for use on floor, so it is really going to hold up to wear and tear on the cabinets.

 



What a brilliant kitchen now!

 

 

 

 

She also hired us to paint her front door and French doors throughout her home. 

 

Before

 

After

 

 

 

The Pure White Chalk Paint on the doors gives this sophisticated beach house a fresher, more unified look.

 

 

If you live in the Santa Cruz area, and would like to get an estimate for custom painting of your kitchen or bathroom cabinets, send me an email: amandapierre@mail.com